Nova
Author: Samuel R Delany
 
Illyrion . . .
It was the most precious commodity known to man - an energy source of immeasurable value and key to the shifting spectrum of galactic control. The strangely diverse crew who signed on with Captain Lorq Von Ray knew that they were embarking on a search for Illyrion, but they could have no idea of what that mission truly implied. 
For Lorq's obsessive dream was to harvest Illyrion at its source . . . by flying his ship into the heart of an exploding nova . . .
 
SPHERE BOOKS REPRINT 1977
ISBN: 0722129114