"Twenty years after _The Stars My Destination_, Bester returned to fiction with this book, about a time in the future when a band of immortals -- eccentrics from Lucretia Borgia and Captain Nemo to Edison and even a Neanderthal Man -- band together to combat the threat when one of their newest members is taken over by a computer hooked up to all other computers and electrical appliances across the planet. The narrator Guig (short for "Grand Guignol") leads the fight, while incidentally marrying a lithe Indian maiden and mentoring a feisty 13-year-old girl. Lots of nifty ideas, but the story only really gets rolling halfway through and characters keep pouring out of the woodwork, so it's hard to follow and to connect emotionally."
David Loftus, Resident Alfred Bester Scholar
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Overall Review
Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into
dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book
- depressing/sad
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- science fiction story
Spying & Investigations
Yes
What is main char. doing?
- rescue mission/escape from confinement
Tech./$$$/Info hunt
Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying
- power source
- method of control
- info about lifeform(s)/society/phenomena
Robots, Computers, VR
Yes
Robot, PC, VR Plotlets:
- fighting bad computer AI
Lifeform altered?
Yes
Kind of alteration:
- Under control of microchip in brain
- Under control of alien
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- wealthy
Age:
- long lived adults
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Computer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Terrain
- Desert
- Water
Which planet?
- Saturn
Earth setting:
- medium future 22-24th century
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Not Earth, in Solar System?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- a moderate amount of scientific explanation
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
How much dialogue?
- significantly more descript than dialog
