Rating: 
Summary: Before Cyberpunk came The Demolished Man
Review: I could not understand why _The Demolished Man_, a classic in the science fiction field, has been out of print for so long. So when Vintage Books finally reissued it in July of this year, it signalled the end of a ten year search for a copy of the book, and it did not disappoint. The concept is intriguing. Ben Reich is the head of one of the largest corporations in the future, but one man, his rival D'Courtney, stands in his way, and so he must die. The catch: society is policed by Espers, people with telepathic powers, who make it virtually impossible for anyone to successfully commit murder and get away with it. Can Reich get away with murder? How he does it and how he tries to get away with it are just some of the questions that will be answered when you pick up the book. But be prepared. Fasten your seatbelts. The action is so fast paced that transitions virtually disappear. In a style that foreshadows William Gibson and the cyberpunks, Bester masterfully creates a decaying world whose ultimate survival depends on the capture of Ben Reich. And he keeps us guessing until the very end
Rating: 
Summary: A true sci-fi classic!
Review: Bester's "The Demolished Man" is a true classic of the sci-fi genre, and perhaps the first cyberpunk novel. Though it does appear dated at times, Bester's work remains as fun and powerful as when it was written fifty years ago. Threads of Bester's comic book roots can be seen woven throughout the story, which moves along at a brisk, almost frantic, pace.A near future world where a small minority has developed their latent ESP, Bester's world is a compelling mix of utopia and dystopia. The mind police have virtually eliminated crime, either by rooting it out beforehand, or by always catching their man after-the-fact. But this safety comes at a dear price, where the unenforcable promise of the ESPers is only guarantee of privacy that most have. However, Ben Reich, as head of a major corporate powerhouse, feels that he can outsmart the ESPers. Haunted in his dreams by a mysterious man, and driven by uncontrolled passions, Reich decides to eliminate his chief rival, D'Courtney. The murder sets off a brilliant battle of wits between Reich and the head investigator, Powell, which can only end in the "demolition" of Reich, or the total embarrassment of Powell. Who gets demolished? What IS "demolition"? Why would Reich risk so much to kill D'Courtney? With so many pressing questions, it was amazing to see Bester wrap this book up in such a fulfilling way. A great mystery with a clever ending, set in a compelling near future world - despite its age, "The Demolished Man" remains a standard-bearer of its field.
Rating: 
Summary: How Dissappointing.
Review: The first half of the book was pretty good, developing a vivid and gritty futuristic world where telepaths are a part of the human population. It follows a donald-trump type top business man who plans to kill his rival in order to 'rule the world' (as usual). This may sound dry, but it starts off pretty interestingly. Thats when things go downhill, for the main character and for the reader. The plot gets lame and corny in the second half of the book, not to mention patronizing. The telepath hero seduces a much younger woman, sends his current admirer packing, stops the business man from ruling the world, and in the end the hero and villain become friends. Say what??? The horrendous ending really makes the whole book not worth reading.
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Summary: Classic early sci-fi
Review: Written in the early 50's, this is definitely one of the best early sci-fi novels and still holds up in many respects even today. The plot whizzes by at breakneck pace, full of action and mayhem, the dialogue is tough and snappy, the characters memorable, it's almost like a 1940's gangster film transported into the 24th century.
The plot in a nutshell centres around Ben Reich, the megalomaniacal boss of a huge corporation, who is determined to get rid of his main business rival Craye D'Courtney and decides murder is his only option. In this century however, crime has almost been eliminated in a society dominated by Espers, humans with telepathic abilities who can detect criminal intent instantly. With the help of several corrupt telepaths, Reich succeeds in murdering D'Courtney but then finds himself up against top Esper and Police Prefect Lincoln Powell. Powell himself is no paragon of virtue however and the scene is set for a deadly cat and mouse game between the two men.
This book is smart, funny, and entertaining. Definitely required reading for sci-fi addicts.
Rating:
Summary: A founder of Sci-fi.
