What on Earth did I just read? Or should I say space? How about the time-dilated multiverse? In sci-fi lingo you could best describe the hypotheticals in this book as the triple T: telepathy, teleportation, and time travel. In this day and age these would be classified under the paranormal, but they become quite normal in Bester’s future. If that isn’t enough fun for you then behold the other spectacular oddities that he serves up here: egghead stoics stripped of all senses, an insane blind girl who sees in the infrared, clowns masquerading as bourgeois elitists while plotting the destruction of enterprise, burning spirits showing up at random moments, a man being able to talk after his head is severed from his body, an alloy that detonates with the force of the big bang, a bionic man who can slow down time and move at the speed of lightning, unconventional font effects... And what kind of a name is Jiz McQueen? It sounds like a name that Ronald McDonald would make up if he became a cross-dressing pornstar.
Of course, this book has all the machisimo basics that any book for guys can’t go without; like hot women, disjointed shouting, miraculous action sequences, money laundering, romantic betrayal, etc. Gully Foyle, an anti-hero who is strikingly flawed to begin with, is on a mission of vengeance against those who abandoned him in outer space. His primitive drive wreaks all kinds of havoc on the solar system and those closest to him. This psychotic brutality makes it readable even for people who use their conscience because 1) it’s entertaining and 2) his character evolves. It isn’t all this manic space-mongering that makes it widely regarded as one of the best sci-fi books ever written. The greatest thing about this book is Gully’s transformation from a barbaric space cowboy to an interstellar guru. Before the ending I wasn’t sure if I’d give it 5 stars, but now I definitely can.
Author Alfred Bester is a creative genius who uses many interesting plot twists in this fast-paced tale set 400 years in the future. It was only 250 pages, but it could have easily been over 800, as every chapter is jam packed with action and heated dialogue. This isn’t just a book for techies: I’d recommend for anyone into movies like The Matrix, Terminator, The Fifth Element, and Star Wars.
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