Einstein Intersection

Book Description

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.

Customer Reviews:

jumpy, pointless & wholly vague.......2007-09-27

The premise of the book was a bit mysterious (or vague) even before cracking it open. Opening the first few pages, I was met with more vagueness and continuing through the book I was approached with random scenarios. I had to fight back the urge to flip back through the pages and find any sort of logic which led to the scenario at hand, but I found no trail of crumbs. The story jumps from one place to another simply by whim and the entire vague plot seems to be going in no direction whatsoever. Where does Einstein come into this book? Answer: in a vague sort of logic it touches on the vague plot in a very vague way.

Ugh!.......2006-06-19

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 disorienting-loss-of-personal-control-and-bodily-integrity subgenre since Cordwainer Smith's "Scanners Live in Vain." However...

This book is potentially successful only as a send-up of fantasy/sf subgenre conventions. The dragons and the ornate city are hilarious in the context of fantasy and sf as they existed at the time. However, the rest of the book amounts to nothing more than pretentious crap. The plot is, relatively, pointless and never resolved, Delany's insistence on inserting pointless, self-important, page-long quotations from his own journals to begin chapters (such as they are) is annoying to the nth degree (to see how inserting long quotations can torpedo an otherwise good story, see exhibit A, "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman," by Harlan Ellison," and many of his sentences verge on utter incoherence. (Few things piss me off more than declarative sentences without verbs, and Delany has them here in spades). A lot of the book comes across to me as if I were watching "The Beast of Yucca Flats" again: "Flag on the moon. How did it get there?"

Granted, we can probably give Delany a little bit of leeway because he was supposedly engaging in some sort of linguistic experimentation, but one might rightly expect him to go all-out, rather than mixing what amounts to what would be a fairly decent short parody of genre conventions with spells of half-cocked Joyce imitation that leaves this critic absolutely at sea.

How this book won a Nebula is a mystery to me. Delany himself loves to tell the story about how one of the old guard cussed out the SFWA membership for handing it to him, but I believe that the SFWA in its early days had a bias definitely in favor of the most severe, alienating avant-garde writing possible, and I can prove it: In 1967, the year The Einstein Intersection won the Nebula for best novel, the attendees of the World Science Fiction Convention decided to bestow the Hugo Award for best novel upon an obscure, now-forgotten work by Robert A. Heinlein entitled The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. I rest my case.

The best of the "New Wave".......2006-02-07

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" adapted the style of John Dos Passos), Delany forged a new style of his own, telling a science fiction story through the creative use of ancient and modern myth. Warning--this is not a book for a lazy reader or a slow one. But if you've got the chops, this book has the chops for you.

The Song of the Machete-Flute.......2005-11-25

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.

A Mess of Myths.......2005-09-20

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 on whatever the writers were on. This book is a little more enjoyable than Delany's tortuous magnum opus "Dhalgren," which is about eight times as long but accomplishes even less. Here, Delany has attempted to convert deep thoughts from his travels to the Mediterranean into a forcibly profound and visionary tome on the power of myth. In the distant future, after humans have either gone extinct or migrated from Earth, new alien inhabitants live lives informed by old distorted human myths. There's a little creative potential in that idea, and Delany comes up with a few intriguing tidbits on the power of mythology, and how myths get distorted and misapplied over time. But Delany merely turns the interesting premise into a self-indulgent writing exercise. He awkwardly applies the myths of Orpheus and Billy the Kid to an unfocused plotline about a country bumpkin living a dangerous life of labor, then finding self-awareness in the city, played out by insufficiently weird aliens. Delany's use of outdated pop culture tidbits and pretentious literary references are the signs of an author trying to be taken seriously and to not be pigeonholed into the narrow sci-fi genre. It's too bad that he dragged himself back down with a completely unexceptional story and inconclusive attempts at vision and profundity. [~doomsdayer520~]

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The Einstein Intersection
Samuel R. Delany
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000FOKREU

Product Description

In the far-distant future, when Einsteinian and alien universes intersect, the world begins to change: strangely, wonderfully, incredibly. And the trek of Lobey, an alien Orpheus, across a weirdly sumptuous planet, leads him to the Dove, fabulous love image of a world obsessed; Greeneye, victim of a dead race's millenia-old ritual; and Friza, the dark and silent girl he searched for to the shores of death - and beyond. Winner of the Nebula Award for Science Fiction.

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The Einstein Intersection
Samuel R. Delany
Manufacturer: Sphere Books, London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000PMYP18

Product Description

UK edition. Delany's classic mythological fable.