Review: Many reviewers tell of the plethora of new and interesting ideas in this novel, which was ground breaking for 1951. Yes, the ideas are still fresh but, as has been pointed out, there are many holes in the ideas concerning Espers (a new evolution of mindreading humans). Put that aside and you have a great early sci-fi novel that rivals that of Asimov or any other of their contemporaries and a pretty good mystery to boot.
A part of the book that impressed me was that the climax was strung out for such a long duration. For the last one-hundred pages I kept thinking that there could not possibly be more, but Bester surprised me again and again.
I highly recommended this for those looking for their Sci-fi roots.
Rating:
Summary: EXTRA-ORDINARY...REMARKABLE...!
Review: I have just finished reading this book, and I must say that it was an excellent story - very well written. After reading several of the reviews presented here, all I should need to say is "It's a great story. If you like a good mystery, which happens to be in a sci-fi setting, read this book."
Okay, so why are you still reading this? Order it, borrow it, but get it and read it. That's all you need to know.
But for those who are not able to get it, it's two in the morning, the stores and libraries are closed, read on.
I decided to read this book based upon the hours on the internet trying to find a couple of really good sci-fi books, and this one kept popping up. So I got a used copy and began to wade through the first several chapters. It was a difficult read at first; Bester chucks the reader into his story without much to hang on to. I felt rather disoriented, he uses non-words which sound like something, and seem to fit, but you won't find them in any dictionary. Plus he, very quickly into the story, forces you to listen to several telepaths thinking to/with each other, at the same time - like being at a party with everyone speaking at once, and he pulls it off very well. And if you read the first several chapters carefully, slowly, maybe more than one time... it' almost like a boot camp for the rest of the book. I wanted to put it down a couple of times, but I'm glad I didn't.
The chapters are divided up into smaller sections so it's a good book if you can only read in short spirts, like I often have to. Although I found myself taking it with me because of the story's quick pace, and wanting to see what happens next. Like I stated, if you like to read/watch mysteries, then you will love this book. It was easy to "watch" the story unfold in my mind, allowing me to "participate" in the story. And as I read, it kept getting better and better, and especially to the very satisfying end. One of the best, complete, endings I have read or seen in a very long time. Satisfying. Not wimpy, or simply fading or pooping out.
One more thing...there are those who have difficulty with the technology mentioned in this book, and as with other well matured books. References to transistors, rockets or other tech which are the stuff childplay. One review I read, I don't remember if it was for this book, gave one star solely because of the old technology. What needs to be understood is, the items of technology are props. They are there as objects used to further the plot. Granted, if the plot is about the technology as a means to an end, then it gets a little sticky. But whether I'm watching Buck Rogers going from here to there in his space ship suspended by wires, or watching Han Solo going through hyperspace in the Millennium Falcon, it doesn't, or shouldn't, make any difference - they're props used as a convention, a means, to further the plot. It's more exciting to see all the current or futuristic technology, but the story is the kicker.
Finally, I would love to see this book adapted into a movie. It would be a perfect story to be made into a movie (ie. Blade Runner, and if you liked that movie you'll love this book). Unfortunately, many great scifi stories made into movies, have been trashed - "I, Robot" or "Battlefield Earth" for example. But put in the right hands it would be a blockbuster.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling and not dated in the least
Review: Compelling characters and cool concept of a psychic society. Fast-paced, thought-provoking and devoid of the usual corniness of 1950s SF. It's aged quite well.
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Summary: How it would be in the world of telepaths
Review: I read this book recently and I was furious. Because I hadn't read it sooner!! Why aren't you reading it right now? Call yourself a sci-fi buff??
Seriously, I was blown away at how immersive Bester's (thanks JMS, for honoring the author with your Babylon 5 psi-cop) novel about telepath culture and aberrant murder could be. Clever use of word structuring to signify telepath thoughts, intriguing characters, and deep issues of morality and what the world might be like if telepaths emerged. Superb.
