My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels: #7 – The Stars My Destination

#7 – The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956)

First serialised edition cover - Image via Wikipedia

Often described as ‘The Count of Monte Cristo‘ in space, this is a hum-dinger of a novel.

It follows the adventures of Gully Foyle, the lone survivor aboard a destroyed merchant spaceship called the Nomad. He waits in darkness for 6 months for a rescue.

When he spots another spaceship passing by, the Vorga, he fires some rescue flares and thinks he will finally be rescued.

The Vorga leaves him behind.

From that moment on, his only mission is revenge on the Captain of the Vorga. His quest takes him through a prison escape, facial reconstruction, and a slew of other craziness that I won’t spoil for you.

All this takes place in a world in which people can instantly transport themselves, or ‘jaunte’, from one place to another.

Seriously, how can this book not be good? I’ve read it many times and it is thrilling every single time.

Yes, no matter how we defend ourselves against the outside we’re always licked by something from the inside. There’s no defense against betrayal, and we all betray ourselves.

– Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination

All Entries

#10 – Watership Down

#9 – The Harry Potter Series

#8 – The Wheel of Time Series

#7 – The Stars My Destination

#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog

#5 – Doomsday Book

#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal

#3 – The Farseer Trilogy

#2 – Flowers for Algernon

#1 – The Martian Chronicles