The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956)

Here's a hint for aspiring fiction writers: If you can't come up with a good plot on your own, try just stealing one from somebody else. After all, Shakespeare did it, and look how successful he was. For this novel that has become a classic from the golden age of science fiction, Bester stole the plot from Alexander Dumas. This is The Count of Monte Cristo in the 26th Century, in space.

To give Bester credit, he makes the story his own. His protagonist is stranded on a blasted spaceship and is left to die by a passing ship from his own planet. When he is finally rescued, he begins plotting his revenge, aided by the discovery that his derelict ship holds great riches. Obsessed as he is, he lifts himself from being a "Common Man" with unrealized abilities to the level of sophisticate, with specialized knowledge. Using his wealth, he even has his body modified, becoming a kind of Six Million Dollar Man, with super=human speed and strength.

Bester comes up with a staggering number of unexpected scenarios, surprising characters, and futuristic innovations in the telling of his tale. He is incredibly inventive, and one can easily spot some of his ideas in the writings of later generations of sci=fi authors. In his future world, evolution and practice enable most to "jaunt," that is to teleport up to a thousand miles using only their brain power and will. The inhabited worlds are controlled by mega-corporations and the ultra-rich live in barricaded fortresses. And, yes, they are still fighting wars, with the threat of a doomsday weapon hanging over them.

One of Bester's additions to the plot is particularly fascinating: His hero is tattooed Maori-style over his entire face in a tiger-like pattern by a space going cargo cult who capture him. When he later has the tattooing removed, he discovers that in moments of stress or passion the otherwise invisible markings glow red as the blood rushes and the adrenaline flows. Bester thus is able to link his theme to that of William Blake in his poem "The Tyger," the first verse of which Bester uses as his epigraph.

Anyone even slightly interested in science fiction will find this 1956 novel exciting. Bester moves it along at a breakneck pace and it surprises at every turn, even though the plot is lifted and the climax is thus foreseeable. It's the twists and turns of the getting there that make it fun.