The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Book Club – February 6, 2011
A little late for me to be writing a review, and I can’t guarantee I’ll remember everything either, but since this is just a general response that should be okay. This year I decided to join in a book club some of my friends were having, not only to read more varied books, but also to meet people and gain some new friends. The Stars My Destination was the first book I read to participate in the book club.
I found the story intriguing, and was quite curious throughout my reading to find out what would happen next, and what the setting would be. A large part of what kept me involved in the story were the descriptions of the places and the way in which the story was told. In general I’m not a big science fiction fan, I often find strictly science fiction books hard to keep up with because I don’t have the right mindset to understand the science involved (whether or not it’s real science), so I often lose the story in the more technical aspects. Bester told the story with a great descriptive quality, which allowed me to enjoy it without getting lost in the science.
This was key for me, because I didn’t really like many of the characters. The main character, Gully Foyle, I didn’t care much about one way or the other. The female characters I thought were interesting, but possibly only because I could relate to them a bit more, being a female myself. My favorite character in the book, you could technically say was not a character at all. Fourmyle of Ceres was fun and extremely over the top, bringing in a fantastical element that I really enjoyed. Although I didn’t care much about most of the characters, they were still well written and able to present the story that was being told.
Overall this was an interesting book, and one that I’m glad to have read. I would happily recommend it to anyone who enjoys science fiction, and maybe even those who aren’t so sure about it.
