The Stars My Destination - Outside of a Dog

English language

Published May 10, 1996

ISBN:: 9780679767800

(2 reviews)

The Stars My Destination is a science fiction novel by American writer Alfred Bester. Its first publication was in book form in June 1956 in the United Kingdom, where it was titled Tiger! Tiger!, named after William Blake's 1794 poem "The Tyger", the first verse of which is printed as the first page of the novel. The book remains widely known under that title in the markets in which this edition was circulated. It was subsequently serialized in the American Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in four parts, beginning in October 1956. A working title was Hell's My Destination; the book was also associated with the name The Burning Spear. It would prove to be Bester's last novel for 19 years. The novel was both widely criticized and praised when it first appeared, but now is appreciated as a classic work in its own right, and as a prescient forerunner of …

The Stars My Destination is a science fiction novel by American writer Alfred Bester. Its first publication was in book form in June 1956 in the United Kingdom, where it was titled Tiger! Tiger!, named after William Blake's 1794 poem "The Tyger", the first verse of which is printed as the first page of the novel. The book remains widely known under that title in the markets in which this edition was circulated. It was subsequently serialized in the American Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in four parts, beginning in October 1956. A working title was Hell's My Destination; the book was also associated with the name The Burning Spear. It would prove to be Bester's last novel for 19 years. The novel was both widely criticized and praised when it first appeared, but now is appreciated as a classic work in its own right, and as a prescient forerunner of the cyberpunk literary genre.

5 editions

Allen Shull reviewed The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

As Operatic as Space Opera Gets

4 stars

Content warning CW: Spoilers, Violence

Undeniable to see why this book is a classic. At the same time, it is problematic as all get out. The main character is terrible; at least, Bester seems to be saying, he knows he’s horrible. You’ll see people comparing this to The Count of Monte Cristo—but does that main character commit rape in the first 30 pages, and then halfway through kidnap his victim in order to force her to obey him? Everyone in this story is utterly out for revenge.

And yet, the imagery and the invention is so particular. The grandeur of scenes is arresting. There is pure spectacle—not mere garishness but also interesting and strange and fascinating images. There’s so much going on in the occasional details. A man builds train tracks to make a grand entrance. A street hustler sells photos of Christians offering illegal prayers. A space colony of stoics is kept in shelves like sardines. A woman who is blind to the visual spectrum but sees above and below it delights in the flashes of an orbital bombardment. And of course I’m not even mentioning the ending. I’ll say this: I don’t know how this book works as an ebook, strictly because of the typesetting.

Is it worth it? Dostoevsky can show terrible people doing terrible things with a good message to the reader; just because the main character is a monster does not mean the main character is a hero. We do not want to identify with Gully Foyle, and we readers can tell that everyone who judges him is right. But still, I just don’t know.

Aneel reviewed The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

Review of 'The Stars My Destination' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Loaned by Jorm. I have mixed feelings about it. It's clearly a product of its time, which I can't fault it for. The world was fascinating. Quite a bit of thought about the repercussions of Jaunting — the sort of thought that separates Science Fiction from Space Fantasy, in my view. The over-plot was really neat. Enough hints were dropped early on to let you figure it out ahead of time, but not so many that it wasn't a surprise to see just how it falls out.

I didn't like the characterization much, though. There were too many places where a character underwent a transformation that changed their essence in a way that didn't seem to jibe with what had gone before. For example: Jizbella, a strong female character who doesn't take shit from any man finds in another of the characters a man who justifies the "double standard".