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The Starcomber
Take two parts of Beelzebub, two of Israfel, one of Monte Cristo, one of Cyrano, mix violently, season with mystery and you have Mr. Solon Aquila. He is tall, gaunt, sprightly in manner, bitter in expression, and when he laughs his dark eyes turn into wounds. His occupation is unknown. He is wealthy without visible means of support. He is seen everywhere and understood nowhere.
42 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 1954
17 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Alfred Bester
365 books944 followersAlfred Bester was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books.
Though successful in all these fields, he is best remembered for his science fiction, including The Demolished Man, winner of the inaugural Hugo Award in 1953, a story about murder in a future society where the police are telepathic, and The Stars My Destination, a 1956 SF classic about a man bent on revenge in a world where people can teleport, that inspired numerous authors in the genre and is considered an early precursor to the cyberpunk movement in the 1980s.
AKA:
Άλφρεντ Μπέστερ (Greek)
Though successful in all these fields, he is best remembered for his science fiction, including The Demolished Man, winner of the inaugural Hugo Award in 1953, a story about murder in a future society where the police are telepathic, and The Stars My Destination, a 1956 SF classic about a man bent on revenge in a world where people can teleport, that inspired numerous authors in the genre and is considered an early precursor to the cyberpunk movement in the 1980s.
AKA:
Άλφρεντ Μπέστερ (Greek)
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 6, 2017
This is not actually a review of an electronic version of this story but rather of the printed story in its original publication in the March, 1954 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. My review of this story is excerpted from my review of that issue.
In Alfred Bester's "5,271,009," a highly regarded young artist has gone mad since he saw a man with a face that could only belong to a demon. The man with the demonic face, Solon Aquila, helps the artist, Jeffrey Halsyon, escape from an asylum so that Halsyon will be able to paint again.
Aquila tells the artist that he must set aside the dreams of youth: "Lust for power. Lust for sex. Injustice collecting. Escape from reality. Passion for revenges." Halsyon must learn to make better decisions. And how many decisions does a person make in a lifetime? Why, "five million two hundred seventy-one thousand and nine. Give or take a thousand."
This is an extremely clever story. Both the incidents and the dialogue are consistently funny. Aquila has a most distinctive way of talking:
"Hmmm. Perhaps so. You know something, my attic of Greece? I am disappointed. Je n'oublierai jamais. I am most severely disappointed. God damn. No more Halsyons ever? Merde. My slogan. We must do something about Jeffrey Halsyon. I will not be disappointed. We must do something."
In Alfred Bester's "5,271,009," a highly regarded young artist has gone mad since he saw a man with a face that could only belong to a demon. The man with the demonic face, Solon Aquila, helps the artist, Jeffrey Halsyon, escape from an asylum so that Halsyon will be able to paint again.
Aquila tells the artist that he must set aside the dreams of youth: "Lust for power. Lust for sex. Injustice collecting. Escape from reality. Passion for revenges." Halsyon must learn to make better decisions. And how many decisions does a person make in a lifetime? Why, "five million two hundred seventy-one thousand and nine. Give or take a thousand."
This is an extremely clever story. Both the incidents and the dialogue are consistently funny. Aquila has a most distinctive way of talking:
"Hmmm. Perhaps so. You know something, my attic of Greece? I am disappointed. Je n'oublierai jamais. I am most severely disappointed. God damn. No more Halsyons ever? Merde. My slogan. We must do something about Jeffrey Halsyon. I will not be disappointed. We must do something."
June 26, 2020
Not one of Bester's best but worth reading nonetheless.
As another review notes, there are a number actual print mistakes.
Given that the book is around 96 pages overall, this represents pretty poor value for money.
I'd advise trying to find this story in some sort of anthology rather than a free-standing book (I got it in hard-back but the it's definitely not worth it).
As another review notes, there are a number actual print mistakes.
Given that the book is around 96 pages overall, this represents pretty poor value for money.
I'd advise trying to find this story in some sort of anthology rather than a free-standing book (I got it in hard-back but the it's definitely not worth it).
January 5, 2015
Great book, rotten transcription
If you spend hours wondering where the Grsssh hide it is because they substituted comer cor corner. Easy to do if you don't read it, and there are many more that distract you from the text.
If you spend hours wondering where the Grsssh hide it is because they substituted comer cor corner. Easy to do if you don't read it, and there are many more that distract you from the text.
September 23, 2024
The best 78 cents I ever spent! This is a short and hilarious tale, part horror, part sci-fi, part psych-thriller. It never sits still, and is continuously witty and inventive. There are occasional echoes of some of Bester's other work, but it reminded me most of Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.
September 28, 2025
A Classic Story About Art and Fantasy
This odd, very amusing tale can be read on several levels -- as a modern fantasy about finding oneself, as an allegory about being an artist, or as a satire of bad fiction. Supremely enjoyable, highly recommended.
This odd, very amusing tale can be read on several levels -- as a modern fantasy about finding oneself, as an allegory about being an artist, or as a satire of bad fiction. Supremely enjoyable, highly recommended.
September 3, 2018
A romp for adults
A silly, but not pointless, romp for adults. A lighthearted view of the process of growing up and becoming responsible.
A silly, but not pointless, romp for adults. A lighthearted view of the process of growing up and becoming responsible.
December 4, 2018
A bit of a head scratcher that doesn't really start to take shape until the end, but then, wow!
March 11, 2024
I liked the ending but overall this short story was odd and didn’t thrill me.
October 1, 2021
Haha! Don’t read this. 😆
Bester rules and so I envision a scenario wherein he is commissioned to crank out this folly of a story.
It’s good times and bad behavior with some silly space swears thrown in. 🤠
If Y The Last Man were reversely-condensed to crackpot alchemical wingnuttery, we’d have us a Starcomber, people.
Yee-haw gott-damm.
😛
Bester rules and so I envision a scenario wherein he is commissioned to crank out this folly of a story.
It’s good times and bad behavior with some silly space swears thrown in. 🤠
If Y The Last Man were reversely-condensed to crackpot alchemical wingnuttery, we’d have us a Starcomber, people.
Yee-haw gott-damm.
😛
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews