ablotial's review against another edition
5.0
When I started reading this book, I didn't realize it is an older classic. Somehow I hadn't heard of it, or this author. What? Crazy. I got this as a kindle deal of the day, and usually those are kind of newer, B-list authors, so I wasn't expecting much. And I read the first 2-3% multiple times over the years and couldn't seem to get into it. This time when I picked it up, I didn't go back to the beginning -- I decided to keep reading from the 3% mark where I'd left off before... and now I'm glad I did.
This book is amazing! And the main character is a SPACE LINGUIST!! #lifegoals
I may have to go back and read that first 3% now that I know what's going on. It's from the point-of-view of a minor military character and just written in a pretty different style than the rest of the book. And I understood the rest of the book just fine without it but who knows, maybe there is something important there (haha). Typically authors don't just add an extra few pages just for fun.
This book was just the right amount of sci-fi, suspense, romance, and linguistics. It's like, my ideal book. And even the computer stuff didn't make me roll my eyes, like a lot of it does. I loved the conclusion of where Babel-17 came from. My only complaint was
I highly recommend this to any of my friends who are fans of sci-fi, even if you aren't also a linguist :)
This book is amazing! And the main character is a SPACE LINGUIST!! #lifegoals
I may have to go back and read that first 3% now that I know what's going on. It's from the point-of-view of a minor military character and just written in a pretty different style than the rest of the book. And I understood the rest of the book just fine without it but who knows, maybe there is something important there (haha). Typically authors don't just add an extra few pages just for fun.
This book was just the right amount of sci-fi, suspense, romance, and linguistics. It's like, my ideal book. And even the computer stuff didn't make me roll my eyes, like a lot of it does. I loved the conclusion of where Babel-17 came from. My only complaint was
Spoiler
why didn't she recognize the stranger?I highly recommend this to any of my friends who are fans of sci-fi, even if you aren't also a linguist :)
thessie_rby's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Medical trauma, and War
Minor: Sexual content
lindy_b's review against another edition
4.0
this is everything [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424472532s/830.jpg|493634] tries to be.
cleo_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Engrossing, thought-provoking, unabashedly weird sf classic that feels remarkably fresh today, with a diverse, queer cast.
I wasn’t sure at first if this would work for me. The main character, Rydra Wong, is a type of female protagonist that I’ve encountered in other mid 20thC sf classics written by men. She’s young and beautiful, brilliant and so very accomplished, and everyone who meets her falls in love with her.
We first meet her through the pov of a middle aged general. Rydra is a 26 year old poet, revered throughout the worlds of 5 galaxies. She’s also a gifted linguist and previously worked in military cryptography (6 years ago!). The general needs her to break a code called babel-17, to prevent sabotage and help win their war against the Invaders. By the end of the evening, he’s fallen in love and agreed to give her full access to everything she needs to understand babel-17 and hopefully prevent the next attack. Then she puts together a ship’s crew (did I mention she also has a pilot’s license?) and flies off.
Fortunately, Rydra turned out to be a more interesting character than I expected (although not what you’d call fully developed) and I just kind of relaxed into the story.
The novel was by turns philosophical and full of adventure. You could read it just for the exploration of how language shapes how and what we think. You could read it, as I initially did, for the queer history - written by a bi Black man, with a bi protagonist and polyamorous characters. Or you could just go along for the ride and enjoy a rollicking space adventure.
I wasn’t sure at first if this would work for me. The main character, Rydra Wong, is a type of female protagonist that I’ve encountered in other mid 20thC sf classics written by men. She’s young and beautiful, brilliant and so very accomplished, and everyone who meets her falls in love with her.
We first meet her through the pov of a middle aged general. Rydra is a 26 year old poet, revered throughout the worlds of 5 galaxies. She’s also a gifted linguist and previously worked in military cryptography (6 years ago!). The general needs her to break a code called babel-17, to prevent sabotage and help win their war against the Invaders. By the end of the evening, he’s fallen in love and agreed to give her full access to everything she needs to understand babel-17 and hopefully prevent the next attack. Then she puts together a ship’s crew (did I mention she also has a pilot’s license?) and flies off.
Fortunately, Rydra turned out to be a more interesting character than I expected (although not what you’d call fully developed) and I just kind of relaxed into the story.
The novel was by turns philosophical and full of adventure. You could read it just for the exploration of how language shapes how and what we think. You could read it, as I initially did, for the queer history - written by a bi Black man, with a bi protagonist and polyamorous characters. Or you could just go along for the ride and enjoy a rollicking space adventure.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Fatphobia
chirson's review against another edition
4.0
I sort of can't believe how young Delany was when he wrote this. And how it can be both descriptive and so very concise. It's intensely experimental, lyrical, clever and ahead of its time in so many ways, and managing to say clever things about both war and language without sounding didactic.
books_and_keys's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
2.0
This review has been in my drafts folder for a week now so I just need to cut my losses and publish it. And here it is, after a bajillion attempts to post it on my laptop and a bajillion more errors that Goodreads decided to have in every area you can think of, I am doing it through my phone, which seems to be fine. Honestly, just sod off Goodreads.
