The Jewels of Aptor

What was the strange impetus that drove a group of four widely different humans to embark on a fear-filled journey across a forbidden sea to a legendary land? This was Earth still, but the Earth of a future terribly changed after a planet-searing disaster, a planet of weird cults, mutated beasts, and people who were not always entirely human. As for the four who made up that questing party, they included a woman who was either a goddess, a witch, or both, a four-armed boy whose humanity was open to question, and two more men with equally 'wild' talents. The story of their voyage, of the power-wielding 'jewels' they sought, of the atomic and post-atomic terrors they encountered, is a remarkable science-fiction Odyssey of the days to come.

Samuel Ray Delany Jr., Chip Delany to his friends, is an African American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.