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Samuel R. Delany
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Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand Kindle Edition

by Samuel R. Delany (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 209 ratings
In this far-future classic, sexual attraction is a science, gender is a whole new construct, and information is both precious and perilous . . .

With a burst of radiation to the brain, an angry young man is transformed into a dim-witted slave—suitable only for the most brutal work. But the tragedy of Rat Korga is the prologue to the story of Marq Dyeth, an “industrial diplomat,” who travels from world to world in this exciting, sprawling future, solving problems that come with the spread of “General Information.” The greatest fear in this future is Cultural Fugue, a critical mass of shared knowledge that can destroy life over the surface of an entire world in hours. In this dizzyingly original novel, information is perilous, but without it a human is only a rat in a cage.
 
Campbell Award winner Jo Walton described this science fiction landmark as being “like pop rocks for the brain. . . . Things sparkle and explode all over, and it’s not entirely comfortable but it is quite wonderful.” This classic read predicted the Internet and is packed with themes that still resonate today.
 
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Samuel R. Delany including rare images from his early career. 
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  1. Print length
    465 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy
  4. Publication date
    January 7, 2014
  5. File size
    6.1 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A rocket launch, a phoenix reborn, a new Delany novel—three wonderful, fiery events.” —Ursula K. Le Guin
“Some of the most lyrical and stirring passages in Delany’s work fuse the juncture between art, technology and social science.” —The Village Voice

From the Publisher

5 1/2 x 8 1/2 trim.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00HE2JK4O
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (January 7, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 7, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6.1 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 465 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 209 ratings

About the author

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Samuel R. Delany

Samuel R. Delany

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Samuel R. Delany’s science fiction and fantasy tales are available in Aye and Gomorrah and Other Stories. His collection Atlantis: Three Tales and Phallos are experimental fiction. His novels include science fiction such as the Nebula-Award winning Babel-17 and The Einstein Intersection, as well as Nova (now in a Library of America anthology) and Dhalgren. His four-volume series Return to Nevèrÿon is sword-and-sorcery. Most recently, he has written the SF novel Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders. His 2007 novel Dark Reflections won the Stonewall Book Award. Other novels include Equinox, Hogg, and The Mad Man. Delany was the subject of a 2007 documentary, The Polymath, by Fred Barney Taylor, and he has written a popular creative writing textbook, About Writing. He is the author of the widely taught Times Square Red / Times Square Blue, and his book-length autobiographical essay, The Motion of Light in Water, won a Hugo Award in 1989. All are available as both e-books and paperback editions. His website is: www.samueldelany.com.

Photo by Alex Lozupone (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
209 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the writing quality, creativity, and pacing of the book. They find the characters well-developed and the story exciting. Many consider it an excellent read and consider it worth the money. However, opinions differ on the thought-provoking content and plot, with some finding it thought-provoking and complex, while others feel it lacks action and is more like a fictionalized account.

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Writing qualityCreativityPacingValue for moneyThought provokingPlot
10 customers mention "Writing quality"8 positive2 negative

Customers enjoy the writing quality. They appreciate the author's thoughtful voice and strong characters. The book is well-crafted with a solid plot.

"...Having said that, it's light-years better written than so much current "I don't need no stinking' editor" drivel under the SF label...." Read more

"...Yet it is neither vile nor cheap, and the narrator manages to stir things up and finish the scene with a blackout just before the reader would be..." Read more

"...still be thinking about years on down the road, and relish well crafted literary works where words matter, this is for you." Read more

"...So far I have encountered missing words, missing letters and horrible layouts...." Read more

8 customers mention "Creativity"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book creative and thought-provoking. They describe it as brilliant, moving, and incredible from start to finish.

"...One more thing: This book does a beautiful job of asking what "alien" is and isn't, without once appearing to do so." Read more

"...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..." Read more

"...Delany has a wonderful imagination, but this is hardly a novel, it is more like a fictionalized anthropological description...." Read more

"A work of genius. If you're looking for fluff, move on...." Read more

5 customers mention "Pacing"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's pacing and well-developed characters. They find the plot exciting and reflective of human nature.

"...Most importantly, his primary characters are wonderfully 3D and the characterizations are subtle and deft...." Read more

"...It is a beautiful piece of art...." Read more

"...else in science fiction - something truly alien, yet alone incredibly reflective of who we are a human beings." Read more

"...This is a great writer with strong characters and a solid plot line. I just recommended the book to a friend of mine.." Read more

5 customers mention "Value for money"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's value for money. They find it challenging and engaging, saying it's one of the best books ever.

