The Stars My Destination (S.F. MASTERWORKS): Alfred Bester

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Then there are books like this one, written by Alfred Bester, and you understand why some classics are still classics.

As mentioned above, one production company had apparently secured the rights to the novel as early as the 1960s. At times it is almost pulpy, it is grubby, it doesn’t hold punches – there’s a hint at a rape scene, for example! How would a narrator interpret the characters I knew so well after reading this story 40 times or more over six decades? Moorcock hailed Bester's novel as a reminder of "why the best science fiction still contains, as in Ballard, vivid imagery and powerful prose coupled to a strong moral vision".

When the friendly ship Vorga knowingly passes him by, he becomes consumed by the desire for revenge. Consumed with rage, Foyle swears to survive and wreak vengeance on the crew of the ship that left him to die. Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses. Now, the Outer Satellites not only want PyrE, they want Foyle as well, to learn the secret of space-jaunting.

He seeks out Robin Wednesbury, a one-way telepath, whom he had raped earlier in the novel, and persuades her to help him charm his way through high society. His desire to commit an act of revenge evolves from the simple act of blowing up a ship to the desire to murder the ship’s captain, to absolution, to introspection, and to a cosmic insight of where and who Gully is within the universe. A lot of sci-fi from that era, when you read it, it was incredible ideas, just some of the most thoughtful things you've encountered, but it was ultimately very dry.While anyone can jaunte, status is shown by taking mundane transportation, on the logic that you're rich enough to spend money on things you don't need and important enough to make people wait for you. Foyle now realizes the key to space-jaunting is faith: not the certainty of an answer, but the conviction that somewhere an answer exists. After much investigation, Gulliver discovers that Olivia was in fact the person in charge of the Vorga during his rescue, and that the former captain of the ship has moved to a cult on Mars where she has become immune to torture because all of her nerve cells have been disabled.