Robert Sheckley
Mass Market Paperback | Pages: 250 pages Rating: 3.83 | 1967 Users | 113 Reviews
Specify Based On Books Immortality, Inc.
| Title | : | Immortality, Inc. |
| Author | : | Robert Sheckley |
| Book Format | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 250 pages |
| Published | : | October 1991 by Tor Books (first published January 1st 1959) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction. Time Travel. Fantasy |
Narrative Supposing Books Immortality, Inc.
First published in 1959 as a startling, revolutionary novel of the future, then pushed to new cinematic limits as the feature film adaptation FREEJACK in 1992, Robert Sheckley's unsettling vision of Tomorrow now arrives in ebook format for the 21st century.Thomas Blaine awoke in a white bed in a white room, and heard someone say, "He's alive now." Then they asked him his name, age and marital status. Yes, that seemed normal enough---but what was this talk about "death trauma"?
Thus was Thomas Blaine introduced to the year 2110, where science had discovered the technique of transferring a man's consciousness from one body to another. Where a man's mind could be snatched from the past, when his body was at the point of death, and brought forward into a "host body" in this fantastic future world.
But that was only a small part of it. For the future had proved the reality of life after death, and discovered worlds beyond or simultaneous with our own---worlds where, through scientific techniques, a man could live again, in another body, when he died here. And in the process, the reality of ghosts, poltergeists, and zombies was also established.
What did it all mean? How had this discovery of what they called the "hereafter" shaped the world of 2110?
Thomas Blaine found himself living in a future where the discoveries and techniques imagined by people of his time, while having come about, were completely overwhelmed by discoveries no one had ever dreamed of.
Itemize Books During Immortality, Inc.
| Original Title: | Immortality, Inc. |
| ISBN: | 0812519310 (ISBN13: 9780812519310) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (1959) |
Rating Based On Books Immortality, Inc.
Ratings: 3.83 From 1967 Users | 113 ReviewsWeigh Up Based On Books Immortality, Inc.
I haven't read any Sheckley for a decade, so this was a pleasant surprise. Imaginative, original writing, that manages to effectively satire science fiction itself. Tom Blaine, an uninventive junior yacht designer, is killed in a car accident in 1958, but he is resurrected in the year 2110 by the powerful Rex corporation as a "gimmick in a marketing campaign." That falls through, and Blaine finds himself alone in a changed world. Here, the secret to the afterlife has been scientificallyAnother of the $2 vintage sci-fis blind-bought from a street vendor last week.This one deals with a future in which life beyond death is scientific fact, if a somewhat ambiguous one. Lots of room for discussion of mind/body problems and weird test-case variations, but a lot of this is brushed aside with cursory treatment in favor of action. This, along with the sorta iffy pacing at least at first, really shows that this was written as a serial, which never really works best for novels. And Our
Pleasedo NOT confuse this novel with the 1992 celluloid dump known as Freejack. Remember, the one featuring: Emilio I shouldve hung it up after The Outsiders Estevez, Mick Acting be damned, Im a rock god and can star in any movie I please, so suck it Jagger, and Sir Anthony Who do I have to blow to get out of doing this moviereallyfine Ill do the movie Hopkins. That movie was an infected wart and had nothing in common with this book. Nothing. Ignore its existence. On the other hand, fans of
I thoroughly enjoyed both Sheckley's writing and Bronson Pinchot's narration of this darkly humorous dystopian mash-up. The story begins with the accidental death of the protagonist in a traffic accident in 1958, with the bulk of the action taking place after Blaine's mind is placed in a new body in 2110. A wild ride ensues -- trust no one.Combines several popular tropes: transmigration of minds / reincarnation, corporate manipulation of the state, zombies, hauntings, and humans hunting humans.
Although this sci-fi novel has an original plot and a very good construction, where all the loose ends are finally tightly bound and everything occupies its proper place, even with a somewhat moral ending, I'm afraid I cannot give it more than two stars. I feel a strong dislike about its central theme, the scientific hereafter, that makes it impossible for me to empathize with the novel, to lower my level of incredulity. I find myself thinking, once and again, this cannot be, this is all a fake.
Robert Sheckleys first novel Immortality, Inc. (variant title: Time Killer) (1958) has a somewhat checkered publication history. It was originally published by Avalon books under the title Immortality Delivered (1958) where it was abridged against Sheckleys wishes. Unless you are a collector of the Avalon publication series I recommend procuring the complete 1959 Bantam Book edition with its gorgeous (and alas, uncredited) cover. Later editions were decked with rather unfortunate covers linking
This book is filled with strange ideas of the future stemming from the perspective of an author writing in the late 1950s. With this comes interesting science and institutions fitting for a futuristic New York but also the outdated ideals and mechanization of the mid 20th century. It's incredibly thought provoking seeing the predictions and make believe of a future created by someone who lived in the past. I read and watch a fair amount of science fiction from the previous century but never have
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