Customer Reviews

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thought about the question for about one year, and I've come to the conclusion that "Stars" is my favorite book of all time. It has tremendous appeal as science fiction, escapism, political and gender theory, satire of modern-day cultural conflicts, and traditional character-driven fiction; and it is a 'novel' in the strict sense. So people looking for any of those things won't be disappointed.

But what I frequently hear from people whom I've persuaded to read this book is that it, somehow, caused them to open their perceptions; to feel that there were more ways of thinking, of feeling, of living than they had previously known. This is Delany's specialty; he did it first in "Dhalgren" but he does it best here, and in this respect no other author can match him. And this is a great talent and a great gift and why Delany will still be read when William Gibson has disappeared down the road that swallowed up Murray Leinster (two of my favorite SF authors, by the bye, and no offense intended.)

Naturally, when something is this good it immediately goes out-of-print. I'd recommend letting Amazon find you a copy - they found me a perfect mint condition first-edition hardcover for $31. I can't recall when I've been so happy about anything.

Oh, and the sequel. Science fiction fans around the world are awaiting it with some annoyance - he did publish the first chapter in 1997 in some academic journal (memory tells me the Journal of Contemporary Fiction, but memory could be way wrong), but it more frustrated and delimited than satiated that desire for closure to the story of Marq Dyeth, Rat Korga, Velm, Nepiy, the Thants, the Xlv, and the mysterious and sinister Web that snares them all. It's anybody's guess if he'll ever finish it, but I certainly hope he does!

I had no idea what I was getting into when I first read this book. It was given to me as a gift 15 years ago and I knew nothing of Delany at the time. But I had never before (and have never since) read such a richly complex and beautifully written book in my life. Few sci-fi stories manage to generate a feel deeper than a thinly veiled metaphor for the world around us. This book does. I have waited eagerly for 15 years for the sequel which never came (and as rumor has it never will). If Delany never finishes this story, it will be a terrible loss. I recommend it highly - but beware, the story goes places most of us have never gone and may not wish to go.

This is a book which gets inside your head and changes somehow the imaginative architecture of your mind. It is fascinating also on a theoretical level, social level as well as pure, joyful aesthetics. 'Stars' is also a book which shows what immense potential there is when staid, generic codes of sf are broken. I loved it, was amazed and will return to it every few years.... So like every other lover of this novel, I regret Delany's decision (?) not to write a sequel.

This book is one of few I found complex enough and satisfying enough to really hold my attention. Like a great musical work it gathers recurrent themes and variations to a stunning crescendo at the end of the first book- which left me maddened for the end of the story. I hear recurrent rumours that there is a sequel and I have been searching desperately for it for years. Delaney is a great master of literature unacknowledged by professors of lit because of his genre, and this book is the pinnacle of his career.

Samuel R. Delany is a novelist and critic, currently teaching English and creative writing at Temple University. A renowned author of science fiction, he has won both Hugo and Nebula awards. Now the Wesleyan University Press has published a 20th anniversary edition of one of Delany's very best science fiction epics, Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand. The central issues Delany addresses in a fictional format (technology, globalization, gender, sexuality, multiculturalism) have become even more center stage with the passage of time. This anniversary edition will serve to introduce a whole new generation of readers to Delany's imaginative and superbly skilled storytelling abilities with a science fiction novel that is as entertaining and thought-provoking today as it was when first published in 1984.

Yes indeed, after reading this I do not doubt Delany's genius. His literary skill and ability to create highly individualistic turns of phrase never fails to impress me. The tale of Rat Korga comes alive in a galaxy of fascinating peoples and places. However, this is by no means an easy read. Delany's overly-stylized writing can grate at times. Sentence fragments. He uses them a lot. I recall reading the same chapter two, three times then having to put the book down in utter frustration, not understanding a word of what I had just read. As a result, it took me a good deal longer to read this than many books much longer than it (it's under 400 pages). But it was worth the difficulty, and is certainly a book that lends itself to rereading. Intelligent and intensely rewarding prose.

Stars... to me is a description of the future of humanity. In this work, Delany has taken a (his?) view of moral, literal, technological, sexual, and societal tends and extrapolated them into a mosaic of imagery and context that reminds the reader of a future she has never known, but has experienced nonetheless. He reminds us that science is not just limited to the realms of mathematics and physics, but is integral to the society that we live in. I eagerly await the sequel, which after all of these years I fear will never arrive. Geoffrey John Atkinson

This is one of the most lyrical, entrancing books I have ever read -- easily Delaney's best novel. A wonderful social and psychological commentary pervades the story of a man and his discovery of himself through a newfound relationship, but the commentary never gets in the way of the story. My only regret is that there was supposed to have been a sequel to answer the questions the book leaves you with, but Delaney has never written it.

Delany's later works of fiction are not easy to read. You will find yourself reading many pages more than once before you understand. This futuristic novel explores the relationship between Rat Korga and Marq Dyeth. Their story is played against a background of a complex interstellar society. This is a hard book to read but it is worth the struggle. This is a novel that completly leaves one satisfied. Recommended to all serious fans of science fiction literature.

When your everday perception becomes narrow and dim, some books have the capacity to shake you out of it. This is one of those.

It's been years since I read Stars in My Pocket, so I won't go into detail, but I will say: I've never been so glad to have read anything.