Alfred Bester’s first novel, The Demolished Man, won the first Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel of the year in 1953. That’s a pretty good start for a novelist! The Demolished Man is an inverted detective story. In a society of telepaths, how can you commit a murder and get away with it? Alfred Bester shows you how in this clever first novel. Bester went on to write some great SF stories and another terrific science fiction novel, The Stars My Destination. But for an Award-winning First Novel, The Demolished Man is an a class of its own.
A really terrific book, one of my absolute favourites in any genre frankly – wonderfully written and very clever. I have the Pocket edition …
Sergio, THE DEMOLISHED MAN is a remarkable book. Especially for a first novel!
George, I have read stories in early issues of Galaxy SF but not Alfred Bester’s novel. Great covers!
Prashant, I have the GALAXY serial issues and a couple different paperback editions (because I like the covers!).
I’ll look for it at Pulpfest
Dan, I think you would enjoy THE DEMOLISHED MAN. Hope you find some treasures at Pulpfest!
I’m a great Bester fan, George. Anything that came out of Bester’s typewriter in the Fifties was an absolute gem.
Jerry, Alfred Bester’s work in the 1950s had astonishing quality. I need to go back and reread Bester’s great stories from that period.
A great one. I haven’t read it in many years, but I remember it well.
Bill, I remember reading THE DEMOLISHED MAN and THE STARS MY DESTINATION and being completely floored. Bester was at the top of his game back in the Fifties!
I’ve read and reread THE DEMOLISHED MAN and THE STARS MY DESTINATION several times. Both are great SF novels. Dan, check out Ed Hulse’s table at Pulpfest. He had both the Bester GALAXY serials at Windy City.
Another great non-SF novel is THE RAT RACE, also known as WHO HE? A sort of mystery novel about the early days of TV and the advertising business. A subject that Bester knew well.
Walker, I have a copy of THE RAT RACE around here somewhere. I need to read it now!
If anything, I like his best short fiction even better than his novels, though I’ve been meaning to read WHO HE? for decades now. STARLIGHT was a great retrospective of that short fiction and a few bits of nonfiction, including his memoir.
One advantage to reading THE DEMOLISHED MAN in the GALAXY issues it first appeared in is that the typographical play that Bester was able to engage in in the magazine has yet to be reprinted in the book editions, iirc, and it definitely adds something….
Todd, I really need to reread STARLIGHT.
Excellent choice! I got a book of Bester’s collected stories from the library a while back too.
Jeff, I have a collection of Alfred Bester stories that I need to read over the Summer!
You have a very busy summer coming up george
Maggie, I have stacks and stacks of books waiting to be read!
Good choice, George. I thought of SF, but decided to go with a mystery author. If I’d gone SF, I might have chosen this, or James White.
Rick, James White would have been a good choice. I just came across a couple of his Ballantine paperbacks at a Library Book Sale that I didn’t have.
Does THIS Have ANYTHING To DO With Possible Government THOUGHT CONTROL By ANY Chance? And WHY Don’t The POWERS That BE, Want Us Little USA Citizens EVER Asking QUESTIONS About THINGS In THIS Society? WHY?
Gingerich, THE DEMOLISHED MAN shows how to fake-out telepaths. Good to know.
I read it for the first time last year and The Stars My Destination a couple of months ago! I didn’t care for the ending of Stars but both books are well worth reading!
Bob, both THE STARS MY DESTINATION and THE DEMOLISHED MAN were ground-breaking novels when they were first published 50+ years ago.
I’ve never heard of The Demolished Man before but I am pretty sure it will be a good read. Been always looking for vintage science fiction novels and this is a good candidate. 🙂
Thanks George!
Anne @ https://readitify.com
Anne, I think you’ll find THE DEMOLISHED MAN a classic SF novel.