The Einstein Intersection (July 2013)

[Charles]

I haven't read a lot of Delany, but what I have read has always been interesting, enjoyable, quirky, and sometimes challenging. I would have to say that applies here, too, though not with the depth of, say, Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia.

I like the change of pace you get with a SF book like this that does not try to explicitly explain (is that redundant or just alliterative?) everything to the reader, and even lets some of the important details emerge over time. It also makes an interesting contrast with the just-read Foundation, as "Einstein", for me, was more about just getting into the flow of the words and going along for the ride, rather than closely following detailed plot lines.

I expect it's not for everyone -- but then, what is? I gave it 4 stars as a book I liked enough that I'd consider possibly re-reading it some time in the future, as well as reminding me I should try some of Delany's other novels that I've not yet read.

[Donna]

I believe this is the first Samuel Delany I have read. It was an interesting take on the Orpheus myth and as you say Charles, it left a lot unexplained. I enjoyed the questions, wondering what had happened to humanity, what were these aliens like before they came to earth and how did they "take our bodies" and become the creatures that they were. On the flip side though, I never really got engrossed in the story. As you said, I went along for the ride, but for me at the end instead of wanting to go back and do it again I was just ready for the next ride. A 3 star story but it's not one that sticks with me.

[Andreas]

Delany wrote this brainfood with humanistic background in 1965. So, there are clumsy computers, 33' and 45' records, there are Beatles, Bob Dylan references etc. But the archaic touch doesn't matter at all - the concepts are important, here.

Probably, this isn't for one who doesn't know Orpheus and Eurydice. It's more fun having a wikipedia nearby to search all the catchwords. So, it will be a slow read and second read might bring even new dimensions of insights - though I won't re-read it. References to Einstein's and Gödel's theorems are a little bit explained but you have to figure out connections by yourself.

There is space and time travel and all is interleaved with Delany's travel log in the mediteranean sea.

Delany writes in an advanced literaric prose which doesn't provide easy answers, clear plotlines and trivial characters. It's simply a little bit more complex than your usual bread and butter SF.

And it is a novella with less than 150 pages where newer authors would take a couple of hundred pages to bring the same message over.

[[deleted user]]

I always have a difficult time reading Delaney. His prose is interesting but I find that I end up forcing myself to enjoy it.

[[deleted user]]

I originally read this novel when I was seventeen, a long long time ago, but I'm glad I reread it and it's geared me up to reread Trition and Dhalgren which have ethos from this book, IIRC. Delaney is probably the finest prose stylist in the science fiction genre. He is more about writing and ideas than the story: a hard sell to some readers.


Also, it's a book very much rooted in the decade it was written. There is something wonderfully psychedelic about it.

[Christine]

That's the first Delaney book I read and I liked the hero Lo Lobey a lot. I enjoyed reading about the preparation for his journey, him being a dragon herder and then upon the arrival in the city it got confusing. I had a hard time explaining the ongoing stuff to myself because Delaney did not do anything to make it easy for the reader to follow the last part. However, I liked to follow it through, then it ended too abruptly for me to wrap my head around it. I was thinking a lot about it after I finished it and I think I will go back to it and read it again.

I think I will give Dhalgren a try next.

[Jean-Michel]

Although I enjoyed it immensely, Dhalgren can be a tough read. It's quite long, meandering, and ambiguous, though rich in texture. Some of my favorite Delany books are: Nova, Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia, Babel-17, and Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand, especially the clash of world views of the Family v. the Sygn.