The Einstein Intersection won the Nebula Award for best science fiction novel of 1967. The surface story tells of the problems a member of an alien race, Lo Lobey, has assimilating the mythology of earth, where his kind have settled among the leftover artifacts of humanity. The deeper tale concerns, however, the way those who are "different" must deal with the dominant cultural ideology. The tale follows Lobey's mythic quest for his lost love, Friza. In luminous and hallucinated language, it explores what new myths might emerge from the detritus of the human world as those who are "different" try to seize history and the day.
Einstein Intersection
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From Library Journal
Delany's 1967 novel won the Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction Book. The plot follows a race of aliens, the Lo Lobey, who colonize Earth after humankind's departure and try to make sense of our existence (good luck!). This edition has a new foreword by Neil Gaiman of Sandman comic fame.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"When Delany describes to us what he has seen, what he can compute, adduce, intuit or smell in the underbrush, our reaction is to sit bolt upright and cry out, 'Of course, I have that very wound myself!' The ability to produce this reaction in people is one of the commonly accepted and apparently valid appurtenances of genius . . . I look forward to the explosion reading this will create within you." --A. J. Budrys, Galaxy Magazine
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is essentially a retelling of myths and archetypes using what seems to be aliens or mutants. Now, bear with me for a second: This book is extremely well-written. I place it in the sci-fi section even though it is more like a fantasy on the surface. This is a world where people actually quote Ringo Starr and treat the rise and fall of the Beatles the way we treat the rise and fall of Achilles. We know it is our world, but something has gone awry. What, we never know.
This book won the Nebula and is full of rich, poetic prose. But I recommend it only to those people who love fantasy sci-fi with a good dose of poetic language on the side. For Delany's more straightforwardly "sci-fi" novels, see NOVA or THE FALL OF THE TOWERS.
This book won the Nebula and is full of rich, poetic prose. But I recommend it only to those people who love fantasy sci-fi with a good dose of poetic language on the side. For Delany's more straightforwardly "sci-fi" novels, see NOVA or THE FALL OF THE TOWERS.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There is no doubt Delany can write well but I think you either like his style or you don't with not much in between. Much of his writing is more like science fiction poetry than prose and Einstein Intersection is the most extreme example of that I have read so far. Delany leaves a lot to the imagination and a lot to figure out on your own. I think his reputation as writing "literary" science fiction is well deserved. If you want everything laid out for you this isn't the book for you and Delany is probably not the author for you. On the other hand, if you want great writing that you will enjoy and that will make you think, then this and his other books will fit the bill. Babel-17, Empire Star and Nova are easier to read although even there everything is not laid out in great detail. Nova is probably the easiest to follow and most traditional if that is what you are looking for.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By calmly
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read thru it twice. Most of it could have been in Greek: perhaps very well-written Greek, very poetic Greek, perhaps imaginative and well-contained Greek, but not for me. Yet, whenever Kid Death was present, either directly or by reference from the other characters, those parts were intriguing. I'm not sure why. The name "Kid Death" somehow sounds cool, although death is hardly cool. But Delaney's writing seemed to come to LIFE when Kid DEATH was involved.
And so it was that I first read this book more than 30 years ago and all I remembered was: "Kid Death". And I found the book recently by doing a search here at Amazon for, what else but "Kid Death". I suppose I've changed. These two recent readings don't grab me. I may lack the imagination to keep up with this book.
But I won't pan it because I suspect the writing deserves better attention from me and because of Kid Death. There's somethng here even if it may take me a third, a forth, or a tenth reading to see it. I don't think this is a book to dismiss. It's an odd book, a rare book, whether you want to call sci-fi or fantasy or whatever. You may owe yourself to give it a read because it is unique, because 30 years ago it intrigued me and somehow still does ... and because you ought to meet Kid Death, one of the more unforgettable literary creations.
And so it was that I first read this book more than 30 years ago and all I remembered was: "Kid Death". And I found the book recently by doing a search here at Amazon for, what else but "Kid Death". I suppose I've changed. These two recent readings don't grab me. I may lack the imagination to keep up with this book.
But I won't pan it because I suspect the writing deserves better attention from me and because of Kid Death. There's somethng here even if it may take me a third, a forth, or a tenth reading to see it. I don't think this is a book to dismiss. It's an odd book, a rare book, whether you want to call sci-fi or fantasy or whatever. You may owe yourself to give it a read because it is unique, because 30 years ago it intrigued me and somehow still does ... and because you ought to meet Kid Death, one of the more unforgettable literary creations.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
"Myths always lie in the most difficult places to ignore"
"The Einstein Intersection" is a slim novel and a "difficult" one, its unadorned prose easy to read and its unconventional structure hard to understand. Read more
Published on April 2, 2011 by D. Cloyce Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars
Five Stars for Kid Death. (And ONLY Kid Death. )
I had to read this for class. Can't figure out much of the plot to save my life. What I could figure out was that the main character Lo Lobey is looking for his significant other... Read more
Published on February 8, 2011 by Ben-Oni
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where Logic Meets Dream
This is perhaps the first Delany novel where his ability to write near-poetry and call it prose really shows up, though there were intimations of it in his The Fall of the Towers. Read more
Published on August 12, 2009 by Patrick Shepherd
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ugh!
Don't get me wrong. I'm kind of a fan of Chip Delany. I think that "Aye, and Gomorrah..." is one of the best stories in the... Read more
Published on June 19, 2006 by David J. Coates
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of the "New Wave"
While many of the "New Wave" science fiction writers of the 1960s did little more than adapt long-dead literary styles to their own work (as John Brunner, in "Stand on Zanzibar"... Read more
Published on February 6, 2006 by A. Krislov
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Mess of Myths
This undeveloped, inconclusive little novel won some big sci-fi accolades back in the late 60s. But in those days, I would bet that the guys on the award committees were themselves... Read more
Published on September 20, 2005 by doomsdayer520
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Einstein Intersection
The Emperor has No Clothes
This is a fantasy a drunk college sophomore could have written after having taken Introduction to Greek Mythology. Read more
This is a fantasy a drunk college sophomore could have written after having taken Introduction to Greek Mythology. Read more
Published on November 17, 2004 by Matthew Kirk
2.0 out of 5 stars
incomprehensible on its own
The characters repeatedly find themselves in utterly intense and bizarre situations but usually react merely with mild frustration and annoyance. Read more
Published on September 7, 2004 by John C
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than expected
My first book of Delany was Babel 17, followed by Empire star, and I must say that I was dissappointed upon finishing them. Read more
Published on June 3, 2004 by Matko Vladanovic
1.0 out of 5 stars
SHORT OVER LONG ONE ROUND SqUARE TO PEG A CIRCLE IN
Colorful HIDEOUS with out any discerable LEARNABLE meaning it a JOURNEY BACKWARD DONE jungle BURROUGHS style, jungle jim, hard inHABITABLE hospise dispossed able hiinted... Read more
Published on January 19, 2004 by david
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