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Customer Reviews (31)

Time leaches the colors from the best of visions...
"I remain on dead center.Becalmed, static, anchored.No, that's a lie, or if not a lie then at the very least a benign misstatement, a faulty cluster of metaphors." (pg. 158)

And 32 years later that is exactly what this story is, a dying cluster of dripping, melodramatic metaphors.

I am 52 and (like many other commenters) I first read this book when I was 19-21yrs.
Granted, when initially published, there was a huge counter-culture appeal to this style of allegorical writing, however, 30 years later, and after reading quite a bit of "literary science fiction" (from Heinlein's flower-power classic "Stranger in a Strange Land" to Cormac McCarthy's beautiful non-dripping "The Road"), I find that in 2010 the writing style and prose that served RS and others well throughout the 20th century now seems lethargic... "revealed as a rocky shore, with trailing streamers of dirty brown seaweed dangling toward the absenting surf" (pg. 158)... and, yes... if I may be allowed to wax poetic... ultimately dying inside.

Nonetheless, once you cut-away the excessive fat there is some delicious meat at the heart of this story.
I just wish that 30 years later the story would have revealed more "showing" and less dripping, metaphorical "telling".

"An endless trip, a gaudy voyage.But powers decay.Time leaches the colors from the best of visions.The world becomes grayer.Entropy beats us down.Everything fades.Everything goes.Everything dies." (pg. 116)

Indeed.

But hey, to each his own.
This is just my opinion, and we all know that opinions are like toilet seats... everybody has one.

Thanks,

Great Writing if you can Stomach the Characters
DYING INSIDE could very well be the best written Science Fiction story I've ever read.It's almost as if Robert Silverberg tried to reimagine an SF novel through the eyes of a Roth or an Updike.The prose in this book is simply first rate, and miles above what an Isaac Asimov or an Arthur C. Clarke could produce.This is not a conventional SF novel, but a literary novel with an SF twist.

Ultimately, however, Silverberg devotes his skill to a rather unlikable set of characters.The premise of DYING INSIDE is simple -- what if a man was born with the ability to read minds, but kept it a secret?In fact, what if that man was a rather unlikable, self-pitying neurotic?And what if, in the onset of middle age, he found his telepathic ability to be dissipating?Silverberg executes this concept brilliantly, but I ultimately found it difficult to relate to his anti-hero.The supporting characters are even less likable -- most of them are petty and self-absorbed, the creations of an author who seems to hold little affection for humanity.

DYING INSIDE is also a bit of a time capsule of bohemian New York life in the late 1950s and 1960s.Everybody in this novel is a swinger and has scores of sex partners; everybody seems to be a college professor, a student, or some sort of free-floating intellectual; and nobody seems to have much of a moral code.This lifestyle is quite alien to me, but nontheless interesting.Novels like this really aren't written anymore -- this book (first published in 1972) is filled with graphic sex, drug use, and views on race that many modern readers would find offensive.By comparison, it makes many of today's novels seem quite sterile.

In short, DYING INSIDE has some great prose, but it's not the type of book I would call a personal favorite.But for fans of good writing, it's definitely worth a try.

SilverBob in fine form
With considerable respect, I must say that some of Silverberg's stuff seems to go nowhere, with no discernible point.This is not one of those, and is worth every penny you pay for it."Dying Inside" is a truly enjoyable read.I would also recommend "Shadrach in the Furnace" and "Hawksbill Station," for those who enjoy his more straight-forward storytelling.

An example of how good science fiction can be
"Dying Inside" is a painfully intimate portrait of a man who has been blessed (or cursed, as he might say) with the gift of telepathy.He has learned to live with this, but now finds that his amazing power is slowly disappearing, leaving him ordinary again.The man, David Selig, is literate, insightful and self-deprecating as he mercilessly dissects his own life.As a character, I found him less than likeable, but completely fascinating.He leads an almost meaningless life, has no friendships and hardly any meaningful relationships, and despite being worldly and erudite, he is also depressingly small-minded.

Getting such an intimate view into Selig's mind was at times a painful experience: despite his pettiness, despite the sexism and occasional racism, you can't help but feel for him.The bitter irony of the book is that this man, who is able to read people's thoughts, is so completely self-centered and small-minded that he is incapable of having a meaningful relationship with anyone.

The novel is beautifully written, using a series of flashbacks to tell Selig's story as he thinks back on his life.The prose is just gorgeous, perfectly reflecting his thoughts, full of often inwardly-directed irony.After reading this book, you will feel like you know David Selig.You might not like him very much, but he will be real to you.

This is an excellent novel, and one I'd recommend both to SF fans and to people who usually don't read the genre.I'll be thinking about this one for a long time to come, and will probably re-read it at some point.

"Languageless language..."
A quick descent from skilled mind-reading to bumbling - to being a normal person.A born-again experience for David Selig.Interesting journey - especially the contrast between his personal weakness with regard to his gift versus that of Tom Nyquist who's truly a monster with his own gift.I'd be more glad to have met David - but can certainly see where his clutching need to connect and inability to do so leave him so ofthen isolated.I bounced through several of the essays and letter-writing exercises - but when David speaks his experience most directly - his words are powerful expressions of how close we can be to each other and still be alone. And how terrified of oneself and silence a person can be: "Silence will become my mother tongue." ... Read more

Product Description
The Long-Awaited Prequel!

A thousand years before Lord Valentine, the destiny of kings is hostage to sorcery and deceit.

On the planet Majipoor, it is a time of great change. The aged Pontifex Prankipin, who brought sorcery (and prosperity) to the Fifty Cities of Castle Mount, is dying. The Coronal Lord Confalume, who will become replacement is chosen. It is no secret that the next Coronal will be prince Prestimion. By law and custom, the blood son of the present Coronal--has a secret quarry--the Starburst Crown. Visited by an oracle, Korsibar has heard a prophecy that will plunge the planet into a fearsome conflagration and alter destiny itself: "You will shake the world!" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

majipoor--silverberg's terrarium
beware--one of the richest worlds in scifi is really only the hobby terrarium of an old pro--its all about the scenery, the sex, and the thokka (liquor-filled berries).

its a great venue for short pieces (majipoor chronicles) but the novels are shameless blather--

the old "fantasy-series-retirement-plan", i suspect.

read jack vance's dying earth books instead.

Personally thought it was the best of the Majipoor so far.
This is the Tale of the coming to power of the Coronal Lord Prestimion.Its really got the flavor of an epic saga, the way the book progresses through time and events.It's got friends, enemies, lust, idealism, betrayal, sorcery, defeat, triumph, and war.There is really very little that this book lacked.The characters are bad-ass (good and bad) and the plot is interesting.Very few parts of the book dragged out too long and the story progressed very quickly, keeping the reader interested, throughout the entire book (and its a long book).I strongly reccomend this book to anyone and can't wait to read Lord Prestimion, the next in the series.

