The Stars My Destination
 1956 British first edition | |
| Author | Alfred Bester |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Sidgwick and Jackson |
| Publication date | June 14, 1956 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | print (hardback) |
| Pages | 232 |
 1957 edition (final/revised text) | |
| Author | Alfred Bester |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Richard M. Powers |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Signet Books |
| Publication date | March 21, 1957 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | print (paperback) |
| Pages | 197 |
The Stars My Destination is a science fiction novel by American writer Alfred Bester. It was first published in book form in the United Kingdom in June 1956, where it was titled Tiger! Tiger!; the novel was named after William Blake's 1794 poem "The Tyger", whose first verse is printed as the first page of the novel. The novel remains widely known under that title in the markets in which this edition was circulated. It was subsequently serialized in the American Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in four parts, beginning in October 1956. A working title was Hell's My Destination; the book was also associated with the name The Burning Spear. It was Bester's last novel for the next 19 years.
The novel was widely criticized and praised when it first appeared, but it is now appreciated as a classic work and a prescient forerunner of the cyberpunk science fiction subgenre. It was also a seminal work in the genre of widescreen baroque.