Thoughts

The year is almost at its nadir, its end,
A few more hours before the next phase begins
The past twelve months condescend
To that which stirs and clings
To memories of the recent past,
Some of sadness and some of joy.
They all fade as none do last,
Floating like a forlorn buoy
On the sands of time forgot
To everything that is held so dear
And on that midnight chime  ,or  shot
Resounds a hopeful and better New Year.

Book 78 - un

Alfred Bester "The Stars My Destination" (Millennium)




It's easy to understand why The Stars My Destination is a landmark sci-fi novel. Like the Demolished Man, Bester helped form what we think of as modern sci-fi, with a focus on story elements rather than on fantastic technology. The Stars My Destination is the story of Gulliver Foyle, an average man in almost every way, who is trapped on a destroyed starship, the last survivor onboard. Foyle struggles to live, slowly unravelling as he ekes out his existence. Then finally he sees a ship fly close by. It seems rescue is at hand, until the ship sees him, and keeps going. Foyle vows to survive somehow, and to have his revenge.

Sounds like a great premise right? And it is. Bester, however, doesn't quite live up to it. The beginning sequences are amazing, detailing Foyle's daily life on this destroyed vessel. The tension in these scenes is amazing. You really want to see how he's going to escape, and kill those that abandoned him. As the story progresses however, this quest of vengeance becomes almost secondary as Foyle gets embroiled in solar system politics. .

Bester throws a lot at you as well. Space travel isn't the only marvel of the future. ESP, teleportation, genetic engineering, etc. are all part of Bester's future world, some of them with thin explanations. The story gets a little messy at times, although it is never difficult to follow. Bester likes fast-paced action, which allows you to ignore some of the flaws in the story. Given the time in which it was written, Bester put together a pretty great novel, and I can see why it was so popular when it was written, given the type of sci-fi written just before this period.

Unlike most science-fiction, which centres on an idea or ideas, the novel is just as heavily centred on character, and that's another source of my ambivalence. The story unfolds along the lines of the classic revenge plot, and the man determined to gain that revenge at all costs, Gully Foyle, is one of the most memorable protagonists in science fiction (and contrasted with and pit against some of the strongest and memorable, if problematical, secondary female characters in science fiction, especially remarkable given this book was published in 1956.) Foyle isn't a conventional hero--he starts as a beast.

The only part that I could not forgive was the ending. There wasn't one, at least, not one that made any sense or gave the story closure. I won't reveal it, but be prepared for a great ride that ends in disappointment if you read this book.