You've read it before...
An oddly uninspired rehashing of every throne usurping novel you've ever read. Silverberg even manages to plagerize himself, reusing the premise behind "Lord Valentines Castle", but without the interesting parts.
In one of the most puzzling coups in the history of monarchial fiction, the books villian steals the throne from it's rightful ruler, by simply picking up the crown and placing it on his own head. Majipoor has always had a fascinating juxtaposition of high-tech and feudalism, but common sense never seemed to be a rare comodity before.
The book then becomes a listless repetition of: raise and army, fight and win, fight and lose, raise a new army, fight and win. The book culminates in one of the most anticlimatic methods possible, a character who has barely put in an appearance kills the villain and the fight is over. Except for the one token good guy who has to die to toss some credibility into the mix.
Had this been a first time authors submission, no way would it have ever seen paper.

The Author lost the plot.
Silverberg is one of my favourite authors and I've read all the Majipoor novels.
Generally I don't think the Majipoor novels are his best work and I get the impression that he churns out another Majipoor novel when he runs out of ideas for new work.
But the Socerers of Majipoor is I'm afraid the worst of the series. After an interesting start the novel seems to have gotten out of the authors control and just goes on and on and on and on..... Eventually it becomes a glorified soap opera, but I won't spoil the end for those he want to read it.
All I can say, he has done better Majipoor novels and a hell of a lot better other work.

Deus Ex Machina Ending
We have the good ol' "good triumphs through no direct action of the hero" ending here.I really, really hate that sort of ending. ... Read more

Product Description
The national bestselling saga of Robert Silverberg's stunning imagination continues in the first new hardcover Majipoor novel in nearly a decade. As a prequel to Silverberg's earlier Majipoor novels. Majipoor Chronicles provides a deep, dark vision for the background of the conflict inLord Valentine's Castle and Valentine Pontifex.

Treachery and wizardry run rampant under the reign of the mighty Pontifex, as both the rightful and the unworthy heirs to the throne anxiously await his demise. Korsibar, son of the current Coronal, plots with his twin sister and ambitious companions to seize the power ofthe Coronal when his father ascends to the throne of the Pontifex.

But the burdens of the crown and scepter exact more of a price than Korsibar is prepared to pay. His rival fights to take his appointed place as keeper of his beloved Majipoor...and to resbackse order to the utter chaos that has befallen their world.

"Silverberg has created a big planet, chock-a-block with life and potential sbacksies."-- The Washing Post ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Imaginative but sometimes lacking short stories
Each story left me feeling similarly: interesting premise, amazing descriptions of places and astonishing imagination, but frustratingly simple characters and predictable plot twists, with a bit of heavy-handing philosophizing that never goes very deep.

Like "Lord Valentine's Castle," it is worth reading simply for the inspiring descriptions of natural beauty, animals, and plants from a mind with first-rate imaginative powers, but always troubled by the unsatisfying characters and plots. At least in short stories the characters stay fresh, and there is less time to grow tired of them as I did in "Lord Valentine's Castle."

Despite my frustration though, I can't help but fondly remember each story, some of the characters, and especially the fantastic world that they help build, which is Silverberg's Majipoor.

Not Free SF Reader
The second Majipoor book is a story collection, wrapped inside the actions of the character Hissune. As part of his training for government, he has access to the Soul Record on Majipoor, and hence can look into the stories of some of its citizens, and does so. This peripheral character from Valentine's time continues to have a linking narrative and thoughts before each story.

Majipoor Chronicles : Thesme and the Ghayrog - Robert Silverberg
Majipoor Chronicles : The Time of the Burning - Robert Silverberg
Majipoor Chronicles : In the Fifth Year of the Voyage - Robert Silverberg
Majipoor Chronicles : Calintane Explains - Robert Silverberg
Majipoor Chronicles : The Desert of Stolen Dreams - Robert Silverberg
Majipoor Chronicles : The Soul-Painter and the Shapeshifter - Robert Silverberg
Majipoor Chronicles : Crime and Punishment - Robert Silverberg
Majipoor Chronicles : Among the Dream Speakers - Robert Silverberg
Majipoor Chronicles : A Thief in Ni-moya - Robert Silverberg
Majipoor Chronicles : Voriax and Valentine - Robert Silverberg

Nursing entertainment experiment.

3.5 out of 5


Fire zone emerald not for long.

3.5 out of 5


Dragon grass exploration.

3.5 out of 5


Boss drag.

3 out of 5


Shapeshifter ghosts make you antsy.

3.5 out of 5


Art for art's sake, metamorph at stake.

3.5 out of 5


Murder dreams.

3 out of 5


Testing worry.

3 out of 5


Swindled recruiting.

4 out of 5


Fraternal sparring.

3 out of 5




3.5 out of 5

Fables of Majipoor
Robert Silverberg has created in Majipoor one of the most interesting and fantastic worlds of science-fiction/fantasy literature. Those who have read "Lord Valentine's castle" can't help but become amazed by Majipoor's imense size, its huge cities with billions of people of many alien races, and, most of all, the enigmatic and divided system of planetary administration, where dreams and the subconscient play a great part.

Silverberg knows that, with Majipoor, he has a science-fiction mine gold in his hands. "Majipoor chronicles" is the second book in the Majipoor series, but can be read before "Lord Valentine's castle". Through eleven stories, some short, some a little longer, Silverberg explores many aspects of Majipoor: the relationship between the humans and the alien races, the huge geography of the planet, the influence of the King of Dreams, and other sociological elements. Sex, power, greed, nature, everything plays a part in Silverberg's simple but compelling tales, and in the end the reader is rewarded with a collection of fable-like stories concerning Silverberg's greatest creation.

I think the Majipoor series is one of the greatest in this genre of literature, and certainly one of my favorites. Silverberg has created a world with the right amount of science and fantasy blended together, and that's not an easy task.

Grade 9.0/10

A fun book to read that provides a lot of background
The Majipoor Chronicles are basically just a series of short stories based on events of the past on Majipoor.Together, these stories really bring to life this fantastic world in the mind of the reader.The events transcribed in this book occured over a long range of time (~9,000 years I think) and provide insights into the way of life in many different times and places.While non of the stories deserve a 4 star rating standing alone, all of them together get the mark because of the extraordinary amount of insight they provide about Silverberg's world.

Absolutely Wonderful
I stumbled across this second book in the Majipoor series, and read it before I read the other books in the series. What an introduction!When Silverberg is on, there is no greater science fiction/fantasy writer, which is, obviously, high praise indeed.

After letting this book sit on the shelf a few years, I lent it out to a 'friend'.Of course, I never got it back, so I had to hunt it down again.And when I got it for the second time, I thought I'd leaf through it again.A week of intermittent reading later, I finished it for the second time.It was not a disappointment.Wow.This is as good as SF gets.

Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Introducing the first installment of IDW's new Essential Science Fiction Library, a series of titles handpicked by Sci-Fi legend Harlan Ellison.In the Hugo Award-winning Nightwings, as the Watcher is led from his vigil by Avluela the Flier, the invaders come and conquer. Now, headed for the Holy City - home of the Rememberers, keepers of the past - the Watcher hopes to recapture his youth and find the beautiful woman he loves. But Avluela holds more than love for the Watcher - and mankind. She knows of the riddle to free all men. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

So Haunting I've Remembered It For Three Decades
NIghtwings is a book that I first read more than 30 years ago and have never forgotten.Something about it has haunted me, and recently I decided to read it again.

