- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books (Mm); paperback / softback edition (Feb 1981)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671820478
- ISBN-13: 978-0671820473
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 10.4 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 816,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Regina and her bee-ladies, bored members of the elite, while away the idle hours by playing at conjuring the Devil - a game which leads to horrifying consequences. Alfred Bester's other novels include "Tiger, Tiger", "Extro" and "The Demolished Man".
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Though this is commonly viewed as one of Alfred Bester's minor works, in my opinion it is his masterpiece. Though opening on the simple happenings of life in a future a lot different from the views presented in most science-fiction, Bester quickly elevates the plot to the level of high sf in the extreme. Following the usual Freudian theme Bester often adopted, and displaying more than usual his intricate web of ancient mythology and modern scientific ideas, and showing off to spectacular effect his skill in text art and drawing, the book takes you to the darkest depths of the human mind and the universe at large, leaving you feeling as if you've just leapt from the edge of a precipice, and only by a magnificent feat of chance smoothly executed a perfect triple somersault, all in the mysterious, brilliantly written, and absolutely unguessable twist of an expertly crafted ending.
You won't land.
You won't land.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bester's later works are generally ignored in favour of his classics Stars My Destination (Tiger Tiger) and Demolished Man. Both are excellent novels, but he only truly shone in the second half of his writing career.
Golem 100 is a brutal, uncompromising and exhilirating read. Bester's use of language never ceases to astound and his utter disregard for convention and predictability will ensure you will never, ever forget this book. He creates worlds, characters and absurd situations, and dumps them without care or warning. He almost abuses his own imagination.
Under no circumstances should Golem 100 be overlooked! Try it and find out just how far ahead of his time this fellow was...
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Dark, twisted foray into the world of the subconcious
17 Nov 2001
Format:Paperback
This book represents all of Bester's trademarks - psychology. twisted humor, fast action, eccentric characters - taken to the extreme. The book is about a group of bored rich houswifes who dabble in magic to avert tedium and manage, without their knowing, to actually summon a demon. A small group of misfits - BLaise Shima, a scent expert, Gretchen Nunn, a detective, and Inspector Ind'dni, hunt for the source of the Demon who terrorizes the city.
The Science in this science fiction book is psychology, mainly Jungian psychoanalysis. In this book the world of the collective subconcious comes to life.
The world in Golem^100 is the sort of demented corporate-run future described in Bester's earlier work, The Computer Connection. Here it's described in even darker tones.
There's a lot of dark humor in Golem^100, and some of it may not be to everyone's liking - if you're offended by necrophilia jokes don't read this book. If you can stomach some VERY graphic violence (with innards all over the place), twisted humor and a plot that involves mutants, demons and radioactive drugs, read this book. While not a masterwork, it's a very original, inventive, thrilling read.
The Science in this science fiction book is psychology, mainly Jungian psychoanalysis. In this book the world of the collective subconcious comes to life.
The world in Golem^100 is the sort of demented corporate-run future described in Bester's earlier work, The Computer Connection. Here it's described in even darker tones.
There's a lot of dark humor in Golem^100, and some of it may not be to everyone's liking - if you're offended by necrophilia jokes don't read this book. If you can stomach some VERY graphic violence (with innards all over the place), twisted humor and a plot that involves mutants, demons and radioactive drugs, read this book. While not a masterwork, it's a very original, inventive, thrilling read.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Fun read, but inconsistent and repulsive.
24 April 2000
Format:Hardcover
This is the first Bester book I have read - I've always disliked the juxtaposition of humor and horror, so there is much for me to dislike in Golem100. Quick synopsis: Several horrible murders occur in New York of 2175, and 3 dissimilar personalites come together to try to find the culprit. Golem100 occasionally succeeds as a detective/crime novel, and I found it hard to put down. It is NOT science fiction - it's more of a hallucinogenic-psycho-drama set in the future. Some of the stylistic devices are very inventive. I've heard that this book is hard to fathom - I didn't find it a difficult read, but be prepared to have your intellect taxed. It's basically a pornographic version of "Fantasic Planet".
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Senseeing and Seesensing
11 Sep 2005
Format:Paperback
This old book doesn't quite have the immortal greatness of Bester's two masterpieces, The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man. Those two classics deserve to be rediscovered due to their sheer relentless weirdness and Bester's very strange and vivid imagination. After one has digested those two novels, Golem^100 becomes a little easier to handle, though that weirdness is still there in spades. This one does have Bester's most fully-realized and well-crafted characters, as these unique personalities try to battle an interdimensional demon by trying to travel to its world, through the use of weird drugs and esoteric rituals. Bester does incredible things with human (and inhuman) psychology here, as mind expansion starts to cross the lines between psychic realms and even between good and evil. The illustrated portions of the novel, highlighting trips to these dark realms, could be better artistically, but this is a very audacious method of visual storytelling. Note that this book does have some scenes of horrendous brutality and degradation that could be a turn-off for some readers, and a few sections written in stream-of-consciousness or hipster slang are getting pretty dated. But this is another case of Bester's truly cracked and bizarre imagination, and his very small number of novels places him far above sci-fi writers who have written dozens and dozens. But sometimes you really have to wonder what this guy was on... [~doomsdayer520~]
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