Robert Silverberg Biography
Pseudonyms: Walker Chapman; Ivar Jorgenson; Calvin M. Knox; David Osborne; Robert Randall; Lee Sebastian. Nationality: American. Born: New York City, 1935. Education: Columbia University, New York, A.B. 1956. Career: Full-time writer: associate editor, Amazing, January 1969 issue, and associate editor, Fantastic, February-April 1969 issues. President, Science Fiction Writers of America, 1967-68. Awards: Hugo award, 1956, 1969; Nebula award, for story, 1969, 1971, 1974, for novel, 1971, for novella, 1985; Jupiter award, 1973; Prix Apollo, 1976; Locus award, 1981. Guest of Honor, 28th World Science Fiction Convention, 1970. Agent: Ralph Vicinanza, 432 Park Avenue South, Room 1205, New York, New York 10016, U.S.A.
PUBLICATIONS
Novels (series: Majipoor; Nidor)
The 13th Immortal. New York, Ace, 1957.
Master of Life and Death. New York, Ace, 1957; London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1977.
The Shrouded Planet (Nidor; as Robert Randall, with Randall Garrett). New York, Gnome Press, 1957; London, Mayflower, 1964.
Invaders from Earth. New York, Ace, 1958; London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1977.
Invincible Barriers (as David Osborne). New York, Avalon, 1958.
Stepsons of Terra. New York, Ace, 1958.
Aliens from Space (as David Osborne). New York, Avalon, 1958.
Starhaven (as Ivar Jorgenson). New York, Avalon, 1958.
The Dawning Light (Nidor; as Robert Randall, with Randall Garrett). New York, Gnome Press, 1959; London, Mayflower, 1964.
The Planet Killers. New York, Ace, 1959.
Collision Course. New York, Avalon, 1961.
The Seed of Earth. New York, Ace, 1962; London, Hamlyn, 1978.
Recalled to Life. New York, Lancer, 1962; revised edition, New York, Doubleday, 1972; London Gollancz, 1974.
The Silent Invaders. New York, Ace, 1963; London, Dobson, 1975.
Regan's Planet. New York, Pyramid, 1964.
A Pair from Space. New York, Belmont, 1965.
To Open the Sky. New York, Ballantine, 1967; London, Sphere, 1970.
Thorns. New York, Ballantine, 1967; London, Rapp and Whiting, 1969.
Those Who Watch. New York, New American Library, 1967; London, New English Library, 1977.
The Time-Hoppers. New York, Doubleday, 1967; London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1968.
Planet of Death. New York, Holt Rinehart, 1967.
Hawksbill Station. New York, Doubleday, 1968; as The Anvil of Time, London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1969.
The Masks of Time. New York, Ballantine, 1968; as Vornan-19, London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1970.
Up the Line. New York, Ballantine, 1969; London, Gollancz, 1987.
Nightwings. New York, Avon, 1969; London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1972.
To Live Again. New York, Doubleday, 1969; London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1975.
Downward to the Earth. New York, Doubleday, 1970; London, Gollancz, 1977.
Tower of Glass. New York, Scribner, 1970; London, Panther, 1976.
A Robert Silverberg Omnibus. London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1970.
The World Inside. New York, Doubleday, 1971; London, Millington, 1976.
A Time of Changes. New York, Doubleday, 1971; London, Gollancz, 1973.
Son of Man. New York, Ballantine, 1971; London, Panther, 1979.
The Book of Skulls. New York, Scribner, 1971; London, Gollancz, 1978.
Dying Inside. New York, Scribner, 1972; London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1974.
The Second Trip. New York, Doubleday, 1972; London, Gollancz, 1979.
The Stochastic Man. New York, Harper, 1975; London, Gollancz, 1976.
Shadrach in the Furnace. Indianapolis, Bobbs Merrill, 1976; London, Gollancz, 1977.
Lord Valentine's Castle (Majipoor). New York, Harper, and London, Gollancz, 1980.
The Desert of Stolen Dreams. Columbia, Pennsylvania, Underwood Miller, 1981.
A Robert Silverberg Omnibus. New York, Harper, 1981.
Majipoor Chronicles. New York, Arbor House, and London, Gollancz, 1982.
