Tales of Nevèrÿon
core novel 1979 Return to Nevèrÿon
Record
| First published | 1979 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.93 (1,735 ratings, collected 2026-08-28) |
| Page count | 260 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780553123333 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
Tales of Nevèrÿon, published in 1978, collects five interconnected stories set in the fictional land of Nevèrÿon, in a fantasy world existing before the dawn of recorded history, populated by a dominant brown-skinned civilization and, to the south, tribes regarded by that civilization as barbarian. The stories trace the early history of this world as it shifts from a society built on slavery and bartered goods toward one organized around coined money and new forms of commerce and record-keeping, a transformation reflected in the rise of the former slave Gorgik, who becomes a recurring figure across the collection. Through the experiences of Gorgik and other characters caught up in this transitional period, the stories examine how institutions such as slavery, gender roles, and the invention of writing and money take shape and begin to be questioned, without settling into a single continuous narrative.
Where it sits
- Universe: Return to Nevèrÿon
- Series: Return to Nevèrÿon core; position 1 of 4 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Samuel R. Delany
Notes
- From the series record (Return to Nevèrÿon): A four-volume sword-and-sorcery sequence, the first collection placed third in that year's reader poll for best fantasy novel and was nominated for the American Book Award and the Prometheus Award; the author later received a career life-achievement recognition from the World Fantasy Awards.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Return to Nevèrÿon: position 1 of 4: next Neveryóna, or: The Tale of Signs and Cities (1983)
Sources
- Return to Nevèrÿon (series) - Wikipedia
- Samuel R. Delany - Awards (sfadb)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_to_Nev%C3%A8r%C3%BFon
← Return to Nevèrÿon dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.