{"title":"Alfred Bester","description":"Alfred Bester was a beloved sci-fi author, writer, magazine editor, and scripter for newspaper strips and comic books. The Demolished Man, his best remembered title, won the inaugural Hugo Award in 1953. He is also the author of Psychoshop, Tender Loving Rage, The Deceivers, and many more pieces of long and short fiction. Bester is considered to be one of the most influential sci-fi writers of the 20th Century.","products":[{"product_id":"the-computer-connection-paperback","title":"The Computer Connection - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlfred Bester's first science fiction novel since The Stars My Destination was a major event-a fast-moving adventure story set in Earth's future. A band of immortal-as charming a bunch of eccentrics as you'll ever come across-recruit a new member, the brilliant Cherokee physicist Sequoya Guess. Dr. Guess, with group's help, gain control of Extro, the supercomputer that controls all mechanical activity on Earth. They plan to rid Earth of political repression and to further Guess's researches-which may lead to a great leap in human evolution to produce a race of supermen. But Extro takes over Guess instead and turns malevolent. The task of the merry band suddenly becomes a fight in deadly earnest for the future of Earth. .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlfred Bester's first science fiction novel since The Stars My Destination was a major event -- a fast-moving adventure story set in Earth's future. A band of immortals -- as charming a bunch of eccentrics as you'll ever come across -- recruit a new member, the brilliant Cherokee physicist Sequoya Guess. Dr. Guess, with the group's help, gains control of Extro, the super-computer that controls all mechanical activity on Earth. They plan to rid Earth of political repression and to further Guess's researches -- which may lead to a great leap in human evolution to produce a race of supermen. But Extro takes over Guess instead and turns malevolent. The task of the merry band suddenly becomes a fight in deadly earnest for the future of Earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSequoya Guess, whom they love, must be killed. And how do you kill an immortal?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTHE COMPUTER CONNECTION is a jam-packed extraordinary science fiction novel -- what Alfred Bester's readers have been experiencing for over five decades.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51369844048095,"sku":"9780671039011","price":21.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/psKlIP_4bm9780671039011.webp?v=1789146751"},{"product_id":"virtual-unrealities-the-short-fiction-of-alfred-bester-paperback","title":"Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Dazzlement and enchantment are Bester's methods. His stories never stand still a moment.\"\u003cbr\u003e--Damon Knight, author of Why Do Birds \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlfred 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRead 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction. \"\u003cbr\u003e--Harry Harrison\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDazzlement and enchantment are Bester's methods. His stories never stand still a moment.\u003cbr\u003e--Damon Knight, author of Why Do Birds \u003cbr\u003eAlfred 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. \u003cbr\u003eRead 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. \u003cbr\u003e\"Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction. \"\u003cbr\u003e--Harry Harrison\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51370050846943,"sku":"9780679767831","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/dIV_DTDu5E9780679767831.webp?v=1789150258"},{"product_id":"redemolished-alfred-bester-reader-paperback","title":"Redemolished Alfred Bester Reader - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBefore his untimely death in 1987, Alfred Bester had established himself as one of the world's greatest science fiction writers. From radio to television, short fiction to full-length novels, he created a body of work that will be continued to be enjoyed by generations of readers for all time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, redemolished brings together, for the first time in one volume, the full range of his genius: \u003cbr\u003e-- The never before printed, complete 3,000 word prologue of his classic novel The Demolished Man\u003cbr\u003e-- The extraordinary classic science-fiction tale, \"Hell is Forever\"\u003cbr\u003e-- Bester's shocking pre-cyberpunk stories, such as \"The Four Hour Fuge\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIncluded in this special edition are Bester's writings on such noted celebrities as Woody Allen, Rex Stout, and Isaac Asimov\u003cbr\u003e-- Edited by Richard Raucci\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51370063560927,"sku":"9780743407250","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/omTpl72hfz9780743407250.webp?v=1789150283"},{"product_id":"the-demolished-man-hardcover","title":"The Demolished Man - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eWinner of the First Hugo Award. #14 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written. \"\"Bester's two superb books have stood the test of time. For nearly sixty years they've held their place on everybody's list of the ten greatest sf novels\"\" -Robert Silverberg \"\"One of the all-time classics of science fiction.\"\"-Isaac Asimov \"\"Alfred Bester wrote with the pedal to the floor and the headlights on full beam. His work combined erudition with an unparalleled imaginative inventiveness. Bester was writing cyberpunk while William Gibson was still running around zapping the other kids at school with a toy raygun.\"\"-James Lovegrove In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn't been heard of in 70 years: murder. That's the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a 10-year death struggle with rival D'Courtney Enterprises. Terrorized in his dreams by The Man With No Face and driven to the edge after D'Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival and bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath's knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51370491511007,"sku":"9781596874466","price":40.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/iOK3XUl6RS9781596874466.webp?v=1789161444"},{"product_id":"golem-100-paperback","title":"Golem 100 - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Very few writers of any kind have anything like his inventiveness, audacity, and sparkling language.\"--Poul Anderson\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlfred Bester, one of the great names and contemporary science fiction, author of the classic novels \u003cem\u003eThe Stars My Destination\u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eThe Demolished Man\u003c\/em\u003e, has produced what can only be called another revolution in science fiction, once again transcending the boundaries of the conventional in favor of the brilliant. