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I started with Delany's Nova when I was about 12 or 13. What an incredible story! For something published in 1966, it really pushed the boundaries of science fi

I started with Delany's Nova when I was about 12 or 13. What an incredible story! For something published in 1966, it really pushed the boundaries of science fiction not just in terms of topics (race, drugs, society, etc.) but also in terms of bringing literary sensibilities to a genre that many people regarded as imaginative yet immature trash. Delany was not the only science fiction author doing this during the 60s and 70s, but Nova was so magical and effective. It even stands up today -- I reread it every few years, and it doesn't seem dated (although that comment maybe dates me!) I have to say, however, that his big novels of the 1970s -- Dhalgren and Triton -- were hard reads. As TFA notes, he kept pushing the boundaries of science fiction, but the boundaries went too far "out there" for me to appreciate. They were long and abstract, and it made me feel bad that I was too obtuse to really get into them.

falsedan 7y ago
I read Nova (and Sam) for the first time a couple of years ago. It was incredible, I loved how Tarot was the fashionable form of self-advice & guidance. For anyone in the Bay Area, check out a Friends if the San Francisco Library book sale in Fort Mason and trawl through the SF tables for some classics.
ralphc 7y ago
Remembered from the time, found at https://www.tor.com/2011/07/06/heinleins-worst-novel/ https://www.tor.com/2011/07/06/heinleins-worst-novel/ "That said, was it Analog or F&SF where a winning entry in a contest for SF-related jokes was: Q: What do the speed of light, absolute zero, and page 60 of Dhalgren have in common? A: No one will ever get past them."
- ilamont 7y ago
  That's a great post and a great thread. It's entertaining to read the discussion of Heinlein, as I came of age in a very cloistered sci-fi literary environment and as a teen in the 1980s didn't know anyone who appreciated science fiction literature and could discuss and compare classic authors like the people in that thread. Once I plugged into the Internet in the 90s, I subscribed to a Gene Wolfe usenet group but otherwise didn't seek out my "tribe." From time to time I get to catch up on these debates when someone mentions/links to them on HN, so thank you!

falsedan 7y ago

I read Nova (and Sam) for the first time a couple of years ago. It was incredible, I loved how Tarot was the fashionable form of self-advice & guidance. For anyone in the Bay Area, check out a Friends if the San Francisco Library book sale in Fort Mason and trawl through the SF tables for some classics.

ralphc 7y ago

Remembered from the time, found at https://www.tor.com/2011/07/06/heinleins-worst-novel/ https://www.tor.com/2011/07/06/heinleins-worst-novel/ "That said, was it Analog or F&SF where a winning entry in a contest for SF-related jokes was: Q: What do the speed of light, absolute zero, and page 60 of Dhalgren have in common? A: No one will ever get past them."

ilamont 7y ago
That's a great post and a great thread. It's entertaining to read the discussion of Heinlein, as I came of age in a very cloistered sci-fi literary environment and as a teen in the 1980s didn't know anyone who appreciated science fiction literature and could discuss and compare classic authors like the people in that thread. Once I plugged into the Internet in the 90s, I subscribed to a Gene Wolfe usenet group but otherwise didn't seek out my "tribe." From time to time I get to catch up on these debates when someone mentions/links to them on HN, so thank you!