Rating: 
Summary: Is this the American Dream?
Review: This bloke writes some pretty scary stuff! After devising The Truth Machine to restructure American society, he now turns to making that culture immortal. There's little doubt that Halperin's done his research. The concepts he presents are all plausible, even if his people are a pretty stiff bunch. Experiments in cryonics may well burgeon soon, especially with the increased knowledge gained in genetics in recent years. His frozen people, some of whom were damaged in their tanks, are restored to life in the future by application of busy little molecules that swarm through their bodies rebuilding damaged tissues. Rather reminds one of the Doozers on Fraggle Rock. Finally, of course, people jump at the opportunity for replicating themselves as a form of data 'backup' in the event of catastrophe.The characters in this book are the same lineup of wealthy leaders of society we saw in The Truth Machine - doctors, lawyers, artists [a successful one, anyway]. Politicians are blessedly overlooked, or perhaps denied the option. We may view Ass't DA Butters as a special case, since the position isn't elective. Their motivations are incredibly narrow and selfish. The doctor doesn't return to healing after 'reviv'. The women are more concerned with family than any social questions. Indeed, the social impact of this concept is conveniently ignored. We are offered not a glimpse of how this technology would truly impact society at large. There is some discussion of new forms of addictions. Internet surfers are replaced by people withdrawing into Virtual Reality environments. Again, these are realms of the affluent, not for some grunt living on Main Street. As he did in The Truth Machine, Halperin is here expressing the world view of the American Protestant conservative. If their is a humorous part of this book, it's the video conference between the Pope and a group of cardinals. Why the church would so readily accept the idea of human immortality with such aplomb beggars understanding. Again, the impact of this new technology on other cultures is totally ignored. Human beings fear of death is the basis for every religion. Christianity, almost alone among religions, has removed dignity from death with its stress on afterlife punishment. It would be interesting to see a review here by someone of another culture. The ideas contained in this book must be considered, neither ignored nor rejected out of hand. Read this book for its ideas. But take it out of the library, don't insult your library by giving it a permanent place on your shelves.
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: Astoundingly Believable
Review: James Halperin does it again with "The First Immortal." For the first time I truely believe that I might not die. If this sounds fantastical to you read this book. I'll say that again read this book. There isn't a person alive today who would not benfit from either this book or Halperin's other great work "The Truth Machine" The plot is intense, the technology is facsinating, and most importantly this book is real.
Rating: 
Summary: "The cryonics book for your mom"
Review: While nominally a work of speculative fiction, I consider it similar in role to Chris Peterson and Gayle Pergamit's "Unbounding the Future", which I've heard described as "the nanotechnology book for your mom". To me, steeped in cryonics lore (since childhood) and practice (since 1990), there were no radical new surprises... but then, I'm a bit unusual in this respect: too close to the problem domain ("how to explain cryonics?") to have the clearest views on such matters. I do recommend this book as an excellent introduction, in novel form, to the subject material. I would agree with a number of other reviewers that the book is obviously preachy in places, but not so much so as to distract from its entertainment value. Anyone who's read and enjoyed Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" would not find Halperin's most recent work too polemic. As a libertarian, I do take issue with the assumption of "good government embodied by uncorruptable AIs" (my words, abstracted from his plot devices). This objection applies to tools and institutions such as the WFDA, the Truth Machine, and David Brin style ubiquitous surveillance technologies. I would not dispute that some of these things may come to pass, but I do not welcome them as solutions. I'm not sure if Halperin, after a few years more literary development, might alter his views to incorporate some of the ideas put forward by libertarian science fiction writers L. Neil Smith and Marc Stiegler, whose worlds are crafted in fascinating detail without falling back on the deus ex machina of government authority. Still, I very highly recommend this work to anyone. I've already passed my copy along to a friend, with praise.
Rating:
Summary: This book could save your life.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the first half in particular. The second half was great, too, but by then your speculations on the impact of future technology on human life stole my attention from the plot itself. This book is about more than the technology, though. It's loaded with interesting commentary on everything from art to politics, and carried along by well-developed characters. Overall, the first half made me think of Heinlein's "I Will Fear No Evil" (a favorite of mine), while the second half reminded me of the better aspects of Hogan's "Inherit the Stars."
Rating:
Summary: This is a good story. More Non-Fiction than science fiction.
Review: The First Immortal handled cryonics in a way that makes it easy for the reader to both understand and with an astonishing array of facts that dare so well interwoven into the story they don't boggle the mind or take away from the reading. Also, the story of the characters are oth well told and rendered. You actually find yourself liking or dis-liking them and and feeling what they are. Aside from this, if you've ever wondered about Cryonics and haven't wanted to commit to reading the dry and sometimes dull non-fiction, this is a good place to start with to gain an understanding and to enjoy a good story. After that you feel you understand enough aobut the subject to really become interested int he non-fiction. I know it works that way because it happened to me. before reading this book I had made attempts with the non-fiction but after the first time I read the book I managed to go into the non-fiction with a better understanding of the concepts and ideas discussed within. invest some time in your p[ossible future and read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Think for yourself. Can you?
Review: I first read this novel in hardback a couple of years ago, and now just finished this 2nd edition in paperback, changed somewhat. The plot and character development are good, equally divided between technology and the personal lives of the people involved. The plot centers around cryonics, people being suspended via cryonics and revived, decades later, when technology is more advanced. I gave this novel 4 stars instead of five stars due to some of the improbable things Halperin states, such as tens of thousands of people signed up for cryonics by the year 2005, when in fact only about 1000 people are signed up as I type this, and a few other not likely items. However, I do agree with Halperin that cryonics will ultimately work, given many decades. One thing the book stresses over and over again is that people today do not think for themselves, and instead follow the crowd. It does take sheer force of will to see the universe as it really is and take action, as it takes to become a cryonicist.
Rating: 
Summary: So-so
Review: Since I am a transhumanist and have been involved in the cryonics scene in the past, I am quite familier with the ideas in the book. However, the character development was not so interesting and there wasn't really a good plot involving the characters in the story (other than the fact that they get frozen and re-annimated). I think novels that focus exclusively on technology itself, rather than a "human" plot involving people with the technology playing a support role in the background, are rather boring. However, as a cryonics novel, it is OK.
Rating:
Summary: An important work of "future fiction"
Review: James Halperin's "The First Immortal" is not only an engrossing work of fiction, but also a highly understandable introduction to the very difficult scientific, political and social subjects he addresses. Subjects we will all be forced to face directly in the near future. Please do not dismiss this book as "just" a work of imagination. I encourage every reader to look futher into cryonics and especially into nanotechnology. Mr. Halperin's greatest contribution is to make us think about our own future. Nanotech has the potential to change every aspect of our lives. I hope we will be prepared for those changes. I applaude Mr. Halperin for his research and for his vision. "The First Immortal" is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Very Badly Done
Review: No character development, terrible science, paper-thin plot, and truly horrible writing. Great idea for a book, but this isn't that book. Skip this one! It gives science fiction a bad name.
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