Customer Reviews (2)

A Great Collection of Bester's Popular Short SF Works
As you may have read, Alfred Bester's novels, The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination (TSMD) are highly recommended for those that enjoy reading science fiction.If you're wanting to read more by Bester after that, a collection of his short stories is the next good place to go.His short to-the-point prose, storyline twists, and some similarities to the main character in TSMD are in his stories and Starlight is a collection of his better shorter SF works.Although Starlight is presently out of print, it can be purchased used by sellers via Amazon, sometimes for as little as 1 cent excluding shipping fees!

Starlight is slightly better than Virtual Unrealities in that each story is accompanied by a short description on the story.Starlight excludes Will You Wait?, The Flowered Thundermug, 3½ to Go, Galatea Galante, The Devil Without Glasses, BUT includes Ms. Found in a Champagne Bottle, Comment on "Fondly Fahrenheit", Four-Hour Fugue, Hell Is Forever, Isaac Asimov, Something Up There Likes Me, and My Affair with Science Fiction.Hell Is Forever, which is included only in this collection out of the two, was written incredibly in 1942, but the characters are just as relevant and realistic today in their selfishness as then.In this incredible story, one of the characters asks a powerful entity the impossible unrealistic request of answering the secret of the universe and to yet keep it from being answered as to maintain its mystique and incredibly, and unbelievably, Bester does just that in the story.

Note that there are different reviews between the Starlight hardcopy and the Starlight paperback Amazon reviews.

Table of contents and info for Starlight:
1976, 452pp.Combination of two previously published collections from 1976.Collection of 16 stories and three articles. ss: short story, nv: novelette, na: novella, ar: article.
* * from book: The Light Fantastic * ed. Alfred Bester * co Berkley/Putnam, 1976
* * 5,271,009 * nv F&SF Mar 1954
* * Ms. Found in a Champagne Bottle * ss Status, 1968
* * Fondly Fahrenheit * nv F&SF Aug 1954
* * Comment on "Fondly Fahrenheit" * ar
* * The Four-Hour Fugue * ss Analog Jun 1974 (`75 Hugo ss finalist), used in Golem^100?
* * The Men Who Murdered Mohammed * ss F&SF Oct 1958(`59 Hugo ss finalist)
* * Disappearing Act * ss Star Science Fiction Stories #2, ed. Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1953
* * Hell Is Forever * na Unknown Aug 1942
* * from book: Star Light, Star Bright * ed. Alfred Bester * co Berkley/Putnam, 1976
* * Adam and No Eve * ss Astounding Sep 1941
* * Time Is the Traitor * nv F&SF Sep 1953
* * Oddy and Id ["The Devil's Invention"] * ss Astounding Aug 1950
* * Hobson's Choice * ss F&SF Aug '52 1952
* * Star Light, Star Bright * ss F&SF Jul 1953
* * They Don't Make Life Like They Used To * nv F&SF Oct 1963
* * Of Time and Third Avenue * ss F&SF Oct 1951
* * Isaac Asimov * iv Publishers Weekly Apr 17 '72
* * The Pi Man * ss Star Light, Star Bright, Berkley/Putnam, 1976; revised from F&SF Oct '59 (`60Hfinal)
* * Something Up There Likes Me * nv Astounding, ed. Harry Harrison, Random, 1973
* * My Affair with Science Fiction * ar Nova 4, ed. Harry Harrison, Walker, 1974

Too few good stories among too many forgettable ones
Two collections of Bester's short stories, "The Light Fantastic" and "Star Light, Star Bright" are published together in this single volume.Without meaning to denigrate Mr. Bester's skills as a writer (he has a number of excellent novels to his credit), this is an uneven collection at best.A fascination with (now largely discredited) Freudian psychology runs through many of these stories, often to their detriment, as exemplified by the rambling ravings of "5,271,009" and the almost silly "Oddy and Id".Bester tends to let his characters' eccentricities become the whole story, rather than just a part of it, so the tale's entire impact hangs on how believable readers find that character to be.The above-named stories (among too many others) fail completely on that basis, while the stronger yarns, such as "Fondly Fahrenheit" and "They Don't Make Life Like They Used To" are credible enough to capture the reader's attention and hold it."Fahrenheit" is probably the strongest entry in this volume, a maddening tale about a defective android whose destructive behavior brings disaster to its unlucky owner.Up to the same high standard is "Adam and No Eve", an agonizing rendering of the last man on Earth, who must live with the knowledge that he has destroyed himself and his entire world with his own hubris.These two stories in themselves deserve the very highest rating.Unfortunately, the rest of this book is composed of Freudian nonsense ("The Four Hour Fugue"), pointless time travel stories ("Of Time and Third Avenue" is especially forgettable), silly mind-over-matter yarns (like the disappointing "Star Light, Star Bright", which starts out well enough, but goes nowhere), and trite deals with the devil (including the endless "Hell is Forever").Some of this material might have been exciting or even revolutionary 50 years ago when it was first published, but the science of psychology has progressed enormously during the interval, leaving these stories badly out of date. Perhaps this is why Mr. Bester chose to leave science fiction for greener (and possibly less demanding) pastures. ... Read more

