Dying Inside

I didn't like this as much as I did when I read it 30+ years ago. There are elements of misogyny and racism in the story and the main character is selfish and emotionally closed off in a way that makes his telepathy seem hard to credit. It's a great idea, but in practice, the character generates no sympathy and it's hard to care a great deal about his loss of a capability he never had the grace to use for anything but selfish objectives.

Possibly 3.5. I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to get round to reading this. I feel it is the sort of book I should have read when, in the early 80's, I was catching up on early/mid Roth and Heller, + Heinlein's “Stranger in a Strange Land” and Dick's “A Scanner Darkly”. It is not really science fiction. I found it a “bum trip” but a good read.

Story: 3 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 6
Prose: 5

Another directionless piece. Dying Inside isn't simply about a telepath: It is about a telepath that is losing its powers. Some books go too far into an idea. Basically, Dying Inside is the opposite of an origin story. There is very little forward action in the book: Most of it is a retrospective and a lot of irrelevant, contextual information as well. For example, there is one chapter entirely composed of an essay the main character ghostwrites. Certainly, it shows how he makes a living. However, those 10 pages (5% of the book) could have been better spent (or simply removed).

Not recommended (for anybody: Well, telepaths only).