Redemolished

by Alfred Bester, Richard Raucci (editor)

This edition brings together a range of works by Alfred Bester. It includes the novel The Demolished Man, Hell is Forever and The Four Hour Fuge, there are also Bester's writings on noted celebrities such as Woody Allen, Rex Stout and Issac Asimov.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Collections, Science Fiction Fantasy, Essays

525 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2000

About the author

Alfred Bester was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books.

Though successful in all these fields, he is best remembered for his science fiction, including The Demolished Man, winner of the inaugural Hugo Award in 1953, a story about murder in a future society where the police are telepathic, and The Stars My Destination, a 1956 SF classic about a man bent on revenge in a world where people can teleport, that inspired numerous authors in the genre and is considered an early precursor to the cyberpunk movement in the 1980s.

AKA:
Άλφρεντ Μπέστερ (Greek)

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sep 23 ~~ One of the rare times I decided to DNF a choice for the Zapata Reading Club. We had enjoyed a collection of Bester short stories in the past. I think it was actually the first book we ever read over the phone, so when I saw this one I thought it would be great, but although a couple of the stories had their moments, I was disappointed and the pages I read today pushed me to feeling that I had already had more than enough of Mr. Bester.

The only parts I really enjoyed were The Push Of A Finger, and chapter 4 of Hell Is Forever. Gave up and declared the book a DNF at page 216 of 519.

I sent Marco the list for all the other titles in our reading pile since it is his turn to choose, so by Thursday I will know what will be our next adventure.

[Maarten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of short stories, letters and interviews by Bester. This is NOT a good choice for your first book by Alfred Bester. It makes much more sense after you've read The Demolished Man and/or The Stars My Destination.

[Julian]

A nice collection of Bester's short work plus some SF reviews and criticism, essays, interviews he did with a disparate bunch (Rex Stout, Asimov, Heinlein, John Huston) and then some odds and ends and obits. It won't scratch your itch for the follow-up to the two great novels, but the stories are pretty good and answer your curiosity about what other stuff he got up to. And also his short autobiographical career essay is great writing about comics and sf and their place in his life.

[Yve · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are quite a few really good stories/novellas collected here (The Push of a Finger, The Four Hour Fugue, Hell Is Forever, etc.) but also some completely indifferent or simply bad stories (The Animal Fair, The Probable Man, etc.). Judging from the good stories and from the excellent novel The Stars My Destination, Bester had a rare gift of style and pizzazz. I was disappointed reading the essays and articles here because through them he comes off as a really insufferable individual. Sexism in science fiction is (so unfortunately) not surprising but still no more pleasant to discover. Bester was not a virulent misogynist but there are multiple times where he (and the people he interviews - including Woody Allen) are dismissive and disrespectful to women. And then there’s the way he writes about himself. There are some authors like Graham Greene whose personal writing makes me think they would have been really fine people to talk with. Bester is not one of those. I might read The Demolished Man someday later, if I can ignore the stylistic tics that wore on me after finishing this volume.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at various writings by Bester as well as remarks about him after his death

I bought this book misunderstanding that it was the great novel by Beater as well as additional articles about the novel.
There is one article directly relating to the novel...a preface which appeared originally, then was removed later.
But most of the articles were written by Beater regarding memories and opinions regarding writing.

[Trevor McGuire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of short stories. There didn't seem to be any theme, so it was mentally stimulating to jump from one topic to the next. I did find the editing to be strange. There were lots, of random commas, that didn't make any grammatical sense. There were also bunch of words missing through book.

[Joanne Parkington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, loved it, loved it .... if you are a Bester virgin, then this book is a great way to pop your cherry .... and if you are already a fan then this is like a Bester Fan Mag .... it's chock full of all the good stuff. A brilliant & thoroughly good read .... i highly recommend it.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This covers a lot of ground from fiction to non-fiction, and much of it is fun as hell. A few are throwaways.

[Earl Truss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only a few good stories. Disappointed.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing example of a master of SF. It contains:
Short stories - "The Probable Man," "Hell Is Forever," "The Push of a Finger," "The Roller Coaster," "The Lost Child," "I'll Never Celebrate New Year's Again," "Out of This World," "The Animal Fair," "Something Up There Likes Me," "The Four-Hour Fugue."
Fictional articles - "Gourmet Dining in Outer Space," "Place of the Month: The Moon," "The Sun."
Essays"Science Fiction and the Renaissance Man," "A Diatribe Against Science Fiction," "The Perfect Composite Science Fiction Author," "My Affair with Science Fiction."

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for Alfred Bester fans as it includes some of his nonfiction (as opposed to SF) writing.

[Lord Humungus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprints of many of the greats

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

great essays about sci-fi and the responsibilities of authors. also i love love love his short stories!

[Gary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just could not get into the storyline. Stopped reading it after really trying to push through because I've been told it is a classic.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only for devoted Bester fans. Some early week stories (some mainstream), interviews, articles, and an intro to The Demolished Man that was never published with the book.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

gift from jamie for birthday number 28