The Stars My Destination

258 pages

English language

Published Nov. 11, 1996 by Vintage Books.

ISBN:
978-0-679-76780-0
Copied ISBN!

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (74 reviews)

A science fiction retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo.

10 editions

As Operatic as Space Opera Gets

4 stars

Content warning CW: Spoilers, Violence

Review of 'The Stars My Destination' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

"Gully Foyle is my name.
Terra is my nation.
Deep space is my dwelling place.
The stars my destination."


Our main character is a bit of an asshole. Well, that's an exaggeration. He's way more than a bit of an asshole, but he's a resourceful one at least. Trapped aboard a wrecked freighter, stuck inside an 8x8 cube of a room for months, subsisting on what meagre rations he salvages during his brief trips into the vacuum of space, he wants nothing more than to leave. Just when he'd almost given up all hope, the sister ship Vorga approaches. Making every sign and signal he can, Gully awaits the rescue that....never comes. The Vorga passes him by, and thus begins a long revenge-fueled quest that pits Gully against huge sci-fi megacorporations, a war between the inner and outer planets, and drives him almost to madness (if he wasn't there already). …

Review of 'The Stars My Destination' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

More dated than I expected and too much of the super man for my taste. I chose to read it as surreal and fantastical. In that light it was OK, not requiring me to believe or empathize with the narrative and characters. The Gully-as-everyman and thrown in populism of the conclusion was unwelcome, gratuitous and cheap. He built no movement to overthrow the status quo so why should we believe it would be overthrown by his actions?

Review of 'The Stars My Destination' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Gaiman's introduction to this edition was very helpful to pull out the proto-cyberpunk threads: slick lady-thief, technologically enhanced killer, impossibly stratified society, techno-garble magic substance... As a classic, this was a very enjoyable read. Also very nice to read a novel from an age when 268 pages was considered a perfectly fine length for a book.

avatar for haagen_daz

rated it

4 stars
avatar for james

rated it

3 stars
avatar for chris_st

rated it

5 stars
avatar for tempse

rated it

4 stars
avatar for kaakow

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Yogthos

rated it

3 stars
avatar for mikec

rated it

5 stars
avatar for stim

rated it

2 stars
avatar for Tamino

rated it

4 stars
avatar for unsquare

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jumpinggrendel

rated it

3 stars
avatar for paparomeo

rated it

5 stars
avatar for arclight

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Bhawthorne

rated it

4 stars
avatar for joeyh

rated it

5 stars
avatar for lukeg

rated it

5 stars
avatar for mattlehrer

rated it

3 stars
avatar for JohSny

rated it

2 stars
avatar for sebastost

rated it

5 stars
avatar for niclindh

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Kaslov

rated it

3 stars
avatar for bracegirdle

rated it

5 stars
avatar for AndySoc1al

rated it

5 stars
avatar for twhiston

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Maerman

rated it

5 stars
avatar for bonzo22

rated it

5 stars
avatar for turmacar

rated it

3 stars
avatar for Ghalidrim

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Clockmaker

rated it

4 stars
avatar for nclack

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jimfl

rated it

3 stars
avatar for thursday

rated it

5 stars
avatar for skrud

rated it

5 stars
avatar for scifijack

rated it

4 stars
avatar for darkejokero

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jamesbrooks

rated it

3 stars
avatar for cwzp

rated it

4 stars
avatar for ChadGayle

rated it

4 stars
avatar for hamish

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Kavring

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Gretrascis

rated it

3 stars
avatar for ahill

rated it

4 stars
avatar for mikebell

rated it

5 stars
avatar for HokieGeek

rated it

3 stars
avatar for Psvensson

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Shtakser

rated it

4 stars
avatar for schmavery

rated it

4 stars
avatar for nosmo

rated it

5 stars
avatar for brzy

rated it

4 stars
avatar for jolson

rated it

5 stars
avatar for bab

rated it

3 stars
avatar for WBucclan

rated it

4 stars
avatar for MironLiest

rated it

5 stars
avatar for tjrourke

rated it

4 stars
avatar for rascalking

rated it

3 stars
avatar for Clockmaker

rated it

4 stars