/lit/ - Literature

>>22719176
The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester (1956)

Gully Foyle is lacking in all ways and he's been trapped in an inoperable spaceship for six months. After having a glimmer of hope revoked, he swears vengeance on those who left him stranded. All that he is and that all that he must become will be for destroying those who denied him freedom.

In the 24th century all humans can jaunte, teleport, up to 1000 miles away. This is an excellent premise, and if it had followed through on it I would've enjoyed this considerably more. As it is though it seems to be a metaphor for the golden age of air travel that was ongoing at the time of its publication. This is a book devoted to psionics of all sorts, as much was at the time. There's a lot that's of its era and I would've preferred that they were less metaphor and more explored. Society has reverted to the worst sorts of prudery. Religion has been outlawed. The solar system has been colonized and is at war. Corporations are as powerful as governments.

One of the problems with the science of science fiction for me is that it's based on relatively quickly outdated, if not obsolete ideas. When almost nothing is known anything is possible. The more that's known the less possibilities there are, until there's only one. The more that is known by everyone the less acceptable any alternative is if it's seriously proposed. I have no doubt that it's possible to entirely ignore all these concerns, but I don't think I can, nor do I want to. At least not for this book anyway, there are always exceptions. It doesn't help that it's centuries in the future but the technology is mostly the same, though often there isn't much that can be reasonably done about that. I have no doubt future generations will complain about the depiction of future technology as seen by the 2020s as well.

I may dislike pulp SF in general, though not categorically. Certainly it would seem that I have preference for the more recent based on my ratings and reading selections. There isn't a single pre-1962 SF novel I've rated higher than 3 stars. I don't seem to have much interest prior to New Wave SF. It's somewhat ironic to say that considering that Bester was championed by New Wave writers. Apparently it was initially received with a mixed reception at best, though it continually grew in stature over the decades, which I don't understand.

There wasn't really anything I liked about this, aside from the absurdity of the constant plot twists and contrivances. While Foyle does greatly develop as a character, I still disliked him from beginning to end. That's mostly because the more he changes, the more he stays the same. He simply switches from one monomaniacal pursuit to another. I did find it funny though how it denies that that self-improvement makes you a better person. It simply makes you more capable. I disliked the dialogue, but even more so I disliked the stylistic choices of the book's last 10%.

Rating: 2/5

>>17712415
Alfred Bester, particularly The Stars My Destination, The Demolished Man, and his short stories.

I'm curious. What are Sci-fi tropes and elements that people are genuinely tired of reading in the genre?

Ex. Space Magic or Sci-fi versions of Fantasy races, creatures, etc

>>12217690