I always enjoy reading Silverberg's science fiction and this novel was no exception. The premise of the story was that science had found a way to restore life after someone dies assuming there is no serious damage to vital organs. For example, a death from drowning or asphyxiation could be restored by this process. But what are the implications of this...both politically and religiously. If the body dies, does the soul leave the body and would it return after life has been restored? This novel was originally written in 1957 and was then revised and updated by Silverberg in 1971. The story takes place in 2033 where the political system has been revamped from the Democratic and Republican parties to the American-conservatives and National-liberals. Of course the conservatives were vehemently against the reanimation process while the liberals were for the most part for it. Silverberg compared this to fights for other medical breakthroughs including vaccination, anesthesia, blood transfusions, public-health clinics, and mental-health programs which many felt were violations of man's God-given right to suffer! And then there were also the fights for and against abortion. The protagonist of the story was ex-New York governor, James Harker, who as a practicing attorney agreed to represent the reanimation firm, Beller Laboratories. Harker has a fight on his hand convincing the government and the public of the benefits of the process and in the end takes a rather drastic step to prove his points. The novel reminded me a lot of the political squabbles that occur today...especially during the heated presidential race of 2016. Overall, a rather thought-provoking novel from Silverberg.
