Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
17 used & new from CDN$ 3.99
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester
 
 
Share your own customer images
Look inside this book

Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester (Paperback)

by Alfred Bester (Author), Roger Zelazny (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 21.00
Price: CDN$ 15.33 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
You Save: CDN$ 5.67 (27%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Usually ships within 3 to 5 weeks.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

12 new from CDN$ 9.08 5 used from CDN$ 3.99

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester

Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester + The Demolished Man
Price For Both: CDN$ 28.46

One of these items ships sooner than the other. Show details

  • This item: Virtual Unrealities: The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester by Alfred Bester

    Usually ships within 3 to 5 weeks.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

  • The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester

    Usually ships within 4 to 6 weeks.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Stars My Destination

The Stars My Destination

by Alfred Bester
4.5 out of 5 stars (166)  CDN$ 13.10
The Demolished Man

The Demolished Man

by Alfred Bester
4.4 out of 5 stars (62)  CDN$ 13.13
Battlestar Galactica - Season 4.0

Battlestar Galactica - Season 4.0

DVD ~ Edward James Olmos
4.0 out of 5 stars (7)  CDN$ 39.99
› Explore similar items

Product Details

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Alfred Bester (1913-1987) was the author of two of science fiction's seminal works, The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination. He also wrote some fast-moving, sizzling short stories that were very highly regarded; many of them are included in the 17 stories showcased in Virtual Realities; two were never before published. Highlights include "Disappearing Act," in which shell-shocked soldiers vanish from their hospital ward; "Hobson's Choice," in which a statistician uncovers a disturbing population trend in post-nuclear Kansas; "Time Is the Traitor," wherein powerful business people manipulate their most valuable consultant; and "The Devil Without Glasses," a conspiracy tale with an X-Files feel. The science fiction and literary classic "Fondly Fahrenheit" stars wealthy Vandaleur and his mad android who has an unfortunate habit of turning murderous when the temperature gets too hot... All reet!

Bester's use of the word girl and the occasional female as manipulating schemer are not in line with current sensibilities and may give readers pause, especially those accustomed to feminist improvements in modern SF. Nevertheless, these stories are a frenetic and delightful confection of SF from the mid-20th century. --Bonnie Bouman



From Kirkus Reviews

A major retrospective, comprising 15 tales from 194179 (mostly from the '50s and '60s), together with two previously unpublished pieces, though readers should note that the word ``selected'' has been omitted from the subtitle. Bester's (191387) reputation derives from two brilliant and influential novels, The Demolished Man (1953), the first Hugo Awardwinner for Best Novel, and The Stars My Destination (1957), plus a handful of classic stories. Among the latter here: ``Fondly Fahrenheit,'' a black farce about an android that turns homicidal when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit; ``The Men Who Murdered Mohammed,'' in which Bester invented quantum time, a notion recently taken up by John Kessel in Corrupting Dr. Nice; ``The Pi Man,'' a chilling masterpiece whose protagonist is compelled to respond to changes in surrounding patterns that only he can perceive, later expanded into a wretched novel; the last man in the world, ``Adam and No Eve''; and ``Will You Wait?,'' a witty deal with the devil. Others, like ``Disappearing Act,'' ``Star Light, Star Bright,'' and ``Time is the Traitor,'' are more style than substance. But then Bester was always a consummate showman. Noteworthy for his passionate delivery, pyrotechnic prose, and dazzling ideas, Bester wrote cyberpunk 30 years before William Gibson. But when reality finally caught up, he fizzled out. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

 
3.0 out of 5 stars A nice nostalgia trip for us old guys . . ., May 14 2002
By Michael K. Smith (Gonzales, Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
Bester is one of those science fiction mainstays whom everyone of a certain age read back in the '50s and '60s, and who is almost totally unknown to younger readers who were raised on the Cyberpunks. But I have to admit that the settings and language and cultural furniture of most of these stories haven't worn very well, unlike the work of Heinlein or Clarke -- or even Bester's own classic novels, _The Demolished Man_ and _The Stars My Destination._ The "messages" in most of these pieces are also pretty trite, but that was never the point of reading Bester anyway. The man was a master of oddball style, eerie description, and droll dialogue, and you can have a really good time chuckling your way through "Will You Wait?" or appreciating the chill of "Fondly Fahrenheit," or picking out all the references in "The Flowered Thundermug."
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3.0 out of 5 stars Only some of Bester's best, Jan 27 2002
By A Customer
Maybe, to my taste, Alfred Bester was better at book length (The Stars My Destination, Golem 100, The Demolished Man (an all-time favorite of mine)) than at short stories. Most of the stories here left me a bit cold except , of course, for "The Pi Man", Bester's best short story. In fact, unfortunately, I found many of them to be rewrites of the same concept - a cross between "be careful what you wish for", and "absolute power always goes wrong."
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars The best, Oct 16 2001
By L. Bush (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The best set of sci fi stories I've ever read (and I've read a lot!)
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!
I've read a lot of short stories...from Vonnegut to Kafka, H.G. Wells to Neil Gaiman. But none of those remotely compare to what you'll find in Bester's short stories. Read more
Published on May 4 2001 by Robert Tanory

5.0 out of 5 stars Short fiction from the Grandmaster
First, a word of advice. If you've never ever read anything by Bester (maybe you actually did but don't know about it yet), go to the search box and type 'The Stars My... Read more
Published on April 3 2000 by Carlos Yoder

5.0 out of 5 stars 40 years of good science fiction from an originator
Alfred Bester's science fiction spans 40 years, and is always a treat. In this collection, we are treated to some of his early work "Adam and No Eve" (1941), to some of... Read more
Published on Jan 10 2000 by Gary Sprandel

5.0 out of 5 stars Superior Short Stories
All I can say is this is one of those pieces of literature thatI have to have in my collection because I am reading it over and overand over. STUPENDOUS!
Published on Oct 12 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars 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 Aug 25 1999 by Martin Lebl

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 May 13 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 Dec 23 1998

2.0 out of 5 stars 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 Nov 8 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars 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 Mar 17 1998 by maxhjor@islandia.is

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 Jan 8 1998

Only search this product's reviews


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject















i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.