Rating: 
Summary: Almost perfect.
Review: Undoubtedly, one of the best books I have read since The Truth Machine. As the endpage grew closer I could only feel more and more hopeful for our future. But there was something there that dissapointed me. One word. "Eh?" I thought the reference to a Gordon Lightfoot III and Windsor and Detroit becoming a megalopolis hillarious. But the only line spoken by a Canadian ended in "eh?". I might be the only Canadian with this mindset but an All Canadian Polar Bear Wrestling Team or the International Dog Sled Commission should have slid in right after that. Mr. Halperin, you have inspired me, and have made it impossible for me NOT to research more into the topics you discuss, predominatly cryonics. I cannot wait for your next installment (hoping there is one). -Chris Livingston
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I usually three to five books every week. This book is the first exception in years. The ideas that Mr. Halperin expresses are so well written that I have not been able to get my mind off them, let alone start another book. This is a MUST read. P.S. If you have not read "THE TRUTH MACHINE" DO IT NOW!!!
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic glimpse of the near future!
Review: _The First Immortal_ is an amazing novel. I couldn't put it down! Oddly enough, I am not a science fiction fan. Most of it is either too cheesy
or lacks decent characters. _The First Immortal_
doesn't have either of these problems.
The characters were friends, lovers, and relatives.
They all had good points and flaws (except
Ben's son-in-law... he was just a greedy jerk).
And, the "future" was very realistically portrayed.
The scientific advancements of the near future
are all things you can read about now in popular
science magazines like _Scientific American_
and _Discover_. It's easy to get the feeling
that you'll be around to see all these amazing
developments. (I know I plan to be!)
The story progresses at a nice pace, leaving out
superfluous details and holding your interest.
Jim Halperin somehow managed to tell a story
that spans over 200 years and keep all the characters interesting, present an almost prophetic
vision of the future, and raise thought-provoking
scientific, ethical, and spiritual questions, all
at the same time. I enjoy similar novels that
are set in the historical past because of the realism
factor, but I've never read a sci-fi novel with such a potentially real view of the future. If you just want to
read far-flung, way-out sci-fi, this isn't the book you
want. _The First Immortal_ raises too many intriguing
questions to be just another sci-fi story. And start
saving up now for the cryonic preservation you'll
want to sign up for after you finish reading!
Rating: 
Summary: Insipid character development with interesting futurist idea
Review: The First Immortal has many interesting ideas about the future but its insipid celebration of "the family" made me ill. It dilluted the impact of the changes in the world of the future with all the constant hugging, analyzing and "forgiving" of each other. The characters' personal angst was silly; their egotism was obnoxious and distracting. Mankind may become part machine through nanotechnology but let's hope we manage to maintain some self-respect and individuality, rather than the cloying, co-dependent, emotionally-damaged, self-involvement of these characters. Should have left them frozen. Skip itl.
Rating:
Summary: Good literature as well as good science fiction
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this seamlesly knit tale of cryonic suspension and future revivification. Halperin draws three dimensional characters in beleievable plots and then salts them with exceptional science and ends with a well thought out future. It's always a pleasure to read a good science fiction book that can stand on it's own literary merits, an unfortunate rarity in this genre. I look forward to his next.
Rating:
Summary: Another amazing view of the Future
Review: After I had finished reading "The Truth Machine", I told everyone I knew to run out and get a copy. My copy of the book was constantly being loaned out to friends, family and co-workers. I was being selfish: I wanted the people in my life to read this wonderful, fascinating book so that I could discuss Mr. Halperin's optimistic and unique vision of tomorrow. When I saw "The First Immortal" on my local bookstore's shelf, I realized my friends and family had more reading to do. Like his first book, The First Immortal is basically a future history lesson in the guise of a novel. Be warned: The characters are far from fully fleshed-out. The Ben Smith and his family are not the most memoriable characters ever committed to the page, but they are servicable as devices through which Mr. Halperin explores his thoughts, ideas, theories and ideologies. Mr. Halperin's future is truly an optimisitic one: think of "Star Trek" with a brain. "The First Immortal", like "The Truth Machine", takes us through the future one step at a time. This is Halperin's best and most useful device. These smaller steps allow the reader to digest the author's ideas at a pace that seems logical and, to a point, inevitable. Many people have stated that Mr. Halperin's books read as if he's looked into the future and is reporting back what he has seen. I believe he has done more: I think he's looked into the best and brightest of all of us, and reported back what we most want: a future with challenges and heroes, advances and set-backs, science without poltical agenda and technology with humanism.
