Beginning my journey into cyberpunk literature is Alfred Bester's 1956 novel The Stars My Destination. Considered to be proto-cyberpunk due to it's bleak future, cybernetic implants and corporate ruling class; the impact it had on later works of the genre will become more apparent to me as I make my way through the rest of my choices from The Essential Cyberpunk Reading List but suffice it to say I feel like a better science fiction fan for having read this book. I read the Vintage Books Edition (1996) with an introduction by Neil Gaiman.
.::[FIRST IMPRESSIONS]::.
An enigmatic cover, a shadowy hand pinching a ball of flames. Alfred Bester has won the Hugo Award for another of his books The Demolished Man (I wonder what influence that had on Demolition Man the dystopian film). The Stars My Destination is "Considered by many... to be the greatest single SF novel". I like the idea of a solitary renegade being pitted against the empire builders of the next millennium. "Education: None. Merits: None. Recommendations: None." - I can empathise. Revenge. Secrecy. The rich build labyrinths.
.::[PART ONE - ANALYSIS]::.
The book begins proper by getting us to imagine jaunting (teleportation by will). As this ability spread there were dramatic impacts on society, land riots, crashes, panics and strikes, plagues and pandemics, crime waves and a war between the Inner Planets of the solar system and the Outer Satellites. All this sounded like a great premise for a dystopian sci fi and the novel is supposed to be set across this seething background. Alas the novel never really explores these issues with the exception of the latter which it only superficially deals with. But I can forgive this lack of depth by remembering the historical context of the time the novel was written in.
From what I understand, sci fi of the 1950's would of been characterised by the pulp fiction heroic adventure tales. So it is through this lens I can appreciate how ground-breaking The Stars My Destination would of been with its dark themes and anti-hero.
A side thought about jaunting: could not the meta interpretation of this premise be that we as readers have jaunted into the fictional world before us. The Stars My Destination in its form is also quite jaunted. Almost every chapter is a self contained story that could have been the premise for an entire novel in of itself.
Enter Gully Foyle. Trapped on a space ship called the Nomad, lost in space Foyle (a simple brute of a man) is fighting for survival when another ship the Vorga passes by and doesn't rescue him. This sends Foyle into a rage and he becomes driven by one thing: seeking revenge on Vorga. He repairs Nomad enough to begin chase but instead finds himself captured by a lost tribe of scientists on an asteroid who call themselves The Scientific People.
I liked the conceptual premise of The Scientific People, a group of scientists who were marooned on an asteroid who practised a bizarre (d)evolution of the scientific method as a religion. They are antiquatedly referred to as savages, the last savages in the solar system, with Maori like tattoos on their faces. They brand Foyle with a tattoo on his face and want him to join their tribe by taking brides called gametes (scientifically mated). I would of love to have read an entire novel exploring this culture.
Foyle foils (intentional) their plans and escapes to continue his quest of revenge. I could continue to spoil the story but instead I will explore some of the other points that I found interesting and note worthy, this in of itself will continue to contain spoilers so read on with that in mind.
It would be improper to analyse this cultural artefact without mentioning the way the book depicts women. And again the historical context of the 1950's becomes apparent. Women do not hold the same level of stature as men in the world of The Stars My Destination; the women in the book are objects of Foyles lust. He even goes so far as to rape one of them but they all fall into filling a subservient role in pushing Foyle forward. Love is hollow and seemingly instantaneous with little depth to it.
The cybernetic body enhancements in The Stars My Destination were cool. I'm not sure if it was the first book to utilise them as a concept (anyone know?) but it none-the-less has me excited for the future novels of the genre I will be exploring.
I also liked the premise of the corporate clans being a dominant force in the solar system - I only wish the novel explored the politics of this reality in more depth. The old money rich show their wealth by travelling by means other than jaunting, they jaunte-proof their homes by installing labyrinths. To me this symbolises how the wealthy invest in the tangible and protect their station in life via esoteric means.
PyrE was a comment on atomic bomb. How with our thoughts we could destroy the world.
The way the book explored synesthesia I thought was really cool too and I was reminded of 2001: A Space Odyssey when I read that chapter.
.::[PART TWO - REVIEW]::.
Dated though it is, I'm glad I read it. I don't know enough about the historical context in which this book was written to give an accurate picture of how great or groundbreaking it was but I assume from it's reputation it must of everything they said it was. I on the other hand with the benefit and luxury of 62 years of time passing giving me masterpieces like Deus Ex and The Expanse can see how much more this book could of been. Overall I'm giving it... 2.5 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment