- Title:
- The First Immortal: A Novel Of The Future
- By:
- James L. Halperin
- Pages:
- 432
- Rating:
- 3
“[James Halperin] plots the book with thoroughness and imagination. . . . Innovative.”— Publishers Weekly
In 1988, Benjamin Smith suffers a massive heart attack. But he will not die. A pioneering advocate of the infant science of cryonics, he has arranged to have his body frozen until the day when humanity will possess the knowledge, the technology, and the courage to revive him.
Yet when Ben resumes life after a frozen interval of eighty-three years, the world is altered beyond recognition. Thanks to cutting-edge science, eternal youth is universally available and the perfection of cloning gives humanity the godlike power to re-create living beings from a single cell. As Ben and his family are resurrected in the mid-twenty-first century, they experience a complex reunion that reaches through generations—and discover that the deepest ethical dilemmas of humankind remain their greatest challenge. . . .
“[A] gripping story.”—United Press International
This was a very interesting book indeed. It seriously made me stop and think that, whatever my previously-held beliefs, it is worth at least considering the future after you die.
Some people I’ve spoken to about a similar topic – organ donation after death – used the phrase “it’s for us, not you”, when I pointed out that as far as I was concerned when my body no longer functioned for me its various parts could, as far as I was concerned, be used to extend the life and health of someone who was still living, unlike myself. It’s interesting I should have had that discussion so close on the heals of this book, which despite its length and tendency to wander I still quite enjoyed. Plenty of food for thought in here and some pretty interesting science as well.