Nova by Samuel R. Delany
"Nova" is a science fiction novel centered on the intense rivalry between two powerful families, the Von Rays and the Reds, who control interstellar economic empires. The story unfolds against the backdrop of a conflict fueled by the discovery of Illyrion, a precious element essential for powering starships. The Von Rays, based in the Pleiades Federation, are positioned to dominate the market due to lower transportation costs, while the Reds, who are based in Draco, seek to maintain their hold by launching an aggressive attack.
Key characters include Mouse, a young Gypsy with a unique instrument called the sensory syrynx, and Katin, a novelist who becomes embroiled in this high-stakes conflict. As tensions escalate, Lorq Von Ray devises a desperate plan to secure a wealth of Illyrion by flying into a nova, a risky maneuver that could result in permanent sensory overload known as nova blindness. The narrative explores themes of ambition, sacrifice, and the consequences of competition, ultimately leading to a dramatic climax where Von Ray confronts his rivals and faces the repercussions of his choices. The novel invites readers to consider the lengths to which individuals will go for power and survival in a universe driven by economic rivalry and technological marvels.
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Nova
First published: 1968
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—cosmic voyage
Time of work: 3149-3172
Locale: The interstellar realms of Draco, the Pleiades, and the Outer Colonies
The Plot
Nova portrays the rivalry between Lorq Von Ray and Prince Red, heirs to interstellar economic empires. The Reds are based in Draco and the Von Rays in the Pleiades Federation, which rebelled against Draco to gain its independence. Nova’s other central characters are two starship crewmen—Mouse, a young Gypsy master of the sensory syrynx, an instrument that creates impressions for all five senses, and Katin, a novelist in his mid-twenties.
As Nova opens, the Red-Von Ray rivalry has calmed. A new development concerning Illyrion, however, renews hostilities. Illyrion is a rare element that powers everything, including starships. Originally manufactured atom by atom, in Lorq’s day Illyrion is mined in greater quantities.
Because the Pleiades Federation’s planets are closer together than Draco’s, transportation costs are lower. This helps the Pleiades-based Von Rays in their competition with Draco’s Reds. As the Illyrion mines ex-pand, transportation costs will drop even further. Soon, the Reds will lose their ability to compete. Before this can take place, Prince Red decides to attack the Von Rays.
To beat the Reds’ offensive, Lorq Von Ray must drastically and rapidly reduce the price of Illyrion. He decides to fly into a nova and retrieve the tons of Illyrion found there, a maneuver made possible by a nova’s severe spatial distortions. With tons of Illyrion, Von Ray can flood the market.
Crew members connect their nervous systems to a starship’s navigational controls. Anyone who remained plugged in while flying into a nova would overload his or her nervous system, resulting in a permanent sensory overload, or nova blindness. Regardless of this danger, Von Ray proceeds with his quest for Illyrion.
The novel begins on Neptune’s moon, Triton, when Mouse and Katin meet Dan, a crewman from Von Ray’s first nova attempt. On that flight, Dan remained plugged in, resulting in nova blindness. Dan warns against Lorq Von Ray’s plan before committing suicide by plunging into Hell3, an energy-producing chasm that reaches Triton’s core.
Despite Dan’s warnings, Mouse and Katin join Von Ray. Von Ray’s ship, the Roc, sails to Vorpis and a research complex called the Alkane Institute, where Von Ray receives a nova’s location and a taped threat from Prince Red. Next, Von Ray flies to the City of the Dreadful Night deep in the Pleiades Federation. There, Prince Red assaults Von Ray, but Lorq grabs Mouse’s syrynx and, using it as a sensory weapon, drives Prince Red into Gold, the City of Dreadful Night’s version of Triton’s Hell3. Later, Mouse does the same to Ruby, Prince Red’s sister.
Through radical body reconstruction, the Reds survive and reach Von Ray in their ship, The Black Cockatoo, as the Roc begins to orbit the prenova star. Tired of the violence, Von Ray requests a conference. He boards The Black Cockatoo as the star goes nova. Von Ray dives The Black Cockatoo into the nova, killing the Reds and going nova blind in the act of grabbing the Illyrion.
Bibliography
Barbour, Douglas. “Cultural Invention and Metaphor in the Novels of Samuel R. Delany.” Foundation 7/8 (March, 1975): 105-121.
Broderick, Damien. Reading by Starlight: Postmodern Science Fiction. New York: Routledge, 1995.
Dornemann, Rudi, and Eric Lorberer. “A Silent Interview with Samuel R. Delany.” Rain Taxi Review of Books 5, no. 4 (2000).
Fox, Robert Elliot. Conscientious Sorcerers: The Black Postmodernist Fiction of Leroi Jones, Amiri Baraka, Ishmael Reed, and Samuel R. Delany. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987.
Sallis, James. Ash of Stars: On the Writing of Samuel R. Delany. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1996.
Tucker, Jeffrey Allen. A Sense of Wonder: Samuel R. Delany, Race, Identity, and Difference. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 2004.
Tucker, Jeffrey Allen. “Studying the Works of Samuel R. Delany.” Ohio University College of Arts and Sciences Forum 15 (Spring, 1998).