Samuel R. Delany

Samuel R. Delany is an American author of fiction. He was born in New York City on April 1, 1942. His middle name is Ray and some of his friends call him by his unofficial nickname Chip.

The best place to start is The Fall of the Towers series, the earliest of Samuel R. Delany's multi-book series: it opens with Captives of the Flame / Out of the Dead City (1963) and runs to 3 books across 1963–1965, ending with City of a Thousand Suns (1965). Samuel R. Delany's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

Samuel R. Delany has 202 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1962 and 2027. 98 of them belong to 4 named series — the largest being the Sexual Cultures series with 59 books — and 104 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Samuel R. Delany's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are The Fall of the Towers (1963–1965, 3 books), Return to Nevèrÿon (1979–1987, 4 books) and Sexual Cultures (1999–2025, 59 books).

This guide splits Samuel R. Delany's 202 books into 4 named series and 104 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Sexual Cultures (59 books, 1999–2025); Return to Nevèrÿon (4 books, 1979–1987); The Fall of the Towers (3 books, 1963–1965); Outspoken Authors (32 books, 1984–2026).