Space Opera

Blog Week 9 Space Opera

“The Stars My Destination” by Alfred Bester

            The reading for this week was very interesting, but also a bit easy to get lost in the storyline. It seemed as though the narrative changed with each page, just so many things happening at once. The main character Gully Foyle starts out as an unambitious man, he’s unskilled and uneducated and most things aren’t working out for him. He goes through many transformations throughout the story. The gears are set in motion for this man’s life to change drastically when his ship is attacked and he is marooned for six months in space, all alone, waiting. A passing ship ignores his cry for help, and Foyle transforms into a man now consumed by rage and revenge.

            This book came about during the late stages of the cyberpunk movement, which is a “subgenre of sci-fi in a near future setting. Noted for it’s focus on high-tech and low-life, it features advanced science, such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order.” This book was meant to be a sort of vision into the future in which there was cybernetic body enhancement, as well as an interesting concept called “jaunting” which is basically personal teleportation. As well, there are examples of telepathy in this world. The characters are interesting and dimensional, especially Gully Foyle. Although he is a bit predictable, everyone loves a good righteous revenge story. Something I really liked was that after he got the “tiger face” tattoo removed (which was forced on him to begin with), it will resurface when he becomes enraged. The plot is a bit overworked, and some thing could definitely be simplified and easier to follow, but the author obviously has a great imagination and knack for creating worlds. The ending was fantastic, and overall the book made me think more about evolution and where our society may be heading.