The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester

This book is very, very good but by no means perfect. Having read the book and all sorts of opinions on it, I would estimate that if you were to read this book, there is a 93% chance that you will agree with my opening statement. In this review, I aim to summarise why this is, with a few thoughts of my own thrown in for good measure. This is a science fiction novel, a revenge novel, a futuristic depiction and a cartoon in novel's clothing. Written in 1956, it broke new ground in many ways, and still remains a classic of the genre (all of the above, but certainly sci-fi). The novel tells the tale of Gully Foyle, mechanic's mate third class, who gets ...  Read the complete review

Gully Foyle is my name And Terra is my nation Deep space is my dwelling place The stars my destination The Stars My Destination is a science fiction novel that was originally serialized and was written by Alfred Bester. The book is a science fiction masterpiece and has been cited as one of the first examples of 'cyberpunk' a style of writing that became popular in the 1980's. This book was written in 1956. The book tells the tale of Gully Foyle, a man left to die on a wrecked spaceship by the 'Vorga'. The Vorga becomes an obsession to the simple minded Foyle who eventually has a strange tattoo emblazoned over his face. Foyle's rage ...  Read the complete review

Number five in the Masterworks series; Alfred Bester's novel from 1956, originally published as Tiger, Tiger after Blake, continuing a fashion for turning to the highest human cultural icons to convey the emotions we've forgotten how to manufacture our own symbols for. As a general principle, I deeply resent this ripping off of classical culture (Yes I know Blake was a romantic poet, but the details, ah, the details...) by people who aren't fit to lick the seventeenth century's boots, as a rule. Oh, there are exceptions; you can do anything you like to Zarathustra as far as I'm concerned, for instance, because the opening few bars are the only part ...  Read the complete review

This is another superb addition to Millennium's SF Masterworks series. Bester's 1956 story deals with the adventures of Gully Foyle, apparently the sole surviving member of the starship Nomad. Driven by a desire to exact hideous revenge on the crew of the starship Vorga, which ignored his distress signals as he drifted alone aboard Nomad, Foyle is a despicable character, who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Marked by hideous facial tattoos by his saviours, and haunted by a flaming doppelganger, Foyle goes to extreme ends to track down and torture the Vorga crew. One of the concessions you have to make to enjoy the book is the "Jaunte ...  Read the complete review