The Stars My Destination [review]

"Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation.
Deep space is my dwelling place,
The stars my destination."

Full Title: The Stars My Destination
Author: Alfred Bester
Genre: Science Fiction

Mankind pared down to his barest - that's what this story feels like. Thin sinew and muscle raging through the pages, and never a moment's rest for Gully Foyle, who raises himself in the book from aimless beast to the most moral of men. Gully Foyle begins devoid of anything at all - no passions, neither desire to live or die, an utter indifference to the living world - until a thirst for revenge gives his life meaning and determination that fuels him to the point of invincibility. But I love the underlying moral premise: that man can be inspired by a cause, can grow as a person because of that cause, but must ultimately outgrow it to avoid obliteration.

The writing style is masterfully breathless. I've less to say about the 'science' behind the book - the themes of jaunting (human's inbuilt ability to teleport at will) and PyrE (some sort of explosive substance ignited solely by human will) are less scientifically developed as they are morally and symbolically developed. There's a very half-baked attempt to forward a plausible scientific explanation for either of these strands of Gully Foyle's futuristic world - but then again, there's no need to, really. To me they represent mankind's increasing autonomy as we progress further into our future, and the story is a call to the increasing responsibility that comes with such autonomy - and that's all that's important, more so than the story of how he investigates and exacts his vengeance. That's why the story comes to a close with Foyle calling people to discard their inertia, their moral stasis, and take up the reins of being human:

"Take a war to make you spend. Take a jam to make you think. Take a challenge to make you great. Rest of the time you sit around lazy, you. Pigs, you! All right, God damn you! I challenge you. Die or live and be great. Blow yourselves to Christ gone, or come and find me, Gully Foyle, and I make you men. I make you great. I give you the stars."

Worth a read, at least.