Despite being written in 1953, this book has distinct "seventies vibes" for me.
It's not my favorite, but it has a lot of psychologial insight, a decent mystery puzzle, and an ingenious psy-ops setup.
The technological predictions for the future (2301 AD) hit about 50/50 (that is far too far in advance for anything rational -- see the difference between now and 1674), with the usual sf chronacronisms (tech and social aspects that are still stuck in the writer's era).
There was a lot of vulgarity and foul language, but not obscene. ( )

3.75 (formerly 5/5)

This was my second read, and some of the flaws have become more apparent, knocking it down quite a bit (I had it at a 5!). But The Demolished Man is still a great read and I prefer it to Bester's The Stars, My Destination, even though I would say the latter is a greater accomplishment as a piece of science fiction (the world-building in that is unmatched). Demolished is smaller scale, but I find the lead anti-hero more compelling, and in general, it is a rare example of a character-driven story within a genre known for lacking substance.

I love the mad pace of it, the cat and mouse shenanigans set amidst a psychic-dominated future, where every thought is laid bare. When you boil it down, it's just a fun murder/mystery thriller set amongst a creatively realised sci-fi world, and the surreal off-the-wall presentation of the conclusion is icing. There's a cherry as well though - the cherry is Bester's unique writing voice and bizarre use of text formatting. Simply put, there's just nothing like it, and that alone makes it a worthy read, even if some elements don't totally hold up. ( )

Principalmente, O Homem Demolido não convence: sabemos desde o início que o protagonista matará e que terá problemas de ordem psicanalítica. Mas a execução, a fuga, os embates com a polícia, e a caracterização psicológica dos personagens secundários não convence (afora o fato de que o personagem principal é um playboy inconsequente). Li tudo como descuidado, e demasiado próximo do que seria um roteiro blockbuster, talvez de sucesso, mas furado. E acho que no fundo o freudianismo ajuda, dá o que é de interessante a esse polícial futurista, com telepatas. Mas é pouco. Ademais, que seja dito: mais um daqueles livros machistas em que as personagens femininas são todas bobas, fúteis ou inferiorizadas.

Vencedor do prêmio Hugo de 1953. ( )

This was an entertaining twining of genres, the detective story paired with high-minded allegorical science fiction. There was an antic, hilarious quality to it that kept me off balance as the plot progressed quickly. This action boils over into a big, dreamy twilight-zone conclusion. Like The Stars My Destination (which I've been meaning to reread), the novel turns around a deranged protagonist whose interpretation of reality sets the whole story in motion. "The mind is the reality. You are what you think." It certainly concludes more generously and optimistically than a lot of books in these genres nowadays, which might be the most dated element of it in some ways. It's easy to see how big an influence this first Hugo winner was on the development of the genre and the challenge it presented to other sci-fi writers. I'm extremely surprised this hasn't been made into a big budget action flick. ( )

This was an entertaining twining of genres, the detective story paired with high-minded allegorical science fiction. There was an antic, hilarious quality to it that kept me off balance as the plot progressed quickly. This action boils over into a big, dreamy twilight-zone conclusion. Like The Stars My Destination (which I've been meaning to reread), the novel turns around a deranged protagonist whose interpretation of reality sets the whole story in motion. "The mind is the reality. You are what you think." It certainly concludes more generously and optimistically than a lot of books in these genres nowadays, which might be the most dated element of it in some ways. It's easy to see how big an influence this first Hugo winner was on the development of the genre and the challenge it presented to other sci-fi writers. I'm extremely surprised this hasn't been made into a big budget action flick. ( )