More than 10,000 books and stories rated and reviewed! - About this site

Writers: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
reviews of books and stories by author names and pen names

SF&F Timeline! 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000-Now
retrospective look at sf&f year-by-year
Best SF&F Lists! Recommended Reading
by genre, topic and length category
The Ultimate Guide to New SF&F Writers (from 1990 till now)


->

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Year

Best!
















































->

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Year

Best!

Two Novels by Samuel R. Delany




Samuel R. Delany weaves a brilliantly-jeweled web of words, capturing your imagination and causing various bubbles of mental presumption to burst deliciously in your brain, leading to little explosions of free-wheeling ecstasy (no drugs involved) and - very often - conversion to extreme libertarian views. Through the array of dazzling stories to his magnum opus "Dhalgren", his body of work can truly be considered as a "helix of semi-precious stones" - to be enjoyed on a visceral, as well as intellectual level.

----------------------------------------------




"Nova" (nv)
© 1969, Bantam
--novel : 1969 Hugo
--/ fourth place sf novel
--/ wonder award
--/ style award


Review by Sunday Williams
When I was in college, it was to my great surprise that Samuel R. Delany’s “Nova” came up on the syllabus. “Nova”? Shouldn’t that be “Dhalgren”? But you know what they say: there’s no fool like a college student.

Delany is a clever man, having written perhaps the most densely subtextual literature in the genre. “Nova” holds up to a casual read, with Lorq von Ray, our physically scarred and emotionally complex protagonist fighting for the very balance of the universe - but there are layers that sneak up on the reader, a kind of devious introduction to some of the most innovative writing of the Sixties.

One of the themes most poignant is Delany’s experimentation with the long-term consequences of a technological society. It has the trappings of familiar scifi, but as a criticism of contemporary life the question still holds. We each augment ourselves significantly: high heels, iPods, medications – some are harmless, some maybe less so. But how do these “cybogisms” affect us on an intellectual level? And even deeper, how do we each relate to the machines that now make up our daily routine? Much of the novel is about class differences (or mega-gulfs, rather) and part of it is the segregation of those who have refused to be “cyborged.” Called “Gypsies,” those that don’t want any mechanical upgrades are considered throw-backs, retards, and are systematically exterminated.

Delany is more than capable of writing a rousting space opera, but it seems with “Nova” he was as interested in the existential. On the surface it is a novel about an underdog fighting to balance a universe gone slanted, the kind of place where the hyper-rich never experience any bummers other than their own inexplicable boredom, and major decisions often involve using Tarot cards. Or you know, the kind of place where folks with robot-hands claw other people in the face. But the questions that percolate up are just as interesting; what are artists to a civilization, and to what degree are we each capable of making art? In what ways are we complimented by technology, and in which ways are we being destroyed by it?

----------------------------------------------



"Babel-17" (nv)
© 1966, Ace Books
--novel : 1967 Hugo
--novel : 1967 Nebula W (tie)
--all time novel : 1975 Locus /36 (tie)
--Tiptree short list : 1996 Tiptree

--/ cool sf novel
--/ wonder award
--/ idea award: linguistic weapons

Quite colorful adventure from Delany based on a cool idea (it was like enjoying a sweet "pulp story" candy-coating only to discover hard, unyielding filling inside - what's more, the bitter filling of disputed and - last I heard - discredited linguistics theory). The theory in question is Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (read a good article about it here ) postulating that the language we speak determines our whole psychological and mental layout, and certain thoughts just would not be able to occur to us in certain languages.

The novel is centered on a fictional language that denies its speakers independent thought, forcing them to think purely logical thoughts. Such "linguistic weapon" is used in a space war to produce perfect "servants of empire", walking computer programs. Speaking of novel's style, I enjoyed the ground-breaking presentation, but found it a bit emotionally uninvolving, and ultimately (if not for the idea) forgettable.
(review by Avi Abrams)

----------------------------------------------

Read more reviews for this writer

Labels:


Click to go to "Dark Roasted Blend" site

COMMENTS:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

LATEST POSTS:

Collecting Pulp Magazines

Ephemera Interview with Avi Abrams

Enchanting Victorian Fairy Tale Art

"Then world behind and home ahead..."

Exceptional British Scifi Artwork from the 1950s

Space Pulp Art by Ron Turner and other British artists

Pulp Pleasures: Eando Binder

Great space adventure fiction from the 1930s
"Where Eternity Ends" and other rare gems

Also read recent posts:
Author's Pen Names - Most Complete List Ever
The Wonder Timeline: SF&F Restrospective
Space Adventure Article


SEE OUR MAIN PAGE FOR MORE!


EXPLANATION OF THE RATING SYSTEM:

"SF&F Reading Experience" is part of "Dark Roasted Blend / Thrilling Wonder" family of sites. We try to highlight the most entertaining and rewarding science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on memorable reader experience, not necessarily general acceptance by the critics. Have fun, and delve into our extensive ratings and reviews!

Most reviews are written by Avi Abrams, unless otherwise noted. Reviews also appear on our unique historical retrospective page Wonder Timeline of Science Fiction. Feel free to submit your own review, if a particular story is not listed here.


All major OFFICIAL AWARDS are highlighted in BLUE
("winner" has a letter "W" by it, otherwise it is a runner-up only)

Our PERSONAL AWARDS (ratings) are highlighted in RED and PURPLE:
--/ first place :
--/ second place :
--/ third place :

--/ fourth place :

--/ cool : (equal to fifth place)
ALL "BEST OF" LISTS ARE LOCATED HERE

These awards are given in the following categories:
- novel :
- series :
- novella :
- story :
- collection :

Also, there are our personal STYLE / GENRE SPECIFIC AWARDS. These reflect the story's content and the lasting impression on the reader:

--/ wonder award
sense-of-wonder, "visual intensity" and inventiveness

--/ idea award
originality of idea / concept

--/ adventure award
exhilarating plot, excitement / action

--/ style award
outstanding literary qualities, inimitable style

--/ romance award
intense and beautiful love / relationships

--/ humour award
funny and cool

--/ emotion award
touching, lasting impression, sensitivity

--/ shock value
altogether wild

--/ awesome scale
mind-boggling; further enhances sense-of-wonder

--/ rare find
very hard to locate, mostly from old pulps, never reprinted, etc.

Again, please feel free to leave your own review or comment under every writer's entry; also recommend us other stories you liked.