The second book of Samuel R. Delany's Return to Nevèrÿon sequence has for its protagonist a teenage girl who flies into the story on a dragon. It is one large, very whole tale, unlike the interwoven "Tales" of the previous volume, but it does see the return--in legend or in person--of a few of the earlier characters. The girl Pryn's chief virtue, besides a certain indomitability, is that she is literate. She moves southwards through Nevèrÿon, from her home village of Ellamon, to the city Kolhari and its suburbs, and then beyond, nearly to the ruins of the Vygernangx Monastery. Her adventures give her the opportunity to witness and reflect on the deployments of power, the development of technologies, and the mutation of economies. Despite these large themes, and notwithstanding the single numinous myth that anchors the story at both ends, the book retains a personal scale. It details the confusion and challenges of a very young woman at large in a dangerous world.

In the book's first appendix, Delany carries forward the scholarly conceit he had established for the "Culhar' Fragment" that is supposed to be the ancient basis for these stories. This time he adds to his fictional scholars the participation of an actual academic Charles Hoequist Jr., who wrote a response to the appendix of the first volume. Hoequist telegraphs that he is "in on the joke" by means of a passing reference to the Necronomicon in his first letter!

There is also a second appendix, where Delaney is unusually open and detailed (for a novelist) regarding not only his sources but the particular uses he has put them to. I would never have guessed that the book took its principal structure from a film, given how very concerned it is with text and inscription, and how it explicitly and repeatedly references the "linguistic turn" in twentieth-century philosophy.

I observe the remark in another review that these Return to Nevèrÿon books reward re-reading, and I'm sure it's true. In fact, I have it notably in mind to go back and re-read "Ashima Slade and the Harbin-Y Lectures" from Delany's Triton, which is an earlier segment of the semiotic experimentation in Nevèrÿon.

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! ( )

Bizarre, and yet also sort of delightful. ( )

This beautiful, rich tapestry of Delany's imaginings is an ancient history that never happened, but certainly should have. ( )

A strange mix of philosophy text and episodic novel. Definitely not to everyone's taste but I found the entire series immensely satisfying and thought-provoking. Really great stuff.

UPDATE: I read from this series about once a year. Every time I pick up on something new, some unique and intriguing piece of semiotic or cultural insight. The books are difficult, but truly rewarding. ( )