Product Description
Dr Sequoya Guess, the latest recruit to a small group of immortals, attempts to take over Extro, the supercomputer that controls all mechanical activity on earth, but is himself possessed by Extro. Bester's other novels include "Golem 100" and "Tiger, Tiger". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Super Reader
Unknown to most, there is a secret society of immortals. To become immortal, you generally have to die in a particularly nasty manner.

In this future society and super computer is very important to running things, and when a diseased crazy immortal becomes involved with the machine, the other immortals have to stop him. If you can't kill him, what do you do? ... Read more

Product Description
Hardcover reprint of the October 1979 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, including: Introduction by Edward K. Ferman; F&SF at 30, essay by Isaac Asimov; Fondly Fahrenheit, by Alfred Bester (SF Hall of Fame story); And Now the News . . . by Theodore Sturgeon; Not With a Bang, by Damon Knight; Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes (winner, 1960 Hugo Award); A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller, Jr.; One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts, by Shirley Jackson; The Women Men Don't See, by James Tiptree, Jr.; Born of Man and Woman, by Richard Matheson (nominated, 2001 Retro Hugo); Jeffty Is Five, by Harlan Ellison (winner, 1977 Nebula Award, 1978 Hugo Award, 1978 Locus Poll Award); Ararat, by Zenna Henderson; Sundance, by Robert Silverberg; Dreaming Is a Private Thing, by Isaac Asimov; Poor Little Warrior!, by Brian W. Aldiss; We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, by Philip K. Dick; Selectra Six-Ten, by Avram Davidson; Problems of Creativeness, by Thomas M. Disch; The Quest for Saint Aquin, by Anthony Boucher (SF Hall of Fame story); The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out, by Reginald Bretnor; plus cartoons and poems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Some Gems. Some Bricks.
I found this book of short stories nice and cheap. Its author line-up boasted such names as: Alfred Bester, Theodore Sturgeon, Damon Knight, Daniel Keyes, Walter M. Miller Jr., James Tiptree Jr., Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Isaac Asimov, Phillip K. Dick, Thomas M. Disch and a few I'd never heard of. Other than Asimov, I hadn't read any of these authors before, but had heard much about them. I decided this sounded like a solid intro to their writings- not to mention a "cream of the crop" selection from one of the most respected magazines in Fantasy & Sci-Fi.

Among the contents were listed three short stories I'd heard of:

1. Daniel Keyes' FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON. In this story, we read the journal of a mentally challenged man named Charley, as he takes part in a monumental scientific experiment that will not only make his brain function normally, but advance him far into the realms of super-intelligence. But perhaps this gift is not as glamorous as it sounds...I'd read the full novel-version of this story in high school, and it didn't really leave an impression on me back then. So I didn't really care that the shorter version was here. Thankfully I read it- for it was easily the best contribution in the book, and the only one I would rate 5 stars. I even want to reread the full novel sometime soon.

2. Walter M. Miller's A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ is revered as a classic in the genre. I own the novel on my "to be read" shelf, and figured it would be nice to read this, the original short story version, first. It is our future after a nuclear holocaust. The world has been plunged into ignorance, but religion still exists and tries to make understanding of life and what was "before". This story was not to my taste at all, due mostly to the heavy religion I suppose. I fear I won't enjoy the full novel any better. 2 Stars.

3. WE CAN REMEMBER IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE, by Phillip K. Dick, is of course, the short story that became TOTAL RECALL- One of my favorite movies when I was younger! It was interesting to compare it to the film, since they are quite different, and I think others would enjoy doing the same thing. I'll leave the details for your own discovery, but I will say that you probably wouldn't picture Arnold as the protagonist in THIS story! 4 Stars.

