The radio networks to support the pagers are shrinking. I had one for my job, because I needed to be on call after work hours. It worked great, it did one job and did it damn well.
The problem was the coverage area started to shrink. The paging company could no longer afford to pay for the tower leases to maintain their network, so we started losing coverage in rural areas. Now I have a damned iPhone to maintain, charge, etc. Ugh!
I HIGHLY recommend at least trying a pager if you are going to spend your time in an urban area! Outside that, coverage may be iffy. I miss mine terribly...

....begins the development of the Mentat.

I don't see it mentioned here, so I'll put my plug in for Little, Big, by John Crowley. It won the World Fantasy Award in `82.

Also, I have always loved the Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny. The first series was, I thought, much better than the second.

I believe so. I know he wrote the first Han Solo trilogy, waaaay back when.

Seriously?! Then your mind must also be boggled at the number of Republicans holding public office.