From the Bookshelf of The Alternative Worlds…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
Ancillary Sword Discussion - Spoilers Ahoy
By Bunny · 65 posts · 17 views
By Bunny · 65 posts · 17 views
last updated Feb 24, 2015 12:43PM
showing 3 of 3 topics
view all »
Other topics mentioning this book
Where should I start?
By Sarah , Opens the Pod Bay Doors · 10 posts · 25 views
By Sarah , Opens the Pod Bay Doors · 10 posts · 25 views
last updated Jan 21, 2011 03:53PM
Theme Books; Suggestions and Nominations
By deleted member · 39 posts · 33 views
By deleted member · 39 posts · 33 views
last updated Oct 21, 2011 11:04AM
Really great words, and some people.
By Whitman · 28 posts · 24 views
By Whitman · 28 posts · 24 views
last updated Jun 04, 2012 08:21AM
What Members Thought
I recently rediscovered this book hiding in a crate in my home library, waiting several years to be read. As with most of my experiences reading Samuel R. Delany, Babel-17 proved at various times frustrating, inscrutable, exceptional, and interesting. When a friend asked me if I had enjoyed it, I replied, “I respect it.” That’s perhaps the best way to sum up a lot of my feelings about Delany’s science fiction.
Babel-17 takes place in a future where humanity has spread out across the stars. We are ...more
Babel-17 takes place in a future where humanity has spread out across the stars. We are ...more
I found this book at the University of Washington bookstore, in the textbooks and assigned reading section, what better place to find deep, interesting books, right?
I was in high school, and the premise, about the power of language to convey information wrapped in a SF thriller, blew my teenage mind. I'm not surprised this has never been made into a movie - even with the crazy futuristic body modifications and space ship pirates, this is a book about words and meanings. How the way you think can ...more
I was in high school, and the premise, about the power of language to convey information wrapped in a SF thriller, blew my teenage mind. I'm not surprised this has never been made into a movie - even with the crazy futuristic body modifications and space ship pirates, this is a book about words and meanings. How the way you think can ...more
I'm wavering between three and four stars, but I think this gets the benefit of the doubt. Three stars for the fact that the ending - and the last section - felt a little rushed. Four stars for the complex and competent female protagonist (somewhat unusual in SF of the time), the fascinating systems of travel, and the examination of language.
...more
The discussion of communication in this book was fabulous. How language shapes us and our impressions with incomplete meanings and how some words are simple to one culture and incomprehensible to another. I realize that in the context of this book, we're talking about alien cultures, but really, this could be applied so close to home it's not even funny. We've gotten better in recent years as we've come closer to single uniting language, but English (or French) is still not perfect for exact exp
...more
This book pings off of me in so many ways.
I've been meaning to read it a while, but I wasn't sure what I expected. I also went through 5 star and 3 star moments and thoughts with this book, so I'll settle on four, but mostly because I love Rydra, even though she's ridiculously perfect.
This book leans HARD into the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis (usually that language affects structure/personality/characteristics, but in this case it's not relative, it's deterministic). I wasn't so sure about how I felt ...more
I've been meaning to read it a while, but I wasn't sure what I expected. I also went through 5 star and 3 star moments and thoughts with this book, so I'll settle on four, but mostly because I love Rydra, even though she's ridiculously perfect.
This book leans HARD into the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis (usually that language affects structure/personality/characteristics, but in this case it's not relative, it's deterministic). I wasn't so sure about how I felt ...more
I really liked the sound of the premise of this book but I found it hard going. I never relished the idea of picking the book back up and it was almost a chore to finish it.
So although I finished it I felt let down by the ending and generally felt that the execution of the story was pretty lame. Maybe it's just not dated very well.
It's my second experience of reading a novel by this author and on neither occasion have I been impressed. I'm starting to think that perhaps this author is not for m ...more
So although I finished it I felt let down by the ending and generally felt that the execution of the story was pretty lame. Maybe it's just not dated very well.
It's my second experience of reading a novel by this author and on neither occasion have I been impressed. I'm starting to think that perhaps this author is not for m ...more
Dec 18, 2008
Redag
added it
Jul 03, 2009
This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Nov 29, 2010
Julie S.
marked it as to-read
Oct 31, 2011
Taueret
marked it as to-read
Jan 10, 2012
Terry
marked it as to-read
May 07, 2012
Chueca
marked it as to-read
Mar 12, 2013
Kelly
marked it as to-read
Apr 16, 2013
Khoragos
marked it as to-read
Jan 06, 2015
Dharmakirti
marked it as to-read
Feb 15, 2015
Maria
marked it as to-read
Oct 18, 2020
Eric
marked it as to-read