Rating: 
Summary: A manual for survival. A must-read.
Review: I don't read a good book, mindlessly put it down, and go on to another book. Attempting to size up the author, especially if I've read more than one of his or her books and rating the book in my mind's eye are two compulsory activities You appear to be an optimist in the sense that you believe ardently that technology has the potential to conquer all and to create a near-utopia on the planet Earth. The same Earth that in most areas is inarguably a dsytopia at this very moment. You have selected some of the most important issues in humankind's quest and may continue to do so in your evolving, integrated utopian society which now spans two volumes and, hopefully, will encompass several more. Laudably, "truth" precedes "immortality," the latter being the ultimate wish fulfillment theme, despite fatuous protests to the contrary. Without truth, however, our dreams become nearly impossible to fulfil. Eerily at times, your viewpoints and mine are identical on many more issues than I cite. I, too, believe that life with good quality can never be long enough. I, too, am confident that technology could solve even the most improbable of our fantasies. One big roadblock stands between the Now and the Then: Society. Especially the almost insurmountable barriers of religion, nationality and race. I am much less sanguine than you about these obstacles that are inimical to One World. You do touch on these issues, but, perhaps for the sake of story flow, you dismiss them too easily. Let me digress, and I am paraphrasing your remark: on balance religion has been a force for good because it has helped people live a more moral life. Here we part company. Just as Freud set back the meaningful study of "psychology," so religion has bred hatred and immorality in the name of "the true God." The title of Arthur C. Clarke's famous story, "The Nine Billion Names of God." is pertinent: As each name of God is added, society is compartmentalized more and more. I tend to evaluate a book by employing three criteria: story, style, and substance. The latter is the most ambiguous. For me, substance basically is what you learn from a book, what affects your thinking, what digs into your brain. One might suppose that the finest books are strong on each of the three levels. Not necessarily so. Two books on my short list of masterpieces, Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS and Hemingway's THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA have only one element of greatness apiece: style and substance, respectively. Relating my formula to THE FIRST IMMORTAL is not difficult. Style and story line are workmanlike but not outstanding. Substance is off the scale. One cannot help coming back and back again to the picture of immortality which you paint. THE FIRST IMMORTAL is literally a manual for survival. I liken you in a way to Robert A. Heinlein, not a shoddy comparison. He taught the possibilities inherent in the philosophy loosely termed libertarianism. You teach the potential inherent in technological advances. Wish fulfillment is indeed a powerful engine, and, unlike any other author, you propose a method based on current scientific extrapolation. The theme haunts me and will continue to do so at least until I do some first-hand research into the techniques now employed and the reliability of the firms who perform cryonic preservation. The latter element may be considerably more important and more difficult to determine than the former. Salespersons can be convincing.
Rating:
Summary: The First Immortal - cryonics has never seemed "so hot"
Review: This was a truly well-researched and enjoyable read. I am a voracious reader,and tend to go through fantasy and science-fictions books quite quickly..The First Immortal was comfortable to read, but made me stop and think. The ideas represented were both creative but feasible given where science is today. The world portrayed in this book may truly become a reality in our not-too-distant future.
Rating:
Summary: Optimistic and enjoyable. Worth the price of a hardback.
Review: James Halperin is an optimist. After reading a number of books with the notion that cryonauts would be used as slave labor by the reviving society it is quite enjoyable to immerse myself in a future that gives a damn while still being credible. Mr. Halperin's world moves faster than I might imagine, but it is a logical progression. This book is good, solid science fiction with a most enjoyable story and characters that really live.
Rating:
Summary: One for the Ages?
Review: The First Immortal was a fantastic read. I had a hard time putting it down. The ideas, technology and the story, is just captivating. This is a thinking book, many questions are asked, to test your philisophical outlook on the future. But most of all, enjoy the story and the people, they will make you care for them. I cannot wait for the next book from Jim Halperin.
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