![]() ![]() The Alliance has recently picked up a number of mysterious radio broadcasts in an apparently alien language concurrently with several sabotage attacks by the Invaders. An intergalactic realm known as the Alliance is under attack from another intergalactic realm called the Invaders. The setup is relatively simple, but the plot hook is intriguing. Nevertheless, while many elements of this particular book worked well for me, I found Babel-17 didn’t quite live up fully to its reputation, largely due to some conceptual and stylistic excesses, as well as a disappointing final act.ĭelany doesn’t provide much in the way of exposition in the book’s opening passages, but he does provide just enough detail to effectively evoke the future galactic society in which the book is set. ![]() By reputation, the book is considered one of the highlights in an impressive oeuvre. (Dare I bore readers of this review with the obvious declaration that is standard of any retrospective assessment of Delany’s work that he was a true SF prodigy?) Babel-17 was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1967 and tied with Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes for the Nebula Award that same year. By my count he had already published six previous novels. Delany in the United States in 1966, when the writer was 24 years old. ![]() 1966 Ace Books edition art by Jerome PodwilĪce Books first published Babel-17 by Samuel R. ![]()
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