Einstein Intersection

While many of the "New Wave" science fiction writers of the 1960s did little more than adapt long-dead literary styles to their own work (as John Brunner, in "Stand on Zanzibar" adapted the style of John Dos Passos), Delany forged a new style of his own, telling a science fiction story through the creative use of ancient and modern myth. Warning--this is not a book for a lazy reader or a slow one. But if you've got the chops, this book has the chops for you.

Samuel R. Delany is known for being among the best SF stylists; in his fiction, his prose shines and is, for the most part, unusual even for today. For a book that won the 1967 Nebula Award, for it to still be strange today is an accomplishment not to be looked down upon. The Einstein Intersection, much like Nova, has a certain element of metafiction to it; that is, it is aware of itself as a story. But even more than Nova was, The Einstein Intersection seems to be metafiction in its finest form. The book references many myths (Lo Orpheus), and even myths from the time when the book was written (Lo Ringo and the great rock and the great roll). It also includes notes from the author's journal, as he travelled across the world while he was writing the book. It includes his thoughts on how the book is progressing and his plans for revision - at one point, Kid Death had black hair instead of red. I think it is it's internal- and external-referential quality that makes it brilliant. The plot itself is simple enough, centering around revenge; it is the society that the plot is built around that is so fascinating. Delany is extremely skilled at presenting a few key details for the reader to sketch out a basic idea of the society, but keeping most of it in darkness. Delany had a great deal of chutzpah to reference so many myths and legends - but even as a young author at the time, he manages to pull it off in this relatively thin volume.

Along with EMPIRE STAR, EINSTEIN INTERSECTION is Delany's best book. A flood of poetic images fills a funny, fast-paced story that may B a retelling of the myth of Theseus -- but U won't care. Delany's odd eye, great sense of humor & different look at things will B enuf. & parts of it R laff-out-loud funny. At 120 pages, U can read it in a couple hours. & if U like this, try EMPIRE STAR and really scramble yr brain....

After starting with Dhalgren and finding it unreadable, I decided not to give up on Delany. I went to Nova, which is sadly out of print by the way, and found it to be one of the finest SF books I've ever read. Next I tried Babel-17 (also out of print) and found that to be a very good work, but not up to par with Nova. And then this. Delany's early (pre-Dhalgren) SF is very engaging. His characters are intense as is are his plot lines, and his imagery is dazzling without being confusing. Even if this novel had no plot whatsoever, you could still read it if only for the intriguing voice the Delany writes with. Yep, it's based on the Orpheus myth (as are some of his later works, which amount to far less than this novel), and Delany succeeds very well with his archetypal characters and plot line. With references to everything from Greek mythology to '60s pop culture, it is certainly thinking-person's reading, but it is also entertaining if you want a short, fun read. It's good to see this one back in print after so many "only available at an obscure used book store" years. If you want somewhere to start with Delany, this is the place, as the book is easily available and is more accessible than his later works (which I still don't like much even today). If you like this try out the harder to find stuff like Babel-17 and Nova (probably in that order, as Nova marks the highlight of Delany's career). By the way, if you like Delany, check out the works by the lesser-known (but critically perhaps more acclaimed) New Wave author Thomas M. Disch (who's work is newly back in print, I believe).

The mythologies of Orpheus, the Beatles, Billy the Kid, Jean Harlow, and everyone's fave good ol' J.C. are intertwined here, replaying themselves among a race of alien wayfarers who've inherited the abandoned Earth and uneasily assumed the mantle of the vanished humanity. Told from the POV of Lobey, a "different" youth who is questing for his lost love Friza, this book deals with Delaney's usual concerns with art, Story, & the reality of events vs. the perception of events, and the complex ways in which they all interact. The engaging characters and exotic (but strangely familiar) setting, keep this from being just a rehash of familiar themes. One of Delaney's better works, the short length makes it a much less challenging read than his longer novels, but there's enough complexity here to satisfy any Delaney true believer. Love, death, redemption.. all this and dragons (decidedly non-fantastic), too- what more could you want?