"...It is full of so many brilliant scenes and ideas it's worth it regardless.... the dinner party, the box of books -- it's not mundane SF, but it..." Read more

"...And it's worth it. One of the bestest books ever. I wish he'd done the sequel." Read more

"...This is a great writer with strong characters and a solid plot line. I just recommended the book to a friend of mine.." Read more

"One of my favorite novels of all time. Endlessly incentive, Beautifully written. I've read it four times." Read more

11 customers mention "Thought provoking"7 positive4 negative

Customers have different views on the book. Some find it thought-provoking and engaging, exploring human feelings, thoughts, and culture. They say it opens their perspectives and causes them to open their minds. Others feel the storylines are muddled and uninteresting, with little action.

"An expansive exploration of a multigalactic, polyamorous universe, centered on a space-faring political envoy who is the perfect sexual match to the..." Read more

"...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..." Read more

"...In fact, very little happens at all, and compared to popuplar sci-fi (like Rondevouz with Rama or Wool/Shift just to name popular ones) it is a very..." Read more

"A complicated view of society (even if an overly mathematical one of sexuality) this is the rarest of creatures -- a book I'd recommend even though..." Read more

6 customers mention "Plot"3 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the plot. Some find it solid, with brilliant scenes and ideas. Others say it's not a typical sci-fi book with fast-paced action.

"...It has twists and turns and weird, alien romance that, through Delaney's perspective as a gay, Black man who lived through the AIDS crisis, very..." Read more

"...It's not a typical sci-fi book with fast paced action...." Read more

"...This is a great writer with strong characters and a solid plot line. I just recommended the book to a friend of mine.." Read more

"...Delany has a wonderful imagination, but this is hardly a novel, it is more like a fictionalized anthropological description...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Frobisher
    5.0 out of 5 stars After 30 years, still brilliant, moving, and thought-provoking (and a little sexy)
    Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I remember reading this book about the time it came out (mid 80's) and I thought it was amazing. At the end Delany references the sequel he was planning and the name he was going to use and.... years went by and he never wrote it. I wasn't shocked, as while Stars... is an interesting book from an SF perspective, it's clearly a gay SF novel, and the market may not have been strong enough to support a sequel. But it ended with a situation that begs another novel.

    I recently reread Stars... and I still like it. Am I impressed with it as much as the first time? Not quite, but that may be because I know the plot and it's not quite as ground-breaking when read now as it was 30 years ago. Though if I heard that there was finally a sequel, I'd lunge for it. Having said that, it's light-years better written than so much current "I don't need no stinking' editor" drivel under the SF label.

    One thing I should mention is that this is neither a "hard SF' nor a "fantasy" novel. It's basically a novel about people set in the future and it's about the people and their interactions. Delany presents some really interesting ideas about how things might work, but he wastes very little time talking drivel about how the Plasmatronic Hyper FluxBuster Drive translates the ship across galaxies. Rather, he takes the SF for granted and uses the powers of the FluxBuster drive to enable interactions that wouldn't otherwise be possible. Most importantly, his primary characters are wonderfully 3D and the characterizations are subtle and deft. Even some of his minor characters are decently done.

    One more thing: This book does a beautiful job of asking what "alien" is and isn't, without once appearing to do so.
    30 people found this helpful
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  • samxroy
    4.0 out of 5 stars Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand
    Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    An expansive exploration of a multigalactic, polyamorous universe, centered on a space-faring political envoy who is the perfect sexual match to the sole survivor of a destroyed planet.

    Entertaining ideas of advanced technologies in semi-rural/insular cities. Interesting ideation on the possibilities of polyamorous societies, how they function, and how they contribute to peace.

    Moved very slowly, without much action - the entire novel takes place over 1-2 days I believe, and involves extensive dissection of minute interactions between a wide range of characters, which got tiring and of which the motive was often unclear.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • neurotome
    5.0 out of 5 stars Sequels In My Pocket Like Grains of Fairy Dust
    Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2000
    Verified Purchase
    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!
    86 people found this helpful
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  • Markus Schmidt
    3.0 out of 5 stars A strange book and a slow read
    Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I find this book hard to describe, so for the sake of a review, I'll just try to point out who might like it and who might not.

    It's not a typical sci-fi book with fast paced action. In fact, very little happens at all, and compared to popuplar sci-fi (like Rondevouz with Rama or Wool/Shift just to name popular ones) it is a very slow read. If you like the action to move swiftly, you will find it long winded and boring.

    In fact, compared to the above, Stars in my Pocket starts at the speed of a glacier and then slows down to the speed of continental drift in the 2nd part. By means of comparison, the only similar book I ever read was "Room Temperature" by Nicholson Baker (a book in which, as a friend explained when she recommended it to me, absolutely nothing happens).

