Samuel R. Delany is one of the most successful of the so-called New Wave writers, publishing stories remarkable for their introduction of formal innovations such as decreased emphasis on narrative structure, heavy reliance on mythic patterns, and stylistic experimentation into science fiction. Needless to say, these generalizations are inadequate to describe New Wave writers. The fact remains, however, that Delany, along with Roger Zelazny, Thomas Disch, J. G. Ballard, and others, formed a new constellation of writers who during the 1960s were perceived as being in the vanguard of a movement which infused the science-fiction genre with techniques and concerns from mainstream literature, from the literary community, and from the academy. Delany's career during that period was atypical in that he wrote novel-length work almost exclusively.

Perhaps more than any other science-fiction writer, Delany has produced critical articles concerned with theoretical analyses of science fiction as a genre...