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The Einstein Intersection
Samuel R. Delany
Manufacturer: NY Ace Books 1967.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H6NTKA

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The Einstein Intersection
Samuel R. Delany
Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SWZO4W

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The Einstein Intersection
Samuel R. Delany
Manufacturer: The Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000PI6CA4

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The Einstein Intersection
Samuel R. Delany
Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000R96P9O

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Einstein Intersection
Samuel Delany
Manufacturer: EASTON PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SO3IL6

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The Einstein Intersection

Manufacturer: Ace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GR0KEI

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Einstein Intersection
Samuel R Delany
Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GSDVES

Book Description

Her previous novel for Zebra, Cold-Blooded, hit #11 on the New York Times list and #17 on the USA Today list. Now, with Impostress Lisa Jackson joins the ranks of today's top bestselling romance writers...

Owing her sister a favor, Kiera of Lawenydd promised to pose as Elyn on her wedding day. The ruse was to last just one night, but the following morning Elyn was nowhere to be found! Surely Kiera wouldn't have to spend the rest of her life wedded to a man to whom she could never admit the depths of her deception-even as her desire for him grew impossible to resist.

Customer Reviews:

This is the first book I read from this author.......2004-03-28

I thought this book really started out great, I liked the idea of
two sisters who looked very similar to each other, and how the older sister, Elyn was to wed Kelan and how she "talked" her sister into marrying him, "in name only" until she returned from her tryst with her lover whom was bretrothed to another woman. The sister, Kiera, marries Kelan and she falls in love with him. Elyn after having a terrible fight with Brock, disappears.

I liked this book until about 3/4 or alittle more of the ways in
when books are supposed to really "heat" up. Well, this one sort of fizzled out, and I was disappointed.

I only give this book three stars.

4-1/2* Engaging 13th Century Medieval Romance.......2003-09-12

Setting - North Wales 1286
Three years earlier, one of the very independent daughters of the Baron of Lawenydd, Kiera, slipped out to steal a ride on her father's prize stallion, along the way she was thrown, the stallion ran away, and she was attacked and almost raped. Her sister Elyn came upon the attack and saved Kiera's life and from that moment on Kiera vowed to do ANYTHING for Elyn that she asked to repay the debt. Never, in her wildest imaginings would Kiera have thought that she would have to pretend and marry Elyn's betrothed, Lord Kelan of Penbrooke!

The plan just might have worked if Elyn hadn't lied from the very beginning about returning when she in all honesty was buying time to run away with the man she was in love with. Kiera found herself not only with a man who stirred her innermost feelings, but who just wasn't responding to the sleeping potion that should have put him into a drugged sleep on their wedding night! As Kiera tries to evade the wedding night ritual, she finds she is unable to resist Kelan's drugging kisses, and sweet caresses and her desire for him was her undoing. Wracked with guilt over the deception to Kelan, her sister's husband, and the man she was definitely beginning to love her anxieties were overwhelming - so much so that Kelan recognized that something was not quite right with his bride.
THE IMPOSTRESS was an extremely entertaining historical romance with a wonderful plot that had me quickly turning the pages and holding my breath, waiting for the truth to be revealed. The author really had me feeling all the anxiety that was Kiera's, who I found to be a very likeable, loyal and honorable heroine. I pictured myself in the difficult position of honoring a vow made to a person that had saved my life, knowing how despicable a thing it was that I had to do, and then falling in love with the man who would be your brother-in-law! While I thought the ending came about very quickly, the cast of secondary characters was well thought out supporting the plot and I am looking forward to the next two proposed novels featuring Kelan's sister Morwenna, his brother Tadd, and maybe even Kiera's youngest sister Penelope. Fans of this medieval thirteenth century romance genre are surely in for a treat as this engaging story continues!

An original premise which improves with later chapters........2003-07-02

I'm not a "medieval" fan and this book is a slow starter.In fact 1/4 into it, I thought I'd trash it and forget it. But HK is an excellent reviewer and I decided I owed the author the benefit of the doubt so I reluctantly kept reading. I was very surprised that once the story moves to the Pembroke Castle stage it
improves dramatically(no pun intended). And the last chapter is in fact quite good. I think there was some missed potential in this work but overall (a 2 in the beginning and 5 towards the end) I think it's an enjoyable book. In fact I am looking forward to the sequel of the brother who actually gets a personality in the last few pages........