It is a beautiful book, but not the easiest to read.It is slow-paced and contains a lot of description.If you stick with it, though, it is rewarding.For one thing, it is short.And if you really pay attention to all those descriptions, they are beautiful and/or interesting.Silverberg's imagination is amazing!NIghtwings is a thoughtful, intelligent, spiritual and philosophical kind of book.It is dreamy and surreal, not an action-packed adventure.But there are elements of both.

When I read it as a young person, the first part was my favorite.After that, the rest of the book was hard to get through, it seemed depressing and boring.But in reading it as an older adult now, I enjoyed the whole book.Perhaps my attention is more focused.It is true that much of the book is rather dark, but there is always beauty and creativity in even the darkest sections.And the ending is very uplifting.

The love of the old Watcher for the young, fragile Flier is very moving.I think that is what has haunted me all these years, along with the breathtakingly beautiful scenes of the Watcher doing his watching and the Flier doing her flying.It really is a very special book.No wonder I have remembered it all these years.

Decayed Earth, sexaul jealousy and pilgrimae
The story follows the wanderings of Tomis, a member of the Watcher's Guild which looks to the stars in anticipation of a foretold alien invasion of Earth; invasion, which comes. The invaders have rightful claim for earth ownership via Galactic treaty due to Earth's prior enslavement of the inhabitants of H632. Earth's glory and civilization has fallen since and various specialized Guilds form the society. At the beginning, Tomis' companions include a lovely, beautiful, young Flyer, Alvuela (a winged slim damsel) and and an enigmatic Changeling who turns out to be traitor and agent of the invaders. Unfortunately the Watcher's Guild code does not allow Tomis to fall in love. With Earth conquered the now purposeless Watcher begins a new journey with overthrown former ruthless King, who clings to this aristocratic heritage. In his journeys, Tomis seeks redemption in various Guilds for himself and all humans.

This story, and the entire novel, skillfully skirts the line between science fiction and fantasy. The world is like from medieval 17th century with freemason-like Guilds and King with absolute power. Technology is held by few and more inherited than developed.This is incredibly well-done story. Nothing what you would expect. Take for example Avluela. A fairy-like, winged human, who can use her wings only at *night*. That reminds from a Greek tale of Icarus who burnt his wings in the Sun. And Tomis, whose inner agony and his moral hiatus discomforts the reader. These all are skillfully blended with the events encountered in the journey. The society is varied and reader is conveyed from Guild to Guild to see the ranks and social order.

Five (5) stars. In spite of being clearly more fantasy than SF, the story has undeniable charm. Touch of fine pen from writer who has won major awards in six consecutive decades (from the 1950s to the 2000s), an accomplishment which may not ever be equaled by another science fiction writer. Silverberg is stylish and sophisticated as usual and you can't go wrong with reading this novel. It is lyrical and mesmerizing. Equally enjoyable by both men and women readers.

A story of redemption and hope
This is one of my all-time favorite books. It tells the story of sin and redemption - not only of one lonely wanderer, but all of fallen mankind.

On a future earth, an aging Watcher scans the heavens four times a day, looking for signs of a promised and long-overdue invasion. The Watcher has begun to lose faith in the invasion, however, and feels that his life was wasted in a meaningless occupation.

The book is divided into three sections. At the beginning of the book, the Watcher is traveling to the ancient city of Rome (Roum, in the book) with two companions: a winged Flier, and a deformed Changeling. Unhappy surprises await him in Rome, and he leaves the city a different man, sadder and wiser, and no longer a Watcher.

The second section of the book tells the story of his journey, now accompanied by a new and surprising companion, to the city of Paris (Perris) to join the Rememberers in their work of safekeeping mankind's past. In Paris he learns much, and leaves the city with a great stain on his soul. And the third section tells the story of his journey, under yet a new guild and with a different traveling companion, to the holy city of Jerusalem (Jorsalem) where he will seek redemption and renewal.

The book skillfully weaves together several obvious religious motifs, and I am surprised that other reviewers did not mention this. There is, for one thing, the pervasive presence of the Will throughout the book, which the former Watcher comes to trust. Other important themes include the notion that sin is both personal and planetary, the notion that enemies can be used as the tools of our salvation, the redemptive value of suffering, spiritual and bodily renewal in the watery tanks, and the directive, at the end of the book, to go forth and abroad with the good news.

I found this book by chance, and I'm glad that I did. Highly recommended.

Elegiac
As there are a number of excellent reviews of this book that praise both Silverberg's elegant writing and the poignancy of the novel's themes, I'd simply like to correct the glaring inaccuracies of Amazon's wretched editorial reviews.

1. Alveula's "wings" do not lead the Watcher to Roum. He happens to be walking there and meets her along the way.
2. The Watcher does not "in a moment of weakness" fail in his vigil.In point of fact, he gives the alarm that warns Earth of imminent invasion.
3. The Watcher does not "set out alone" for Perris.He travels with the deposed Prince of Roum.
4.It isn't "the secret of Earth's salvation that lay hidden" in the deep archives of the Rememberers, but the truth about the ways in which haughty and disdainful human beings had mistreated the aliens who whould one day conquer them.
5.Avluela does not know the "riddle to free all men".She is simply, like the Watcher, one of the vanguard of a new Guild that holds the promise for humankind to rise above its degenerate state.
6.The invaders certainly do come and "conquer", but nothing much changes.It's simply a decrepit Earth under new management.

The Amazon editorial reviews were written by someone utterly unfamiliar with this story.Indeed, the novel isn't about Avluela at all, it's about the Watcher - his journey, his experiences, his transfomation. It's about the consequences of hubris.It's about the possibility of renewal.It is many things, but it is most assuredly not about Avluela and her "riddle".

