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"Dazzlement and enchantment are Bester's methods. His stories never stand still a moment."
—Damon Knight, author of Why Do Birds
Alfred 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And nowhere is Bester funnier, speedier, or more audacious than in these seventeen short stories—two of them previously unpublished—that have now been brought together in a single volume for the first time.
Read 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.
"Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction. "
—Harry Harrison
—Damon Knight, author of Why Do Birds
Alfred 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And nowhere is Bester funnier, speedier, or more audacious than in these seventeen short stories—two of them previously unpublished—that have now been brought together in a single volume for the first time.
Read 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.
"Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction. "
—Harry Harrison
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book includes pretty much all of Bester's great works, plus a few lesser ones. Bester had a career of two halves. There was the pre-sixties era in which he produced the definitive version of many sub-categories of the genre, despite writing only a dozen or so short stories and two masterpiece novels.
Then there was the second era, in which he published another dozen or so short tales and more novels, all of which were dim reflections of his previous high points. This collection contains many shorter works from both of these periods and so they are uneven. Despite, or perhaps because, of this unevenness the tales are riveting. Second-rate Bester is better than anything most current sf authors are able to produce in the short form.
There is a sort of knowing naivety about his work. Some of the tales are corny, but all are done with panache. Bester can set up situations and explain his characters' motivations in a few high energy sentences. The result is that you are always carried along in an efficient and entertaining manner.
I think the reason modern sf short stories tend to be so dull is that authors have this need to say something profound about the human condition. This gets in the way of just telling a story. There's nothing profound here, nothing that you haven't come across hundreds of times elsewhere, but they are told well.
Then there was the second era, in which he published another dozen or so short tales and more novels, all of which were dim reflections of his previous high points. This collection contains many shorter works from both of these periods and so they are uneven. Despite, or perhaps because, of this unevenness the tales are riveting. Second-rate Bester is better than anything most current sf authors are able to produce in the short form.
There is a sort of knowing naivety about his work. Some of the tales are corny, but all are done with panache. Bester can set up situations and explain his characters' motivations in a few high energy sentences. The result is that you are always carried along in an efficient and entertaining manner.
I think the reason modern sf short stories tend to be so dull is that authors have this need to say something profound about the human condition. This gets in the way of just telling a story. There's nothing profound here, nothing that you haven't come across hundreds of times elsewhere, but they are told well.
Format:Paperback
Some of the most amazing short fiction i have ever read. Such ground breaking science fiction that in my opinion has yet to be matched. On par with (if not better than) Philip K Dick. A must read for YOU
Format:Paperback
This was the first book by Alfred Bester that I have read, based upon this it will not be the last. The style of writting is delightful in itself thre themes explored left with me thinking on them for long after I had finished this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
This will blow you away, and your preconceptions as well.
This is a collection of some of the most unorthodox short stories even by the standards of science fiction. Read more
Published on 25 Aug 1999
As Good Today As They Were Tomorrow
Alfred Bester's work is truly timeless. If not for some of the references to atomic power and space travel the reader would never know that these stories were written more than 30... Read more
Published on 13 May 1999
Not his best but better than other's best.
I am currently finishing up Virtual Unrealities and this is the first time I've read Bester's work. I am astonished about his current readability, it's like it was written... Read more
Published on 23 Dec 1998
Much of his short fiction is disappointingly pedestrian.
There are some gems here, notably "Fondly Farenheit" and the previously unpublished "The Devil Without Glasses", but most of the short stories are decidedly... Read more
Published on 8 Nov 1998
GREAT!
This is one of very few books i can ead again and again, and every time is like the first time. Absolutely stunning! Just buy it!
Published on 17 Mar 1998
Almost everything by Bester is worth reading
This is good stuff, I'm glad I read it. It is perhaps a misfortune that I started out with Bester by reading The Stars My Destination, which remains one of the all time great... Read more
Published on 8 Jan 1998
Bester Bester Bester
Basically, this is what one needs to know: Damn good stories. Bester has this... knack. There is no bull in these stories. It's emotion and a sense of urgency all around. Read more
Published on 2 Dec 1997
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