The Reviews My Destination

Hi,

So I just finished up, The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. It's a classic of Science Fiction and there's a good reason for that. It's a wonderful book that succeeds on a variety of levels.

For the most part, it's tale of revenge and Morality. Gully Foyle, the most common of common men works aboard a ship that's nearly destroyed. Marooned in space, he feels rescue is certain when they Voyga arrives. When it passes him by, leaving him to die, it sets off a desire for vengeance that will propel Gully out of the wrecked ship and onto a dark and bloody path towards his goal.

If it was just that, it'd be great. But then you layer in the Jaunting (the innate teleportation power all humans possess), the corporate satire, and a few other fun bits and the story becomes totally engaging. True, it feels just a bit dated, but the dated bits are mostly just some names and ideas. If radar can't exactly do the things they claim it does, future sci-fi readers will giggle at all idea of a hyper-ethical, omniscient AI. It's not that the future prognostications didn't come true, it's that they provide a framework to tell a compelling story.

All in all, a wonderful read
Tom

The Reviews My Destination

Hi,

So I just finished up, The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. It's a classic of Science Fiction and there's a good reason for that. It's a wonderful book that succeeds on a variety of levels.

For the most part, it's tale of revenge and Morality. Gully Foyle, the most common of common men works aboard a ship that's nearly destroyed. Marooned in space, he feels rescue is certain when they Voyga arrives. When it passes him by, leaving him to die, it sets off a desire for vengeance that will propel Gully out of the wrecked ship and onto a dark and bloody path towards his goal.

If it was just that, it'd be great. But then you layer in the Jaunting (the innate teleportation power all humans possess), the corporate satire, and a few other fun bits and the story becomes totally engaging. True, it feels just a bit dated, but the dated bits are mostly just some names and ideas. If radar can't exactly do the things they claim it does, future sci-fi readers will giggle at all idea of a hyper-ethical, omniscient AI. It's not that the future prognostications didn't come true, it's that they provide a framework to tell a compelling story.

All in all, a wonderful read
Tom