When the invasion comes down, the only way left to go is up
Back in the seventies, Silverberg really could do no wrong, at least by my estimation.Pretty much everything he did was an interesting bit of SF in its own right and often explored topics that SF didn't normally cover, or did it in ways that were new at the time.And he did this without being overly avant-garde or lessening the emotional impact of the work."Nightwings" is probably overlooked because it was in its most famous form as a novella and in fact won a Hugo (and was also nominated for a Nebula) that year.Novellas are hard to release because they aren't long enough to warrant their own publication, so you either have to bundle them up in anthologies or piggyback them onto other books that may or may not have anything to do with the story in question.Fortunately Silverberg seemed to get around that problem by writing two other novellas to act as continuations of the story begun in "Nightwings".In the story he takes us to a far-future Earth that exists in the wake of a far more technologically advanced society that collapsed some centuries back.In this world humanity had fragmented into guilds, each serving their own purpose.Our viewpoint character is a Watcher, one of those who scans the skies in the event that we're invaded.Nobody really expects that to happen.But it turns out that everybody is wrong.The invasion, though, is almost beside the point.While it's the main bit in the first novella, what Silverberg does in the other two is deepen what we've already seen, exploring the intricacies of this new society and also how it reacts to sudden outside influence.In doing so, the Watcher sees humanity attempting to figure out if it has a place on its own planet, as well as trying to face its own shameful history that led it to this point.Its telling that for all the attention paid to the pretty flying people, they barely figure into the story, except to symbolize what most of us can't do.Silverberg manages to sketch out a fairly complex society in what amounts to very few pages, giving us enough for the big picture while letting us fill in the blanks, especially when it comes to the past history of Earth.He does this without making the novel six hundred pages and part of a larger trilogy.His prose, as is typical of this period, is sharp and lyrical, and he gives us plenty of nice mental images to take home: Pilgrims slouching toward renamed cities of our day, Fliers soaring into places most people can't go, people walking amongst the ruins of a past nobody can fully contemplate, decadent palaces and men both petty and bestial.It's fascinating and what other writers would spend entire series exploring, Silverberg nails it all in barely two hundred pages.And at the end we don't need to see more, he's shown us enough.Its impact isn't as great as his better known novels (it appears to share some of its themes with "Downward to the Earth") but the images it leaves us with of a future that is still recognizable even after everything is changed makes it one of his more notable works, and well worth giving your time to. ... Read more

Product Description
The famous science fiction writer pieces together the life history of the myth of Prester John, the Christian potentate of the East, Emperor of Ethiopia...a romantic and fabulous tale 'As exotic and complex as a mosaic in a Coptic chapel' San Francisco Chronicle. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great background for Eco fans
After finishing Umberto Eco's "Baulolino", I hit the library looking for books on the Prester John myth and came across one.Itwas extremely interesting and well written.Only the first 150-200 pages cover the history relevant to Eco's book and they were all I originally planned on reading, but the information about the Portuguese exploring Ethiopia fascinated me as well so I entered up reading the entire book.Quite worthwhile and highly recommended.

Prester John -- light on a shadowy figure
Most of us have come across the shadowy figure of "Prester John" in our readings on medieval history. In essence, a mythical, all-powerful, Christian king, his kingdom was located somewhere beyond the pale of"well known" (Western) Christian countries. Sited initially incentral Asia, his domain kept shifting westward, until finally settling onEthiopia -- this despite the fact that the rulers of Ethiopia disavowedusing the title "Prester John." The author does a good jobtracing the sources and history of this myth. He explains why, despite itsmany preposterous elements, the myth took strong root. He proposes thetheory that the fuel propelling the myth was the need of a powerfulChristian ally during the Crusades against Islam.

The book is wellwritten, but a graphical timeline would help. Also the exploration ofalternate geneses for the myth would make the book more complete.

All inall, an excellent introduction. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (23)

One of my favorite scifi books
I found this vision of a future world for humanity to be intriguing, if not entirely believable.I just don't think that many people would be satisfied with a life of so few choices.Yes, I understand his theory that "artificial selection" by years of living in Urbmons would weed out people who dream of something more to life than reproduction, who question the status quo, who long to explore the outside world.I just think he underestimates how MANY people would be dissatisfied with this superficial society, and that they would get together and conspire to cause a revolution.Still, it was very well written and entertaining, and made me think long and hard, which any good book will do.

Living in boxes - The life of sky scrapers
I've never read silverberg, but after this novel, it's clear that he's master of the quill. The writing style and choice of words is phenomenal. An extravaganza and collage at the same time. He paints a vivid utopia where humankind chose to entangle themselves into the box of boxes to conquer overpopulation. Go vertical. Build urbmons, the higher the better with 800 000+ people living in a Aldous Huxley's happy New Brave World: "We eat out past and excrete urbmons! Theory of verticality in urban thrust!".

It's clear that in this utopia things are different. Dense population requires different social conventions. Sex is like a handshake. These nighwalks and somewhat deplorable daywalks to "top" any women are necessity to keep the cohesion of angst sublimed.As the scholar in the book puts it: "This psychological conditioning and centuries long selective breeding ... I suspect is matter of stripping the race of certain genes".

The book is highly philosophical and psychological and centers around glimpses of social economy that are portrayed through chapters of lives of people living in those urbmons where "... uncontrollable breeding is nightmarishly encouraged to serve some incredible concept of deity eternally demanding for more worshippers, in which dissent is ruthlessly stifled and dissenters are peremptorily destroyed (p. 75) ... the vertical society had to evolve out of the horizontal one"

The depletion of soul is carved to the skyscraper in Siegmund Cluver's, one of the to-be-administrators of the urbmon at the age of the 15, by his words when he seeks councilling for his slavery of absolute freedom: " 'God bless', the blessman says, 'What is your pain?' Sigmund answers: 'I have begun not to belong. How can I learn to cope with it? Blessman: 'You can't I'm going to turn you over the moral engineers. You can use a reality adjustment.' "

Five (5) stars. This book is full of ideas, analogues, methaphorical throws and satire analysis of humankind that it takes a well deserved place on the bookshelf. Embrace the ecstasy of verticality!

Predictable pap but entertaing anyway.
Nice storytelling and somewhat sympathetic characters propel this claustrophobic story to its inevitable conclusion.I would have given another star, but the in-your-face moralizing was a real turn-off for me.

Explicit in its condemnations
Most of the text of this review is from a post I made in the science fiction forum.As long as I have taken the time to write it out, I thought I might as well submit it as a review.

I read "The World Inside" years ago, as a teenager. Even then, when I wasn't as averse to violence or sex in media as I am now, the book made me a little uncomfortable. I don't think it is supposed to be a comfortable read or that it glorifies sex in any way, even if it is explicit. Most of the main characters are unhappy with their life regardless of how much sex they have. I thought it was an interesting look into a future where society has unsuccessfully convinced itself that sex can be completely divorced from emotion. That is, after all, the way our society is going. What 1984 did for invasion of privacy, I think this book did for casual sex. Well, not just sex. There is a notion in society now that everyone should be able to live how they want to. Nothing should be censored. I think that this book also takes a poke at that idea in its handling of sexual relations.

While well-written and thought-provoking, I'm giving this book 3 stars as it is not my cup of tea.(Tea is not my cup of tea, either.) I did not exactly enjoy the book.For perhaps a strange comparison, I can appreciate this book in the same way I might appreciate a movie like "Crash" that explores darkly human themes.I found that movie joyless, but I understood it.The same goes for this book.

