Review: Virtual unrealities
Editorial Review - Kirkus ReviewsA major retrospective, comprising 15 tales from 1941--79 (mostly from the '50s and '60s), together with two previously unpublished pieces, though readers should note that the word ""selected"" has been omitted from the subtitle. Bester's (1913-87) reputation derives from two brilliant and influential novels, The Demolished Man (1953), the first Hugo Award--winner for Best Novel, and The Stars My Destination (1957), plus a handful of classic stories. Among the latter here: ""Fondly Fahrenheit,"" a black farce about an android that turns homicidal when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit; ""The Men Who Murdered Mohammed,"" in which Bester invented quantum time, a notion recently taken up by John Kessel in Corrupting Dr. Nice; ""The Pi Man,"" a chilling masterpiece whose protagonist is compelled to respond to changes in surrounding patterns that only he can perceive, later expanded into a wretched novel; the last man in the world, ""Adam and No Eve""; and ""Will You Wait?,"" a witty deal with the devil. Others, like ""Disappearing Act,"" ""Star Light, Star Bright,"" and ""Time is the Traitor,"" are more style than substance. But then Bester was always a consummate showman. Noteworthy for his passionate delivery, pyrotechnic prose, and dazzling ideas, Bester wrote cyberpunk 30 years before William Gibson. But when reality finally caught up, he fizzled out.
Review: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
User Review - Ilya - GoodreadsA reprinting of several of Bester's fantastic stories from the 1950s. One science fiction-horror story involves an early form of Nigerian spam as a major plot element (a character goes around the ... Read full review
Review: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
User Review - Andy Love - GoodreadsI've always gotten a great deal of enjoyment out of Bester's work, and this book has most of my favorites of his; I was pleased to see that I still enjoyed almost all the stories as much as I did the ... Read full review
Review: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
User Review - Víkingur Fjalar - GoodreadsThe time travel classic "The Men Who Murdered Mohammed" is my favorite sf short story of all time. Read full review
Review: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
User Review - Gregg Wingo - GoodreadsBester is one of those great science fiction writers who expanded the definition of the genre by just dropping in every once in a while. Unlike Anthony Burgess, literary critic and author, or Daniel ... Read full review
Review: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
User Review - Sarah - GoodreadsSome of these were rather dated (esp view of women), but overall, great collection. Read full review
Review: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
User Review - John Orman - GoodreadsBester is probably best known as the author of the classic SF novels The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination. But collected here are some of his well-known short stories, such as Fondly ... Read full review
Review: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
User Review - Michael - GoodreadsThis one is a very mixed bag. Had it been a hundred and twenty pages shorter and absent some of the longer stories I would have loved it all the more and given it five stars. But this is one of those ... Read full review
Review: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
User Review - Kamas Kirian - GoodreadsThis is a wonderful collection of Bester's short stories. Some of them are incredible, some are just really good. It's well worth your time if you like SF, particularly if you like SF short stories. Read full review
Review: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
User Review - Ben - GoodreadsOne of the previous reviewers noted similarities to Twilight Zone episodes, with which I tend to agree. There is no question Bester is a witty writer and he certainly knows how to grab the reader's ... Read full review
