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Summary: Fantastic book!
Review: Realistic portrayals of a lot of issues. The technological projections are necessarily speculative but quite reasonable. Great characters. Loads `o' fun.
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Summary: YOU HAVE TO READ THIS ONE !
Review: I read this book in one breath. Really, I didn't even put it away to eat. It tells in a perfectly simple way, what could be happening to this world if we keep an open mind and respect one another. He could be wrong about a lot of things, but if only half is true....boy/girl, are we in for something! But don't take my word for it........... Berrie Staring
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Summary: The Truth Machine It's Not
Review: I got this book with great expectations. I truly loved the Truth Machine and was expecting more of the same. I brought the book with me to read on the airplane on my way to a Mexican Vacation. Being the complete idiot that I am, I did not bring a back up book because I assumed this one would be just as good as the first. I tried to like the book, I really did. I read about half of it, before I realized that watching the passengers on the airplane was a lot more interesting. From the other reviews I read, I guess the second half of the book is a lot more exciting. Trust me, it's not worth the effort to get there. A boring plot with unlikable characters makes you start feeling like the first immortal waiting to be awakened. Maybe if he hadn't written such a great first book, then my expectations wouldn't have been as high.
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Summary: Engrossing and enlightening, but not always complete
Review: I read Halperin's "The Truth Machine" with great vigor. I couldn't put it down. "The First Immortal" succeeds on that same level, especially for the latter half of the book. The predictions and viewpoints that the author presents blossom from a truly incredible mind. However, I found some of the writing to be lacking and sometimes it seemed that the huge plot was advanced at the expense of writing style. Since the book spans two centuries, I think there should have been more material. (Maybe I'm just greedy and wanted more from the author!) Yet, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book for both its entertainment and intellectual stimulation. I dare you to read this book without examining the meaning and future of your own life.
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Summary: The Best Future History Saga Ever!
Review: I finished The First Immortal in two long sittings over the weekend and I am absolutely stunned by this book. I thought The Truth Machine couldn't be topped, but I was wrong. Halperin's storytelling and character-development skills have noticeably improved (not that they weren't already spectacular!). I also really enjoyed how he weaved The Truth Machine characters and story line into this story. Most of all, though, the scientific and philosophical concepts he tackled so masterfully fascinated, frightened, and ultimately challenged me like no other book in recent memory. Halperin's first two books represent the best future history saga I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I hope that he will continue revisiting this future in coming works. His vision is one of profound philosophical, social, and cultural insights that have inspired me and really made me think about the threshold at which we now stand. I have to agree with Halperin's final sentiment in the book: I do hope to meet up with him around 2100 or so, have a drink, and reminisce about the bad old days of the nanotech-less 20th century! I will treasure my copy of the First Immortal, and when you are revered along the likes of Asimov, Clarke and Bradbury next century, I'll be able to tell all my friends, "Hey, I knew of him when he first started out!"
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Summary: Is Halperin on target? Who knows? Could he be? You bet.
Review: Since I'm working on a PhD in Science and Technology Studies, I am compelled to point out that there is no way to extrapolate current trends in science and technology to derive an accurate picture of 'THE' future. But as a biomedical research administrator and a student of the emerging field of molecular nanotechnology, I have a strong intuition that Halperin has nailed an image of an entirely PLAUSIBLE future. Somebody really needs to start thinking seriously about the societal implications of the kinds of advances Halperin suggests. Dolly and Polly (the cloned sheep) and George and Charlie (the cloned cows) were thought to be implausible just months ago and now we are playing ethical catch-up. Governments and industry are spending (in the aggregate) close to a billion dollars a year on nanotechnology research. Nobody knows what we will get from this investment, but there is no reason to think that any of what Halperin suggests isn't possible -- likely even. Halperin paints a picture that seems possible enough to make people (maybe even policy makers and politicians) think. I loved the Truth Machine and I think The First Immortal may even be better. I don't have enough free time to read a lot of sci-fi, but from now on I will read anything Halperin writes.
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Summary: A must read for anyone wanting to see the next millenium.
Review: If I was a decent author and not just an amateur critic, I might know what Jim Halperin needed to do to improve his book. Stylistically, there were a few rough edges that I couldn't quite put my finger on. But that's beside the point. I want my family and friends to read this book. I won't recommend it to them because I expect them to be entertained (although I certainly was), but because Mr. Halperin has done a fantastic job of piecing together a highly credible vision of the future- and how we might all find ourselves living in it, indefinitely.
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Summary: Stimulating and enjoyable without the usual sillyness.
Review: There have been many works of fiction about cryonics, most of them just silly as well as dystopic. The only one that was much good was Fred Pohl's AGE OF THE PUSSYFOOT many years ago, and that was set in the (distant) future. Jim Halperin's THE FIRST IMMORTAL, as far as I know, is not only the best but the ONLY serious work of fiction about cryonics that deals with the present and near future as well as the next century. To get an idea of the size of the achievement, remember that people in cryonics and anti-senescence have been asking for such a book for at least thirty years--in vain until now. It's not only serious and thoughtful, but fun to read also. Whether it will succeed "politically" by drawing large numbers of new members into the cryonics organizations in the near future is just psychological guesswork, but it seems certain to give a lot of people enjoyment and to raise the consciousness level, as they say. Mr. Halperin's book is much more stimulating and enjoyable than the many superficial, downbeat immortality novels.
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Summary: The First Immortal engages your morals...your beliefs
Review: Jim Halperin has done something no other author has made me do before. Think. Think seriously about what I would do if given the opportunity. Not only does he explore the morality of the characters but he creates a world in which you do exactly the same thing. He did this with "The Truth Machine" and he does it here in "The First Immortal." It's just so incredible how much this book has affected my life. I work at a B&N so I look at the book everyday and just the cover causes me to think of cryogenics, the world that has yet to come. I'm ready for more books by Jim Halperin and I want them now... That's the only future I can't wait for... I'm curious about one thing though...Towards the very end, Ben makes references toward O.J. Simpson...I felt this particular reference was odd coming from a man who didn't seem to care for sports and was dead before the whole O.J. incident even took place...His revival years later seems to be late enought that I can't see this having a profound effect on his life...not like someone who may have been around for it... AND finally, I would like to say that I did win a free copy of "The Truth Machine" from Jim and what a pleasant win, it was... see the time error on page 113...45 minutes late...not 15...
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Summary: Fantastic Book but not my future
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book because of the frighteningly realistic plausibility of the premise. However, because i was raised Christian, I can't help but think that this is not my path. While I am supportive of the paths others choose to take, immortality is not my bag. But I will say this, I can definately see this happening. The characters, the motivations, and everything else behind the story kept me up nights with the feelings that this was actually happening. Jim Halperin has created something that doesn't happen much within Sci-Fi... he creates a book that stays with you and sometimes bugs the heck out of you, but in the end you feel the compassion and support the decisions made by the characters... I think the only aspect of the book that I thought was a bit off the wall was the creation of the "back-up" copies... if you read it, you'll know what i'm talking about...Amy Riddle....
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