- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; New edition edition (11 Jan 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 185798742X
- ISBN-13: 978-1857987423
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 265,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The balance of galactic power in the 31st century revolves around Illyrion, the most precious energy source in the universe. The varied and exotic crew who sign up with Captain Lorq van Ray know their mission is dangerous, and they soon learn that they are involved in a deadly race with the charismatic but vicious leader of an opposing space federation. But they have no idea of Lorq's secret obsession: to gather Illyrion at source by flying through the very heart of an imploding star.
About the Author
SALES POINTS * #37 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written * 'Bizarre and imaginative' Sunday Times * 'Samuel R. Delany, as of this book, is the best science fiction writer in the world' Algis Budrys * 'Delany at his peak -- all flash and filigree, a master of movement and excitement' Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels * 'Not only one of the most important SF writers(but a fascinating writer in general who has invented a new style' Umberto Eco
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For a book written in the late sixties, Nova is surprisingly fresh. It hasn't got the tin foil suits and atomic cars feel of much early SF. Perhaps it is Delany's sense of style and outlandish imagination that give it such a modern feel.
In an age of blockbusters and trilogies I was also surprised by how much it packed into such a tight space. There is nothing wasted and yet we are left feeling a 'depth' of world - Nova is vibrant, textured and multi-levelled.
It is slow to get started, with several changes of perspective and a couple of extended flash backs, but as the 'team' begins to explore various worlds in fairly typical quest style, the pace hots up. Delany reminded my of a sort of hip Jack Vance at this point.
Delany has an eye for detail that can be both engaging and frustrating. There is a great deal of focus on small body movements - he cupped his hands in this way, held is belt in that way, swept his hair back, sat like this. Sometimes it anchors the scene, sometimes it interferes. At one point, Delany almost explains himself through the words of one of the characters (a budding author himself) - character is expressed through action - the purposeful, the habitual and the gratuitous.
Nova is scruffy - not the cover (although sitting on it didn't help) but the characters and the world. There is a sense of dust, frayed ends, bare flesh, bad table manners, which gives much of Delany's work a bohemian, almost barbarian, feel.
Nova is grand world building without the grandiosity that frequently accompanies modern attempts. It is stylish, exuburent, arrogant, witty, learned, colourful and crude. It is essential reading.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a meticulously crafted book with the most satisfying conclusion I've ever read. The plot is a simple one: good guys and bad guys racing for the goodies - but the plot is just the stuff that happens while the author explores his characters and themes. The story is pretty good, but this is a clever piece of writing which should be read for the subtexts. Eg: one of the characters, Katin, is obviously someone with whom the author identifies, much like Rydra Wong in Babel-17 but not nearly as likeable; at times Delany's prose style is wearying, but just as I start finding it too pretentious, someone tells the pretentious Katin to shut up! The book is short enough to read in a day, but I suggest taking time with it, allowing the subtexts to absorb, to fully appreciate the last sentence.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's hard to add to what previous reviewers have said. This is a superb book, characteristically Delany in style, motifs, and richness of vision, yet vastly more accessible in plot. Much of the delight is in the understated strangeness of this future culture: cyborging is universal and all work has reverted to literally hands-on form; only the very rich and very poor take their nourishment by eating food; the impossibility of disease makes it no longer necessary to be clean or hygienic; and Tarot divination guides decision-making at the highest level. While a very literary novel, it's held together by likeable lead characters, a hissable villain, and a gripping storyline. Please, won't someone like Luc Besson make it into a movie?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Operatic.
This is a space opera, and a very accomplished one, full of invention and mystique, and one which very much lives up to the term "opera": the characters are grandiose; the politics... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Behan
Classic Delany
Like Alfred Bester Delany's influence can be seen in the cyberpunk genre, this tale is no different. Read more
Published on 26 May 2009 by Patrick Cann
Delany's best novel
This is Delany at his absolute best. The backdrop is pure space opera, but the human drama in the foreground is what engages most. Read more
Published on 24 July 2007 by M. J. Barber
Best Space Opera Ever Written!
I completely agree with the prevoius reviewers. "Nova" is one of best SF novels ever written. No wonder it is one of my favourite books. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2006 by Sergey Lenkov
Short, Subtle and thought-provoking
This book reminded me a lot of 'Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad. Both novels are short ('Nova' is barely over 200 pages), but both are expertly constructed down to the word... Read more
Published on 28 July 2004 by Mr. A. J. Whiteway
Stellar (Dis)-Integration
I consider Nova to be one of Delany's best works. While written comparatively early in his career (1968), it shows maturity in handling of both language and character. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2002 by Patrick Shepherd
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