The Computer Connection

Bester's reputation is based on his first two novels in the 1950's. They were the kind of stories that stick in your head for half a century or more. The same cannot be said for "The Computer Connection". It was determines slog to not cast it aside before the mid-point. Only the memory of his earlier work kept me going. Maybe in 1975 when it was published it would have seemed to have had more energy, more novelty, whatever. In 2017 it's just ho him. This is terribly ironic because "The Demolished Man" seems incapable of aging though it was much earlier.My edition had a glowing intro by Harlan Ellison. Normally my opinion of Ellison's opinions is favorable, but this time not so much. However, upon further thought I think that The Computer Connection been edited down to one third the length, i.e., a novella, it would fit quite happily in to one the Dangerous Visions volumes. It has the feeling of that brief era.Sadly, if like me you have read Bester's two early novels and want more you should stifle your yearning and be grateful for that experience. That's all there is or will be. Accept it.

I fell in love with Alfred Bester's work in The Stars My Destination, and started picking up his other works. This novel is among the best of his other works. The protagonist is one of a strange group of immortals, and it appears that one of the immortals has gone rogue. It is an intriguing book, full of strange events and people. I highly recommend it.

I loved Demolished Man and Stars My Destination. This book though is just plain nuts. A demented combination of late Heinlein, Phil Farmer, and William S Burroughs, the story is a little difficult to follow. It involves some immortals, an evil computer, and the end of the world, but that doesn't really do it justice. The language, known as XX (for 20th century), takes a while to get used to. Some political incorrectiveness (including every slang term for Native American) as well as outmoded computer "dialog" has not aged well. Nevertheless both themes of the book (immortality and AI) have relevance today. Not sure the author wasn't on drugs when he wrote this however.

Alfred Bester's The Computer Connection is a 70's era computer dystopia that hasn't aged well over the years. In the near distant future the world is a caricature of what the 70's thought the future would be like with the added feature of a group of immortals. They learn of their immortality by dying in a certain way and then recovering. There's one of each such that they form a kind of 'Avengers.' There's the businessman who has a fortune to fund everything, a doctor for necessary medical assistance, as well as an escape artist. An experiment in deep space travel uncovers some interesting biology, but the newest immortal formed some symbiosis with a computer AI that becomes malevolent. Things just kinda happen, while the plot doesn't so much wander as to simply saunter around with many attempts at humor.The immortality aspect is intriguing, but poorly thought out, while the space irradiation leading to reverse biology didn't make any sense. The 'evil' computer made no sense whatsoever. Much of the story just doesn't work. While it was nominated for a Hugo, it seems more based on past performance, although it may have made more sense at the time.

I am a big fan of Alfred Bester, and I had often read that this book was one of his lesser titles. I have to say, I enjoyed it immensely. This book has more ideas in one chapter than many authors have in their entire catalog. If you have read a decent amount of science fiction, and don't mind just rolling with a tale, I think you'll enjoy this book. If you like predictable structure and direct storylines-- stay away, you'll just be confused and disappointed.

I read this when I was a young person, and loved the idea of a scrappy band of immortals looking out for one another and humanity in their own quirky ways. Re-reading though, the patriarchal creepiness is too much. A 13 year old girl being seen and constantly described as sexy and desirable by a bunch of gropey immortal men? Oh hell no. Bester was a creep and he leans into it in his writing, and is sadly not alone for that era of sci-fi writers.

as promised

I read this after being blown away by The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man and I was completely underwhelmed by The Computer Connection. Sometimes I feel like Bester tries and fails to channel Vonnegut, which seems particularly timely since Cat's Cradle and Breakfast of Champions were contemporaries of Connection. While Vonnegut feels adroit with unusual structure, I just ended up confused. I feel like a chump judging an author who wrote two of the best pieces of sci-fi I have ever read, but the plot of Connection was weak and a bit old hat. By the mid 70s I dont think the concept of plucky protagonist waging conflict against an all-seeing AI was all that novel, and Bester's characters felt too flat to sympathize with their plight.

I didn't realise when I bought this that I had read it as Extro about 30 years ago! I don't keep books and I have really enjoyed reading it again. You need to have a mind that can side-slip to keep up with Bester but what an astounding use of words and ideas (many of which slip in and out of the book as incidental lines or paragraphs). I am going to have to track down his other writings for a re-read now. Now where is "The Demolished Man" . . . . .

Awesome.