Psychoshop

This book is very fast pased and gets interesting from page one. The characters are not what you expect. And eveery time you see them in a new light

I picked this book up because I thought the title and the cover seemed pretty interesting. Once I started reading I couldn't stop, which is rare for me because I prefere TV. Yet i sat there for a few long sessions and finished the book. I think the books views and their meddlings in history are very well thought out. The plot twists are superb and the fight scene is fantastic. I really enjoied this book.

Having never before read either Bester or Zelazny (I left my sci-fi roots at Asimov's door long ago) I had no comparison to their other works. As such, this book was a seamless story of amusement and intrigue. The characters are witty and mysterious, and the plot is extremely clever. I would highly recommend it. As an added benefit, it also has one of the most beautiful love poems I have ever read.

As a long-time fan of both Alfie Bester and Roger Zelazny, I was delighted to find this posthumous collaboration. "Pschoshop" is, I think, true to both authors' bodies of work. After all, Bester's influence on Zelazny is evident in a a number of works, most notably "Eye of Cat" with its dazzling experimental typography so reminiscent of what Bester had done in "The Demolished Man" and "The Stars My Destination". What parts belong to which writer? I really would not care to guess. Their styles blend too well for that to be clear. "Psychoshop" is not the equal of the finest works of either Bester or Zelazny -- a level that few other writers can match -- but it is amusing and bright and energetic and engaging and makes a satisfactory last gift from these two wonderfully creative authors.

It's not The Demolished Man, it's no The Stars My Destination, but it's certainly Bester. I don't have any prior Zelazny experience to help determine what was his and what was Bester's, but there are noticeable style and pacing changes throughout the book. But don't let that stop you. Any Bester fan will find plenty to keep things interesting, and I personally find Psychoshop much closer to his first novels than his later works (Golem 100, The Computer Connection, etc.) which most readers tend to find inferior. Oh, and as an added bonus, keep your eyes open for the Burning Man ...