First Immortal

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Summary: Move over WARDAY & NATURE'S END - Here's The First Immortal
Review: This is a book that will not only expose the reader to a world of wonder - cyronics and nanotechnology, but it will also make the reader question and ponder what such wonders of science will do to the human spirit. Halperin provides the reader with a plausible and realistic prediction of life in the future. The reader will also be confronted with ethical and moral issues that should be discussed, debated and eventually decided. If you enjoy good, no say great true Science Fiction, then you need to read this book.

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Summary: Will technology ever grant humankind biological immortality?
Review: In his astonishing first novel, James L. Halperin wrote of humanity's epoch-making barter at the dawn of the twenty-first century: privacies sacrificed in favor of justice and prosperity. Now Halperin takes his vision a leap further into the future as he unfolds this saga of our triumph over death itself.

At the age of sixty-three, Benjamin Smith, father and grandfather, accomplished physician, original thinker, is too vital to die of the massive heart attack that overwhelms his system on a rain-soaked spring day in 1988. A pioneering advocate of the infant science of cryonics, Ben has arranged to have his body frozen until the day when humanity will possess the knowledge, technology, and courage to revive him.

That day arrives more quickly, and far more strangely, than Ben could have imagined. For when he resumes life after a frozen interval of eighty-three years, the world is altered beyond recognition. Thanks to cutting-edge sciences of molecular technology, artificial intelligence and nano-neuroscience, as practiced by Ben's brilliant great-grandson, Trip Crane III, eternal youth, beauty, and good health are universally available. And advanced disciplines in eugenics and cloning have endowed humanity with nearly godlike powers.

One by one and with varying amounts of their original identities preserved, Ben's mother, children, grandchildren, even a semblance of his beloved wife return to life, and the Smiths experience a complex reunion reaching across and through generations. But as they marvel at the miracles of future science, Ben and his family will also come to realize that the deepest ethical and emotional dilemmas of humankind-and of their own entangled lives-remain unsolved.

A novel about relationships, inheritance, human nature, and the true meaning of mortality, The First Immortal is so real, so convincing, so powerful, it will have you wondering if James Halperin hasn't discovered the secret of time travel and is bringing us news of a future he has actually seen...

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Summary: Thought-provoking, eerily predictive of cryonics legalities
Review: It's too bad that Halperin's real passion is rare coins. He should write more. The First Immortal and The Truth Machine are both good enough to give him a lasting place in any SciFi collection.
There are many novels dealing with consequences of immortality. I couldn't say if this is one of the best. What I do like in it are the realistic characters and real debates arising. In fact, although published in 1998, Halperin does a great job predicting exactly the kind of family legal battles over cryonics that would erupt 4 years later when baseball great Ted Williams died. The characters, the family involved, and their relationships and reactions are very believable.
More than a story about immortality and medical miracles though, it makes you think about the value of each day you have, relationships with your family, and questions about what growing old really means.

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Summary: Impressive
Review: Very much like The Truth Machine, this book is a genuine page turner made all the more impressive by the fact that the story has a foundation in actual scientific research (something I didn't discover until after I read the book). I highly recommend for sci-fi and non sci-fi fans alike!

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Summary: Promising start, then......ugh.
Review: I was put off by the hokey futurism in Halperin's "The Truth Machine", but it had enough storytelling muscle to make me give this one a try.

The first half of the book is really interesting, as we see the twists and turns in the life of Benjamin Smith, his philosophy, his family. Really, Halperin had me in the palm of his hand here.

But like "Truth Machine", once we get to the future, it all unravels. We get wild speculation, world government, and so on, etc., futuristic cliches up the wazoo. In fact, the world of the Truth Machine is the same one here. So it was like going through that pain *twice*.

Halperin could do better.

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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.

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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.

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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.