The Brain Machine - aka The Fourth "R"

First Lancer edition/printing with this title and new cover art by Freas (1968 Lancer 74-936). Very Fine, unread and collectible condition. " Although The Fourth "R" (1959; vt The Brain Machine 1968) - about a young child who becomes a prodigy thanks to the Invention of the "Electromechanical Educator" (see Education in SF) and must fight to remain independent until adulthood - reflects earlier novels, such as Theodore Sturgeon's The Dreaming Jewels (1950; vt The Synthetic Man 1957), Smith's narrative so vividly enters into its protagonist's young mind, and so intriguingly details his strategy for survival against a particularly unpleasant Villain, that it has become a model for tales of this kind." - [JC] - The Encyclopedia of SF, 3rd Edition/Internet.