Alfred Bester. Star Light, Star Bright (1978)

    Alfred Bester. Star Light, Star Bright (1978) Anthology of Bester’s best, volume 2. Bester is a clever writer. He likes to take on new challenges, in theme, genre, motif, plot, and so on. The result is usually entertaining, sometimes thought-provoking, but never moving. I didn’t reread a number of stories that I’d read before; the ones that were new to me passed the time pleasantly enough.
     The plots are what I call gimmick twists. For example, the title story is about a kid whose talent is wishing. He doesn’t realise this, of course, but the results are spectacular. His friend wants to use his telescope in the rain, so the kid wishes he had a telescope that would see through the rain and clouds. It does. This and other gadgets  attract the attention of the government, who want to use him as some kind of weapon. He wishes these and other people who bother him would just go away and leave him alone. So they end up on a road forever going away. *½ to **½