More like 2.5 stars...

There were things I liked in the story, but I found the ending to be very difficult to really understand. How did Powell know that Reich was or could be Galactic focal point? The ending left me dissatisfied.

Reich misinterpreting the acceptance code as a refusal stuck out and bothered me all through the book, and no real effort was made to address that until the end.

I also found the whole Powell/Barbara romance creepy, especially when she was seeing him as a father-figure... It was almost incestuous-feeling. I felt badly for Mary, having to watch and feel the development of that relationship when she herself was in love with Powell.

I will read some other opinions about the book. There probably are things I'm missing. ( )

Read for a group. Not my kind of thing, what with the intrigue and suspense. But even if I had appreciated that stuff, and even though I *do* appreciate the intelligence & creativity, I did not enjoy reading this at all. ( )

Good story but not nearly as good as "The Stars my Destination". ( )

Despite being written in 1953, this book has distinct "seventies vibes" for me.
It's not my favorite, but it has a lot of psychologial insight, a decent mystery puzzle, and an ingenious psy-ops setup.
The technological predictions for the future (2301 AD) hit about 50/50 (that is far too far in advance for anything rational -- see the difference between now and 1674), with the usual sf chronacronisms (tech and social aspects that are still stuck in the writer's era).
There was a lot of vulgarity and foul language, but not obscene. ( )

3.75 (formerly 5/5)

This was my second read, and some of the flaws have become more apparent, knocking it down quite a bit (I had it at a 5!). But The Demolished Man is still a great read and I prefer it to Bester's The Stars, My Destination, even though I would say the latter is a greater accomplishment as a piece of science fiction (the world-building in that is unmatched). Demolished is smaller scale, but I find the lead anti-hero more compelling, and in general, it is a rare example of a character-driven story within a genre known for lacking substance.

I love the mad pace of it, the cat and mouse shenanigans set amidst a psychic-dominated future, where every thought is laid bare. When you boil it down, it's just a fun murder/mystery thriller set amongst a creatively realised sci-fi world, and the surreal off-the-wall presentation of the conclusion is icing. There's a cherry as well though - the cherry is Bester's unique writing voice and bizarre use of text formatting. Simply put, there's just nothing like it, and that alone makes it a worthy read, even if some elements don't totally hold up. ( )