Nova - Samuel Delaney Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!

Other books by
author Samuel Delaney

"Nova"
Message Board

Samuel Delaney Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR: Sheri Fresonke Harper

SCHOLARS:

Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review? Click here to submit a review!

Review Summaries

"Captain Lorq van Ray collects a crew of oddballs as mates on his space ship. His plan, find a Nova and collect 7 tons of illyrion, the power source for space drives. Among those going on his next voyage are a gypsy boy named Mouse whose chief skill is to play the sensory-syrynx, Katin a novelist, Tyy the tarot expert, Sebastian with his 6 pets, the twins -- one albino and one black named Lynceos and Ida. When his former crew member Dan, who is blinded and sensory numb after staring into a Nova jumps into a crater; he acts as warning to the new crew. Worse yet, Prince and Ruby Red, the spoiled rich kid inheritors of Red Shift, Limited, the company who monopolizes the space craft drive industry want to stop Lorq. While inflight, Lorq remembers meeting Prince and Ruby at his home and then later at a party after winning his first space race. When the crew reaches Vorpis, they've earned recreation leave time. They enter into town, where Mouse encounters an old friend who is not a net rider, then visit a museum, where Prince makes his first stand against Lorq. Lorq retires his crew toward his home stomping grounds, taking Mouse's old friend to his home in the Pleiades. As the time for the Nova approaches, the crew gets more nervouse. Eventually, the put down at Lorq's home town, party and when they return to his place, it's showdown time with the Red's. Fleeing from this battle, there's nothing but to fly into the Nova and find what they may. "
Sheri Fresonke Harper, Resident Samuel Delaney Scholar

Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!

Overall Review

Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 30%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - cynical or dry-wit
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Tech./$$$/Info hunt Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying - power source
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Inventing-of-item story? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - explorer
Age: - 40's-50's
Eccentric: Yes - eccentric - obsessed - wild
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Genius
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - Prince/Nobleman/King
Eccentric: Yes - eccentric - obsessed - mentally ill - emotionally unstable - wild
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Terrain - Space, need spacesuit
Spaceship setting: - one or two man fighter/scoutship
Takes place in spaceship? Yes
Not Earth, in Solar System? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

Most similar books by Gordonator ranking
Hunger Pangs by Greg London
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
The Zap Gun by Philip K. Dick
The Isaac Project by Joe Vadalma
The Labyrinth Key by Howard V. Hendrix

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Book search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed book search
(click here) or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion

Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!

Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!

Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game

Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 3/21/2010 8:38:22 PM

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 3/21/2010 8:34:53 PM

Alice in Wonderland: Alice in Wonderland 3/12/2010 3:47:50 PM

Star Trek Enterprise: Jolene Blalock on T'Pol and Star Trek Enterprise 3/7/2010 11:02:27 PM

Lord of the Rings: Why would Aragorn choose pig lips Arwen Evenstar over Eowyn? 3/5/2010 12:12:07 AM

Stargate (TV): Is Teyla's character racist against black people? 3/3/2010 11:07:08 PM

Stargate (TV): Why is Major Carter so Butch? 3/3/2010 11:00:12 PM

Six Million Dollar Man & Bionic Woman: Why do fembots growl? 3/3/2010 10:49:55 PM

Six Million Dollar Man & Bionic Woman: What was so great about the Six Million Dollar Man? 3/3/2010 10:41:43 PM

Doctor Who: Who was the most annoying of the Doctor's companions? 3/3/2010 10:25:55 PM

Newest slaves:
Martush 6:20:06 AM
Piper Halliwell (Holly Marie Combs) 6:19:19 AM
Doctor Carolyn Lam 6:16:49 AM
Adria 6:16:05 AM
Major Samantha Carter (Butchie) 6:14:42 AM
Charmed Momma 6:12:59 AM
Paige Matthews Halliwell 6:10:49 AM
Willie 6:06:26 AM
Prue Halliwell (Shannen Doherty) 6:02:32 AM
Wesley Crusher 5:59:40 AM
All slaves
(click here)

Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)