The Stars My Destination

I enjoy a good sci-fi romp through space every once in awhile, and The Stars, My Destination fits the mold perfectly.

Gulliver (“Gully”) Foyle is an uneducated mechanic set adrift aboard a damaged ship named the Nomad. With his air supply dwindling, a terra ship named the Vorga passes by and, to his amazement, leaves him. Foyle is incredibly angry and vows to track down the Earth-based ship and enact revenge.

Foyle repairs the ship and blasts to a nearby asteroid, where he is captured by a cult, is instantly married to a crew member, and has his entire face tattooed with their signature, a tiger-like design. Fun times!

Did I mention teleportation? The ability was discovered, and it retroactively changed the way Earth deals with logistics, privacy, and the mix of different cultures.

It has quite a few novel ideas for the mid-1950s. It touches on governmental control, space fairing, cybernetic implants, telepathy, and time travel, to name a few. Those who like a bit of Terminator with their pseudoscience, death-wish-like plotting will be at home here.

// Setting the scene \
Foyle meets a 100-year-old woman whom he falls for in prison. One thing leads to the next, and after they escape, she knows an ex-con/swindler “Freakshow” procurer (yes, it gets kind of convoluted), and he is able to remove the hideous tattooing. It works for awhile, but, surprise! Once Foyle displays complex emotion, the scars return. But do not worry; he undergoes a procedure and becomes half man and half machine. And how does one control their anger after such a transformative body upgrade? Yoga! That's right, my friends, Namaste!

It's a wild plot that has quite a few twists and turns. The ending is fairly philosophical, too. Overall, I enjoyed it, but your mileage may vary. If you're looking for a nostalgic sci-fi story that has a mish-mash of plot lines that definitely inspired future writers, this is it.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, my friends!!!!