Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Jewels of Aptor | 1962 | Samuel R. Delany | Buy |
| 2 | Empire Star | 1966 | Samuel R. Delany | Buy |
| 3 | Home Is the Hangman/We, in Some Strange Power’s Employ, Move on a Rigorous Line | 1990 | Samuel R. Delany | Buy |
| 4 | Bread and Wine | 1999 | Samuel R. Delany | Buy |
| 5 | Phallos | 2004 | Samuel R. Delany | Buy |
Samuel R. Delany is one of the most important science fiction writers of the twentieth century, and his novellas and short fiction are among his best work. He published his first novel, The Jewels of Aptor, in 1962 at the age of 20. Empire Star (1966) followed as a short, dense novella about galactic civilization and the nature of perception.
His later short fiction became more experimental and literary. Bread and Wine (1999), illustrated by Mia Wolff, is a graphic novel memoir. Phallos (2004) is a novella that plays with narrative structure and genre conventions. These works sit alongside his major novels like Dhalgren, Nova, and the Neveryon series as part of one of the most diverse and challenging bodies of work in science fiction.
Delany has won four Nebula Awards and two Hugo Awards. His writing explores race, sexuality, language, and the structures of storytelling itself. These shorter works offer concentrated versions of the concerns that run through all his fiction.