The Stars My Destination

One of the problems with older science fiction novels is how dated some of their assumptions about the future can be. In the big picture here, Bester misses feminism. In the smaller, he misses tattoo removal. Getting past those points, this is a fantastic classic novel that's been hailed as one of the forerunners of cyberpunk.

Bester's protagonist is Gully Foyle, who in one of the anticipations of the cyberpunk movement, is not a savory character. He's introduced as a mediocre worker, who after being stranded in space, decides to take revenge on the ship that failed to pick him up, rather than the crew of the ship. He has to have this explained to him by someone he meets in prison. He's also an unrepentant killer, a rapist, and a manipulative bastard. It's nice to have an antihero in a novel written in the 50s -- it would be too easy to have the protagonist be a big, bouncing Boy Scout, working to overthrow a corrupt system. But this isn't a corrupt system -- it's not a pleasant one, but it;s not a dystopia or a tyranny.

One of the conceits The Stars My Destination is that teleportation has been discovered, within limits -- it's not a technological breakthrough, but rather unlocking part of the human mind/subconscious to will oneself hundreds of miles (a theme similar to Bester's other classic novel, The Demolished Man, in which telepathy is unlocked in a like manner). However, although humanity has spread to outer space, teleportation is only possible on a planet, and only if the destination (and departure point) are well known to the individual. So the very rich keep themselves isolated in labyrinthine mansions, prisons are kept dark to prevent prisoners becoming familiar with the area, etc. Large corporations controlled by families have massive influence, and new social structure -- one man huffily insists "There are thousands of Presteigns. All are addressed as 'Mister'. But I am Presteign of Presteign, head of house and sept, first of the family, chieftain of the clan. I am addressed as 'Presteign'. Not 'Mister Presteign'. Presteign."

There is a lot to like about The Stars My Destination, but by far the worst part about it is the dialogue -- it's very clunky, and the characterization often isn't too much better. Some of this can be chalked up to not having the freedom to address sexual issues or themes the way later sci-fi writers would be able to, but the majority has to fall on Bester. Luckily, the novel is strong enough to be exemplary even with these flaws. Recommended without reservation.

Neuromancer

What can I say about Neuromancer that hasn't been said already? It's one of those novels that nearly any description is going to use either "seminal" or "groundbreaking". Not to say this isn't a good novel -- it is, I'd compare it favorably to any of the sci-fi I'd read recently -- but reading something like this nearly 30 (!) years after it was published, one tends to focus on where the author's vision of the future lacks verisimilitude, rather than where he was eerily prescient.

Despite the above, Neuromancer still retains its power. Worth picking up.

One of the necessary settings in a novel like this is an unpoliced Wild West area, where drugs and technology flow freely, and the opening setting of Chiba City in Japan may be the archetype of that.

The opening setting of Chiba City in Japan, a world of drugs, gangs, nightclubs, arcades, with little to no police presence could be the model for this genre; a Wild West-type area is needed in cyberpunk, and this certainly is it. Our protagonist, Case, is an archetype, too. So is our enforcer, Molly. While the plot may not be too unusual, the overall goal is an interesting one.

Again, Neuromancer is absolutely worthwhile, particularly for its treatment of artificial intelligence.

Snow Crash

Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash is a novel that's consistently been both praised and recommended to me. As page-turning science fiction novel, it's tough to find a peer for this. While the plot isn't quite as complex as Stephenson's later work, such as Cryptonomicon, in that the narrative is not skipping back and forth in time, there's still enough threads to tie together to keep the story engaging.

Yes, Stephenson names his main character Hiro Protagonist (how the fuck do you think that's pronounced), but the humor is otherwise mostly dry, which is a good thing in a science fiction universe -- too much silliness isn't a good thing in such an artificial world. In re: artificiality, some of the computer discussion is hopelessly dated, but the novel was published in 1992. So it goes.

Despite how dated much of the referencing is, the Internet as conceived by Stephenson (referred to in the novel as the Metaverse) is, if not a realistic vision of how the Internet developed, an interesting vision of an alternate reality. The Metaverse seems like a cross between the Internet as people use it and Second Life. The introduction of Sumerian mythology/history/general culture in the later plot is even more interesting, but since most of us are unfamiliar with anything beyond the basics and possible The Epic of Gilgamesh, it's tougher to double check on the fly. (Yes, this is exactly the sort of question that the Internet is useful for answering)

Very entertaining and fun sci-fi novel that ties together several diverse threads at the end, even if some of those threads are a little simplistic. (The glossolalia comes across as bunk, and the Sumerian as human machine language particularly.) A great diversion, but I'd recommend Cryptonomicon before this.

The Demolished Man

Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man is a classic of science fiction, and is also cited as one of the forerunners of the cyberpunk genre, due to the role corporate intrigue plays in the exposition, as well as one setting (a labyrinth of a brothel, built on a post-nuclear site). It's an engaging, entertaining novel, that holds true to many fifties-era sci-fi conventions. Whether that adds to its charm, or hurts suspension of disbelief is an exercise for the reader.

Despite the fact that the novel is set in the early 24th century, in a world where telepaths are commonplace, it's unmistakably a product of the fifties -- much of the dialogue has a "gee whiz" feel. So while this may be a forerunner or anticipator of cyberpunk, it's certainly not a cyberpunk novel -- both the pro- and antagonist are initially likable characters, and the plot is relatively straightforward.

Bester's treatment of the emergence of telepaths is slightly more imaginative than most sci-fi or fantasy -- he organizes them into levels (for whether they can read thoughts, or delve into the unconscious mind), and has them formed into a guild. Said guild is the center of life for the telepaths -- one who has been sanctioned by the guild is exiled, and no other telepath will communicate with them. This is maddening, and many go crazy with loneliness -- the analogy is made to deaf-mutes. (One thing that bothers me about novels in the future, that The Demolished Man is particularly guilty of, is that many analogies are made to the mid-late 20th century, but few, if any, are made to the intervening period between then and the present of the novel)

While The Demolished Man is not perfect, it's still one of the best science fiction novels produced in the 1950s. Bester is able to create a compelling, mostly believable world, and a hell of a detective story. Absolutely up there with anything by Arthur C. Clarke, and I'd prefer him to Heinlein or Asimov.