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A review by cruelspirit
Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I'm finally getting around to some of Samuel R Delany's Science Fiction works. A few years back I read Tales of Nevèrÿon, which is a Fantasy novel. While I ultimately didn't love that book I was highly impressed with the ideas Delany presented. I've been meaning to read more in that series but I also wanted to read some of Delany's more notable works.
Most people know Delany for his Science Fiction and Babel-17 is probably the most known of these works. While I enjoy Science Fiction of this era, I will admit that I am not much of a Hard Sci Fi, Space Opera fan. I typically enjoy science fiction for its ideas and societal commentary. Not that this book is devoid of those kinds of concepts but I wouldn't categorize it as such.
Babel-17 is a story of space invasion. Those of the Earth alliance have intercepted a transmission in a language they don't recognize. This language being named Babel-17. Our protagonist Rydra Wong is a polygot who is tasked with deciphering this language.
Overall I thought this was just okay. Like I said, this is not typically my kind of Science Fiction. Aside from personal taste, my biggest issue with these kinds of stories is their world building. From the start you are thrown so many new names, concepts, technology, and terminology that you've got to quickly understand in order to keep up with the narrative. Some readers may like these aspects, as they flesh out the world, but for me it always seems like a lot of extra flare that draws attention away from the actual narrative. This problem also isn't helped by the short page count of a story like this.
Narrative wise I was also left feeling indifferent. While not typically the kind of story that draws my attention in, I did find that it incorporated a lot of interesting elements. Reading this you might almost mistake this for a book more closely associated with the 1980s, in the way it tells a Science Fiction tale. Similar to Dune, I felt this book really captured the stylings of Science Fiction that we would come to know in the years to follow with the explosion of screen works such as Star Trek and Star Wars.
I'm someone who typically really likes stories that center around linguistics so my underwhelmed take on this book really hits especially hard. I felt like there were some interesting discussions when it came to understanding the language of Babel-17 but ultimately wished it was explored deeper.
Overall, I just felt this book was too brief to fill my ambitious. I realized while reading this that it has been 5 months since I last read a Science Fiction book from this era. I am definitely out of practice with the genre and I think I may have had a different experience if that wasn't the case. I'm still interested in the works of Delany and will continue on with some of his other works.
Most people know Delany for his Science Fiction and Babel-17 is probably the most known of these works. While I enjoy Science Fiction of this era, I will admit that I am not much of a Hard Sci Fi, Space Opera fan. I typically enjoy science fiction for its ideas and societal commentary. Not that this book is devoid of those kinds of concepts but I wouldn't categorize it as such.
Babel-17 is a story of space invasion. Those of the Earth alliance have intercepted a transmission in a language they don't recognize. This language being named Babel-17. Our protagonist Rydra Wong is a polygot who is tasked with deciphering this language.
Overall I thought this was just okay. Like I said, this is not typically my kind of Science Fiction. Aside from personal taste, my biggest issue with these kinds of stories is their world building. From the start you are thrown so many new names, concepts, technology, and terminology that you've got to quickly understand in order to keep up with the narrative. Some readers may like these aspects, as they flesh out the world, but for me it always seems like a lot of extra flare that draws attention away from the actual narrative. This problem also isn't helped by the short page count of a story like this.
Narrative wise I was also left feeling indifferent. While not typically the kind of story that draws my attention in, I did find that it incorporated a lot of interesting elements. Reading this you might almost mistake this for a book more closely associated with the 1980s, in the way it tells a Science Fiction tale. Similar to Dune, I felt this book really captured the stylings of Science Fiction that we would come to know in the years to follow with the explosion of screen works such as Star Trek and Star Wars.
I'm someone who typically really likes stories that center around linguistics so my underwhelmed take on this book really hits especially hard. I felt like there were some interesting discussions when it came to understanding the language of Babel-17 but ultimately wished it was explored deeper.
Overall, I just felt this book was too brief to fill my ambitious. I realized while reading this that it has been 5 months since I last read a Science Fiction book from this era. I am definitely out of practice with the genre and I think I may have had a different experience if that wasn't the case. I'm still interested in the works of Delany and will continue on with some of his other works.