First, allow me to intoduce myself to the community. I'm a 65 yo guy from Mexico and have been reading SF on & off ever since. Among my -classic- favorites are Asimov, Bradbury, Clark, Vonnegut, Sturgeon, Pohl, Heinlein, Anderson, Aldiss & Chrichton, among several others that don't come readily to mind. This is my first post, and I'm not sure if this is the correct subforum for the matter. I beg the moderators to advise me and move it in case contrary. The reason I stumbled here is that I've been looking for several days for the title of a book that I read some 45 years ago and just eludes my hardening neurones. The plot is hazy but it develops in the future and mankind has reached the stars and learned teleportation by force of mind. The discoverer of the technique —called "jaunting" if memory serves me– is a scientist by the name Jaunt that accidentally manages escaping from a burning lab by means of a strong desire to be elsewhere. All mankind, or most at least, are able to do this. The technique cannot be used for space travel because the "jumper" must know exactly where he is going. The story includes a stranded astronaut that lives in a wrecked spaceship and every so often has to risk his life getting a fresh air tank that may -or not- be full. Somehow this man starts jumping to a faraway planet where he gets a flaming tattoo on his face, something that is believed impossible. The plot involves some crime scheme as well. This is what I remember. If somebody has read it and can tell me the title and author I'll be earnestly grateful. A point to a source for it would be great too. Jorge M. Treviño, Uruapan, Mexico. PS, the title might be something with "stars" in it, "cruel stars", "cold stars", etc... not sure tho. Hope it helps.
Guys, found it. Tried a different approach to a G-search and came across it with "teleportation" as the key. The name is "The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester. Many thanks to any who started a search for my quest. Best to all. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I really hope this isn't spam... I mean the post does sound scientific so as does the sci-fi theme of this book.
youreyes, what do you mean by "hope this isn't spam"? I came to this forum hoping to find the title of a book. After going through the register paces —with my real name, BTW– and writing what I remembered about the book, I started a fresh search with the "G" machine. This brought me several hits and one of them yielded the book name. Right after having found it I wentand purchased a used (as it's been long out of print) paperback from the big online bookstore, and after shelling US$1.44 for the book and $13.00 for shipping to my country, I found an ebook for download, so I'm already reading it. Hopefully this explains my post, which I resent having labeled as spam. In any case, if your comment is typical of what I'll get here —meaning that instead of help I get chided– I don't think I shall be visiting often. By the way, I replied to my own post as wishful help to those who might be curious about the plot, not to add straw to the thread. Sorry for the link to Wikipedia, if that's what you meant. Many thanks. Jorge.
Welcome to the Sciforums, Jorge. I hope that you enjoy your time here with us. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Our little friend is obviously unfamiliar with actual spam and a tad shy on common courtesy as well. I apologize on his behalf and assure you that you have made no errors here. The staff will move a thread if it is in the wrong place and will remove it if it is actual "spam". Please do not concern yourself any further with that, your Wiki link is just fine.
Hello Jorge. Thank you for bringing an interesting title to our attention and for sharing that you had found it in the event others were seeking on your behalf. I shall have to seek it out once the busy summer season winds down here as it sounds like something that I might also enjoy reading. A pretty good forum here, overall, so perhaps you won't judge a book by it's 'cover?' Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Hello jorgemtrevino, Welcome to sciforums... Hope to see you around. An thanks for the book information, I will see if my area lybrary has that book. Sounds interesting. ~R1
Many thanks for the warm welcomes! No problem with having inadvertedly ruffled some feathers. In any case, I've been long enough around forums (since the old text based Compuserve, with a 1200bps modem <g>) to take flames in stride. Looking forward to some tasty conversations on the SF genre here. I've been hooked to the genre since F. Pohl's "Guardians of Time" fell in my hands at age 14. From then on and until reality started overshadowing fiction in the cyber-age, this was my favorite genre. Even then, we were fortunate enough to get modern SF like what the much lamented Michael Crichton left us. BTW, as I said in my previous message, this is my real name, so if you care dropping by my FB wall and put a face to the name, you shall be most welcome to post there. see you around, best regards, Jorge.
umm Jorge, it is not smart to reveal your real name in a forum. I mean the trust is mutual and love is strong, but life changes fast...and when you would rather others not know your identity, you just can't take the fact that they know who you are. =/ Just saying. Anyways what is this book "Stars My Destination" on, that you liked it?
