The Jewels of Aptor

Delany's first published novel is short, fun, and highly imaginative. The Jewels of Aptor is a much less challenging read than some of his later novels, (Dhalgren, The Einstein Intersection, etc), but it does contain portents of stylistic things to come. The plot is a bit on the naive side as our heroes blindly blunder along being guided by larger forces - most of which are gratingly benign - but it's still a rollicking good adventure yarn featuring some truly unique ideas and characters.