The Stars My Destination

Rating:
Summary: Be forwarned, it may not be for you...
Review: Bester writes this story in an unconventional rambling style, which may not be pleasing to all readers (refer to the 1 star review from the reader from Kansas City). In most cases where I see 1 star reviews for a particular novel I dismiss them as the ignorant response of a complete illiterate but, in the case of The Stars My Destination, I can certainly understand. This is one book that you will either love or hate. I loved the book personally. Thanks to Amazon.com for listing it among their science fiction recommendations. Otherwise, I never would have known of the book and never would have bought it and read it.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This was the first book I have ever read for school that found a place on my bookshelf. I read this my junior year, and up until then, no book I had ever read had impressed me enough to earn a place on my bookshelf. Since then, only two others have, those being Dune (the best book I have ever read) and Ragtime (entralling). This has the feel and presentation of a film, and you get a cinematic sense about it as you read it. Gully goes from a monosyllabic cretin to a very intelligent, manipulative genius. He also shows some sort of honor at the end when he leaves the world to teach the primitive people the secret of time jaunte. Very enteratining and powerful. One of my favprites.

Rating:
Summary: An unbelievable journey to find one man's own self-worth
Review: One of the first science fiction books I ever read. It has never, ever failed to captivate me with each successive reading. If anyone wants to see SF writing at it's "Best-er", this is a must read. It grabs hold of you and doesn't let you go, much less let you take more than one breath per minute. It also makes you want to see what Gully Foyle sees, experience what he does, and most of all, come to the same conclusion of discovery he reaches.

Rating:
Summary: Liked the world, but the story seemed lacking at the end.
Review: I just finished this book, and I really am a bit taken aback. I have read much escapist literature and felt it was time to broaden my horizons. I picked this book because I'd heard it was a classic, and had a fast-paced, action-packed story. This is all true, but I'm wondering if maybe I'm just cut out for escapist reading. The story was great. Until the ending. It just got very preachy and, for lack of a better term springing to mind, "artsy." I thought many of the ideas were incredibly fascinating, as well as the characters in the book. I wouldn't even think much of the fact that I didn't think much of the ending, except for the overwhelming amount of praise this book has received. When twenty people see something one way, and you see it another, there's the tendency to ask oneself "Am I blind, or is my vision much clearer than the masses?" I lean toward the former. Upon closing the book and completing this review, the only thing I am left with is a shrug. ...

Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking masterpiece written with brilliance.
Review: Free will, that is what this book is about. The ability to chose, to act or wait and react. It is a book about driven men and society, but above all else, it is a book about a man and how his choices affect the world. Bester has provided us with what I consider the best in sci-fi. I tip my hat at the creator of this ingenious and thought provoking book.

Rating:
Summary: God awful, and it got worse.
Review: As a fifth grade teacher, I would have given a D to a 10 year old if they wrote this. No descriptions. No characterization. No sense of setting. Plot jumps (jauntes?)around like crazy. No sense of connection to anything or anyone. The dialogue was absolutely choppy and lame! I read the whole thing only because I can't stand to leave things unfinished. I only wish the author had felt the same. Honestly, this was one of the worse things I have ever read!

Rating:
Summary: The best science fiction novel from the 50s.
Review: The was the greatest science fiction novel of the 1950s and an absolute classic, without question the finest science fiction novel of the 1950s and arguably the greatest SF novel, period. Bester creates an extraordinarily detailed and exotic future society in which to set the tale of Gully Foyle, a man who is driven to greatness by his passion for revenge. Above all, this novel is about the price of obsession, and the responsibility of power. It has been out of print for ages. Buy it. Read it. Bester did NOT die shortly after this book was published in the 1950s; he went on to write another classic, "The Demolished Man", in the 1960s, as well as "The Indian Giver" [1973]) and several other novels, in addition to short stories. Another great new speculative fiction (science fiction that takes place in current time) is Steiger's new techno-thriller, 'Alien Rapture,' which will astound any reader.

Rating:
Summary: 75%+ will love it; other 25% just need a carefree mood/day
Review: This is just sheer entertainment -- one of my all time favorites. To all you Hegelian introspectors: Join us! Have a tequilla shot first! Other: Great cyper-punk literary history.

Rating:
Summary: Great work from a SF master
Review: This was written 42 years ago and it is just as exciting today as it was when it was published.

Rating:
Summary: a great novel with many twists and satires on society
Review: I just finished this book today. I feel it is one of the greatest books I've ever read. It has everything: intense plotting with many twists, a hero who is really more of an anti-hero in that he is willing to sacrifice anything--or anyone--in his mad quest for vengeance, a love story that avoids cliche, high adventure, shifting capacity of several central characters, and a host of villains who are only slightly less monstrous than the hero. Although this book didn't win any awards, it should have, given that Bester incorporates a good deal of realistic plotting into a story that most definitely goes against many of the conventions of modern-day writing. If Hollywood wouldn't be inclined to murder Bester's dystopian (or for sci-fi more or less utopian) view of the 25th century, I'd say it should be optioned for a movie. Rather, I think it should remain as it is: a scathing remark on society told in possibly the seminal sf book in the world.