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UID:36@sciencefictionbookclub.org
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110808T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110808T220000
DTSTAMP:20240923T134136Z
URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/17523798/
SUMMARY:Babel-17/Empire Star - Samuel R. Delany
DESCRIPTION:In the far future\, after human civilization has spread through
  the galaxy\, communications begin to arrive in an apparently alien langua
 ge. They appear to threaten invasion\, but in order to counter the threat\
 , the messages must first be understood.\n\nBabel-17\, winner of the Nebul
 a Award for best novel of the year\, is a fascinating tale of a famous poe
 t bent on deciphering a secret language that is the key to the enemy’s d
 eadly force\, a task that requires she travel with a splendidly improbable
  crew to the site of the next attack. For the first time\, Babel-17 is pub
 lished as the author intended with the short novel Empire Star\, the tale 
 of Comet Jo\, a simple-minded teen thrust into a complex galaxy when he’
 s entrusted to carry a vital message to a distant world. Spellbinding and 
 smart\, both novels are testimony to Delany’s vast and singular talent.\
 n\nPlease note: This meeting is now £5\, which includes a buffet!\n\nThis
  will be the first meeting to include a BUFFET which given that over 95% o
 f members voted in favour of\, seems a pretty good bet. If for any reason 
 we cannot go to the Bricklayers Arms\, we will return to the Pendrells Oak
  and the money will be spent on a selection of foods there instead. This s
 election will include Vegetarian and some extra-solar (Vegan) foods. Place
 s for this meeting without the Buffert are not available.\n\n\n\n\n\nHere'
 s Amazon.co.uk's most popular review of Babel-17\nIn 1967\, Samuel R. Dela
 ny was young\, gay\, black and possibly the hippest person on the planet. 
 He was to write no more perfect book than Babel-17\, it is perhaps the mos
 t delightful\, clever and sensual of his works. Its set pieces--an extende
 d wander through space-dock bars as poetess and code-breaker Rydra Wong as
 sembles a crew for desperate adventures\; a high society dinner that turns
  into mayhem\; Rydra's subversion/seduction of the sinister Butcher\, who 
 cannot say\, or think\, I\, me or mine--are glorious in their arrogant sen
 se that no-one has ever been this smart before. Rydra is one of those prot
 agonists whom the author loves because he identifies with her\, whom we lo
 ve because we are overwhelmed by his infatuation. And the plot? Invaders f
 rom another part of human space are using as code a language which cannot 
 be broken\, and Rydra must save the day. As a meditation on language and t
 hought\, this is as sharp as its decor. Most important\, though\, is the c
 omplex\, polymorphous sexiness of the whole thing--its sense of surgical c
 himerahood\, life after death\, and clone assassins as just unbearably hot
  and really really cool.\n\n\n50p from each RSVP will help pay for our ful
 l supporters membership of London's bid for the 72nd World Science Fiction
  Convention in 2014.
LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United
  Kingdom
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