Rating: 2 stars
Ok, so Babel-17 was tied for the Nebula in 1967 with Flowers For Algernon. Safe to say my expectations were high. But it was just fine. It was ok. And before you come at me for the two star rating, if you hover over the second star on the Goodreads site (through a laptop/PC) you get a little banner that says, and I quote, "it was ok", which, coincidentally, is exactly my opinion.
So this book has a lot to do with linguistics, so I thought, "cool, sci-fi Tolkien" but it is not quite in the same vein. Babel-17 surrounds the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, which is basically the idea that your opinions and world view etc. are often dictated by what language you speak. That is how understand it anyway, being monolingual. Let me find a proper definition: "The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, also known as the linguistic relativity hypothesis, refers to the proposal that the particular language one speaks influences the way one thinks about reality." So I was kind of right. I am really not the person to talk about this as, like I said, I only speak one language (monolingual), and my country only has three national languages (English, Māori, NZSL) so I feel it is not my place whatsoever to make any kind of comment on this hypothesis at all. Samuel R. Delany, however, can't stop discussing it, and does believe in the hypothesis... or did at the time of writing Babel-17, at least (Check out Babel-17's Wikipedia page under the "Language" heading for more information). So maybe it is true, or maybe it's not.
I switched between the audio and physical for Babel-17, and I found the narrator of the audiobook was kind of hard to listen to. When he was doing the female voice it was fine, but whenever he was talking normally, or especially when he was doing Calli’s voice, it was too low…? At the normal speed I listen to it became difficult to understand. It was like my ears needed a different setting because the audio felt like it was cutting in and out. Maybe this is just me though. I could have just turned the speed down I suppose. But then it would have been slower and... speed. I am speed. One winner, 42 losers. I eat losers for breakfast. Oh wait that's Cars.
So that's it. I am not opposed to reading more Delany in the future, but so far he is not one of those authors whose stories I will be pondering over.
Rating: 2 stars
Ok, so Babel-17 was tied for the Nebula in 1967 with Flowers For Algernon. Safe to say my expectations were high. But it was just fine. It was ok. And before you come at me for the two star rating, if you hover over the second star on the Goodreads site (through a laptop/PC) you get a little banner that says, and I quote, "it was ok", which, coincidentally, is exactly my opinion.
So this book has a lot to do with linguistics, so I thought, "cool, sci-fi Tolkien" but it is not quite in the same vein. Babel-17 surrounds the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, which is basically the idea that your opinions and world view etc. are often dictated by what language you speak. That is how understand it anyway, being monolingual. Let me find a proper definition: "The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, also known as the linguistic relativity hypothesis, refers to the proposal that the particular language one speaks influences the way one thinks about reality." So I was kind of right. I am really not the person to talk about this as, like I said, I only speak one language (monolingual), and my country only has three national languages (English, Māori, NZSL) so I feel it is not my place whatsoever to make any kind of comment on this hypothesis at all. Samuel R. Delany, however, can't stop discussing it, and does believe in the hypothesis... or did at the time of writing Babel-17, at least (Check out Babel-17's Wikipedia page under the "Language" heading for more information). So maybe it is true, or maybe it's not.
I switched between the audio and physical for Babel-17, and I found the narrator of the audiobook was kind of hard to listen to. When he was doing the female voice it was fine, but whenever he was talking normally, or especially when he was doing Calli’s voice, it was too low…? At the normal speed I listen to it became difficult to understand. It was like my ears needed a different setting because the audio felt like it was cutting in and out. Maybe this is just me though. I could have just turned the speed down I suppose. But then it would have been slower and... speed. I am speed. One winner, 42 losers. I eat losers for breakfast. Oh wait that's Cars.
So that's it. I am not opposed to reading more Delany in the future, but so far he is not one of those authors whose stories I will be pondering over.
znnys's review against another edition
4.0
Babel-17 has been on my radar for years and I'm glad that I finally got around to reading it. It has all the staples of 20th century Sci Fi - optimistic ideas about technological and societal progression, a vast array of unique characters, a series of adventurous throughout space. I was particularly fascinated by this novel from the 1960s portraying polyamorous relationships, especially as something that's almost necessary for navigators to function properly. The discorporate were a fun and weird concept. I LOVE the overarching theme of language shaping how people understand the world around them, and how a poet is deemed the most qualified to interpret language, as she has the most experience taking concepts and feelings and putting them into words.
This is an entertaining book, though at times I wish Delany had put the same effort into his characters as he'd put into his intellectual thought experiments. They come off a little one-note, while Rhydra wears a million hats and excels at everything. I would have liked to see a more balanced crew, and perhaps a more flawed protagonist.
Nonetheless, great read.
This is an entertaining book, though at times I wish Delany had put the same effort into his characters as he'd put into his intellectual thought experiments. They come off a little one-note, while Rhydra wears a million hats and excels at everything. I would have liked to see a more balanced crew, and perhaps a more flawed protagonist.
Nonetheless, great read.
elichad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5