Fab Historical Romance!!!.......2003-06-12

I love medieval romances and this one kept me glued to the page. I can't wait for the sequel next year. I'll read anything that Lisa Jackson writes. Other medieval authors I like are Hannah Howell and Samantha James.

A DUD!.......2003-04-22

The storyline was so interesting that I immediately rushed out to buy a copy. Imagine how disappointed I was that Impostress was not up to standard. Throughout the book, Kiera repeatedly told herself that she could not go on living a lie but when opportunities presented themselves, which were plenty, she kept on hedging and telling more lies. I could have slapped her! I usually make allowances for the characters' behaviour based on the period it was written on. This story was based in the 13th century and Kiera was 17 years old. Those characters involved in the deception were an old nurse, Hildy, Kiera's younger sister 13 year old Penelope and of course, Kiera's older sister 19 year old Elyn.

Even when Elyn disappeared and Kiera suspected that Elyn might be in dire straits, wouldn't a teenager confide in an adult, especially when her nurse predicted death? She had her father and Elyn's husband after all. A full scale search launched would have saved everybody all the trouble.

There was also no interaction between the hero and heroine. Kelan was hardly featured at all in the book and Kelan's sister, Morwenna, was not a likeable character in this book. So I guess I will not be purchasing Lisa's upcoming book,TEMPTRESS featuring Morwenna.

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Impostress

Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739433164

Product Description

Wonderfully compelling medieval romance from the best selling author

The Midevil Trilogy: Impostress, Temptress, Sorceress (Set of 3 Historical Romantic Suspense Novels)

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The Midevil Trilogy: Impostress, Temptress, Sorceress (Set of 3 Historical Romantic Suspense Novels)
Lisa Jackson
Manufacturer: Onyx
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000WAYZ6I

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Impostress
Lisa Jackson
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000QFQK94

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The impostress princess
Peter W Tappan
Manufacturer: P.W. Tappan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006EN10Q

Book Description

GATEWAYS
DOORS INTO CHAOS

Summoned to an emergency brie?ng at Star?eet Headquarters, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is stunned to discover that the legendary Iconians have returned at last, and are offering to sell the secrets of their advanced technology to the Federation. To prove their sincerity, they have reactivated their long-abandoned Gateways, but the results have been strife and chaos throughout the entire Alpha Quadrant. Now Picard and his crew must contend with feuding Klingons and Romulans as the captain seeks to discover the sinister truth behind the Iconians' unexpected rebirth!

Download Description

More than 200,000 years ago, the ancient Iconians created a network of interdimensional Gateways providing instantaneous transportation across unimaginable distances. Once known as the "Demons of Air and Darkness," the Iconians mysteriously vanished many millennia ago, never to return -- or so it was believed. GATEWAYS DOORS INTO CHAOS Summoned to an emergency brieÞng at Starþeet Headquarters, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is stunned to discover that the legendary Iconians have returned at last, and are offering to sell the secrets of their advanced technology to the Federation. To prove their sincerity, they have reactivated their long-abandoned Gateways, but the results have been strife and chaos throughout the entire Alpha Quadrant. Now Picard and his crew must contend with feuding Klingons and Romulans as the captain seeks to discover the sinister truth behind the Iconians' unexpected rebirth!

Customer Reviews:

Good but not great........2006-10-15

This is a well-written book with good characterizations, good pacing, and excellent action. Overall, it fits into the framework of the series well, and is an interesting addition to the series. I might have given it a fourth star if it didn't end on a cliffhanger, but that's a given in this series.

There's Something about TNG.......2004-06-22

I've read the TNG, DS9, New Frontier, and Voyager Gateways books as well as the corresponding portions of the 7th book. And of those the TNG book is easily the best of the series. Yes it does start out a tad slow, but to me this building of the story is what makes it so great. The author goes out of his way to make sure you completely understand the seriousness of the gateway situation. I also enjoyed the fact that this one had several different things happening all at once with the crew basically split up to accomplish the goal.

In addition I liked the nod to Voyager with the Nyrians that were lost in the Alpha Quadrant.

The purpose for my title "There's Something About TNG" is that when it comes to book series that span them all TNG seems to get the best stories. I also enjoyed TNG's Section 31 book the best of the Section 31 series.