There were four other notable tales in this collection:

1. NOT WITH A BANG, by Damon Knight, tells a short post-apocalyptic tale of the last man and woman on Earth. He realizes that they are humankind's last hope, but she is a Catholic woman who refuses to have premarital sex with him, and there is no one alive who can perform the ceremony. -This was a clever idea, which I would have preferred as the basis for a longer story instead of an abrupt, short one. 4 Stars, none-the-less.

2. Shirley Jackson gives us ONE ORDINARY DAY, WITH PEANUTS. Here is a day in the life, of an odd man, in an over-crowded city. What makes him odd? He is unbelievably nice! There has to be a catch right? -This was an enjoyable little story, with a nice ending. 4 Stars.

3. Richard Matheson contributes the three-page story, BORN OF MAN AND WOMAN, which is told by a child... whose parents keep him locked up in the basement for some reason. -Very short, but very powerful. 4 Stars.

4. My final pick is PROBLEMS OF CREATIVENESS, by Thomas M. Disch. This story tells of a future where the government controls the population by only letting it's most gifted citizens marry or have children. Birdie Ludd didn't make the cut, and now he is willing to try anything to change that verdict. -This story was rather fascinating, and really made this future seem possible and frightening. 4 Stars.

Otherwise, I was fairly let down by the other "big name" authors in this book. One particular problem I had with this "retrospective" was in the editor's intro to some of the stories. He would tell us that the author wrote this and that, and was famous for short story `X,' which, appeared in our magazine in 19XX... but here's story `Y' instead. Maybe they had printed the `famous' stories in other collections or something, but I would have preferred to read them instead of the alternate selections. In all of these cases (5 or 6, I believe) the story they gave was rather unimpressive, and served little purpose, except to make me wonder what I could have been reading instead.

Anyway... This collection is out-of-print, but I would certainly recommend the six decent stories I mentioned above, if you are able to find them in a copy of this book or in another collection, which is probably your best bet. ... Read more

Product Description
This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: The Stars My Destination, the Demolished Man, the Computer Connection, Tender Loving Rage, Psychoshop, Who He?, Golem100. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Stars My Destination is a science fiction novel by Alfred Bester. Originally serialized in Galaxy magazine in four parts beginning with the October 1956 issue, it first appeared in book form as Tiger! Tiger! (after William Blake's poem "The Tyger", the first verse of which is printed as the first page of the novel). This publication was in Britain, and the book remains widely known under that title in markets where this edition was circulated. Other titles are Hell's My Destination and The Burning Spear. A radio adaptation by Ivan Benbrook was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on September 14, 1991 and repeated on August 16, 1993. The Stars My Destination is, in one sense, a science-fiction adaption of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. It is the study of a man completely lacking in imagination or ambition, Gulliver Foyle. Fate transforms "Gully" Foyle in an instant; shipwrecked in space, then abandoned by a passing luxury liner, Foyle becomes a monomaniacal and sophisticated monster bent upon revenge. Wearing many masks, learning many skills, this "worthless" man pursues his goals relentlessly; no price is too high to pay. The Stars My Destination anticipated many of the staples of the later cyberpunk movementthe megacorporations as powerful as the governments, a dark overall vision of the future, the cybernetic enhancement of the body. To this it added the standard "one weird idea" of science fiction that human beings could learn to teleport, or "jaunte" from point to point, with various personal limitations but one overall absolute limit: no one can jaunte t...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=598935 ... Read more

Product Description
Alfred Bester skewers the 20th Century in this piercing science fictional look back at our age from a remote future. Join the Artsy-Crafty Kid, Jane Tarzan, Edward G. Robinson, and other characters on an adventure beyond our wildest reality! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Can't beat this Bester bargain
What if in some distant future all they knew about us was from old Hollywood films, and just bits and pieces of them at that?What if those people then decided to build their society around those fragments?
Take that basic premise, throw in a crime spree, a few Hollywood stars, Bester's masterful writing and slightly quirky sense of humor and what you have is a quick(Under 50 pages) fun read.
While I wouldn't put this in the same class as The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man it is a must for any fan of his work and although I would have prefered this to be released in a collection of his works, the fact it is reasonably well priced, eases any discontentment I may feel on that matter.

Bester at his best...
Alfred Bester was a master at the short story with a twist type of tale. Most of his stories feature likable but bizarre characters and psychological twists. The story featured in this small tome (48 pages) is a good example of his work. It looks like Bester neglected to copyright this story and that's why someone chose it to be packaged on its own in a well produced paperback? Anyway, this story can be found in one or two of Bester's anthologies. It's worth reading, but whether it's worth paying 5 bucks for on its own is up to each customer. ... Read more