Delany! Great suggestion! He is one of the classic sf writers whom I've never actually read, except for some short stories. Have you? Where should I start?
Sliding in on Delany--BABEL-17 is a classic, and one of my faves. I also love NOVA and EMPIRE STAR. EMPIRE STAR is really short, if that makes a difference!
Babel-17 is a fairly good one to start with (polyamorous crypographic Sapir/Whorf-abusing space opera!) -- it's a bit less linguistically dense and idea-crammed than some of the others, which makes it a good way to get a taster without shorting your brain out.
If you like it, then hit the hard stuff like Stars In My Pocket Like Grains of Sand or Triton.
I've read SimPLGoS and liked it a lot. I was scared of Delany's books when I tried it, and bounced right off the first page. I tried it again later and quite liked it; I am very sad that the sequel will probably never see the light of day.
I then tried Dhalgren and bounced right off, too, possibly even the second time. Then I tried again and really got into it...then I got into the last section. I think it is perfectly fine to just stop when you get there, because it is just excerpts from a journal, and it is hard to get anything much coherent there. But make sure you do read the end of the book and then refresh your memory of how the book started. That is pretty neat.
On RASFW, there was a post or a quote from a fanzine about Dhalgren that I never remember who made it but I remember the quote: "Answer: absolute zero, the center of the sun, and the end of Dhalgren. The question? Name three points mankind will never reach.". Hee!
I have not read any of his other books yet. I think the suggestions given by others to try Babel-17 are probably spot on.
P.S. I did read all of Dhalgren because I am stubborn that way, despite skipping the poetry in Possession. But I can't say that I enjoyed the last section.
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*points at username*
Babel-17 is a fairly good one to start with (polyamorous crypographic Sapir/Whorf-abusing space opera!) -- it's a bit less linguistically dense and idea-crammed than some of the others, which makes it a good way to get a taster without shorting your brain out.
If you like it, then hit the hard stuff like Stars In My Pocket Like Grains of Sand or Triton.
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I then tried Dhalgren and bounced right off, too, possibly even the second time. Then I tried again and really got into it...then I got into the last section. I think it is perfectly fine to just stop when you get there, because it is just excerpts from a journal, and it is hard to get anything much coherent there. But make sure you do read the end of the book and then refresh your memory of how the book started. That is pretty neat.
On RASFW, there was a post or a quote from a fanzine about Dhalgren that I never remember who made it but I remember the quote: "Answer: absolute zero, the center of the sun, and the end of Dhalgren. The question? Name three points mankind will never reach.". Hee!
I have not read any of his other books yet. I think the suggestions given by others to try Babel-17 are probably spot on.
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