#6. BABEL-17 By Samuel R Delany

Published : 1967
Pages : 193
Overall Mark : 6/10

In the far future, after human civilization has spread through the galaxy, communications begin to arrive in an apparently alien language. They appear to threaten invasion, but in order to counter the threat, the messages must first be understood. Babel-17 is the novel which catapulted Samuel R. Delany into the front rank of SF writers.

SAMUEL R. DELANY (1942-)
Born and raised in Harlem, and published his first novel in 1962 at the age of 20. He won the Nebula Award for best novel in consecutive years with Babel-17 (1966) and The Einstein Intersection (1967). His other novels include Dhalgren and the Neveryon series. He teaches literature at Princeton University.

VERDICT
I wasn’t particularly impressed with this novel, although the idea it is based around is a very interesting and original one. Some of the characters do prove to be interesting as, in her search for the key to Babel-17, Rydra Wong meets a number of people who all have drastically different perceptions of reality themselves, proving to be a nice counterpoint to the subject of the novel itself.