Readable Silverberg
An examination of class and sexual morality on a future Earth with a population of 75 billion, most of whom live crammed into 3 kilometer tall skyscrapers housing 800,000 each, vertical cities they are forbidden to leave.The World Inside is more of a series of interrelated character studies than a true novel.While most of the vignettes are interesting enough (I can only complain about one, the tale of a rock musician's ecstatic concert performance and then ecstatic drug experience, the lengthy "psychedelic" portions of which grow tedious) the book suffers a little from its lack of an overarching plot.Silverberg gives the reader a good setting and some interesting characters, but World Inside is a bit light in the story department. ... Read more

Product Description
Clay is a man from the 20th Century who is somehow caught up in a time-flux and transported into a distant future. The earth and the life on it have changed beyond recognition. Even the human race has evolved into many different forms, now co-existing on the planet. The seemingly omnipotent Skimmers, the tyrannosaur-like Eaters, the sedentary Awaiters, the squid-like Breathers, the Interceders, the Destroyers - all of these are "Sons of Man". Befriended and besexed by the Skimmers, Clay goes on a journey which takes him around the future earth and into the depths of his own soul. He is human, but what does that mean? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Drab! A Personal Acid Trip
Ok people, lemme give you the real low-down on this book.Most of the other reviews rave about how imaginative and descriptive and sensual the writing in this book is.I agree.I will go further and say that landscapes are described and various evolutionary phases of man (physical & spiritual) are described in vivid detail.

So Why do you give the book one star....

The descriptions go on and on and move from one thing to the next and one evolutionary phase of man to the next with some sex mixed up in between. There is nothing that ties one thing to the next and the story does not seem to be going anywhere.It just stays there while different phases of man come out of this time flux, on and on and on with nowhere to get.There is no conflict, there is no plot and nothing to resolve.Endless descriptions about everything, going nowhere.

This book was agonizing to read.I quit reading the book about 20 times and the only reason I resumed (it was excruciatingly painful) was because I paid for the book and I didn't have anything else to read at the time.

Yes, One star.Less, if I could.

Lots of "stuff"
I'm a Silverberg fan.So, what should be a two star book will be give three stars.Here is a basic overview.

The book starts with Clay, the main character, becoming awake in the future.Silverberg writes that Clay is caught in a time flux and is transported to the future sans clothing.Clay is quickly met by "Hanmer", a future human that can alternate between human and male at will.After the meeting with Hanmer the book is a story about Clay's journey across a future earth.

I honestly can't guess how far in the future this book is written and Silverberg writes it that way.The humans have all mutated or have been engineered into distinct breeds.Also, one gets the impression this is billions of years in the future.Even the stars have changed their position.

One reviewer on Amazon writes "I would have liked what Silverberg was smoking."That person has a point.

Clay's journey across the future Earth is with the Skimmers, a vastly changed "son of man" that can change their gender at will and have some matter transmutation powers.Also, the Earth has turned into sort of a perfect Garden of Eden, the animals are engineered for maximum color effects.

I never felt that much sympathy for Clay and never really felt he was ever in real danger in the story dispite meeting some future humans that are called "Destroyers" and look like a cross between a man and a wolverine with glowing eyes.Clay meets an immobile "god" on his journey.His journey is somewhat guided by the Skimmers under the advice of Hanmer.The only real point that I really enjoyed the book is when the Skimmers transmute Clay into a woman and want to breed with "him" (actually, her).Knowing Silverberg's writing I expected Clay to be taken by the Skimmers.Instead she (he) go into an area of Earth and - well - it gets really weird at this point and you've got to read the book to find out.

So, I would say the book is worth the time.I usually read history books and this book was read as a break from a vast historical narrative of World War One by G.J. Meyer A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918

Yes, that tie into WWI directly ties into this book.While Clay is seen as crude and primitive by the Skimmers, Destroyers, Breathers, and the rest of the evolved humans they are surprised at the raw internal nature of Clay.Clay is directly from the people who did WWI, WWII, the Roman Empire, and the rest of the absolutely brutal human history.That was what the future humans didn't count on, the raw nature of modern man and that provides the climax of the story.

It's a fair read.

Disappointed Silverberg fan
I bought the Kindle version on the strength of the (generally) positive reviews this novel had on Amazon. I was looking forward to Silverberg's great imagination and storytelling skills with this one, as I had never been disappointed with his works before. Sadly, by the third page, I knew that if my copy had been a real book, I would have thrown it at the nearest wall.

The novel seems like an archaic (that's us) human's stream-of-consciousness rant at waking up in the far future, where he encounters different versions of humanity from the various epochs that have passed. Silverberg's depiction of future humans are interesting, but it was the stream-of-consciousness drivel that drove me up the wall!

By the way, I haven't finished reading the book. I've been able to plod through two-thirds of the book in the weeks that I've had it, so maybe I can finish it in time for Christmas.

A great experimental sort of book
I really liked this book.To me, it screamed evolutionary psychology.Warning: not for the easily confused reader.

A fine reissue of a 1970s classic perfect for replacing worn lending library editions
Clay is a man from the 20th century who is transported into a distant future, where earth and its life have been changed. Humans have evolved into different forms who now coexist on the planet - and are indeed the unusual 'sons of man' in new form. But Clay is an original human - and his journey will lead him to examine that humanity in a fine reissue of a 1970s classic perfect for replacing worn lending library editions.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
... Read more

Product Description
Science fiction legend Robert Silverberg reflects on some of his earliest, least-reprinted tales in this new Planet Stories collection! Between 1956 and 1958, Silverberg contributed dozens of short stories and novellas to the digest pulps, each written in the bombastic, high-adventure style of the original Planet Stories magazine. Since then, those tales have re-appeared only rarely (and sometimes never again) in long out-of-print paperback anthologies. This volume, the first of three to come this year, features seven hard-to-find classic Silverberg novellas: Slaves of the Star Giants, Spawn of the Deadly Sea, The Flame and the Hammer, Valley Beyond Time, Hunt the Space-Witch!, The Silent Invaders, and Spacerogue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent read.
The short novel or novella format is a favorite of Silverberg and this book showcases his skills. Novellas give the author enough scope to develop an idea without the detailed structure that a full book would require. So it is with the 4 stories in this book. First of is the title story, "In Another Country" a mark of tribute to C. L. Moore, whose works Silverberg has long admired. A time traveling tourist from the far future faces a classic dilemma. While he understands the need to be a passive bystander in the "past" lest he alter history by an inadvertent action, can he stand inactive when he knows an imminent tragedy will kill his lover? Written somewhat in parallel with Moore's classic "Vintage Season", "In Another Country" has some of Moore's Vintage Season characters playing minor roles in a nice touch. The second story, "The Way to Spook City" looks at an Earth that has been invaded by peculiar beings from space who have seized a wide swathe of the United States where they now live. The population of the earth, devastated by an ineffectual resistance to the invasion is totally ignored and left to its own devices. Shorn of the stage setting, this story is a nice probing look at emotions and relationships across species. The final two stories are very different in that they are set on distant worlds with little or no explicit link to earth. "They Hunt, We Seek" looks at a Universe with 6 races (one of them being humanity) in a balance of power, till a seventh one, vastly more powerful, is discovered by happenstance. Finally, "This is the Road" is an intriguing look at a future on a different world, where life forms of a single species have specialized to a point where each specialization is a different physical form as well as social caste; yet they all retain their species links. Faced by a common threat, 4 different life forms flee for sanctuary through a maze of perils, encountering major challenges on the way. Aside from the perils, the life forms have to settle their own inter-se quarrels which seemed to me to be a close metaphor for our own Earth, riven by differences of race, religion and economic power, yet fundamentally one people. An excellent read. ... Read more