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the American mega-city of the future, a group of charming ladies is meeting regularly to entertain themselves. One of their most diverting games is an attempt to raise the Devil through ancient rituals. Of course they don't believe they'll actually succeed. Nor do they, precisely; for rather than summoning an old demon, these enchanting ladies manage to create a new one: Golem \u003csup\u003e100\u003c\/sup\u003e, a manifestation of the collective unconscious that goes on a rampage of rape, torture, and murder. Only the ladies don't see the connection between the grim events and what they have done... and the Golem continues to grow....\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree people join forces to track down the monster: Gretchen Nunn, a woman whose vision extends beyond its normal senses; Blaise Shima, her chemist lover, and the doubting Police Subadar Ind'dni. Their hunt leads them through real and subliminal worlds of dazzling visual and verbal intensity, as Bester presents a new form of narration in a mad race through a text that has become a series of graphic images laced with dialogue. As the hunters venture deeper and deeper into the Golem's subworld, the chase becomes more thrilling--and the monster's true identity becomes a secret some would prefer not to have revealed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScience fiction, fantasy, psychological thriller, innovative literature, \u003cem\u003eGolem \u003csup\u003e100\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003c\/em\u003efulfills Alfred Bester's promise as a significant writer for our time and beyond.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51370497900767,"sku":"9781596877993","price":29.11,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/SAXn8_o5ZQ9781596877993.webp?v=1789161458"},{"product_id":"the-demolished-man-paperback","title":"The Demolished Man - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eWinner of the First Hugo Award. #14 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written. \"Bester's two superb books have stood the test of time. For nearly sixty years they've held their place on everybody's list of the ten greatest sf novels\" -Robert Silverberg \"One of the all-time classics of science fiction.\"-Isaac Asimov \"Alfred Bester wrote with the pedal to the floor and the headlights on full beam. His work combined erudition with an unparalleled imaginative inventiveness. Bester was writing cyberpunk while William Gibson was still running around zapping the other kids at school with a toy raygun.\"-James Lovegrove In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn't been heard of in 70 years: murder. That's the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a 10-year death struggle with rival D'Courtney Enterprises. Terrorized in his dreams by The Man With No Face and driven to the edge after D'Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival and bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath's knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51370498588895,"sku":"9781596879881","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/TUC2tOIFK59781596879881.webp?v=1789161459"},{"product_id":"the-stars-my-destination-paperback","title":"The Stars My Destination - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e#5 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written. \"Science fiction has only produced a few works of actual genius, and this is one of them\"-Joe Haldeman \"Bester at the peak of his powers is, quite simply, unbeatable\" -James Lovegrove Marooned in outer space after an attack on his ship, Nomad, Gulliver Foyle lives to obsessively pursue the crew of a rescue vessel that had intended to leave him to die. When it comes to pop culture, Alfred Bester (1913-1987) is something of an unsung hero. He wrote radio scripts, screenplays, and comic books (in which capacity he created the original Green Lantern Oath). But Bester is best known for his science-fiction novels, and The Stars My Destination may be his finest creation. With its sly potshotting at corporate skullduggery, The Stars My Destination seems utterly contemporary, and has maintained its status as an underground classic for fifty years. (Bester fans should also note that iPicturebooks has reprinted The Demolished Man, which won the very first Hugo Award in 1953.) Alfred Bester was among the first important authors of contemporary science fiction. His passionate novels of worldly adventure, high intellect, and tremendous verve, The Stars My Destination and the Hugo Award winning The Demolished Man, established Bester as a s.f. grandmaster, a reputation that was ratified by the Science Fiction Writers of America shortly before his death. Bester also was an acclaimed journalist for Holiday magazine, a reviewer for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and even a writer for Superman.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51373893484767,"sku":"9781876963460","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/wfXnsmSK199781876963460.webp?v=1789164548"},{"product_id":"the-stars-my-destination-hardcover","title":"The Stars My Destination - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003e#5 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written. \"\"Science fiction has only produced a few works of actual genius, and this is one of them\"\"-Joe Haldeman \"\"Bester at the peak of his powers is, quite simply, unbeatable\"\" -James Lovegrove Marooned in outer space after an attack on his ship, Nomad, Gulliver Foyle lives to obsessively pursue the crew of a rescue vessel that had intended to leave him to die. When it comes to pop culture, Alfred Bester (1913-1987) is something of an unsung hero. He wrote radio scripts, screenplays, and comic books (in which capacity he created the original Green Lantern Oath). But Bester is best known for his science-fiction novels, and The Stars My Destination may be his finest creation. With its sly potshotting at corporate skullduggery, The Stars My Destination seems utterly contemporary, and has maintained its status as an underground classic for fifty years. (Bester fans should also note that iPicturebooks has reprinted The Demolished Man, which won the very first Hugo Award in 1953.) Alfred Bester was among the first important authors of contemporary science fiction. His passionate novels of worldly adventure, high intellect, and tremendous verve, The Stars My Destination and the Hugo Award winning The Demolished Man, established Bester as a s.f. grandmaster, a reputation that was ratified by the Science Fiction Writers of America shortly before his death. Bester also was an acclaimed journalist for Holiday magazine, a reviewer for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and even a writer for Superman.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51374087110879,"sku":"9781596874435","price":40.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/dKmVRFRT8e9781596874435.webp?v=1789171883"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/alfred-bester.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}