Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Captives of the Flame / Out of the Dead City | 1963 | Samuel R. Delany | Buy |
| 2 | Out of the Dead City | 1963 | Samuel R. Delany | N/A |
| 3 | The Towers of Toron | 1964 | Samuel R. Delany | Buy |
| 4 | City of a Thousand Suns | 1965 | Samuel R. Delany | Buy |
The Fall of the Towers is Samuel R. Delany’s first science fiction trilogy, written when he was in his early twenties. Published between 1963 and 1965, the three novels are set in the city-state of Toron, which exists in a world devastated by nuclear war. The story follows several characters as Toron faces an external threat that may be alien in origin, while internal power struggles threaten to tear the city apart.
The first book, originally published as Captives of the Flame and later revised as Out of the Dead City, introduces the world and its central conflicts. The Towers of Toron and City of a Thousand Suns continue the story with increasing complexity. While these early books are less polished than Delany’s later work, they already show his interest in social structures, language, and the ways that power shapes civilizations.
The trilogy was later collected into a single omnibus volume. It provides an interesting look at the beginning of Delany’s career, before he went on to write more ambitious novels like Babel-17, Nova, and Dhalgren.