The Demolished Man

Vordergründig eine einfache, aber doch dynamische und spannende Kriminalgeschichte. Unter der Oberfläche komplexe, tiefenpsychologische Vorgänge, die den Protagonisten antreiben einen Mord zu begehen, wohl wissend, dass er damit nicht durchkommen kann, in einer Welt, die von Telepathen überwacht wird. Dabei hat der Autor sein Konzept von Telepathie immer wieder mittels grafischer Darstellungen aus Wörtern sehr plastisch und anschaulich umgesetzt, was mich persönlich besonders fasziniert hat. Vor allem aber im Hinblick darauf, wann dieses Buch geschrieben wurde, war ich überrascht, wie ungeheuer lesbar es noch heute ist, auch wenn - gerade in technischen Details - die Zeit den Inhalt inzwischen mitunter überrollt hat. Aus meiner Sicht zu Recht ein Sci-Fi-Klassiker, den man, einmal angefangen, kaum mehr aus der Hand zu legen vermag.

What can I say. Alfred Bester is spectacular.

Just old fashioned, plain fun science fiction. You'll love it even if it is your first..

This is the book that won the first Hugo award back in 1953… and for good reason. It’s a fascinating blend of science fiction, police procedural, and inverted murder mystery, but the real power of the story lies in its exploration of telepathic powers. In the 24th century, some humans have evolved the capacity to tap into their latent psychic abilities. Named “ESPers,” these talented individuals have organized into a self-policing guild devoted to telepathic training and the betterment of mankind. Nearly every human profession has been revolutionized by Esper proficiency, including law enforcement, especially under the leadership of Police Prefect Lincoln Powell—an Esper first class. But Powell has met his match when his prime suspect for a high profile murder turns out to be Ben Reich—a charismatic and ruthless interplanetary business mogul backed by several Espers of his own as well as the Police Commissioner himself. As Powell slowly builds his case by cunning and refined psychic talent, Reich’s evasion becomes more and more desperate. When their paths finally converge, their stunning confrontation will lay bare the bedrock of reality and expose the depths of the human psyche. Bester’s masterpiece kept me interested and curious throughout. His futuristic vision of day-trips to Mars and waterbeds seems antiquated today, as do his swooning young female characters, but his potent mix of telepathy and Freudian psychology remains as compelling as it was seventy years ago. I enjoyed the many typographical tricks he employed, like telegraphic conversations depicted as interwoven sentences and names spelled with special characters (“Wyg&” for “Wygand”). I also enjoyed the tension of the twisting plot. But most of all, I was enthralled by Bester’s deep peep into the “crackling hail of complex rhythms” that form the “the ionized nuclei” of thought and the “deep-seated furnace” of psychic energy within all of us. I highly recommend this to any fan of speculative fiction “The mind is the reality. You are what you think.”

若島正さんの乱視読者の英米短編講義に影響されて読んでみました。SF初心者にも比較的読みやすかったです。基本的には犯罪者対敏腕刑事という単純な構図なので筋が追いやすです。読み返しても未だに分からない部分（エスパーの人達についてのことがメイン）がありますがSF上級者になったらわかるのでしょう。