The Stars My Destination

I did not like this book. I'd give it 1 star but I did manage to finish it, and there are some neat ideas.

What I hate is the plotting. I could barely follow the book. Also hated the characters. Gully Foyle is annoying and confusing. Maybe the book makes more sense if you think of him as not even human? The switch to Fourmyle was really weird to me, the idea he's living a secret identity using the very name his enemies had imprinted on him. I picked that up the moment it was introduced but Bester saves it for the Big Reveal 100 pages later. Grr.

It is classic sci-fi though, and there are some good things. I like sci-fi focussed more on human potential than technological. I also see bits of Gilliam's Brazil in here, not to mention a bunch of PK Dick style paranoia. Only I've got that reversed, Bester comes first, so credit to him for laying the groundwork for sci-fi that I do like.