Customer Reviews

The First Immortal: A Novel Of The Future

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Years ago I was a keyholder in the MIT Science Fiction Society, and read tons of SF. Then, I heard Eric Drexler give a talk about nanotechnology, read Engines of Creation, and started studying the field. I was ruined. Very little SF stands up to even a minimal understanding of future technology. That, plus work, cut my SF reading to just a couple books a year. I now rely very strongly on recommendations so I don't waste my few "slots."

One of the few exceptional books that does have some grasp on the technological future is Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age, a great SF novel that also gets the future of technology accurate enough that one can criticize it. There is now another equally nano-savvy novel, The First Immortal, by James Halperin. I understand he set out to write this book to force himself to research cryonics, and decide whether or not it is worth signing up. Cryonics makes sense only if we have technology in the future we do not have today. That look forced Halperin to come to grips with nanotechnology, and in The First Immortal we have a technologically literate view of future society.

If you want to understand the future, this book is a great glimpse, showing much of what nanotechnology will bring. It is also a great yarn.

The main weakness of The First Immortal is that it relies heavily on getting characters to "lecture" each other, and thus the reader. This sets out a lot of material that is important to understand, but the lecturing gets obvious after a while. Also the book starts out slow, but it's worth going through the beginning to get to the middle and end.

If you can only read one SF book a year, or if you don't read SF but do care what the world will be like more than a decade or two hence, then this should be your book for 1998.

{One caveat: If you read lots of science fiction, then read Halperin's The Truth Machine first. It's not necessary to read Truth before Immortal, but if you're going to read them both anyway, you should rea! d Truth first.}

I was tremendously impressed by Halperin's treatment of the whole subject of cryonics. His exploration of all the implications of such technology was very thorough. This book probably would have been worthwhile just because of the technology, but as it turned out, the characterization was excellent also. It did not make me want to freeze myself, but it sure did make me ponder the religious, philosophical and practical aspects of human immortality. For anyone who likes to think, this is a gread read.

My dilemma in writing this review is that, in principle, I agree with many of Halperin's scientific views as presented through the characters of the book. Unfortunately I ended up not caring in the slightest whether any of the characters achieved immortality or not. Who cares if someone else is immortal if you don't particularly like him/her? Halperin's ability to create a realistic and caring prose portrait of a human being is lacking as far as I'm concerned.

The tone of the book is polemical - for never a moment is there a doubt that this is a diatribe against religion and superstition. I have a low tolerance for superstition and less for religion, but the constant harangue is tedious - I end up feeling like I'm being lectured.

The book did not entertain or educate me. I found it depressing that such inconsequential and unsympathetic characters should be rewarded with the gift of a longer life.

I first read this novel in hardback a couple of years ago, and now just finished this 2nd edition in paperback, changed somewhat. The plot and character development are good, equally divided between technology and the personal lives of the people involved. The plot centers around cryonics, people being suspended via cryonics and revived, decades later, when technology is more advanced. I gave this novel 4 stars instead of five stars due to some of the improbable things Halperin states, such as tens of thousands of people signed up for cryonics by the year 2005, when in fact only about 1000 people are signed up as I type this, and a few other not likely items. However, I do agree with Halperin that cryonics will ultimately work, given many decades. One thing the book stresses over and over again is that people today do not think for themselves, and instead follow the crowd. It does take sheer force of will to see the universe as it really is and take action, as it takes to become a cryonicist.

James Halperin's "The First Immortal" is not only an engrossing work of fiction, but also a highly understandable introduction to the very difficult scientific, political and social subjects he addresses. Subjects we will all be forced to face directly in the near future. Please do not dismiss this book as "just" a work of imagination. I encourage every reader to look futher into cryonics and especially into nanotechnology. Mr. Halperin's greatest contribution is to make us think about our own future. Nanotech has the potential to change every aspect of our lives. I hope we will be prepared for those changes. I applaude Mr. Halperin for his research and for his vision. "The First Immortal" is a must read!