youreyes, in Mexico we're not that big on privacy. Facts of life in a big-brother country and nosy neighbours. Not that with your new Patriot Act —assuming you live in the USA– anyone has a lot of privacy these days. ID theft is harder here too as we still conduct much of our business and personal interactions the old way; personally. Take care, Jorge. PS, «what is this book "Stars My Destination" on, that you liked it?» I read it ca 1965 and was one of the first works of SF to address teleportation. Something made me remember it and want to re-read it. If you take a few minutes to read the Wikipedia article, you will find a fine excerpt of it. Incidentally, it seems the word "jaunt" was inserted into english from it. ¿Grok? ;-) (reference to Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land")
R1, «I will see if my area lybrary has that book. Sounds interesting.», Found several used examples of it at the big-online-bookshop, with prices starting from less than US$2 to something outrageous in the several thousands for a "collectible" first print hardcover. I would advise reading the Wikipedia article on it, which includes a detailed description of the plot as well as in depth critique. If you're not above getting a pirated copy, do a torrent search. I purchased a used paperback in the "A" at ~$1.40 but ended paying $13 for the postage —it has been out of print for a long time. Then with my conscience appeased since I'm the lawful owner of a copy, I went and downloaded one of the several versions available in the net in mobi, epub and pdf form. AFAIK, it does not exist as a legit ebook or I would have opted for that. In the US you shall be luckier than I tho.
I have a large personal science fiction library collected over my 61 years. Am a great fan of those greats, met Bradbury once, love Azimov and am fond of quoting John Brunner - especially from "Stand On Zanzibar". The term "mucker" has become increasingly appropriate here in the future.
Stoniphi, Many thanks for the heads-up on Brunner/Stand... I checked the Wikipedia article on them and the novel is quoted as "It's not quite the future we imagined it to be, but it still reads as fresh as it did back in 1968, and that's an amazing accomplishment!" — I'll find a copy as soon as I advance a little through my reading queue. OTOH, I hope that you enjoy "The Stars..." (aka Tiger! Tiger!) if you ever decide to get it. I remember it as a very gripping tale, but then it was 1968. ;-) So far I've only re-read the preambles and a couple of chapters, and it's promising. Best, Jorge.
You assume much Mr. Jorge, I Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! don't have a computer to "download" any Ebooks to. I'm using a phone. I hope my Lybrary has this copy. If not some other district will lend it to them.
The Stars My Destination - The original was published in 1956 (10,000 copies) by Vintage Books. Republished in 1996. This title is also available in a Kindle Edition (e-book format). Welcome to SciForums Jorge Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Xotica, many thanks. I checked it —curious as to why I could not find the Kindle edition before. It's not available for my area. This Amazon policy has always puzzled me; it would seen they prefer folks in the "3d world" to resource to piracy. So be it. In any case, I purchased the paperback and found an epub in the net. I'm already half through it.
Jorge, bienvenido del moderador. Forgive me for not reviewing my own subforum often enough. Most of our members do not reveal their real names, but a few do. The reason I don't is that I am a private consultant in the carbon world and a highly-opiniated wise-guy in the silicon world. I say many things on SciForums that might be offensive to many people. I don't want prospective clients to Google my name and find these posts. I was once accused of spamming. I bought a new vacuum cleaner that I think is wonderful, and I told everyone about it. I've read Dune, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, I Robot, The Martian Chronicles and many of the "classics." But I'm not really a serious sci-fi fan. My favorite authors are Alan Dean Foster, James P. Hogan and (deceased) Robert L. Forward. My wife has a degree in literature and reads books that I can't even understand (including those by your countrymen Carlos Fuentes and Octavio Paz, translated into English), and she thought Foster's iconic "Midworld" was an excellent piece of literature. By the way, SciForums has an entire subforum devoted to Science Fiction, or SciFi as it's abbreviated. You'll probably enjoy yourself there.
Hola Jorge. No les hagas caso a los gilipollas de Sciforums. Has leido "Bloom" de Wil McCarthy? Es un de mis libros favoritos. Tambian me encanta todo de Frank Herbert, especialmente "Dune" (pero pa' la mierda los de su hijo). ¿Te gusta historia alternativa? Si te gusta esa, creo que te gustaría "Red Inferno" de Robert Conroy. Pues bueno. Hasta entonce. ~String