    As the rating indicates, I found it somewhat enjoyable. I have a tendency to like literature from the "hard to read" shelf, but even then the last part was becoming sort of a drag.
    11 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Juniper Green
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stars in My Pocket...
    Reviewed in Germany on August 11, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    „Of course“, they told him in all honesty, „you will be a slave.“
    His big-pored forehead wrinkled, his heavy lips parted (the flesh around his green, green eyes stayed exactly the same), the ideogramme of incomprehension among who’s radicals you could read ingnorance’s determinant past, information’s present impossibility, speculation’s denied future.

    Das ist der Anfang von Samuel R. Delanys Roman Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand, auf Englisch erschienen 1984 (auf Deutsch: In meinen Taschen die Sterne wie Staub). Schon die ersten beiden Sätze machen deutlich, dass man es hier nicht mit einer gewöhnlichen Space Opera zu tun bekommt. Obwohl es sehr viel Space gibt. Und sehr viel Opera. Doch darüber hinaus hat Delany eine Auseinandersetzung mit Gender-Stereotypen geschaffen, mit Sprache und wie sie die Wahrnehmung formt, mit Machtsystemen, Interkultureller Kommunikation, Information und Informationskontrolle, Ökonomie, Politik und Religion. Vor allem aber ist Stars… ein Buch über Verlangen, über Begehren, das, vielleicht oder vielleicht auch nicht, Liebe sein kann.
    In einem langen Prolog erzählt Delany von Rat Korga, ungebildet, unbelesen. der sich einem „Radical Anxiety Treatment“ unterzieht. Keine Angst, keine Sorgen mehr – aber auch keine Möglichkeit mehr, „Nein“ zu sagen. Korga wird willenloser Arbeitssklave. Die nachfolgenden Teile wechseln in die Sicht des Industrie-Diplomaten Marq Dyeth vom Planeten Velm. Als einer von wenigen Privilegierten reist Marq zwischen den Sternen. 6.200 und ein paar Planeten gibt es, die von Menschen und indigenen Aliens bevölkert sind, die meisten davon aufgespalten auf zwei Macht- und Wertesysteme, Family und Sygns. Information ist jederzeit jederorts zugänglich, über „General Information“ direkt ins Gehirn projiziert; Kontrollinstanz des Informationsflusses ist das Web – eine Instanz, die nicht nur entfernt an das erinnert, was Google heute ist. Eines Tages erfährt Marq, dass eine ganze Welt der Zerstörung anheim gefallen ist. Es gibt nur einen Überlebenden: Rat Korga – und der ist, wie das Web ausgerechnet hat, bis auf ein paar Dezimalstellen Marqs perfekter Sexualpartner…

    Es ist schwierig, Stars… auf diese Inhaltsangabe herunterzubrechen, ohne sich in den Details zu verlieren. Es gibt einfach so viele Details. Unter den auffälligsten ist die Sprache: Delany, scharzer, schwuler, US-amerikanischer Schriftsteller, lässt eine Spielart der feministischen Linguistik in Aktion treten. Auf fast allen 6.200+ Welten ist es üblich, Personen unabhängig von Geschlecht und Abstammung als „Frau“ zu bezeichnen und mit dem Personalpronomen „sie“. Der Begriff „Mann“ hat nur in antiker Poesie überlebt, das Personalpronomen „er“ referiert lediglich auf Personen, die der Sprecher sexuell anziehend findet. Ich bin kein Anhänger feministischer Linguistik, der hier zu lesende Versuch greift meiner Meinung nach auch zu kurz. Als sprachliches Experiment war es aber interessant zu lesen. Es war spannend zu beobachten, wie es meine eigene Wahrnehmung beeinflusst, wenn Protagonisten nicht mehr eindeutig als Männlein oder Weiblein zu identifizieren sind (als ob das wichtig wäre. Ist es wichtig?)

