First Immortal

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational and thought provoking
Review: Once again James Halperin gives us a refreshing vision of the future. For the fans of "The Truth Machine," Halperin expands upon concepts laid out his fist novel. From Cryonics to Artificial Intelligence, he provides a great scope of understanding when it comes to applying these emerging technologies to reality. Although "The First Immortal," is a stand alone novel, the tie-ins and references to characters and events in "The Truth Machine," create a very solid base of realistic and futuristic foresight. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves technology and science, anyone who fears deaths or knows they don't want to die, or to anyone who is hopeful for the future of humanity. Thank you for a truly inspirational book, and remember, "Inspiration is the greatest gift anyone can give to the world."

Rating:
Summary: I just love this book!
Review: You can tell right away that James L. Halperin's second novel is a winner if you flip to the back and see "Virus of the Mind" in his list of recommended reading. Any believable account of the future must be based on a solid understanding of what makes ideas spread. In this, Halperin succeeds. The First Immortal is a shockingly believable account of a future in which people live essentially forever, thanks to cryonics (freezing one's body) and nanotechnology. As the likelihood of resuscitation from freezing grows, the idea of preserving one's body in hopes of eventual revival becomes less and less loony. I finished this book seriously thinking about getting myself frozen. Halperin's writing has matured and you'll find The First Immortal as fast-paced as his first novel The Truth Machine but with considerably richer characters. An unapologetic optimist, he paints a scintillating utopian picture of the future - perhaps enough to launch the cryonics meme into full orbit.

--Richard brodie, Author: Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme

Rating:
Summary: Better science that story
Review: It's true that you learn something with every new book. In this case it was the "science" of cryogenics, now in an embryonic stage. The author attmepts to be mesmerizing and grand but just ends up "very good". The plot is simple - a man dies and is frozen. He awakens in a strange future (revived) and must face the Brave New World. Actually, his getting acquainted with the current age is one of the best parts of the book. He learns that death has been conquered through bioengineering, artificial intelligence and the general advancement of science.

The newspaper stories were at first interesting and not too bothersome to the flow of the plot. But after a while they became tiresome, insipid and preachy. The ending falters slightly as it turns into worship for old age. The future is so bright it seems unrealistic...but this IS science fiction. Well worth the money.

Rating:
Summary: Makes you think
Review: I found The First Immortal to be a highly intelligent book. His treatment of the effects of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, computer science and biotech over the next hundred years do reveal the causal implications of widespread applications of these technologies. This is very refreshing since the reality of the future won't be like Star Trek or most any other science fiction work today. Late 21st century nanotech and biotech means if someone gets shot in the heart or decapitated, science will be able to revive him and restore the damaged body.

That being said, I did find Mr Halperin's view of the future to be too optimistic. Human beings as a whole aren't altruistic and many are downright evil. I simply can't discount the mentality and desires of some in the world today (including entire religious bodies) who only care about power and destroying what they themselves can't create or emulate.

And yet, I find his assumptions attractive - I wish the world will become like how he envisioned. Unfortunately, I doubt it'll ever happen.

Rating:
Summary: Almost -- but not quite -- as good as The Truth Machine
Review: Author James L. Halperin's second novel, The First Immortal: A Novel of the Future, from Del Rey Books is a pleasing followup to his first terrific novel, The Truth Machine. While satisfying, the latter book is not quite as good as the former, but its flaws certainly don't keep it from being an entertaining read.

First, to clear up any misconceptions, this book is not part of a series with the same characters as in The Truth Machine. However, fans of that book will be interested to note that its protagonist, Randall Petersen Armstrong, does play a peripheral part in this story, albeit one in which he never makes an actual appearance. His truth machine is very much a part of the future.

That's when most of this story takes place. Although it begins in 1925, the time span of the tale extends all the way to the year 2125. The book is based on the science of cryonics, that is, the science of freezing people just before death and then reviving them at a later date when cures for whatever had ailed them are found.

But that's not the whole premise, as you may surmise from the title. Halperin also deals with extending the human life span, until we reach a point where the only deaths that occur are accidental.

The book's main protagonist is Benjamin Smith. A wealthy physician, Smith arranges to have his body frozen right before he dies. He does this due to deep emotional and psychological factors, which Halperin sets up nicely.

