Also Finished - Deadly Relations: Bester Ascendant

[Elipsis]

I can't say that I liked this book quite as much as the 1st one, but I will say that I started not liking it nearly as much and by the end liked it almost as much as Dark Genesis.

Again I'll come back later with the longer post, but the book did do a fantastic job explaining the strange personality that is Alfred Bester and its origins. It had a few very powerful moments, to be sure, and to my surprised jumped through time almost as much as Dark Genesis.

I'll be back later on when I've composed some of my thoughts about the individual plot elements of Bester's life story.

 

[Elipsis]

Spoilers below:

What an interesting life our old friend had. I find the two most fascinating parts of this book to be his relationship with Bey, and the story of his hand going numb.

On Bey, it is obvious that Bester is looking for a father figure in Bey. The damn shame of it all is that if Bey had not been killed, Bester might have not turned out to be the emotionally detached socially crippled little prick that he was. His attempts to form attachments throughout his early life only lead him to the conclusion that the only permanent figure in his life is the Corp. - Elizabeth Montoya is another example of his love for the Corp being the most prominant force in his life.

The story of Bester's hand going numb is fantastic. Him shooting this man over and over again, or at least trying to, trying desperately to silence the thoughts that he has been searching for his entire life. He finally gets the answer and its not the answer he wanted, not at all. So what really happens here, is he blocking it so hard... so desperately, that he gives himself permanent brain damage trying to block? The thoughts are so traumatic to him that the part of his brain that he's using to physically silence the man just dies off forever? A wonderful scene.

 

[Mike G]

I finished this a few months ago, and I agree it was very good, but not quite as good as Dark Genesis. The third book however... my personal favorite.

 

[A_M_Swallow]

I did not quite believe the reason Lyta left the psi police. An innocent person would have had to die or have their mind damaged.

 

[B5_Obsessed]

It had a few very powerful moments, to be sure, and to my surprised jumped through time almost as much as Dark Genesis.

This series does not waste our time by re-telling events, it just jumps right over them. I think you'll like the third one a lot too - it has the strongest B5 connection.

 

[Cell]

I liked this more than Dark Genesis, it was a more coherent and held together character study. This and the third book allow you to better understand Bester as a human, not just the one note monster.

 

[Jade Jaguar]

... Bester as a human, not just the one note monster.

Hardly one note. Two great chords, one great monster!