Product Description
Collection of 10 stories: "Road to Nightfall," "Warm Man," "To See the Invisible Man," "The Sixth Palace," "Flies," "Hawksbill Station" (1967 Nebula finalist, 1968 Hugo finalist, best novella), "Passengers" (1969 Nebula winner, 1970 Hugo finalist, best short story), "Nightwings" (1969 Hugo winner, 1968 Nebula finalist, best novella), "Sundance," "Good News from the Vatican" (1971 Nebula winner, best short story). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The first "The Best of Robert Silverberg" (1976)
This was the first "The Best of Robert Silverberg" ever published, and it was published right after this writer's most fertile period. It includes 10 stories, ranging from "Road to Nightfall" (1954) to the 1971 Nebula Award winning "Good News from the Vatican" (1971). The book has a foreword by Barry Malzberg, who gives a good review of the work, and the importance of Robert Silverberg up to that point. Robert Silverberg himself does an introduction to his stories, which were taken from at least seven different collections. Two of the stories -"Hawksbill Station" and "Nightwings"- were later expanded to succesfull novels, Nightings also won a Hugo Award as a short story. There is yet another award-winner included: "Passengers", winner of the 1969 Nebula Award. But it is up to yo, the reader, to decide whether the award-winning stories are indeed better than the seven who did not. To the reader who has read more from Silverberg it is to say whether these stories are indeed 'The Best' that Robert Silverberg produced over that period, because he had some nineteen (!) collections done up to that point and I for myself at least found several who I dearly missed in this one. A definitive "The Best of Robert Silverberg" over that period compiled by me however would have some 30-40 odd stories, just too much for the average 'The Best of'. ... Read more

Product Description
These stellar authors return to their compelling and rich fantasy worlds to tell new stories that enrich and illuminate their most famous creations. Stories by Terry Goodkind, Tad Williams, George R.R. Martin, and Robert Jordan cast new light on their famous epics. Others, such as the tales by Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Orson Scott Card, and Anne McCaffrey fit into the already established patterns of their worlds, but happen offstage from the main action.Amazon.com Review
Acclaimed writer and editor Robert Silverberg gathered 11 of the finest writers in fantasy to contribute to this collection of short novels. Each of the writers was asked to write a new story based on one of his or her most famous series, and the results are wonderful. From Stephen King's opening piece set in his popular Gunslinger universe to Robert Jordan's early look at his famed Wheel of Time saga, these stories are exceptionally well written and universally well told. The authors include King, Jordan, and Silverberg himself, as well as Terry and Lyn Pratchett, Terry Goodkind, Orson Scott Card, Ursula K. Le Guin, Tad Williams, George R.R. Martin, Anne McCaffrey, and Raymond E. Feist. This is not only a great book in and of itself, but it's also a perfect way for fantasy fans to find new novels and authors to add to their "to read" lists. --Craig E. Engler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (61)

Grouped greatness
The first book in an outstanding anthology series.Each short novel of this volume is worth the price of the book, and you get them all.

If you like any of the authors here, this is a MUST own.

Some great authors
Wonderful stories to fill in on most of my fave authors and introduce me to some great new ones.

Easy to Get In To
When I purchased this book I did it for the sole intent of reading just one of the stories.However, once I dove into the remaining stories it became clear that you didn't need to know the details and backstories to thoroughly enjoy the entire book.

Not Free SF Reader
An interesting experiment with what seems to be a big money anthology of highly popular fantasy (or SF in the case of Pern and Majipoor) universes, and novellas.Good for me, as I had not read any of Stephen King's Dark Tower before, for example.

The stories range from George R. R. Martin's excellent Hedge Knight to one of the worst pieces of writing I have had the misfortune to read in a big money publication, that of Terry Goodkind.

All in all, an experiment that it is worth taking a look at.

Legends : The Little Sisters of Eluria [Roland Gunslinger] - Stephen King
Legends : The Sea and Little Fishes [Discworld] - Terry Pratchett
Legends : Debt of Bones [Sword of Truth] - Terry Goodkind
Legends : Grinning Man [Alvin Maker] - Orson Scott Card
Legends : The Seventh Shrine [Majipoor] - Robert Silverberg
Legends : Dragonfly [Earthsea] - Ursula K. Le Guin
Legends : The Burning Man [Memory Sorrow and Thorn] - Tad Williams
Legends : The Hedge Knight [Song of Ice and Fire] - George R. R. Martin
Legends : Runner of Pern [Pern] - Anne McCaffrey
Legends : The Wood Boy [Riftwar] - Raymond E. Feist
Legends : New Spring [Wheel of Time] - Robert Jordan



Witch bug tastes good to you, Rover?

3.5 out of 5


Witch competition.

3.5 out of 5


First wizard owes readers.

1 out of 5


Davy Crockett not eaten by a bear.

2.5 out of 5


Metamorph murder mystery sacrifice.

3.5 out of 5


Archmage political conflict.

3 out of 5


In-law or boyfriend, one of 'em has to go.

3 out of 5


Innocent defense seven-on-seven deathmatch disaster.

4.5 out of 5


What do you do when someone tries to run you down? Deck their brother, get them to buy you new shoes, and kiss them a lot.

4 out of 5


Kill killer, to prevent hanging around in the war.

3.5 out of 5


Black is the colour that's hard to discover.

4 out of 5

Legends Vol 2
I'm guessing this is Legends Volume 2. Great book. Fun shorts. I ended up reading most of the series that the shorts came from. ... Read more

Product Description
These two renowned writers have invented a world not unlike our own--a world on the edge of chaos, torn between the madness of religious fanaticism and the stubborn denial of scientists. Only a handful of people on the planet Lagash are prepared to face the truth--that their six suns are setting all at once for the first time in 2,000 years, signaling the end of civilization!. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (76)

Disappointing
I am ashamed to say that out of all the science fiction books that I have read, this is my first by Asimov.I know that it is based on a short story by Asimov and that that story was expanded by the Silverberg into a book.

The plot is weak and all of the big realizations are foreshadowed to the point of being obvious long before they are revealed.When reading I felt like the author kept beating me over the head with the same information by having the same stories repeated by the main character(s) multiple times to different people.It became annoying and slowed the story down to the point that I almost wanted to put the book down and never open it again.

Asimov gives a forward that this is an "alien" planet and race with a different language and culture, but that has been sort of "translated" into our terms for the reader's benefit.So what is the point?Why do I need to be told that these aliens have a different language that you have translated for me.Isn't that a pretty commonly accepted assumption when reading science fiction that takes place on alien worlds?Then there are aspects of their culture that are included but never explained (or given any significance) such as the numbers after everyone's name.

The premise is interesting enough (a world that almost never has a nighttime) except it is hard to be convincing with it.The idea of the tunnel of mystery is ridiculous.These people have never experienced darkness.Am I supposed to believe the no one has ever stepped into a room without windows and turned the light off or spent time in a cave?The first time that anyone has "experimented" with the dark is at a fair?Just silly.

Maybe this book should have remained a good short story instead of expanding into a poor book.