    Stars… ist nun ein Buch, das ein wenig Geduld erfordert. Der Mittelteil schäumt über vor Ideen, jede für sich genommen faszinierend, beeindruckend, erstaunlich, beschrieben mit vielen schönen Worten. Wenn ich nun etwas verabscheue, dann sind es Autoren, die fürchterlich viele Worte brauchen, um fürchterlich wenig zu sagen. Die ihre Inhaltsleere hinter möglichst komplizierten Strukturen oder einfach hinter möglichst viel Länge verstecken (ja, ich weiß, dass das hier lang ist!). Auch Delany macht manchmal furchtbar viele Worte, die kaum etwas sagen. Aber er sagt es schön (und wenn jemand tatsächlich mehr Klammern in einem Text benutzt als ich, kann mir das nur sympathisch sein) und es gefiel mir. Er komponiert seine Geschichte klug; wie klug, bemerkt der Leser manchmal erst, wenn der Autor ihn mit der Nase darauf stößt. Dann muss man zurückblättern, noch einmal lesen, noch einmal staunen. Auch das macht Stars… zu einer eher langsamen Lektüre.
    Die Komplexität ist enorm, springt die Geschichte doch von Stern zu Stern, von Kultur zu Kultur, von Thema zu Thema, auf geradezu lächerlich wenige Seiten. Dennoch ist Stars… kein schwer verständliches Buch.
    Es sei denn natürlich, ich habe es nicht verstanden.
    Die Möglichkeit besteht.
    Es ist kein Pageturner, dennoch mochte ich es kaum aus der Hand legen. Es ist witzig, kein Haha-Humor, sondern eine feine, leise Ironie, ein erstaunlicher Sprachwitz. Es ist auf jeden Fall ein Buch, das viel zu viel will, das viel zu viel auf viel zu wenig Platz quetscht, das stellenweise zum Erbrechen prätentiös wird – und an anderen Stellen fast unerträglich schön.
    Einige Szenen sind überaus bewegend: Während seines Sklavendaseins bekommt Korga die Möglichkeit, dank General Information lesen zu lernen – und was das für eine Art von Lesen ist! Erschreckend/verlockend. Innerhalb von Minuten verändert, erweitert sich sein Geist. Genauso schnell wird ihm diese Möglichkeit wieder genommen: ein fast fühlbarer Schmerz. Die erste Begegnung von Marq und Korga: sexuelle Anziehung, Begehren, vielleicht Liebe. Marqs Rede gegen Ende des Buches, eine Rede über die Natur des Verlangens und des Verlustes: nahe an Perfektion. Und dann gibt es natürlich noch die Drachenjagd.
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  • I. J. Sloan
    1.0 out of 5 stars The most annoying book I have ever read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Gosh, there were many times when I felt like giving up on this tripe ( and in hindsight I wish I had !).

    I have read Sci-fi all my life, and I have never come across such an empty story, written in such an unnecessarily opaque, annoying and padded style. A story riddled with made up words, concepts (such as the loss of meaning of "he" and "she"), and alternative family structures, none of which are explained or worked through satisfactorily.

    Let me first of all give you a synopsis of the story: A lone survivor of an apocalyptic planet destruction is sent to another planet to meet someone who miraculously, is their sexual fantasy. After 24 hours the survivor is removed. We never get to know why ... that's it. The end.

    The whole thing is ridiculously empty, and vast tracts of the book are filled with descriptions of a meal, of a hunt for dragons ( the animal itself never explained ), and of literature written by historical characters ... I would guess 60% of the book is nothing more than "filler"

    On top of that, the style of writing is just pretentious, annoying opacity, for the sake of it. If you like reading paragraphs ( indeed, not even a paragraph, this is a sentence ! ) like this one below, then you will really enjoy the book. I HATED it.

    "Perhaps the greatest generosity of my universe is that in so much it's congruent with the worlds of others, which I suppose is finally just one with the generosity of my evelm parents, who thought my unique position among humans quite charming and were proud of it, and my human parents, who from time to time worried if, as distinct from more usually sexually orientated males, gay or straight, I might not encounter some social difficulty, say, of the same sort as I might have had in some societies had I been a nail-biter myself"

    and on, and on, in such ludicrously trite, convoluted prose throughout the entire book, Where quite simply no sentence can terminate without an aside stuck into it somewhere which forces you to re-read the whole damn thing.

    Quite simply, the worst, most annoying book I have ever read.
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  • H. Ashford
    3.0 out of 5 stars challenging read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I had to chuckle when I saw the two reviews here on Amazon are a 5* and a 1*. I’m not surprised, because that just about sums up my feelings about this book – I agree with both reviewers!

    Things I loved about it:
    - the universe building, with its huge scale, its very alien aliens (tasting rocks is the least of it!), and the strange concepts that are hinted at but never explained properly so that you have to guess their significance,
    - the gender ambiguity, particularly the very odd use of the pronouns “he” and “she”, which takes some getting used to and which makes you question your own assumptions about gender all the time
    - the love story between Marq Dyeth and Rat Korga, which is so gently told, and is all the more powerful for being understated.

    Things I hated:
    - the long-winded, boring, meaningless and irrelevant quoting from imaginary authors
    - the lack of story line, and the fact that story arcs seem to start up and then just not get connected in to the main plot (such as it is)
    - the ending, which seems completely meaningless and unconnected to the main story ... can anyone explain it to me???
    - the opacity of the writing (as illustrated in I.J.Sloan’s review), which is not all the time, but enough to make this a challenging read
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