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After writing ''Nova'' at the age of 25, Delany stopped writing for several years. When he began to write again (his next novel was the sexually-explicit '' Dhalgren ''), he adopted an experimental writing style much different from his earlier work. SYNOPSIS By the year 3172, political power in the galaxy is split between two factions: the Earth-based Draco and the newer Pleiades Federation. Both have interests in the Outer Colonies, where mines produce trace amounts of the prized power source Illyrion , the Superheavy material essential to starship travel and Terraforming planets. Caught in a feud between aristocratic families, a scarred and obsessed captain from the Pleiades, Lorq von Ray, recruits a disparate crew of misfits to aid him in the race with his arch-enemy, Prince Red from Draco, to gain economic dominance by securing a vastly greater source of Illyrion, direct from the heart of a stellar Nova . By doing so, von Ray would completely shift the Balance Of Power of the existing order, and would cause the downfall of the Red family and Earth 's dominance of interstellar politics. The central break down, but so do the laws of Politics and Psychology . This idea permeates the entire plot and storyline. The characters follow a Quest plotline, in that they visit numerous different worlds to pursue their goal, all while being pursued by the Red family. Although the novel is not subject to the extreme literary experimentation found in Delany's later books, it has a certain level of innovations. For example, some chapters end and begin in mid-sentence. Also, the Point Of View character constantly changes, the main ones being Lorq, Katin, and the Mouse. Every page of the book has a header which states the year and location of the scene (i.e., "Draco, Earth, Paris, 3162"), which comes in helpful because of the constant flashbacks and long journeys around the galaxy. CHARACTERS
As the book goes on, Lorq is also surprised to find out that his family was quite literally founded by Pirates who killed members of the Red family in order to keep the Pleiades free of Corporations from Earth (although his ancestors did so with the full support of the Pleiades' citizens). Strangely, although von Ray is described as being between forty-five and fifty years old, according to the dates in the books, he is barely thirty. This may have been a mathematical mistake on Delany's part - he makes numerous such mistakes, such as getting the numbering of centuries incorrect (such mistakes were corrected in more recent editions of the book). Another explanation is the Mouse's speculation that Lorq is "aged, not old;" however, the disparity in Lorq's age and appearance is so wide that the Mouse later withdraws this theory.
Despite the power his artificial arm gives him, Prince gets extremely violent if anyone does so much as mention it. For example, he broke the wrist of Lorq's mother when she tried to grab him.
Both Prince and Ruby have dark backgrounds. Prince claims that their outwardly-charming father, Aaron Red, abused them both when children. Prince also appears to have an unhealthy attachment to his sister (and vice-versa). While their father, Aaron, is still alive at the time of the novel and in charge of the Red company, Prince and Ruby are the only visible members of the Red clan.
The book contains numerous Flashback s on Lorq's part that reveal the background against which the story takes place. It is revealed that he first met Prince and Ruby when they were young children, during an attempt by their parents to seal the feud between the families. However, the meeting ended in disaster and embarrassment, and both Prince and Aaron's cruel natures were revealed. While Lorq is depicted as having a good relationship with his parents, it is unclear if they are still alive at the time of the novel - when he began his quest, his mother was already dying of a degenerative disorder, and he makes no mention of them, nor does he try to contact them. MOTIFS ''Nova'', although science fiction, has a number of character motifs in common with Delany's literary and literary-pornographic works: the Mouse, a damaged artist who wears one shoe like The Kid in the later '' Dhalgren ''; Katin, an intellectual and writer who attempts to record the events around him; the twins Lynceos and Idas, one black, the other albino; and Dan, a derelict with a rope holding up his pants. ''Nova'' also makes external references. Captain Lorq von Ray, on his obsessive quest with a crew of outcasts, clearly alludes to the similarly scarred Ahab in Melville 's '' Moby-Dick .'' Within the novel, the story is interpreted by Katin as a quest for the Holy Grail , with Illyrion playing the part of the Grail. As in Grail quest stories, there is a failed attempt to gain it, and someone must sacrifice themselves (in ''Nova'', their sanity and senses) to finally do so. Delany even plays to Grail lore Superstition by omitting the last word of the book. Delany makes an offhand reference to Isaac Asimov 's Foundation trilogy (a random planet is named " Trantor "). Additionally, in one scene, a character has a false Tooth with Poison hidden in it, an allusion to a scene in Frank Herbert 's '' Dune ''. As Delany is an African-American , it is not surprising that the story's main character, Lorq, is black. He is described as a Mulatto - his father is Norwegian , while his mother comes from Senegal . In fact, the residents of the Pleides Federation tend to come from an extremely mixed Racial group - one of Lorq's childhood friends is Asian , while many other races are represented. This is in sharp contrast to the Earth-centered Draco society, where the leaders tend to be uniformally Caucasian . Moreover, according to the Mouse, Earth still has problems with Racism - he recalls seeing a Lynching when he