Interesting concept, unsteady execution
This books examination of a theoretical society facing absolute darkness for the first time (in recorded/remembered history) is interesting.However the characters are not particularly likeable and it would have been nice if we cared more about their fates.At times when interesting short stories are stretched into novels it feels like a TV mini-series that lasts too long because they want to place in all the commercials and sponsorships.Maybe this would have been best if it stayed a short story.

Stick to Asimov only.
I normally don't bother with reviews, but Silverberg's expansion of Asimov's short story masterpiece was so abominable I must let those who are planning to read it know what is in store for them.

The message of this book was, in a nutshell, the only way to save humanity from itself is by allowing a manipulative religious dictator to rule, while slowly letting "enlightened" thinking to seep into the government.

There is no "enlightened" thinking when government is forcing you to be civilized. Civilization occurs when individuals choose to be civilized.

If only the expanded version of this story had truly been written by an "enlightened" thinker. Instead, it is the same old un-evolved tribalism.

What a disappointment.

disappointing
I love Robert Sylverberg books, but this one did not made the cut. For starters how did these people know about stars and star maps if there was really no night at all. They had day light 24/7 with 4 Suns. We dont see any stars during the day with one sun alone, and they had 4 Suns! It does not make sence for an evolving civilization to experience day light nonstop, and for their people to know about star maps and astrology. When I read that It kind of blew off the story, what could have been an excellent work of science fiction was blown from the start.

A great yarn aboutsocial collapse and the will to survive
A great yarn about the fate of Kalgash ... a planet with 6 suns, and a civilization that developed in perpetual light.

A multi-disciplinary team of scientists (astronomers, archeologists, psychologists, a journalist, etc.) slowly assemble frightening evidence of a recurring calamity that befalls their planet every other millenia ... total darkness.

What does it all mean ?How to prepare the public in order to head off mass hysteria ?How to deal with nihilistic religious cultists who, with growing alarm, the scientists realize may have the right of things ?How to handle the media ?

It's a great tale about a civilization faced with immanent collapse, the nature of human frailty, and the will to survive.

Highly recommended.
... Read more

Product Description
The world that these stories sprang from was the troubled, bewildering, dangerous, and very exciting world of those weird years when the barriers were down and the future was rushing into the present with the force of a river unleashed. But of course I think these stories speak to our times, too, and that most of them will remain valid as we go staggering onward through the brave new world of the twenty-first century. I am not one of those who believes that all is lost and the end is nigh. Like William Faulkner, I do think we will somehow endure and prevail against increasingly stiff odds.

A great many strange and dizzying things happen to the characters in these sixteen stories, and in the fourteen stories of the 1972-73 volume that will follow. The reader who makes the journey from beginning to end of all thirty stories will be taken on many a curious trip, that I promise -- as was their author during the years when they were being written.
--Robert Silverberg, from the Introduction ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Silverberg discovers his true powers
Subterranean Press is doing the SF community a huge favor by publishing Silverberg's self-selected and self-described collected stories. This book covers the period starting in the very late '60s, when Silverberg became personally entwined in the weirdness of the era. The stories in this volume show Silverberg reaching his full potential; they display his exquisite choice of subject matter, his impeccable style, and lancing wit as he investigates, savors, and skewers the cultural metamorphosis in which he was immersed. This and the next couple of volumes include Silverberg's very finest short work, which is among the absolute best that SF has to offer.

What in the World?
Why in the world would they pull this book after only one month when the first one is still available?It's just dumb. ... Read more

Product Description
The Happy Unfortunate

The Hunted Heroes

The Judas Valley

Postmark Ganymede

Starman's Quest ... Read more

Product Description
Now ibooks proudly presents a collection of Silverberg's best short fiction, as selected by the author. The 1950s: The Road to Nightfall, The Macauley Circuit, Sunrise on Mercury, Warm Man. The 1960s: To See the Invisible Man, Flies, Passengers, Nightwings, Sundance. The 1970s: Good News from the Vatican, Capricorn Games, Born with the Dead, Schwartz Between the Galaxies. The 1980s: The Far Side of the Bell-Shaped Curve, The Pope of the Chimps, Needle in a Timestack, Sailing to Byzantium, Enter a Soldier. Later, Enter Another. The 1990s: Hunters in the Forest, Death Do Us Part, Beauty in the Night. The 2000s: The Millennium Express, With Caesar in the Underworld. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Does humanity, pushed to the limits of perfection, find satisfaction? Not really.
Silverberg hits his stride around the mid-'60s and themes eventually emerge. "Flies" is about a man granted a measure of omnipotence and the not-so-nice results. In "Passengers" an alien occupation takes the form of intermittent takeovers of human bodies wherein the aliens usually party hard with their borrowed vessels (kind of the ultimate drunken blackout).Soon there's the repeated trope of human attainment of immortality in "Sailing to Byzantium", "Born with the Dead", "Capricorn Games", etc.These stories concern people out at the limits of human power, or sometimes powerlessness.

Where does this stuff fit in in the universe of sci-fi works?Well, to use a very basic taxonomy: Telepathy and time travel? Check. Aliens? Quite a few, but around the margins and rarely as characters. Spaceships? As needed. But robots? Computers? Not so much. It's more about yearning and transcendence than about technology or society or especially plausible futures.For all the themes of human perfectability, the point of view is usually that of a confused, overwhelmed, and/or manipulated protagonist, and in the end most here is about the feelings of smallness and inadequacy, or the limitedness of human existence.However, there is definitely a lot of feeling-- you may get a little misty when the wistful melancholy of loss and uncertainty really hits.Lovers in these stories have very romantic barriers to overcome.There's vivid language and often very vivid, dazzling settings (the "ancient" cities of "Nightwings", "Saling to Byzantium", etc.)-- you can tell Silverberg worked hard! (Especially since he mentions it a lot in the introductions.)

So it's a decent soft-headed mystery-of-man's-place-in-the-universe sort of science fiction.Not as deep as it might seem, but often very unique, heartfelt, and well-written.If you can humor the occasional over-seriousness, quite entertaining.And actually there are a few good lighter yarns.I had never read any Silverberg before, but this volume feels pretty comprehensive-- a good place to start and to end too, probably.I'd guess it would be most suitable for harder-core crate-digging sci-fi fans.I suppose I am one, but I found it worthwhile.

One of the best science fiction writers of all time....
Robert Silverberg is one of my favorite authors.He is also one of the most honored in the history of science fiction, having won 5 Hugos and 5 Nebula awards during his fifty year career.He's probably written nearly one hundred science fiction books, but this collection of short stories is a great place to start.

The introductions in this book are quite amusing and informative, describing his relationships with such figures as Frederik Pohl (who played an important role in his career).But beware! A few of these introductions contain spoilers for the stories that follow.I would suggest that you read the story first, and then the introduction.

The stories from the 1950s are good, but it's in the 60s that Silverberg really hits his stride.The classic story To See the Invisible Man (adapted for an episode of The Twilight Zone in the 1980s) is as fresh as if it had been written yesterday.One of the stories from the 1960s, Flies, is somewhat unpleasant, although it contains important philosophical themes.I think it could be skipped.

