Virtual Unrealities: the Short Fiction of Alfred Bester. 1997
Virtual Unrealities is a collection of 15 stories published between 1941 and 1979, plus a. story fragment and previously unreleased story. The majority of the stories were written by Alfred Bester between 1950 and 1958 and it shows in a pulpy language born of idea-based writing.
Two of the stories - Adam and No Eve & Fondly Fahrenheit - are among the greatest science fiction ever written, but many of the others show merely a cool idea. That makes them good enough to qualify for “good” status, but literary scifi this is not.
The best technical accomplishment for Bester is the propulsive nature of the prose. The stories read like ravings of a brilliant madman who wants to be sure your get the whole story before you cut them off. That is at times a good thing, as you are drawn full bore into the plots.
Virtual Unrealities is rated 82%.
2 great / 11 good / 2 average / 2 poor. How do I arrive at a rating?
Disappearing Act
Good. A powerful American general in the midst of waging a total war discovers a mystery within a hospital ward for injured soldiers.
Oddy and Id
Average. The luckiest man in the world and the people that try to influence him.
Star Light, Star Bright
Good. A man made have bitten off more that he can chew while pursuing the geniuses of the Buchanan family.
5,271,009
Poor. I rarely DNF a short story, but this was long and really annoying. A super lucky old man. A paranoid artist writing on dollar bills. Mad Scientists. Last Man on Earth has to impregnate women. Just didn’t work.
Fondly Fahrenheit
Great. A masterwork. A terrifyingly visceral story of a murderous robot and the man who protect it. This deserves its place in SciFi history for the economy of language, brisk pacing, and clearly rendered scenes. Highly recommended.
Hobson’s Choice
Good. In a war-torn future, the population should be declining, but a statistician discovers that it is actual growing thanks so something strange happening in Kansas. A very clever story
Of Time and Third Avenue
Good. Instead of the current 1950 almanac, a man has picked up the future’s 1990 almanac. Other man tries to talk him into relinquishing it.
Time is the Traitor
Good. John Strapp is the only man capable of answering the big questions of modern business, but every time he sees a man named Kruger, he flies into a murderous rage. The reason may have something to do with a woman.
The Men Who Murdered Mohammed
Good. When a scientist sees his wife kissing another man, he invents a time machine and embarks on a killing-spree of history’s famous figures.
Nominated for a Hugo Award.
The Pi Man
Good. The brutal challenges of a man buffeted by the randomness of the universe on a grand scale.
They Don’t Make Life Like They Used To
Poor. DNF. Very poorly written characters who are the last man and woman after an apocalypse.
Will You Wait?
Good. A humorous short about trying to sell your soul to the Devil and running up against the Devil’s bureaucracy.
The Flowered Thundermug
Good. A wonderful long story about a far future world where old-school Hollywood has taken over every aspect of life. Within this world Bester tells a fun and funny Film Noir tale.
Adam and No Eve
Great. One of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. A heart-rending story of the devastation wrought by scientific hubris.
And 3 1/2 to Go (fragment)
Average. A partial story of good luck, jinxes, and devils.
Galatea Galante
Good. A mad scientist produces the perfect woman for a client, but of course things go hilariously wrong.
The Devil Without Glasses
Good. A doctor finds himself caught in a cosmic dream battle between two sides that he doesn’t understand, with the future of the human race in the balance.