was younger, The race issue becomes a driving point in the novel - the Red/von Ray Feud is revived after Prince Red violently attacks Lorq for showing a romantic interest in his sister, Ruby. While not spelled out, it is strongly implied that part of this fight was triggered by a prejudice against Interracial mixing on the Red family's part. Also central to the story is the idea of Culture . One often-repeated concern in ''Nova'' is that, due to the dispersal of the human race among other star systems, there is no common Cultural Capital . The society is in a pre- Revolutionary state. Social Class and Economic tensions have caused the feud between the "new money" von Ray family and the "old money" Red family, both of whom exploit the Outer Colonies (akin to our Third World ). In this respect, the relationship between Draco and the Pleiades resembles that between the British Empire and the USA in the 19th century; the Pleiades is an increasingly successful breakaway federation with its own distinctive Dialect , yet its elite speaks with the dialect of the parent Draco. Despite being a society on the edge of a revolution (or some other unspecified major change), the future of the novel is extremely optimistic. As Katin reveals in one of his expository monologues, the Marxist problem of Labor Alienation has been completely overcome by the use of technology — practically all humans have cyborg socket implants that allow them to directly interface with machines they work with. These sockets are highly adaptable — characters are shown plugging them into everything from small vacuum cleaners to the navigational systems of starships. By directly interfacing with the machines, workers are able to identify with their work, and the result is a psychological happiness. As part of the New Wave of science fiction, the book deliberately goes against hard science-fiction motifs and themes. For example, von Ray uses the Tarot after a first, scientifically superior, mission fails. The book is undeniably the product of the 1960s in other ways. Although set in an imaginary future, a culturally iconic Assassination —parallel to that of John F. Kennedy —has taken place. The complaints of lost cultural diversity resemble those concerning Americanization in that period. The characters can be seen as Hippies , with itinerant lifestyles and Drug use extremely widespread and popular, and the design and terminology of the Mouse's sensory syrinx is that of 1960s Electric Guitar s. As Delany is an open Homosexual , several characters in ''Nova'' can be interpreted as being gay or Bisexual . Although Sebastian and Tyÿ are a heterosexual couple, and Lorq von Ray lusts after Ruby Red, Delany is not explicit about other central characters' sexualities. Katin's sexuality is never mentioned, and although the Mouse is described as having had relationships with women in the past, he and Katin (an uneducated gypsy and an intellectual respectively) have a clearly Homoerotic friendship that is almost identical to the openly sexual one between Korga and Marq Dyeth in Delany's later novel '' Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand ''. Several walk-in characters (''e.g.,'' Brian, a student spaceship enthusiast who hitchhikes with Lorq) are clearly presented as gay. INFLUENCES ''Nova'' is considered one of the major forerunners of the Cyberpunk movement. It prefigures, for instance, cyberpunk's staple Trope of human interfacing with computers via implants. Writer William Gibson was greatly influenced by Delany, and his novel '' Neuromancer '' includes allusions to ''Nova.'' However, while Delany's vision of the future is optimistic, the cyberpunk movement has a distinctly Dystopic outlook. As an example, Gibson includes a character, Peter Riviera, introduced (like the Mouse) in Istanbul , with the same holographic projection powers (although via implants) as the Mouse in ''Neuromancer''; but Gibson's character is a Psychopath . Likewise, Gibson includes a character who awkwardly only wears one shoe; this character (Ashpool) is an insane killer. PUBLISHING STATUS Despite its status, reputation, and heavy influence on science-fiction as a discipline, for many decades, ''Nova'' was Out Of Print , with hard-cover editions being highly prized. It wasn't until 2002 that a Vintage re-printing of it became available. Before then, many students taking courses in science fiction had to read '' Babel-17 '', the novel preceding this one. As mentioned above, the Vintage edition of the novel corrects some minor mistakes in the original version. It also adds an entire passage that does not appear in any of the older versions of the book. In the Vintage edition, a passage is included where Prince Red brags about how he is responsible for the death of Brian, who in earlier editions, is only a walk-in character who disappears after one appearance. Prince describes how he, using his wealth and power, and for no other reason than a careless comment, slowly destroyed Brian's life until he became Homeless and died of exposure. Prince went on to claim that he has killed about twenty-five other people in a similar fashion. This passage significantly alters Prince's Characterization . In earlier editions, the worst that could be said about Prince is that he was "spoiled" and had a violent temper. However, the added passage turns him into a remorseless Murderer . Additionally, the passage adds a Moral component to Lorq's quest that is absence in earlier versions. If Prince defeats Lorq, he will become the most powerful man in the galaxy, despite being a psychopathic killer. In another passage added in the Vintage edition, related to the above, Lorq has a vision that implies that both of his parents (like Dan and Brian) all died during the past ten years; however, this is not made concrete. |
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