14. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (Science Fiction, Mystery) 243 p.

Ben Reich, head of Monarch Corporation, is one of the richest men on Earth. Or on Mars or Venus, for that matter. Unfortunately for him, he’s being beaten by a business rival, Craye D’Courtney. When his offer of a merger between their interests is refused, he decides that killing D’Courney is the only answer, despite the danger it would involve. And in Reich’s time, when Espers—mind readers—are common, it’s very hard to commit murder. And even harder to get away with it.

Lincoln Powell, the Police Prefect, is put in charge of the investigation into D’Courtney’s murder. As an esper, he has a dubious advantage—he knows Reich did it, but he needs hard evidence to prove it in a courtroom.

I’ve read that some people found Reich the more sympathetic of the two, charming despite his selfish viciousness. Having now read the book, I’m baffled by this. I’ve sometimes been charmed by a suave villain, but I found Reich totally unlikable: an egotistical, arrogant bully with an anger management problem. I found Powell far more interesting.

I found The Demolished Man a rather choppy. It starts with Reich planning the murder. After its execution, the story becomes a police procedural with Powell as the protagonist. Then, with less than no warning, there’s suddenly a save-the-world climax. There are one or two hopelessly inadequate lines of exposition explaining the nature of the threat. There’s a little more detail given in the dénouement, but not enough that I felt I actually had a grip on the situation. The whole thing left me scratching my head.

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I was also kind of disgusted by Powell’s romance with Barbara. I have read books containing actual incest that I found less disturbingly yucky. Barbara’s line at the end, about Powell having always been “a mean daddy”, made me cringe. I don’t think I’ve ever read a love story less convincing, or less romantic. (Also, the relationships between men and women in general remind me of those in Philip K. Dick’s books—and I don’t like them there, either.)

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Despite what I find to be some rather serious drawbacks, The Demolished Man is a great book. It kept me riveted from the beginning to the very end, and contained some fascinating and brilliant world-building. I’m not the slightest bit sorry I read it, and I eagerly await the chance to read Alfred Bester’s other novel, The Stars My Destination, which I’ve heard is even better.

Pages read: 4,323

Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, Alfred Bester, Sci-Fi Classics Challenge