For science fiction, the 1950s represent a peak of achievement seldom matched before or since—a combination of innocence and ambition never quite equaled in decades to come, despite the dawning of a plethora of more sophisticated and elaborate speculative worlds. Alfred Bester, certainly the preeminent author of the period, never subsequently reached the heights of his two milestone books, The Demolished Man (1953) and The Stars My Destination (1955). The latter novel in particular, arising from the imagination of a fellow who had been steeped since adolescence in the genre, remains an almost unduplicated example of the ramified intellectual and stylistic summits that science fiction can reach. The first thing that hits the reader about this book is its commanding, jazzy voice—a bravura style which the author clearly relishes, and which his hero as clearly embodies. Bester’s writing is a high-wire act balancing impatient exposition with a sort of baroque improvisation—sentences ricochet across the pages with a thrilling abandon that makes our progress along the taut plot line dizzyingly invigorating.
In the 60s, when I was just a kid, this book blew my mind. It wasn't as great as some of the books I read after it, like Azimov and others of that era, but it was brilliant.
Being my first Science-Fiction reading, I was a bit skeptical about the genre — lots of unmotivated prejudices, I must confess — but this book has completely changed my mind: I've enjoyed it so much I can't find the right words to describe how I am feeling.
Stunning. Futuristic. It's hard to believe it was written as early as 1956!
The synaestesia interlude in Chapter 15 has echoed in my mind the famous <a href="https://youtu.be/jcZUPDMXzJ8">scene</a> from Walt Disney's Dumbo.
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