On Fri, 27 Jun 1997, Anne V Stuecker wrote:
> Nalo -
>
> Thanks for the referral, but why "unfortunately"? Is there something
> dreadfully wrong with this _Neveryona_ series so that everyone dislikes
> it?
>
> Anne Stuecker <avs5@juno.com> Washington, DC, USA
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No, not _everyone_ dislikes the series! But it isn't an easy read, and it
is slow, and towards the end it loses itself a little when it makes the
parallels between the fantasy world and the AIDS epidemic too overt. But
there are some wonderful passages in at least the first two books in the
series, and anyone with a love-hate relationship with traditional heroic
fantasy ought to appreciate the way in which Delany subverts the usual
stereotypes.
Though it is so difficult to sympathise with Delany's heroes, ALL of whom
are drawn to young men who bite their nails to extinction...!
I must say, if I was recommending Delany to anyone, I wouldn't recommend
starting with Neveryona. _Babel-17_ is a wonderfully cleverspace
opera; _Triton_ is a marvellous utopia; and _Stars in My Pocket Like
Grains of Sand_ is, I might argue on a good day, possibly the best science
fiction novel of the last thirty years!
Edward James
..............................................................................
Professor Edward James, Dept of History, Faculty of Letters and Social
Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, READING RG6 6AA, UK
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/~lhsjamse/home.htm
Editor: FOUNDATION: THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION
Joint Editor: EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE
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