Having previously read Babel-17 i was very much hoping this was just as good: so i did have very high expectations and it certainly had a lot to live up to.
So, yes, i did set out rather biased when i began to read this book, and while i have to say that it didn’t quite meet with my expectations with regards to Babel-17, it was still a very enjoyable read.
Samuel certainly has his own style, very arty, very high brow, and also very imaginative: Nova holds it’s place as one of the books which gave birth to the cyberpunk genre. But where Babel-17 felt like a timeless read, Nova did feel a little dated to me, like it’s from the 1960’s or something. 
But dated or not, it certainly has earned a deserving place in the “SF Masterworks” series.
Samuel’s Page