Triton (novel)
A novel exploring utopia through conflicting perspectives on Triton.
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American author Samuel R. Delany wrote the 1976 science fiction novel Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia.[1] Triton* was the shorter original title under which the novel first appeared.[1]
Key facts and history
Philosopher Michel Foucault's writings provided the term heterotopia that Delany employed for the novel's subtitle.[2] Multiple conflicting viewpoints on utopia are presented throughout the novel.[2] "Good place" or "no place" are the literal meanings of the word utopia.[2] Leonard Bernstein's 1952 opera Trouble in Tahiti served as the inspiration for the novel's title.[3]
To prevent confusion, Bantam editor Fred Pohl insisted that Delany reduce the title to Triton.[3] References to "the modular calculus" create a loose connection between this novel and Delany's Neveryóna.[4]
What the cited sources add
Richard A. Lupoff praised Triton as "a thoroughly absorbing, highly rewarding reading experience" despite dissatisfaction with its "abrupt" conclusion.[5] In a 2008 Tor.com review, Jo Walton praised the novel for being a "personal is political" work atypical for its science fiction contemporaries.[5]
References
- Wikipedia, "Triton (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "sfadb : Samuel R. Delany Awards", www.sfadb.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Triton (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sean Grattan, "I am a Reasonably Happy Man: The Trouble with Trouble on Triton", Tor.com, Aug 2, 2010 (accessed Jan 31 2016) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Triton (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Delany, "The Straits of Messina", Serconia Press, 1989, p. xi (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Triton (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Philmus, "On Triton and Other Matters: An Interview with Samuel R. Delany", Science Fiction Studies, 1990-11-01, p. 295–324 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Triton (novel)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Richard Lupoff's Book Week," Algol 17, 1977, pp. 31-32; Walton, "Heterotopian Choices: Samuel R. Delany's Triton", Tor.com, 2008-08-17 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Triton (novel) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Triton (novel) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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