Valentine Pontifex. New York, Arbor House, 1983; London, Gollancz, 1984.
Lord of Darkness. New York, Arbor House, and London, Gollancz, 1983.
The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party. New York, Arbor House, 1984; London, Gollancz, 1985.
Gilgamesh the King. New York, Arbor House, 1984; London, Gollancz, 1985.
Tom O'Bedlam. New York, Fine, 1985; London, Gollancz, 1986.
Sailing to Byzantium. Columbia, Pennsylvania, Underwood Miller, 1985.
Star of the Gypsies. New York, Fine, 1986; London, Gollancz, 1987.
At Winter's End. New York, Warner, and London, Gollancz, 1988.
The Secret Sharer (novella). Los Angeles, California, Underwood Miller, 1988.
The Mutant Season, with Karen Haber. New York, Doubleday, 1989.
Time Gate, with Bill Fawcett. New York, Baen, 1989.
To the Land of the Living. London, Gollancz, 1989; Norwalk, Connecticut, Easton Press, 1990.
The Queen of Springtime. London, Gollancz, 1989.
The New Springtime. New York, Warner, 1990.
Nightfall, with Isaac Asimov. New York, Doubleday, and London, Gollancz, 1990.
The Man in the Maze. London, Gollancz, 1990.
In Another Country, with Vintage Season by C.L. Moore. New York, Tor, 1990.
Child of Time, with Isaac Asimov. London, Gollancz, 1991.
The Face of the Waters. New York, Bantam, and London, Grafton, 1991.
The Ugly Little Boy, with Isaac Asimov. New York, Doubleday, 1992.
The Positronic Man, with Isaac Asimov. London, Gollancz, 1992; New York, Doubleday, 1993.
Kingdoms of the Wall. London, HarperCollins, 1992; New York, Bantam, 1993.
Thebes of the Hundred Gates. London, HarperCollins, 1993.
Hot Sky at Midnight. New York, Bantam, and London, HarperCollins, 1994.
The Mountains of Majipoor. New York, Bantam, and London, Macmillan, 1995.
Starborne. New York, Bantam Books, 1996.
Sorcerers of Majipoor. New York, N.Y., HarperPrism, 1997.
The Alien Years. New York, HarperPrism, 1998.
Lord Prestimion. New York, HarperPrism, 1999.
Novels as Calvin M. Knox
Lest We Forget Thee, Earth. New York, Ace, 1958.
The Plot Against Earth. New York, Ace, 1959.
One of Our Asteroids Is Missing. New York, Ace, 1964.
Short Stories
Next Stop the Stars. New York, Ace, 1962; London, Dobson, 1979.
Godling, Go Home! New York, Belmont, 1964.
To Worlds Beyond. Philadelphia, Chilton, 1965; London, Sphere, 1969.
Needle in a Timestack. New York, Ballantine, 1966; London, Sphere, 1967; revised edition, Sphere, 1979.
To Open the Sky. New York, Ballantine, 1967.
Dimension Thirteen. New York, Ballantine, 1969.
Parsecs and Parables. New York, Doubleday, 1970; London, Hale, 1973.
The Cube Root of Uncertainty. New York, Macmillan, 1970.
Moonferns and Starsongs. New York, Ballantine, 1971.
The Reality Trip and Other Implausibilities. New York, Ballantine, 1972.
Valley Beyond Time. New York, Dell, 1973.
Unfamiliar Territory. New York, Scribner, 1973; London, Gollancz, 1975.
Earth's Other Shadow. New York, New American Library, 1973; London, Millington, 1977.
Born with the Dead (three novellas). New York, Random House, 1974; London, Gollancz, 1975.
Sundance and Other Science Fiction Stories. Nashville, Nelson, 1974; London, Abelard Schuman, 1975.
The Feast of St. Dionysus. New York, Scribner, 1975; London, Gollancz, 1976.
The Shores of Tomorrow. Nashville, Nelson, 1976.
The Best of Robert Silverberg. New York, Pocket Books, 1976; London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1977.
Capricorn Games. New York, Random House, 1976; London, Gollancz, 1978.
The Songs of Summer and Other Stories. London, Gollancz, 1979.