You might start out your reading with Sundance, which is considered by many to be among the top ten or twenty science fiction short stories of all time.Other equally great classics include the novellas Nightwings, Born with the Dead, and Sailing to Byzantium.

This book is a bargain at the price, giving you 600 pages of great science fiction.More information about the author can be found at www.majipoor.com, and there's an Yahoo online chat group at theworldsofrobertsilverberg where once in a while the author himself drops by.

If you like science fiction at all (and even if you don't) you owe it to yourself to buy this fine collection by one of the greatest science fiction authors of all time.

Superb retrospective collection.
Robert Silverberg's latest collection, Phases of the Moon: Stories from Six Decades is about as good as it gets - and about as definitive as you can get in one volume. It's got some great stories in here, like "Passengers," "Schwartz Between the Galaxies," "Sailing to Byzantium," and "Good News from the Vatican," and a lot of others that I've unfortunately never read before. The man was very prolific; even with only four or five stories from each decade, the book is 622 pages, all told.

He is fairly prolific at introductions, as well, one might add; he's added an overall introduction to the volume as a whole, an introduction to each individual decade, and an introduction to each individual story. Let it be said that Robert Silverberg likes introductions. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (9)

Very good read
Very original and well written.I really got into the characters and their lives.

Enjoyed it much more than I had initially expected.
One my pet peeves (& yes, I am peevish) in a science fiction novel is when the book prefaces itself with a quotation from some kind of prophecy/historic text written from the future/news article which delivers the backstory that the reader is going to need to enjoy the book. It can be used well as a device-- mostly when it delivers atmosphere instead of information. But to my mind it generally represents sloppy plotting or an overly intrusive editor.

Anyhow. At Winter's End begins with just such a preface, and it put me in the mind to be irritated. Also, while Silverberg is one of my long-term favorite authors in the genre, I'm well aware that his work can often be uneven. There were also a couple of seemingly predictable elements in the first part of the book-- tribes, rules, long history, dream dreamers-- bla bla bla. So I was kind of expecting not to like the book very much.

But, you know, in the end I did. It grew on me by moments, until by the end I really had a difficult time to put it down. It starts off in one very typical way, and seems to end up as something else again. Silverberg doesn't give himself an easy way out-- no easy quests, no Great Lord of Darkness to slay. It becomes a little book about being human and about starting again. The world building is very good, and I liked it very much.

I noticed with amusement that many of the reviewers of this book had exactly the opposite journey. They were very happy with the beginning when they thought it would be a more typical book, but became annoyed when it started to meander and became more philosophical. Consider both points of view if weighing this as a purchase.

SO SLOW
People have lived under ground for thousands of years waiting for the deep freeze winter to end.Character Introduction and a lot of long page filler conversations took up the first 35 pages.On page 35 thy opened the hatch and went above ground.Then six more pages of page filler never moving from the hatch.That is as for as I have read.That is 41 pages of nothing happening.That is the problem with writers who create big books.This book is 404 pages.From experiance I seldom even bother with a book over 300 pages anymore.I thought this one might be differant.The jacket sounded good and it was only 100 pages longer.But it seems like I was wrong.What we have is a 200 page story streached out to 400 pages.Well I gave it one more read and found this book just moves to slow to hold my interest.NO MORE SILVERBERG FOR ME and NOTHING OVER 300 PAGES EVER AGAIN.

At Winter's End
At Winter's End, by Robert Silverberg, is a science fiction story about a tribe of apelike, but intelligent beings, who call themselves humans.After seven hundred thousand years, they leave the cocoon that their ancestors built in the depths of a vast mountainside for shelter from the great death stars and freezing winter.Their leader, Koshmar, leads them on a dangerous journey to a city called Vengiboneeza.While they are there, they discover many objects and clues to the past.They eventually follow, when ten of their tribe, led by the warrior Harruel, decide it is their destiny to start their own city.This is the beginning of a new life in a new place.
The main characters of this book are Koshmar, the chief, Hresh, the young chronicler, Toryli, the offering woman, and the warriors, Harruel and Konya.Koshmar is a kind but stern leader who is adamant about leaving the cocoon when the time is correct.She leads them to Vengiboneeza.Hresh, a boy of nine years, becomes chronicler after the preceding old man, Thaggoran, died from a wolf attack.Toryli is the kind woman who gave the daily offering to the outside world back in the cocoon, and is like a mother to the growing tribe.She provides warmth and love to all who are in need.The warriors, Harruel and Konya aren't the only warriors, but they take part in most of the scenes.Harruel is a burly, massive, towering man who eventually turns away from the tribe with ten others to start his own city.His ferocious fighting spirt makes him the head of the warriors.Konya is Harruel's friend, and follows Harruel when he leads the tribe away.Unlike him, he has a lean, but strong figure, and has earned second rank in power.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure, and a little mystery and science fiction.It sets forth thought-provoking ideas, such as a second sight, gods, and contacting the spirit realm, to enhance the experience and make this book a must read for all adventure and science fiction lovers.

Somehow I wanted more from this
I feel like this took me forever to get through, despite breezing through the first 200 pages within 24 hours of cracking the cover.

The last 150, on the other hand, took me five or six days to get through.

I slammed through the early portions of this thanks to the really interesting premise: The Earth is struck by comets and plunged into a long ice age. The story picks up at the end of that era. A small group of "people", sheltered for thousands of years, exit their shelter at the end of the ice age to create a new world.

Sounds great, but things really ground to a halt about 200 pages in. Is this a soap opera? A philosophical exploration? A "lost civilization" story? An adventure? The book is not sure. Had it chosen its course and stayed there, I would have loved the ride. Instead, I found myself wanting more from this book.

Silverberg's premise is good enough, but the story didn't feel as if it actually went anywhere. Excellent and well done characters, good world-building, but no sense of urgency or movement to the story. Silverberg plays with some philosophical concepts, but he just doesn't do it very well. And the end was very anti-climactic and unsatisfactory. After reading several good Silverberg's, he may have just handed me my first dud (or semi-dud; the writing was very strong) in a long streak of pretty enjoyable books.

I wanted to like this. I really did. The characters and concepts were simply brilliant; the world building fantastic. But in the end it was just, "eh." ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Somehow, for all my outward pretence of cold-eyed professionalism, all my insistence that writing is simply a job like any other, I've discovered to my surprise and chagrin that there's more than that going on around here, that I write as much out of karmic necessity and some inescapable inner need to rededicate my own skills constantly to my--what? My craft? My art? My profession? I wrote these stories because the only way of earning a living I have ever had has been by writing, but mainly, I have to admit, I wrote these stories because I couldn't not write them. Well, so be it. They involved me in a lot of hard work, but for me, at least, the results justify the toil. I'm glad I wrote them. Writing them, it turns out, was important for me, and even pleasurable, in a curiously complex after-the-fact kind of way. May they give you pleasure now too.

--Robert Silverberg, from his Introduction ... Read more