74 Quotes by Alfred Bester

The test of intellect is the refusal to belabor the obvious.

I'm not much interested in extrapolating science and technology; I merely use extrapolation as a means of putting people into new quandaries which produce colorful pressures and conflicts.

Life is a freak. That’s its hope and glory.

I'm a great believer in people and their untapped potential.

The damnable frustration of revenge. Revenge is for dreams...never for reality.

The appeal of science fiction has always been its iconoclasm . . . But in order to be an iconoclast, an author must be more than merely aware of the idol he wishes to destroy. He must be intimate with it and understand it in all its aspects. This means that he must have devoted serious thought to it, and have beliefs of his own which will stand up in the place of the broken idol. In other words, any child can complain, but it takes an adult to clash with accepted beliefs . . . an adult with ideas.

Millions for nonsense, but not one cent for entropy.

Gully Foyle is my name And Terra is my nation Deep space is my dwelling place The stars my destination

There's got to be more to life than just living," Foyle said to the robot. Then find it for yourself, sir. Don't ask the world to stop moving because you have doubts." Why can't we all move forward together?" Because you're all different. You're not lemmings. Some must lead, and hope that the rest will follow." Who leads?" The men who must...driven men, compelled men." Freak men." You're all freaks, sir. But you always have been freaks. Life is a freak. That's its hope and glory.