ans of speculative television might recognize Bester as the Psi Corps commander on Babylon 5, but true aficionados of science fiction know that the character's name actually belongs to one of SF's literary grandmasters, Alfred Bester. The iddividual Web site commemorates this influential author and his lean but incredibly important literary output.
This virtual monument contains a biography and bibliography, along with reviews of an early short story collection titled Starburst and two of Bester's lesser-known novels: The Computer Connection and Golem100. It also features a blurb from the back cover of a recent edition of The Stars My Destination, but although there are clearly plans for analyses of both this work and the writer's earlier masterpiece The Demolished Man, neither commentary appears at this time.
Even though it doesn't receive a detailed write-up, The Stars My Destination serves as the primary interactive focus of this site. After years of speculation, recent Hollywood rumors indicate that a screenplay of this celebrated tale has finally been written. The iddividual offers Bester enthusiasts an opportunity to submit unofficial recommendations for actors to portray various characters in the cinematic version of the novel, with the results periodically tallied on a separate page. Every potential star is listed, from luminaries like Bruce Willis and Uma Thurman to unlikely candidates such as Henry Rollins and Iman. For those inquisitive fans seeking further information, each celebrity is linked to his or her respective page on the Internet Movie Database.
Bester deserves better
This electronic endeavor is clearly a labor of love, but in many respects it lacks the profundity necessary for a proper examination of the writer's output. Although Bester generated his most notable manuscripts during the 1950s, his darkly visionary novels and short stories are important progenitors of cyberpunk and other recent science fiction subgenres. Linking decades-old masterworks such as The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man to modern speculative literature is vital to appreciating the value of Bester's legacy, but the iddividual doesn't delve too deeply in this direction.
And while the title of the site--the iddividual--hints at the psychological components crucial to Bester's futuristic viewpoint, nowhere are those elements either explained or addressed. The current reviews are nicely written and offer some insight into his less-prominent works, but they also could have benefited from a more thorough and thoughtful inspection of their respective subjects.
Although the scholarly components of the iddividual may not be exhaustive, the casting contest is undeniably fun. Having the opportunity to play Hollywood mogul is surprisingly satisfying, especially for this particular science fiction classic, and scanning the preferences of previous visitors is both interesting and amusing. The game is certainly not crucial to understanding or appreciating Bester, but it does provide a welcome diversion and a worthwhile reason to stop by occasionally to see how personal favorites are doing in the ongoing poll.
