The second book and sixth story in the Neveryona series, and the first novel length story.It is the story of Pryn who leaves her northern smalltown life and world on the wings of a dragon. Her adventure takes her through the intricacies of Kolhari [the capital of this country] where she meets a powerful merchant and Gorgik the Liberator. From there she heads south, travels with smugglers, finds herself in a new small town, which she quickly leaves, to find herself working at a brewery, formerly owned by a noble family, which she then encounters and must flee from.More than her physical journey is her mental journey, which we take with her. The world expands to an unimaginable degree, only for her to realise that nothing's different, no matter how far she goes. Like the previous story, it is very much concerned with power and the interplay of those who have and those who do not. It is about language, but mostly it is about the nature and power of stories. Everywhere she goes, she finds people who want to impose a life upon her, to make her who they want, whether it be rebel, slave, lover, whore, or more or less. She finds, here, on her journey, the ability to define herself and choose which version of her is the one she wants to be, is the one she actually is. There are some truly mindblowing passages in here that make you question so many things, from life to words to knowledge itself. It is the most cohesive book of the series, I think, but it meanders widely and is low on action, so if that's the kind of fantasy you're looking for, you're in the completely wrong series here.It is concerned with ideas most of all, and with the nature of stories at the center. It's about maps and mirrors, what these signs mean, as metaphors, as actual objects, and what the relation between the two is. And that interplay, that relationship, the significance of the signs, is not at all a simple answer.Highly recommended.
What a great read. Having already read the first Neveryon book, I was already prepared for Delany's mix of experimentation with the philosophy of language, inquiry into the confluence of race, class, gender and sexuality, and the medium of fantasy fiction. So with volume two, I was able to settle in for good long read. The narrative of the book is like a picaresque tale with the lead character moving from one set of circumstances to another, each encounter offering her a chance to dialogue on the issues of class and culture from various social positions (the peasant, the thief, the revolutionary, the bourgeois merchant, the workers, and finally the aristocracy). Really wonderful. I couldn't help but imagining what it would be like to SEE this book as a movie. But eventually I gave that up realizing any attempt to translate the book would only flatten out the inquiry-based nature of the tale and would probably attempt to impose some sort of conventional narrative. But nonetheless, it's a great book and I look forward to diving into volume three.
What do You think about Neveryóna (1993)?
this book, and series, is a flood of knowledge. and yet, so patient and careful with its words. not flood at all, i take that back, but a carefully constructed MAP that charts or MIRRORS (these words are in caps because there are many maps and mirrors in the series and i am making a fun inside joke) the history of writing, the production of knowledge, the shift from a barter to a money economy, and the flow of power in its various guises. all this with a backdrop of slave liberation, dragons, and a masked woman on the loose with a double-bladed sword. plus sly metafictional swipes and queer sexualities. i love this series. LOVE IT. excited for Flight from Neveryon.
—Megan
I came across the first book in the Return to Neveryon series (Tales of Neveryon) at random in a small bookstore in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. It looked interesting, so I bought it and read it on the flight back to the States. This novel sparked a love affair with the writings of Samuel R. Delany - both fiction and non-fiction, across multiple genres - that continues to this day.One of the best reasons to read the series, though, are the appendices in each book in which he shows us the inspiration behind his creative process, his fascination with writing and its history, and his staggering intellect. Absolutely fascinating!
—John
Perhaps as puzzling as, but nonetheless more enjoyable than the first volume, if only because there is only one story with a development the reader can follow easily, instead of endless albeit very clever digressions on psychoanalysis, capitalism, gender issues etc. From here it becomes clear that the series is an attempt at defining storytelling in general, not by talking about storytelling, but by weaving a story the telling of which is intended to trigger deeper and deeper thoughts into the reader's mind about exactly what makes him enjoy it, beieve it and follow its course. The various techniques used include mixing th various styles of written and spoken storytelling, referring to our modern world while seemingly erasing the persona of the author, building strong complicity with the reader through a variety of references, especially to the first Neveryon novel... To make it a little bit clearer, the point is more or less the same as with most postmodern books, but the writing saves the relative lack of originality. This can be read either as a novel or as a literary essay on various postmoderns problematics.
—Cécile C.