World of a Thousand Colors. New York, Arbor House, 1982.
Beyond the Safe Zone: Collected Short Fiction. New York, Fine, 1986.
Fiction (for children)
Revolt on Alpha C. New York, Crowell, 1955.
Starman's Quest. New York, Gnome Press, 1959.
Lost Race of Mars. Philadelphia, Winston, 1960.
Time of the Great Freeze. New York, Holt Rinehart, 1964.
Conquerors from the Darkness. New York, Holt Rinehart, 1965.
The Calibrated Alligator. New York, Holt Rinehart, 1969.
The Gate of Worlds. New York, Holt Rinehart, 1967; London, Gollancz, 1978.
Across a Billion Years. New York, Dial Press, 1969; London, Gollancz, 1977.
The Man in the Maze. New York, Avon, and London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1969.
Three Survived. New York, Holt Rinehart, 1969.
World's Fair 1992. Chicago, Follett, 1970.
Sunrise on Mercury. Nashville, Nelson, 1975; London, Gollancz, 1983.
Project Pendulum. New York, Walker, 1987; London, Hutchinson, 1989.
Letters from Atlantis. New York, Atheneum, 1990.
Other (for children)
Treasures Beneath the Sea. Racine, Wisconsin, Whitman, 1960.
Lost Cities and Vanished Civilizations. Philadelphia, Chilton, 1962.
Sunken History: The Story of Underwater Archaeology. Philadelphia, Chilton, 1963.
Home of the Red Man: Indian North America Before Columbus. Greenwich, Connecticut, New York Graphic Society, 1963.
The Great Doctors. New York, Putnam, 1964.
The Man Who Found Nineveh: The Story of Austen Henry Layard. New York, Holt Rinehart, 1964; Kingswood, Surrey, World's Work, 1968.
The World of Coral. New York, Duell, 1965.
The Mask of Akhnaten. New York, Macmillan, 1965.
Socrates. New York, Putnam, 1965.
Niels Bohr, the Man Who Mapped the Atom. Philadelphia, Macrae Smith, 1965.
Forgotten by Time: A Book of Living Fossils. New York, Crowell, 1966.
Kublai Kahn, Lord of Xanadu (as Walker Chapman). Indianapolis, Bobbs Merrill, 1966.
Rivers (as Lee Sebastian). New York, Holt Rinehart, 1966.
To the Rock of Darius: The Story of Henry Rawlinson. New York, Holt Rinehart, 1966.
Four Men Who Changed the Universe. New York, Putnam, 1968.
The South Pole (as Lee Sebastian). New York, Holt Rinehart, 1968.
Bruce of the Blue Nile. New York, Holt Rinehart, 1969.
Other
First American into Space. Derby, Connecticut, Monarch, 1961.
The Fabulous Rockefellers. Derby, Connecticut, Monarch, 1963.
15 Battles That Changed the World. New York, Putnam, 1963.
Empires in the Dust. Philadelphia, Chilton, 1963.
Akhnaten, The Rebel Pharaoh. Philadelphia, Chilton, 1964.
Man Before Adam. Philadelphia, Macrae Smith, 1964.
The Loneliest Continent (as Walker Chapman). Greenwich, Connecticut, New York Graphic Society, 1965; London, Jarrolds, 1967.
Scientists and Scoundrels: A Book of Hoaxes. New York, Crowell, 1965.
The Old Ones: Indians of the American Southwest. Greenwich, Connecticut, New York Graphic Society, 1965.
Men Who Mastered the Atom. New York, Putnam, 1965.
The Great Wall of China. Philadelphia, Chilton, 1965.
Frontiers of Archaeology. Philadelphia, Chilton, 1966.
The Long Rampart: The Story of the Great Wall of China. Philadelphia, Chilton, 1966.
Bridges. Philadelphia, Macrae Smith, 1966.
The Dawn of Medicine. New York, Putnam, 1967.
The Adventures of Nat Palmer, Antarctic Explorer. New York, McGraw Hill, 1967.
The Auk, the Dodo, and the Oryx. New York, Crowell, 1967; Kingswood, Surrey, World's Work, 1969.
