Immortality, Inc.

Immortality, Inc. is a 1959 science fiction novel by American writer Robert Sheckley, it is also his first novel excluding previous short stories.[1] A striking concept in the novel is its description of random killings of strangers by people who intend to die. The novel remains one of Sheckley's most popular and critically acclaimed. The serialised form (published under the title Time Killer in the magazine Galaxy Science Fiction) was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel the same year it was released (1959).[2] The novel has been released in 51 editions since Its initial release, with the latest being released in 2014 as an e-book.[3]

Immortality, Inc.
First edition (author's text)
AuthorRobert Sheckley
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
PublishedFirst edition-1959 (Bantam Books),
Second edition-1991 (Tor Books)
PublisherBantam Books (first edition), Tor Books (1991 edition)
Media typePaperback, Hardcover,
E-book (2014-)
Pages152 (first edition-paperback)
250 (1991 edition-paperback)

Premise and plot

The novel starts with Its protagonist, Thomas Blaine, waking in an operating room during the procedure to give him a new host body and thus a new life. He is then soon conscious and aware of the fact he is living in the year 2110, a result of his mind being transferred into a new host body and the procedure completed. He must then learn to live with his new circumstances, as his last living moments were in 1958 and an existential struggle ensues with the new world he now finds himself living in.[4]

In film and television

The story was loosely adapted into the 1992 film Freejack.

A famous scene from the novel involving a character lost in a future New York City and mistakenly getting in line for a suicide booth was parodied in the pilot episode of Futurama.

References
  1. "Immortality, Inc". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  2. "1959 Hugo Awards". 26 July 2007. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  3. "Editions of Immortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  4. "Literature / Immortality, Inc". TV Tropes.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.