Golem 100 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781596877993)

"Very few writers of any kind have anything like his inventiveness, audacity, and sparkling language."--Poul Anderson

Alfred Bester, one of the great names and contemporary science fiction, author of the classic novels The Stars My Destinationand The Demolished Man, has produced what can only be called another revolution in science fiction, once again transcending the boundaries of the conventional in favor of the brilliant.

In the American mega-city of the future, a group of charming ladies is meeting regularly to entertain themselves. One of their most diverting games is an attempt to raise the Devil through ancient rituals. Of course they don't believe they'll actually succeed. Nor do they, precisely; for rather than summoning an old demon, these enchanting ladies manage to create a new one: Golem ¹⁰⁰, a manifestation of the collective unconscious that goes on a rampage of rape, torture, and murder. Only the ladies don't see the connection between the grim events and what they have done... and the Golem continues to grow....

Three people join forces to track down the monster: Gretchen Nunn, a woman whose vision extends beyond its normal senses; Blaise Shima, her chemist lover, and the doubting Police Subadar Ind'dni. Their hunt leads them through real and subliminal worlds of dazzling visual and verbal intensity, as Bester presents a new form of narration in a mad race through a text that has become a series of graphic images laced with dialogue. As the hunters venture deeper and deeper into the Golem's subworld, the chase becomes more thrilling--and the monster's true identity becomes a secret some would prefer not to have revealed.

Science fiction, fantasy, psychological thriller, innovative literature, Golem ¹⁰⁰fulfills Alfred Bester's promise as a significant writer for our time and beyond.