Slow Start and Only Average Finish.......2002-06-09

Of the five I've read (excluding Challenger), this was the most disappointing Gateways book. I am a huge TNG fan, but this book was very slow.
I enjoyed Troi as Captain, but that was about it. And the crew of her ship had some personality.
This book and the Deep Space 9 version, were the most integrated of the Gateways series. Between the two, most of the Gateways story is told, prior to the conclusion in book 7 and you will definitely want to read the conclusion. If you like a series, read these two for sure. You may not need to read Voyager, or New Frontier. If you don't like a series, these are the two to avoid. See my review on the others.

Best in the series so far.......2002-01-04

As my review title suggest this one for me was the best so far. But book 4 is turning out to be just as good and maybe even better. I have to finish to be sure. Book one and especially two were major disappointments. Two was confusing!!! I know most people haven't rated this book well but the story was to me a lot easier to follow compared to book 2 and the characters much more realistic to the Star Trek universe.
There are many references to past episodes even to other Trek books that blend in wonderfully. The story helps advance major story lines that belong to other series too. I also enjoyed the many species that are involved and for me well written. It was great to read this book and reminded me why I like TNG so much.

This man knows Trek........2002-01-01

Anyone who's pooh-poohing the "Gateways" series just ain't paying attention! This is the best so far, and I'm not quick to give out the kudos for series. In fact, for the most part, I hate 'em - but Gateways grabbed me, and Robert's TNG installment is simply a fabulous cog on a great big wonderful wheel.

I'll admit I was lost at first as to what the heck was going on, but once I understood that different races had already been approached by the, uh, Iconians, about purchasing the gateways tech, I immediately understood the reason why Picard and his mighty ship was summoned to the task of organizing everyone into a united front to meet with the Iconians.

What follows is not quite united but certainly surprising, and full of enough references to just about everything TNG Trek that's gone before to cause me to rush to my tapes! Robert Greenberger is just plain amazing in this capacity, and I'm betting he had it all in his own little head.

Add to that Troi's successful stint as captain and loads of Riker/Troi not-so-subtext, and you've got what amounts to - not to put too fine a point on it - a GREAT read.

And yup, this one ends with a go-through-the-gateway cliffhanger set to finish in Book Seven of the series, "What Lay Beyond." And who else goes through but our great Iconian master, Jean-Luc Picard. Much, much too much fun.

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star Trek the Next Generation Gateways Book Three of Seven: Doors Into Chaos
Robert Greenberger
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Star Trek | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000KONJWC

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Star Trek the Next Generation: Gateways Book Three of Seven: Doors Into Chaos
Robert Greenberger
Manufacturer: SOLD
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Star Trek | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000KOQN9S

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An excellent overview

The best we have to date!

Much Ado about Something

The Evolution Of A UCC Style: History, Ecclesiology, And Culture Of The United Church Of Christ
Randi Jones Walker
Manufacturer: United Church Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Ecclesiology | Theology | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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The Shaping of the United Church of Christ: An Essay in the History of American Christianity

Theology and Identity: Traditions, Movements, and Polity in the United Church of Christ

The Living Theological Heritage Of The United Church Of Christ: United And Uniting (Living Theological Heritage of the United Church of Christ)

Confessing Our Faith: An Interpretation of the Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ

Who Do You Say That I Am?: Christology And Identity in the United Church of Christ

ASIN: 0829814930

Customer Reviews:

An excellent overview.......2007-04-04

Randi Walker gives an excellent overview of the present United Church of Christ and it's evolution over the past fifty years. She grasps how the apparently disparate groups forming the UCC have come together to create the present "heady mix" that is the United Church of Christ. In light of the 2007 Golden Anniversary of the Uniting Synod, this book should be studied in every UCC congregation and polity class in the nation.

The best we have to date!.......2006-10-17

Following in the line of several who have attempted to give a comprehensive review of UCC history, this effort carries the process one step further, not only bringing that history up to date, but seeking to show what makes the United Church of Christ distinctive. This, according to the reviewer who is lifelong UCC, is accomplished in sterling fashion -- drawing attention to present challenges, but also underlining enduring strengths. This is a must for those interested in "deciphering the code" of the denomination.

Much Ado about Something.......2006-07-02

I enjoyed Ms. Walker's treatment, especially the synthesis of historic strands contributing to the present United Church of Christ. However, I would have appreciated a slightly more succinct presentation. While each new chapter's review of previous chapters was helpful, it seemed a bit excessive. It was not always easy to discern the conclusion of each chapter - sometimes, one was left with the impression that the end was near, only to have the text take off again for another twenty pages. However, generally I found Ms. Walker's book fascinating and helpful. Most UCC-ers will enjoy her work and learn from it.

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