Looking for something to read? You must read
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Abagayle
- Posts: 57
- Joined: 19 Jun 2008, 11:02
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Looking for something to read? You must read
ALFRED BESTER.
Gah.
I've read everything thrice now, he is fabulous and mmmmmm.
Its sad that no one's heard of him, I want to get the word out, let me know how much you enjoy him.
=]
Alright, really, I'd love to discuss the societies he's created in these books, he raises a lot of interesting questions.
Gah.
I've read everything thrice now, he is fabulous and mmmmmm.
Its sad that no one's heard of him, I want to get the word out, let me know how much you enjoy him.
=]
Alright, really, I'd love to discuss the societies he's created in these books, he raises a lot of interesting questions.
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Wordsgood
Abagayle, can you please provide some kind of blurb about these books? It might help motivate us to check them out so we can talk about them! 
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Abagayle
- Posts: 57
- Joined: 19 Jun 2008, 11:02
- Bookshelf Size: 0
Sorry, I have time now.
=]
I have been reading The Stars My Destination quite frequently because it is an insightful book that raises many questions about today's society, even though it was written eons ago.
Wikipedia handles it well:
"The Stars My Destination is, in one sense, a science-fiction adaption of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. It is the study of a man completely lacking in imagination or ambition, Gulliver Foyle. Fate transforms "Gully" Foyle in an instant; shipwrecked in space, then abandoned by a passing luxury liner, Foyle becomes a monomaniacal and sophisticated monster bent upon revenge. Wearing many masks, learning many skills, this "worthless" man pursues his goals relentlessly; no price is too high to pay.
The Stars My Destination anticipated many of the staples of the later cyberpunk movement—the megacorporations as powerful as the governments, a dark overall vision of the future, the cybernetic enhancement of the body. To this it added the standard "one weird idea" of science fiction—that human beings could learn to teleport, or "jaunte" from point to point, with various personal limitations but one overall absolute limit: no one can jaunte through outer space. On the surface of a planet, the jaunte rules supreme; off it, mankind is still restricted to machinery.
In this world, unlike that of Bester's other masterpiece The Demolished Man, telepathy is extremely rare, but does exist. One important character is able to send thoughts but not receive them. There are fewer than half a dozen full telepaths in all the worlds of the solar system.
The protagonist, Gully Foyle, is introduced as "He was one hundred and seventy days dying and not yet dead..." Foyle is a cipher, a man with potential but no motivation, who is suddenly marooned in space. Even this is not enough to galvanize him beyond trying to find air and food on the wreck. But all changes when an apparent rescue ship deliberately passes him by, stirring him irrevocably out of his passivity."
Apologies, I know I mention these books a lot. More than anything I'm surprised that virtually no one outside of a few close friends have heard of Bester.
=]
I have been reading The Stars My Destination quite frequently because it is an insightful book that raises many questions about today's society, even though it was written eons ago.
Wikipedia handles it well:
"The Stars My Destination is, in one sense, a science-fiction adaption of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. It is the study of a man completely lacking in imagination or ambition, Gulliver Foyle. Fate transforms "Gully" Foyle in an instant; shipwrecked in space, then abandoned by a passing luxury liner, Foyle becomes a monomaniacal and sophisticated monster bent upon revenge. Wearing many masks, learning many skills, this "worthless" man pursues his goals relentlessly; no price is too high to pay.
The Stars My Destination anticipated many of the staples of the later cyberpunk movement—the megacorporations as powerful as the governments, a dark overall vision of the future, the cybernetic enhancement of the body. To this it added the standard "one weird idea" of science fiction—that human beings could learn to teleport, or "jaunte" from point to point, with various personal limitations but one overall absolute limit: no one can jaunte through outer space. On the surface of a planet, the jaunte rules supreme; off it, mankind is still restricted to machinery.
In this world, unlike that of Bester's other masterpiece The Demolished Man, telepathy is extremely rare, but does exist. One important character is able to send thoughts but not receive them. There are fewer than half a dozen full telepaths in all the worlds of the solar system.
The protagonist, Gully Foyle, is introduced as "He was one hundred and seventy days dying and not yet dead..." Foyle is a cipher, a man with potential but no motivation, who is suddenly marooned in space. Even this is not enough to galvanize him beyond trying to find air and food on the wreck. But all changes when an apparent rescue ship deliberately passes him by, stirring him irrevocably out of his passivity."
Apologies, I know I mention these books a lot. More than anything I'm surprised that virtually no one outside of a few close friends have heard of Bester.
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blue_doona32
- Posts: 111
- Joined: 07 Jun 2008, 22:44
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This does sound like The Count of Monte Cristo! Also similar to Eoin Colfer's new book Airman. Anyone read this one?
It truly is along the lines of Edmund Dantes' adventures, if that helps any. Sounds good haha I'll have to look it up.
It truly is along the lines of Edmund Dantes' adventures, if that helps any. Sounds good haha I'll have to look it up.
the difference between the right word and the almost right is really a large matter. It is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning ~Mark Twain
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Gannon
- Previous Member of the Month
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- Favorite Book: Pillars of the Earth
- Currently Reading: Heaven's Net is Wide.
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