Immortality, Inc.: Difference between revisions

Immortality, Inc.
	First edition (author's text)
Author	Robert Sheckley
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction
Published	First edition-1959 (Bantam Books),; Second edition-1991 (Tor Books)
Publisher	Bantam Books (first edition), Tor Books (1991 edition)
Media type	Paperback, hardcover, e-book
Pages	152 (first edition-paperback); 250 (1991 edition-paperback)

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Immortality, Inc. is a 1959 science fiction novel by American writer Robert Sheckley, originally published in a shorter form in 1958 as Immortality Delivered. It was Sheckley's debut and remains one of his 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).^[1] The novel has been re-released in more than 50 editions since its initial publication, including a 2014 e-book.

Premise and plot[edit]

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.

In film and television[edit]

This story was first adapted as the opening episode for the third series of the BBC science-fiction anthology series Out of the Unknown, starring Derek Benfield as Tom Clarke (a renamed Thomas Blaine). The master videotape for the episode was later wiped by the corporation, and only brief video and audio clips are known to exist. The Beatles discuss watching it in the first part of The Beatles: Get Back.^[2]

The premise 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.^[3]

References[edit]

^ "1959 Hugo Awards". 26 July 2007. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
^ "Immortality Inc". They May Be Parted. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
^ Fry Meets Bender In A Suicide Booth, retrieved 2022-05-17

External links[edit]

Official site of Robert Sheckley
Immortality, Inc. title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Time Killer parts one, two, three, and four at the Internet Archive

This article about a 1950s science fiction novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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[1] "1959 Hugo Awards". 26 July 2007. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2013.

[2] "Immortality Inc". They May Be Parted. Retrieved 2021-11-26.

[3] Fry Meets Bender In A Suicide Booth, retrieved 2022-05-17

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|1959 science fiction novel}}
-{{italic title}}{{Infobox book
+{{Infobox book
 | name              = Immortality, Inc.
 | image             = MMRTLNC1959.jpg
@@ Line 12: / Line 13: @@
 (1991 edition-paperback)
 | series            =
-| media_type        = [[Paperback]], [[Hardcover]],<br>[[E-book]] (2014-)
+| media_type        = [[Paperback]], [[hardcover]], [[e-book]]
 }}
+'''''Immortality, Inc.''''' is a 1959 science fiction novel by American writer [[Robert Sheckley]], originally published in a shorter form in 1958 as '''''Immortality Delivered'''''. It was Sheckley's debut and remains one of his 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 [[Hugo Award for Best Novel|Best Novel]] the same year it was released (1959).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1959-hugo-awards/|title=1959 Hugo Awards|date=26 July 2007|publisher=|access-date=27 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517071549/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1959-hugo-awards/|archive-date=17 May 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> The novel has been re-released in more than 50 editions since its initial publication, including a 2014 e-book.
-'''''Immortality, Inc.''''' is a 1959 science fiction novel by American writer [[Robert Sheckley]], about a fictional process whereby a human's consciousness may be transferred into a [[brain-dead]] body.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Immortality, Inc.|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/2475814-immortality-inc|access-date=2021-01-30|website=www.goodreads.com}}</ref> The novel has been released in 51 editions since It's initial release, with the latest being released in 2014 as an [[e-book]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Editions of Immortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/2475814-immortality-inc?per_page=75&utf8=%E2%9C%93|access-date=2021-01-30|website=www.goodreads.com}}</ref>
+== Premise and plot ==
-A striking concept in the novel is its description of random killings of strangers by people who intend to die. The serialised form (published under the title ''Time Killer'' in the magazine ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'') was nominated for the [[Hugo Award]] for [[Hugo Award for Best Novel|Best Novel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1959-hugo-awards/|title=1959 Hugo Awards|date=26 July 2007|publisher=|access-date=27 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517071549/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1959-hugo-awards/|archive-date=17 May 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
+{{More plot|date=April 2023}}
+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.
-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 [[Space Pilot 3000|the pilot episode]] of ''[[Futurama]]''.
+== In film and television ==
+This story was first adapted as the opening episode for the third series of the [[BBC]] science-fiction anthology series ''[[Out of the Unknown]]'', starring [[Derek Benfield]] as Tom Clarke (a renamed Thomas Blaine). The master videotape for the episode was later [[Lost television broadcast#Wiping|wiped]] by the corporation, and only brief video and audio clips are known to exist. [[The Beatles]] discuss watching it in the first part of ''[[The Beatles: Get Back]].''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Immortality Inc.|url=https://theymaybeparted.com/tag/immortality-inc/|access-date=2021-11-26|website=They May Be Parted|language=en}}</ref>
+The premise 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 [[Space Pilot 3000|the pilot episode]] of ''[[Futurama]]''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Fry Meets Bender In A Suicide Booth |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbmQxZkSswI |language=en |access-date=2022-05-17}}</ref>
 ==References==
@@ Line 36: / Line 45: @@
 [[Category:American science fiction novels]]
 [[Category:American novels adapted into films]]
 {{1950s-sf-novel-stub}}