''The Computer Connection'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

novel by American writer

Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction authors, science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books. He is best remembered for h ...

. Originally published as a serial in ''

Analog Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'' (November, December 1974, January 1975, under the title ''The Indian Giver''), it appeared in book form in 1975. Some editions give it the title ''Extro''. The novel was nominated for the

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of prof ...

for Best Novel in 1975 and the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

for Best Novel in 1976.

Plot introduction

In the future, a band of immortals (some who are famous historical characters, some who have tried their best to avoid becoming so), including Herb Wells, Ned Curzon (nicknamed

Grand Guignol ''Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol'' (: "The Theatre of the Great Puppet")—known as the Grand Guignol–was a theatre in the Pigalle district of Paris (7, cité Chaptal). From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962, it specialised in natura ...

Hillel Hillel ( he, links=no, הלל, lit=praise) is a Jewish masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Hillel the Elder (110 BC–10 AD), Babylonian sage, scholar, and Jewish leader * Hillel, son of Gamaliel III (3rd century), ...

, and Sam Pepys have only one requirement for membership: don't die. Through their extensive social network, they come across a brilliant Cherokee physicist named Sequoya Guess, who himself has only very recently learned of his peculiarity and the catches and loopholes that come along with it. This creates a swift change in Guess's day-to-day life that is as much a shock to his friends as to himself. At the same time, the world's scientists are collaborating to bring together a supercomputer named Extro that will monitor and control all mechanical activity on Earth. The immortals create a plan to subtly harness Extro to aid them in their quest for knowledge and use some of the experience they have gained to assist it in its task. Working outside of expected behavior, Extro instead seizes control of Dr. Guess, leaving the only people who know what is going on—the Immortals and Guess's nearest friends—to grapple with the heart and mind of a malevolent machine in the body of an Immortal, a powerful and ingenious man who cannot be killed.

Reception

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewer Gerald Jonas reported that Bester tried, but failed, "to make arbitrariness a virtue" in ''The Computer Connection'', concluding that the novel "cannot possibly be as much fun" for the reader as it was for the writer. Arthur D. Hlavaty, a former editor of ''

The New York Review of Science Fiction ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'' is a monthly literary magazine of science fiction that was established in 1988. It includes works of science fiction criticism, essays, and in-depth critical reviews of new works of fiction and scholarshi ...

'', wrote that the book gave "an unintentional example of his own theme of the unrecoverability of the past. His long-awaited novel, variously called ''The Indian Giver'', ''Extro'', and ''The Computer Connection'', was a major disappointment—a confused farrago of old ideas and gimmicks." Patrick A. McCarthy, in a review of Carolyn Wendell's 1982 ''Alfred Bester'', wrote that her coverage of ''The Computer Connection'' is "very brief but quite accurate in calling attention to this novel's many shortcomings."

References

External links

* 1975 American novels 1975 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Berkley Books books Novels by Alfred Bester Novels first published in serial form Works originally published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact {{1970s-sf-novel-stub