The Stars My Destination

Connavar

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Im reading this book. What do you think of this book those of you that have read it?

No spoilers since im not done yet.

I must say it is the first SF i have ever read where it was soo easy to get into the story. Before i knew i had read alot and was absorbed in the world. That was even before i saw Foyle and his new mission. Very interesting world with the many planets,juante,the new era that came of it etc.

Not much to get used to by his writing i like that. Sheer readability is rare for me in SF. Even the best authors i need many pages to get used to their style of writing.


The Scientific People ! Hahaha:D
 
You know i use to think that calling SF from this era the Golden age of SF was too much looking back but many of the 50's and 60's SF i have read has been pure genius and several of them the best books i have read in any genre.


This one doesnt look like any different from the others atleast not after having read more than half of the book.
 
It's part of VG's SF Masterwork series Gully, you should pick up a copy, it's well worth the effort.
 
The Stars My Destination is certainly a classic, but avoid The Demolished Man. Some will tell you that it's also a classic sf novel, but I didn't like it at all.
 
In The Demolished Man, the protagonist is a telepath. Bester used typographical tricks - pictures drawn on the page using the text of people's thoughts - to represent telepathy. It didn't strike me as convincing or useful. The plot, from what I remember, is a murder-mystery, and only solved through a sequence of coincidences.

Having said that, I know people who think The Demolished Man fully deserves its place in the SF Masterworks series. JD I don't doubt is one :)
 
I can't say I entirely share Ian's jaundiced view of The Demolished Man, which is set in a future where murder has been abolished due to telepathic policing, and features a man who manages to commit the ultimate crime despite this.

I think it's one of those many books that may have been outstanding when first published (55 years ago), but which hasn't stood the test of time as well as some others. Even so, it's not a bad book, but certainly isn't in the same league as The Stars My Destination, which remains stunning whenever it's read.

Then, of course, there's Extro, which is great fun but tends to be sadly overlooked these days...
 
OH, never heard of that one, thanks for the heads up...:)

It was also called The Computer Connection, so you might know it under that title. It involves a secret society of imortals living among us, one of whom becomes linked up with Extro, the super computer that controls much of what goes on across the world,, which leads to conflict, murder and mayhem among the immortals (if memory serves me right -- read this a long time ago).

Well worth a read, in any case. :)
 
There's also Bester's short fiction collection, The Dark Side of the Earth.
 
It's part of VG's SF Masterwork series Gully, you should pick up a copy, it's well worth the effort.
Sorry Gollum, I was being a tad ironic. Gully Foyle was no less the protagonist of said Stars, My Destination. Actually, I always think of this book as Tiger Tiger, which was the original UK title, and apparently has some minor differences to the initial U.S. publication.

Having said all this, I have not read it recently. The last time was 20++ years ago. When I finally find a dog eared copy of Tiger Tiger in some backwater bookshop in Beaconsfield I will read it, enjoy it, and maybe never read another SciFi book again (except any future scratchings by Iain M Banks).

On Bester's other works. I loved The Demolished Man, and though it may be dated as others have suggested, it is a bloody good read. I have also read Golem 100, which has Bester concepts at heart, but is all over the place, and best avoided. I have a book of short stories, Starburst, recommended by Ben/HSF waiting in my TBR pile, which is very small compared to the towering stack haunting your home, but which will probably take me longer to get through.

Bester is one of the greats, and The Stars, My Destination/Tiger Tiger is one of the greatest SF books of all time.
 
I must say Tiger! Tiger ! is so much better title. Agree with Gaimen's introduction that The Stars My Destination is warm and happy title for the book. Tiger!Tiger ! is more true to the story and says more.

Its funny the book has a connection with my first love when it comes to books aka The Count of The Monte Cristo. I saw an anime that was based on The Count. It has many things in commen with this book. The inner and OS planets etc Coincidence or the animators was fan of Bester.

This the version of the book i have Amazon.co.uk: The Stars My Destination (Gollancz S.F.): Books: Alfred Bester

I must says its more moody and dark cover compared to happy pic on Gully Foyle in Masterseries version of the book.


The Demolished Man is the top in my list on next books to buy. Simply cause i adore Bester after this book and i will see how good DM is for myself.
Also i like stories about future crime and how its stopped or they deal with it.


I have read only one classic SF so far i thought was overrated and not timeless and genius work. That was Man Plus by Pohl. I adore the characters but the story was lacking cause many things happend by coincidence. Even then i didnt found it dated but uneven.
 
Ah, but once you get to the end, you'll know why it's the title ;)

This is one of my favourite books, and not just favourite SF books. The characters are so vivid; the ideas incredible. Particularly the group of people who live in the asteroid belt; I won't spoil it if you haven't got that far, but they are hilarious!

It has an incredible mix of light and dark, with some moments that make you hate Gully, and some that make you love him.
 
Sorry Gollum, I was being a tad ironic. Gully Foyle was no less the protagonist of said Stars, My Destination. Actually, I always think of this book as Tiger Tiger, which was the original UK title, and apparently has some minor differences to the initial U.S. publication.

Having said all this, I have not read it recently. The last time was 20++ years ago. When I finally find a dog eared copy of Tiger Tiger in some backwater bookshop in Beaconsfield I will read it, enjoy it, and maybe never read another SciFi book again (except any future scratchings by Iain M Banks).

On Bester's other works. I loved The Demolished Man, and though it may be dated as others have suggested, it is a bloody good read. I have also read Golem 100, which has Bester concepts at heart, but is all over the place, and best avoided. I have a book of short stories, Starburst, recommended by Ben/HSF waiting in my TBR pile, which is very small compared to the towering stack haunting your home, but which will probably take me longer to get through.

Bester is one of the greats, and The Stars, My Destination/Tiger Tiger is one of the greatest SF books of all time.


Gully, I think most of us caught the irony in your statement but it would have simplified my efforts if you had used one of these at the end...;):D:rolleyes:
 
Ofcourse, there is every possibility that Gollum was being equally a Mr Smarty Pants.

(Gully registers shock :eek: at using inappropriate emoticons).
 

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