Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester"Dazzlement and enchantment are Bester's methods. His stories never stand still a moment." —Damon Knight, author of Why Do Birds Alfred Bester took science fiction into hyperdrive, endowing it with a wit, speed, and narrative inventiveness that have inspired two generations of writers. And nowhere is Bester funnier, speedier, or more audacious than in these seventeen short stories—two of them previously unpublished—that have now been brought together in a single volume for the first time. Read about the sweet-natured young man whose phenomenal good luck turns out to be disastrous for the rest of humanity. Find out why tourists are flocking to a hellish little town in a post-nuclear Kansas. Meet a warlock who practices on Park Avenue and whose potions comply with the Pure Food and Drug Act. Make a deal with the Devil—but not without calling your agent. Dazzling, effervescent, sexy, and sardonic, Virtual Unrealities is a historic collection from one of science fiction's true pathbreakers. "Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction. " —Harry Harrison |
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Page 13
... shook his head and glanced at the alienist who also shook his head . " Mass illusion , " the alienist said . At that moment PFC Riley , M / Sgt Machan , and Corp / 2 Hanmer reappeared . One moment they were a mass illusion ; the next ...
... shook his head and glanced at the alienist who also shook his head . " Mass illusion , " the alienist said . At that moment PFC Riley , M / Sgt Machan , and Corp / 2 Hanmer reappeared . One moment they were a mass illusion ; the next ...
Page 28
... shook his head . " Too farfetched . " " I've worked it out empirically , " Migg continued . " It's something like this . The future is a choice of mutually exclusively possibilities , one or another of which must be realized in terms of ...
... shook his head . " Too farfetched . " " I've worked it out empirically , " Migg continued . " It's something like this . The future is a choice of mutually exclusively possibilities , one or another of which must be realized in terms of ...
Page 73
... shook . An ominous growl be- gan . The World Procurer dashed into the suite . " My old ! My blue ! " he cried . " What have you done ? Per conto . It is a spark that will ignite savagery . You are in very grave danger . God damn ...
... shook . An ominous growl be- gan . The World Procurer dashed into the suite . " My old ! My blue ! " he cried . " What have you done ? Per conto . It is a spark that will ignite savagery . You are in very grave danger . God damn ...
Contents
Disappearing Act | 3 |
Oddy and Id | 22 |
Star Light Star Bright | 38 |
Copyright | |
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Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester Alfred Bester,Roger Zelazny Limited preview - 1997 |
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