This sets up a court battle as his surviving children fight over the large trust fund he has set up for his body's maintenance and to give him funds to live on after revivification. Again, Halperin sets this up well, accurately depicting the conflicting emotions of an inheritance battle.

Needless to say, Smith survives and is revived in the future , eighty-three years in the future to be precise. He finds the world quite a different place than the one he left behind. Not only has cryonics become a viable science, but disease has been eradicated, and the aging process can be reversed or halted at the point the subject desires. Human cloning is also practiced.

While this part of the story is interesting, Halperin at times dwells too much on the science side of things. Not being particularly science-oriented myself, I found myself skipping over extended passages that were overly scientific.

You may think all this science creates the immortality implied in the title. Not so. The real breakthrough to immortality comes through nanotechnology, which allows perfect copying of the human brain.

Until that point, revivification only works well if the subject is frozen quickly enough. Otherwise, memory degradation occurs. Cloning doesn't restore memory at all, but earlier nanotechnology had allowed partial memory restoration.

With the new scientific technology, even if people are accidentally killed, they can be cloned and have all their memories restored, at least up to the point when the recording of their brain was made.

This new immortality doesn't solve all human problems. Halperin actually demonstrates how it could create new ones. That's what keeps the reader riveted, as opposed to the science.

Halperin also, as in The Truth Machine, gives the reader believable characters. The reason they're believable is because they're complex. Halperin's characters are multidimensional, and he excellently sets up their emotional conflict and psychological motivations.

That's Halperin's true strength. The story concept is intriguing, but without his topnotch characterization, it would be just another science fiction novel. Although at times a little too heavy on the science end of things, that's only a small part of the book, leaving you with a real page-turner, and a most recommended read.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and thought provoking
Review: What an intelligent and well-crafted book! With the rampant disinformation about cryonics circulating about the media these days, it's refreshing to read a technically accurate and imaginative story based on science and rational thought.

Mr. Halperin's hero is brave and honest, and uses technology to enhance his life. His vision of the future is both optimistic and inspiring. The First Immortal makes for an interesting, enthusiastic read.

--David Hitchcock, author, VIRTUAL LIFE and PATENT SEARCHING MADE EASY

Rating:
Summary: Minor Flaws
Review: This is the first book I know of that really deals with what might happen when (not if) medical science extend life far beyond the 80 - 100 years we traditionally expect.

The best part of the book is the "newspaper" clipping . . . such as a team sport where the contestants can kill each other -- no, I _really_ mean kill each other -- and then be revived, . . . hilarious.

The implications for social problems and adjustments are very well thought-out. This book may become a Classic 50 years from now when we get to the actual science described in the book.

The minor flaw is common to all hard science fiction -- too technical for most readers (but then again, I like technical writing).

Rating:
Summary: Far more pretentious preaching than plot...
Review: I could have swore I was reading Dianetics or the manifesto for some new cryonic cult... it makes a very very poor attempt at presenting the illusion of a fair debate, but really does little than put up straw men for the book's hero to gallantly knock down. The story and plot itself is paper thin, what remains is the science fiction, but unfortunately we're left with more philosophy fiction than science.

If you're looking for a book on nanotechnology scifi, look elsewhere... Critchton's Prey provides a much deeper analysis of converging sciences along with a more compelling plot.

Rating:
Summary: The First Immortal
Review: What a sharp and wonderful mind James Halperin has! I enjoyed every page of his imaginitive speculation about biological immortality and its implications. His well-developed characters are brave and noble, becoming even more so as nanotechnology extends their lifespans, enabling their perpectives and experiences to expand. Readers who worry that religion and mysticism hold too great a sway over so many people's lives will enjoy Halperin's vision of a future where science-based human innovation is properly recognized as the real savior of humankind. Halperin's philosophy and writing style remind me of Carl Sagan, who wrote The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Carl undoubtedly would have loved reading The First Immortal.

Rating:
Summary: Oops
Review: Silly me, I thought it was by Helprin when I bought it. Man, I was amazed by how silly & poorly written this was. Not sure who this Halperin guy is, but he sure isn't related to Helprin.