Rating: 
Summary: Hugely Influential, But Flawed
Review: Winner of the inaugural Hugo Award in 1953, this sci-fi/murder mystery is currently in development in Hollywood under the auspices of Australian director Andrew Dominik. A groundbreaking and hugely influential book in many ways, it's aged quite well, with only a few hints here and there showing its age. That said, the story's got enough flaws to make it disappointing to those expecting a masterpiece. The premise is that in the future, a small part of humanity has developed telepathic abilities. These "Espers" (after ESP) or "peepers" have self-organized into a Guild (highly unlikely in an of itself) which controls most aspects of their lives. One of the consequences of this is that premeditated crime has mostly vanished due to these telepaths being able to sniff out plans before they ever happen, or else are able to solve crimes after the fact using their abilities to probe the minds of anyone involved. The upshot is that while there is the occasional murder, no one has successfully evaded capture in over seventy years.
Set mainly in New York, the plot concerns mega-industrialist Ben Reich, who decides he must murder his arch-rival in business in order to not be swallowed by his competitor. He's a bit of a megalomaniac, but figures that if he can corrupt a peeper to help mask his thoughts, he can get away with it if he's audacious enough. It seems unlikely that it would have taken seventy years for someone to try this out, but the Esper Guild penalty for aiding and abetting lawbreakers is ostracization. Despite the supposedly unbearable psychological effects of this, it seems like a rather flimsy excuse for a deterrent. Basically, wouldn't the "criminal" peepers just band together and form their own outlaw Esper Mafia? Another aspect of the peepers that is entirely glossed over is the high levels of resentment that would likely exist among "normals" whose most intimate thoughts and dreams would be available to any peeper walking down the street.
Anyway, the story proceeds with the details of the murderówhich in the best pulp fashion is witnessed by a beautiful girl who goes missing (how she turns up where she does is a mystery not answered). From there on it's a clever cat and mouse game, as the top peeper cop does his best to unravel Reich's careful subterfuge and pin the murder on him. Then the book takes a bit of a wacky turn for the worse, as Reich is revealed to be not just a murderer, but "the type of man" who only comes every few centuries or so, who can "bend society to his own reality". This is a crucial twist that is never well-explained and this vagueness really hurts the book. Bester does heavily rely on Freudian concepts of id, ego, and superego that were in major vogue at the time, and seems intent on making the point that one man really can create a new reality for the world. My own interpretationóand I'm surprised not to have run across it elsewhereóis that Bester was making a very unsubtle comment on Nazism and Hitler (who was only a few years removed from power when Bester wrote this). One only has to look at the name of the nightmare plagued, obsessive man at the heart of the story who dreams of a galaxy-spanning empire, óReich.
In any event, the book is notable for its innovative use of typography, no doubt a result of Bester's career in comics. This is crucial in portraying the telepathic communication used by the peepers, and works very well. The characters themselves are not at all well drawn, and the book suffers as a result. In addition to the plot, the dialogue also rings of the pulps, with snappy repartee and some nice slang thrown in. All in all, it's a pretty readable piece of sci-fi history, although not the amazing wonder that some make it out to be.
Rating:
Summary: The breezy, Cyberpunk feel was far ahead of its time
Review: In a futuristic society, gazillionaire industrialist Ben Reich plans to murder his hated competitor D'Courtney, in this classic, but very hip-sounding piece of fifties-era science fiction. Complicating Reich's plan is the danger of being detected by the so-called "peepers" - that tiny minority of persons who have developed the ability to read minds. So he hires an ambitious peeper to help him, and thus begins a fast-paced, intricately swirling cat and mouse game between Reich and Police Inspector (and peeper) Lincoln Powell. The stakes are high for all involved, and nobody plans to lose, least of all Reich, for whom conviction will surely mean Demolition. A superb sci-fi mystery thriller, with an edgy, cyber-punk feel that was far ahead of its time.
That said, potential readers should be warned of a couple minor weaknesses. As often happens in genre fiction, the characters fall somewhat short of full development. Reich's monomania is very convenient, but the less deranged characters are pretty unconvincing, mere pawns in the bigger game. And Bester's attempts to bring in some Freudian psychological insights are clumsy at best. After the thrill of the actual murder, and the extended chase that follows, the surprises at the end tend to fall a bit flat. At that, they fare better than the romantic subplot, which is handled so badly as to be plain irritating.
But this is top-notch science fiction, fans of which will quickly recognize this as a classic of the genre.
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