A review by tregina
Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany

4.0

Classic science fiction is such a complicated prospect, what with the racism and sexism and homophobia undermining all the tremendous imagination and great vision. The beauty of reading Delany is that he avoids almost all of that, which automatically puts him head and shoulders, for me, above most of his contemporaries. And on top of that this particular novel is all about beautiful, glorious language. It's not perfect. The conclusion doesn't feel entirely organic (and of course the technology is anachronistic now). But it's wildly imaginative with a great female protagonist, a variety of sexual and romantic relationships, fascinating linguistics, body modification, telepathy, ghosts and intergalactic travel. For me, it's wonderful.