The First Immortal

James Halperin has created an easy-to-read book on the still mysterious world of cryonics. In doing so I think, I hope, that maybe some people can nurture more of an optimistic view of the future. Granted it's fiction, but his ability to develop characters that one can truly liken to people in our own lives and also speak of the wonders of "immortality" has really hit something. Here's the thing: it gives hope in technology, albeit a world we won't see for a good deal of time. I'm only 25 years old, but already I fear that this life is not enough for me to accomplish everything I'd like to, big and small. Mr. Halperin shows us how to re-look our current status, and forces us to remind ourselves that the time we have with those we love is precious, not to be abused. Suspend belief, lighten up, and don't be a critic. Read the book. If you're on this page reading this, you're probably the type to enjoy it. And if I'm wrong, shoot me an email. But I honestly won't be expecting one.

It's too bad that Halperin's real passion is rare coins. He should write more. The First Immortal and The Truth Machine are both good enough to give him a lasting place in any SciFi collection. There are many novels dealing with consequences of immortality. I couldn't say if this is one of the best. What I do like in it are the realistic characters and real debates arising. In fact, although published in 1998, Halperin does a great job predicting exactly the kind of family legal battles over cryonics that would erupt 4 years later when baseball great Ted Williams died. The characters, the family involved, and their relationships and reactions are very believable. More than a story about immortality and medical miracles though, it makes you think about the value of each day you have, relationships with your family, and questions about what growing old really means.

James Halperin's "The First Immortal" is not only an engrossing work of fiction, but also a highly understandable introduction to the very difficult scientific, political and social subjects he addresses. Subjects we will all be forced to face directly in the near future. Please do not dismiss this book as "just" a work of imagination. I encourage every reader to look futher into cryonics and especially into nanotechnology. Mr. Halperin's greatest contribution is to make us think about our own future. Nanotech has the potential to change every aspect of our lives. I hope we will be prepared for those changes. I applaude Mr. Halperin for his research and for his vision. "The First Immortal" is a must read!

Jim Halperin's successful first novel was "The Truth Machine," a prediction of what would happen to society if a compact, portable, inexpensive and completely accurate lie detector were developed. His second book is similar enough to the first that it also includes the development of the truth machine as part of its future history, as a sort of sidebar to the main action here. The focus in this book, of course, is the development of new technology that will allow human life spans to be extended indefinitely. The context for this exploration is a single family as it evolves over several generations. Since Halperin's Extropian vision is based on cryonics - the process of freezing dying or recently dead human bodies, in hopes of later reviving and curing them - the undead earlier generations keep thawing out in the later chapters, springing up when you least expect them. Needless to say, having all these generations interacting with each other offers some interesting possibilities, and Halperin makes the most of these. Unlike some similar stories (Woody Allen's "Sleeper" comes to mind) that begin with our hero waking up in the far distant future, "The First Immortal" starts with the birth of the central character, Benjamin Franklin Smith, and advances from there towards the future one small step at a time. This approach allows us to see, not only the unfolding of the lives of the various characters, but also the gradual development and assimilation of the subject technology. This pace works, since technology is the real star of this show. Halperin patiently explains cryonics, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and other favorites of Extropian speculation, and dramatically shows us how all these developments affect the lives of his characters. I found "The First Immortal" to be convincing and involving. Because the book covers so much chronological distance, and explains so much of the technology, it necessarily works in short scenes that get quickly to the point and ruthlessly advance the storyline. Halperin is good at this, though, and keeps us interested in the development of the characters and the technology. I could complain that, for my taste, "The First Immortal" focuses a bit too much on cryonics, and not enough on the philosophical implications of physical immortality, but then I would be taking Halperin to task

I was tremendously impressed by Halperin's treatment of the whole subject of cryonics. His exploration of all the implications of such technology was very thorough. This book probably would have been worthwhile just because of the technology, but as it turned out, the characterization was excellent also. It did not make me want to freeze myself, but it sure did make me ponder the religious, philosophical and practical aspects of human immortality. For anyone who likes to think, this is a gread read.