Empire Star

This novella was published in 1966 and I don't think I've ever read it until now (2022), although [b:Babel-17 1199688 Babel-17 Samuel R. Delany https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1257546421l/1199688.SY75.jpg 13612561], published by the same author in the same year, is an old favourite of mine.Now that I've finally read this one, I'm disappointed. I don't particularly dislike it; it's OK; but I find nothing about it that I particularly like. I read it with some interest but without real enjoyment.Would I have liked it better if I'd read it back in the 1970s, when I first read [b:Babel-17 1199688 Babel-17 Samuel R. Delany https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1257546421l/1199688.SY75.jpg 13612561]? I suppose it's possible; but I rather doubt it.The complex story reminds me somehow of [b:The Sirens of Titan 4982 The Sirens of Titan Kurt Vonnegut Jr. https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1419363185l/4982.SY75.jpg 905970], but I haven't read that book recently, so I can't compare them in any detail.

“The truth is always multiplex.”

Delany's New Wave novel is really good. It's bildungsroman, space opera and time travel. It's also about slavery told in a very clever way: you can own the slaves or be near them, but you will suffer from what it is known as “the sadness of the Lll” which is an overwhelming feeling of, well, sadness created by the Empire to protect the slaves. They are a unique workforce for building structures and terraforming planets. I liked the simplex/complex/multiplex concept and how it applies even to the reader to make sense out of the story. ⠀
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I must confess that it was a challenging read. I was kinda lost at times, just like the main character and then... boom! The last two chapters put all the pieces together, or almost. I got the feeling that there are some loose ends even at the end (if there is one at all). When was the message delivered? Is everything that happened, including war, a consequence of the message being delivered? I need to talk to someone about this book. Let me know if you've read it. I'd love to hear your thoughts.