#gully foyle

[trulyunpleasant]

"I'M A FREAK OF THE UNIVERSE."

Gully Foyle from The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, rendered in various inks.

[infinitaregna]

"Of all the brutes in the world he was among the least valuable alive and most likely to survive."

"...I kill you filthy." - Gully Foyle

[byronicherobracket]

Byronic Hero Bracket Round Of 128 Batch C #13

Gully Foyle from The Stars My Destination vs. Vegeta from Dragon Ball

Who is the best Byronic Hero?

Gully Foyle

Vegeta

Voting ended onMar 1, 2024

Reasons under the cut (spoilers for both)

(All sources from TV Tropes)

Gully Foyle:

Gully Foyle in Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination, a The Count of Monte Cristo set in a future where people can teleport, starts out as this: he lives entirely to take revenge on the ship that declined to rescue him from his own crippled spacecraft (not the crew, just the ship; he's not that bright) and stops at nothing to do so, including raping perhaps the one completely likable character in the whole book. However, he gradually becomes more of a traditional hero and a messiah of sorts.

Previously Beaten: Dr. Percival Cox

Vegeta:

Vegeta fits this role like a glove during the Namek Arc of Z. Having essentially been a slave working under Frieza from the age of 12, he was hell-bent on surpassing Frieza in strength and eventually overthrowing him so that he and the Saiyans could, in his opinion, rightfully claim their position as the dominant force in the universe. Following Frieza bringing the Saiyan race to the verge of extinction, despite the Saiyans loyalty to Frieza, Vegeta became even more determined. His first step in achieving his goal was to gain immortality, and he was willing to do anything to gain immortality, ranging from slaughtering innocent men and children, fighting dirty and swallowing his pride and teaming up with the heroes. After failing to achieve immortality, his goal then turned to surpassing Goku, no matter how bad of a situation he would have created, if it meant he got one-up on Goku, it was worth it. Ironically, his drive to surpass Goku led to him pulling a Face–Heel Turn in the Buu Arc and killing 200 people just to coax Goku into fighting him again so that he could prove that he was stronger than him.

Previously Beaten: The Punisher

[benkevans]

Gully Foyle

[thebluelemontree]

Possible early inspiration for Sandor Clegane

This is an interesting bit I stumbled upon by accident.  It’s been noted before by others in the fandom that the character Bretan Braith of George’s earlier sci-fi novel "The Dying of the Light" seems to be an early prototype of a character he’ll recycle in Sandor Clegane.  Almost exactly the same appearance and demeanor.  The original idea may come from one of George’s documented favorite sci-fi novels.  

George recommended “The Stars My Destination” by Alfred Bester (published 1957) a few times on his LJ: here, here in the comments, and here calling it a “masterpiece.”  Also here in this article.  Look at one of the first images of cover art for it that popped up:

The main character, Gully Foyle, is consumed by a burning need for revenge that is his main motivator for his actions.  In the course of the story, he is captured and his face is given this shockingly horrific bestial tattoo.  His personality early on his described as brutish and blunt.  Later in the process of burning off the tattoo with acid he receives equally horrific scarring that flares up when he becomes too emotional.  Gully also tormented by visions of The Burning Man, which is himself on fire. 

I haven’t read this novel nor “Dying of the Light” yet, but I’m curious.  I’d love to see if there’s more parallels.  

[judahmaccabees]

You didn't help me with chump change when you were right next door and it was the easiest thing in the world to heal me. May the Divine do the same to you, so you understand.

You loved putting your karma on the innocent; let's see you enjoy it not.

THIS BOOK WILL NEVER EXPIRE;

[mysterious-kino]

Gully Foyle got that Cake.

From the graphic story adaption The Complete Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination (1992)

[quasi-normalcy]

"The Stars My Destination" doesn't seem like the kind of novel I'd like, given what an asshole Gully Foyle is, but it's well enough written that I'm actually enjoying it.