Bester, Alfred

• The Demolished Man (7)

  • Hugo winner from the 1950's, this one is pretty tough to find, but it is worth looking for. This is a murder/mystery story where we know who's guilty beforehand (in fact, EVERYONE knows who's guilty, so the story is about a scramble for proof). Complicating matters is a caste system of telepaths in a somewhat-futuristic society, so the search for proof and the plot complications always occur on multiple levels. The story is not dated at all, and it shows me that Bester is certainly a good writer. I'm not sure how this scored so high on the top 100 list, but it is all right.

• The Stars My Destination (8)

  • Another Bester book high up on the Top 100, so I thought I'd give it a look when I found it at a used book store (it's HARD to find!). This book feels like a cross between "The Great Gatsby" and "Dune". On the one hand, you have the story of an outcast who has some weird, unknown power that makes him a threat to the establishment, then you have the interaction between the protagonist, Gully Foyle, and the society of super-rich in Bester's future. Foyle adventures are pretty interesting and Bester's style is an interesting change from most of today's SF authors, though the background (war within the solar system) and the plot device (revenge) are familiar.

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