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Summary: I really enjoyed this novel and it gave me some hope.
Review: In the small town where I live most of the people are horrified about my ideas. I'm Italian and here it is very hard to make people understand how wonderful it could be to be revived some day. Everyone is worried about his soul, but if a soul exists I believe it will rejoin the body. I read the book in English, because we don't have the translation yet, but I told the story to my friends and it roused a very interesting discussion. This novel brought me step by step, moment after moment through a world of possibilities I never thought about. I don't know if I can ever collect enough money to get my body frozen and I'm sure all my relatives will do their best to prevent me to do that, but I still have some hope.
Rating: 
Summary: too much hype
Review: This book was not as good as the hype. I was rather disappointed. The development of the characters took a back seat to the development of technology. The conclusion of the tension between Ben (father) and Gary (Son) was very anti-climatic. I was left wondering what the author was attempting to portray. When I was a kid I read a book entitled "Deep Freeze" which offered a much more interesting look at cyronics and what the future held for those who are looking for immortality.
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Summary: THE novel for people who don't want to die...
Review: Jim Halperin's successful first novel was "The Truth Machine," a prediction of what would happen to society if a compact, portable, inexpensive and completely accurate lie detector were developed. His second book is similar enough to the first that it also includes the development of the truth machine as part of its future history, as a sort of sidebar to the main action here. The focus in this book, of course, is the development of new technology that will allow human life spans to be extended indefinitely. The context for this exploration is a single family as it evolves over several generations. Since Halperin's Extropian vision is based on cryonics - the process of freezing dying or recently dead human bodies, in hopes of later reviving and curing them - the undead earlier generations keep thawing out in the later chapters, springing up when you least expect them. Needless to say, having all these generations interacting with each other offers some interesting possibilities, and Halperin makes the most of these. Unlike some similar stories (Woody Allen's "Sleeper" comes to mind) that begin with our hero waking up in the far distant future, "The First Immortal" starts with the birth of the central character, Benjamin Franklin Smith, and advances from there towards the future one small step at a time. This approach allows us to see, not only the unfolding of the lives of the various characters, but also the gradual development and assimilation of the subject technology. This pace works, since technology is the real star of this show. Halperin patiently explains cryonics, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and other favorites of Extropian speculation, and dramatically shows us how all these developments affect the lives of his characters. I found "The First Immortal" to be convincing and involving. Because the book covers so much chronological distance, and explains so much of the technology, it necessarily works in short scenes that get quickly to the point and ruthlessly advance the storyline. Halperin is good at this, though, and keeps us interested in the development of the characters and the technology. I could complain that, for my taste, "The First Immortal" focuses a bit too much on cryonics, and not enough on the philosophical implications of physical immortality, but then I would be taking Halperin to task for not writing my book, instead of his own. (Besides, someone might chalk up such carping to simple envy, and such an accusation would be a bit too close to the truth for comfort.) Instead, let me admit the truth: Halperin has written one of the most important books on immortality to come along in a while, and its success is doing a great deal for the cause of all immortalists. His book is a fine read, and I must admit that it even made me interested in cryonics, a field that had previously left me a little, well... cold. If you have even the slightest interest in living more than your normal four score and ten, I urge you to read "The First Immortal." It is entertaining, thought-provoking and unrelentingly intelligent. Even better, buy two copies and give one to a friend. After all, you'll want to have at least one familiar face around when they defrost you some time in the next century.
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Summary: Wooden, uninteresting Sci Fi
Review: My dilemma in writing this review is that, in principle, I agree with many of Halperin's scientific views as presented through the characters of the book. Unfortunately I ended up not caring in the slightest whether any of the characters achieved immortality or not. Who cares if someone else is immortal if you don't particularly like him/her? Halperin's ability to create a realistic and caring prose portrait of a human being is lacking as far as I'm concerned. The tone of the book is polemical - for never a moment is there a doubt that this is a diatribe against religion and superstition. I have a low tolerance for superstition and less for religion, but the constant harangue is tedious - I end up feeling like I'm being lectured. The book did not entertain or educate me. I found it depressing that such inconsequential and unsympathetic characters should be rewarded with the gift of a longer life.
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Summary: I enjoyed this book immensely.
Review: It seems to present the best of both conservative and liberal political views and extrapolate them to an optimistic future. The book has interesting references to contemporary figures, such as "Bennett Williams" as a "cryonics czar" -- obviously a jab at William Bennett, a former drug czar now writing about "virtues," "Henry Rearden" (see "Atlas Shrugged") appears as a first-term vice president for a president Roswell, Chernobyl pops up yet again, "Toby Fiske" is somewhat like the McArthur Foundation award-winner James Randi.
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Summary: DullsVille
Review: What a Snooooooozer. The writing is just so dead-monotone. Zero depth, emotions, action, story. Pass
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Summary: A very believable, exciting look at the future!
Review: I enjoyed every page of this book, actually reading it twice before setting it aside. It was one of those books you do not want to end.
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Summary: The Best of its Kind.
Review: First of all, let me say that I have read The Truth Machine five times, and have recently finished reading The First Immortal for the second time. These are without a doubt the best two futuristic novels I have ever read!
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Summary: Amazingly realistic
Review: I was tremendously impressed by Halperin's treatment of the whole subject of cryonics. His exploration of all the implications of such technology was very thorough. This book probably would have been worthwhile just because of the technology, but as it turned out, the characterization was excellent also. It did not make me want to freeze myself, but it sure did make me ponder the religious, philosophical and practical aspects of human immortality. For anyone who likes to think, this is a gread read.
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Summary: Someday People Will Look Back upon This Book With Awe.
Review: Halperin has a big cult following because of The Truth Machine, which, granted, is a great story and certainly a better novel than The First Immortal. But the futurism insights in TFI are as perceptive and unique as in any book I have ever read. I'm willing to bet that no author has ever captured the future of this planet as closely as Halperin has in TFI, and that a century from now, this book (rather than The Truth Machine) will be the one that Halperin is most known for.
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