Customer Reviews

Jewels of Aptor (The Gregg Press science fiction series)

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Rarely does an author's early work match the brilliance of his more mature efforts, and Delany's novel _The Jewels of Aptor_ is no exception. The novel is enjoyable and provocative, but it shows signs of immaturity, signs that are common in science fiction.

As usual, Delany does more than just tell a story. He wants to convey a truth about humanity, and this time it's about the "double impulse" in all of life. It is an interesting theory, and one that deserves consideration. However, he,as narrator, is too "present" in the novel. Some of the characters' interactions are too preachy, too much of an explanation of this theory. The preaching is _almost_ in character, but not quite. Delany matures and presents his theories in the actions and stories of his characters much better (the characters do so in a way that is part of their character) in later novels and anthologies (such as the Neveryon series).

A stronger criticism is one that could be made about too many science fiction authors, and again it is the "presence" of the author in the narration. A few times it seems that Delany wants us to know how much he knows about science, history, or some other field. There's too much of an explanation by a character that just doesn't fit. This is a problem I have _not_ noticed in his later works. The story is a good one, and I recommend the book. However, it is not Delany's finest work. But no one should expect that; it is an early work.

This is one of Delany's very early works. While the copyright reads 1967, his signature at the end of this work indicates it was actually written in 1962, when he was just 19 years old. And like most works written by such youthful writers, it has some flaws, and is certainly not as good as most of his later material.

But it does have some points that are quite striking. Delany would later become known for having not only finely delineated characters, but characters that are very different from the average run-of-mill people. His characters for this work follow that mold of different, from the mute four-armed Snake to the bear of a man Orson, though perhaps their characterization is not as full-bodied as a later Delany would show them. Delany's other prime characteristic, prose so sharp it can cut, poetry in prose, is quite muted here, though there are flashes of it, and here and there the sense of being in a very different time and place becomes quite forceful.

The plot is somewhat standard, a post-holocaust world with bits and pieces of the former high-technology hanging around, and a quest to steal one of the few pieces of new technology (the "Jewels") before they can be used to destroy the viewpoint civilization. But here is where the most obvious flaws are, as the plot becomes quite confusing, as various beings are dragged across the reader's view as being the enemy or spies for the enemy, but are later revealed to be perhaps not what they first seem. Trying to keep track of who are really the good guys and who are the bad is difficult, though he does tie in this confusion quite nicely with his theme of there being dual natures to every action.

Some of the creatures of this world seem like they were designed for a Hollywood `B' movie, from giant amoebas to blind harpies. And in fact, this book probably could be made into such a movie, and might actually be half-way decent, given a director who wouldn't try to add extraneous material to it. As it is, this book is a reasonable adventure, with some food for thought buried in it, and is an interesting look at the early Delany's capabilities.

---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hypepat)

"The Jewels of Aptor" is probably the silliest entry in the post-apocalyptic genre that I've ever read. That's ok, I understand that not every science fiction author strives to create literary masterpieces as well. I can forgive the undeveloped characters and cliched dialogue (sample lines: "Boy am I glad to see you.", "Let's get out of here.") What I can't forgive is the fact that much of the novel doesn't really make sense. Especially at the end, it was hard to keep track of what was going on, and the sudden revelations about who's actually working for the side of good, who's a double-agent, etc..., fail to really explain all of the characters' behavior earlier in the book. Even so, "The Jewels of Aptor" does have enough fast-paced actions scenes to earn a three-star rating.