Preview of The Bridge of Lost Desire Summary:

Power and sex, and the interconnections between them, motivate the char acters throughout the Neveryon series.

On one occasion Delany, questioned about this emphasis on power, began his reply with "All four of my grandparents were children of at least one parent born in slavery." A primitive and usually personal kind of exploitation, both economic and sexual, is the norm in the society which Delany depicts. The metal collars once worn by slaves in Neveryon serve not only as emblems of their servitude but also as sexual stimulants for many of the "free" characters; homosexuality and sadomasochism seem to be the preferred relationships, or at least the most common ones.

During the lifetime of Gorgik, the main character in the series, slavery has been abolished in Neveryon. Although Gorgik "the Liberator" is the immediate agent of this change, the society has clearly been ready...