James Halperin has created an easy-to-read book on the still mysterious world of cryonics. In doing so I think, I hope, that maybe some people can nurture more of an optimistic view of the future. Granted it's fiction, but his ability to develop characters that one can truly liken to people in our own lives and also speak of the wonders of "immortality" has really hit something. Here's the thing: it gives hope in technology, albeit a world we won't see for a good deal of time. I'm only 25 years old, but already I fear that this life is not enough for me to accomplish everything I'd like to, big and small. Mr. Halperin shows us how to re-look our current status, and forces us to remind ourselves that the time we have with those we love is precious, not to be abused. Suspend belief, lighten up, and don't be a critic. Read the book. If you're on this page reading this, you're probably the type to enjoy it. And if I'm wrong, shoot me an email. But I honestly won't be expecting one.

THE FIRST IMMORTAL is the sort of story that most hard sci-fi fans will enjoy - technology writing and speculation fill the book. Unfortunately, the author saw fit to add a rather contrived bit of character development and conflict as a key part of the story. Additionally, the author seems rather unsure of how to construct a narrative, as the book begins with first-person storytelling (i.e., "my grandfather was born..."), but then jumps to traditional third-person (i.e., "Ben found himself thinking...") throughout. While not confusing, this bizarre change of POV can be startling and unpleasant.

Bad things aside, the author DOES make a wonderful case for cryonic research, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence. The author is blatantly attempting to sway the minds of his readers to support both pure and applied research into these fields, as he obviously sees them as key technologies to provide hope for humanity. This makes for an interesting, enthusiastic read, and creates a wonderful work of speculative fiction.

I read this book in two sittings, and found myself engrossed in the technologies described therein. It was a joy to find such hope placed in science and rational thought.

While nominally a work of speculative fiction, I consider it similar in role to Chris Peterson and Gayle Pergamit's "Unbounding the Future", which I've heard described as "the nanotechnology book for your mom". To me, steeped in cryonics lore (since childhood) and practice (since 1990), there were no radical new surprises... but then, I'm a bit unusual in this respect: too close to the problem domain ("how to explain cryonics?") to have the clearest views on such matters.

I do recommend this book as an excellent introduction, in novel form, to the subject material. I would agree with a number of other reviewers that the book is obviously preachy in places, but not so much so as to distract from its entertainment value. Anyone who's read and enjoyed Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" would not find Halperin's most recent work too polemic.

As a libertarian, I do take issue with the assumption of "good government embodied by uncorruptable AIs" (my words, abstracted from his plot devices). This objection applies to tools and institutions such as the WFDA, the Truth Machine, and David Brin style ubiquitous surveillance technologies. I would not dispute that some of these things may come to pass, but I do not welcome them as solutions.

I'm not sure if Halperin, after a few years more literary development, might alter his views to incorporate some of the ideas put forward by libertarian science fiction writers L. Neil Smith and Marc Stiegler, whose worlds are crafted in fascinating detail without falling back on the deus ex machina of government authority.

Still, I very highly recommend this work to anyone. I've already passed my copy along to a friend, with praise.

The First Immortal handled cryonics in a way that makes it easy for the reader to both understand and with an astonishing array of facts that dare so well interwoven into the story they don't boggle the mind or take away from the reading. Also, the story of the characters are oth well told and rendered. You actually find yourself liking or dis-liking them and and feeling what they are. Aside from this, if you've ever wondered about Cryonics and haven't wanted to commit to reading the dry and sometimes dull non-fiction, this is a good place to start with to gain an understanding and to enjoy a good story. After that you feel you understand enough aobut the subject to really become interested int he non-fiction. I know it works that way because it happened to me. before reading this book I had made attempts with the non-fiction but after the first time I read the book I managed to go into the non-fiction with a better understanding of the concepts and ideas discussed within. invest some time in your p[ossible future and read this book!

I found The First Immortal to be a highly intelligent book. His treatment of the effects of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, computer science and biotech over the next hundred years do reveal the causal implications of widespread applications of these technologies. This is very refreshing since the reality of the future won't be like Star Trek or most any other science fiction work today. Late 21st century nanotech and biotech means if someone gets shot in the heart or decapitated, science will be able to revive him and restore the damaged body.

That being said, I did find Mr Halperin's view of the future to be too optimistic. Human beings as a whole aren't altruistic and many are downright evil. I simply can't discount the mentality and desires of some in the world today (including entire religious bodies) who only care about power and destroying what they themselves can't create or emulate.

And yet, I find his assumptions attractive - I wish the world will become like how he envisioned. Unfortunately, I doubt it'll ever happen.