The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Science Fiction doesn’t get any more “must read” than this. Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination follows 25th Century anti-hero Gulliver Foyle on his single-minded mission of revenge to the people who wronged him. This story has a lot in common with Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. But while they’re similar in structure, Stars shines as a brilliant work in its own right.
Rather than traipsing around 18th Century France, Gully exists in a future where humans “jaunte” from one place to another by sheer willpower. A stupid, illiterate thug, Gully is one of the few people who hasn’t developed the skill. But after being left for dead in the shattered hulk of a derelict spaceship, the spark of vengeance starts a fire in his dormant mind and awakens powers that make him the most advanced—and deadly—man alive.