The Golden Dream: Seekers of El Dorado. Indianapolis, Bobbs Merrill, 1967.
Men Against Time: Salvage Archaeology in the United States. New York, Macmillan, 1967.
The Morning of Mankind. Greenwich, Connecticut, New York Graphic Society, 1967; Kingswood, Surrey, World's Work, 1970.
The World of the Rain Forest. New York, Meredith Press, 1967.
Light for the World: Edison and the Power Industry. Princeton, New Jersey, Van Nostrand, 1967.
Ghost Towns of the American West. New York, Crowell, 1968.
Mound Builders of Ancient America. Greenwich, Connecticut, New York Graphic Society, 1968.
Stormy Voyager: The Story of Charles Wilkes. Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1968.
The World of the Ocean Depths. New York, Meredith Press, 1968; Kingswood, Surrey, World's Work, 1970.
The Challenge of Climate: Man and His Environment. New York, Meredith Press, 1969; Kingswood, Surrey, World's Work, 1971.
Vanishing Giants: The Story of the Sequoias. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1969.
Wonders of Ancient Chinese Science. New York, Hawthorn, 1969.
The World of Space. New York, Meredith Press, 1969.
If I Forget Thee, O Jerusalem: American Jews and the State of Israel. New York, Morrow, 1970.
Mammoths, Mastodons, and Man. New York, McGraw Hill, 1970; Kingswood, Surrey, World's Work, 1972.
The Pueblo Revolt. New York, Weybright and Talley, 1970.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (for children). New York, Crowell Collier, 1970.
Before the Sphinx. New York, Nelson, 1971.
Clocks for the Ages: How Scientists Date the Past. New York, Macmillan, 1971.
To the Western Shore: Growth of the United States 1776-1853. New York, Doubleday, 1971.
Into Space, with Arthur C. Clarke. New York, Harper, 1971.
John Muir: Prophet among the Glaciers. New York, Putnam, 1972.
The Longest Voyage: Circumnavigation in the Age of Discovery. Indianapolis, Bobbs Merrill, 1972.
The Realm of Prester John. New York, Doubleday, 1972.
The World Within the Ocean Wave. New York, Weybright and Talley, 1972.
The World Within the Tide Pool. New York, Weybright and Talley, 1972.
Drug Themes in Science Fiction. Rockville, Maryland, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1974.
The Ultimate Dinosaur, with Byron Preiss, edited by Peter Dodson. New York, Bantam, 1992.
Reflections and Refractions: Thoughts on Science-Fiction, Science, and Other Matters. Grass Valley, California, Underwood Books, 1997.
Editor, Great Adventures in Archaeology. New York, Dial Press, 1964; London, Hale, 1966.
Editor, Earthmen and Strangers. New York, Duell, 1966.
Editor (as Walker Chapman), Antarctic Conquest. Indianapolis, Bobbs Merrill, 1966.
Editor, Voyagers in Time. New York, Meredith Press, 1967.
Editor, Men and Machines. New York, Meredith Press, 1968.
Editor, Mind to Mind. New York, Meredith Press, 1968.
Editor, Tomorrow's Worlds. New York, Meredith Press, 1969.
Editor, Dark Stars. New York, Ballantine, 1969; London, Ballantine, 1971.
Editor, Three for Tomorrow. New York, Meredith Press, 1969; London, Gollancz, 1970.
Editor, The Mirror of Infinity: A Critics' Anthology of Science Fiction. New York, Harper, 1970; London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1971.
Editor, Science Fiction Hall of Fame 1. New York, Doubleday, 1970; London, Gollancz, 1971.
Editor, The Ends of Time. New York, Hawthorn, 1970.
Editor, Great Short Novels of Science Fiction. New York, Ballantine, 1970; London, Pan, 1971.
Editor, Worlds of Maybe. New York, Nelson, 1970.
Editor, Alpha 1-9. New York, Ballantine, 5 vols., 1970-74; New York, Berkley, 4 vols., 1975-78.
Editor, Four Futures. New York, Hawthorn, 1971.
Editor, The Science Fiction Bestiary. New York, Nelson, 1971.
Editor, To the Stars. New York, Hawthorn, 1971.
Editor, New Dimensions 1-12 (vols. 11 and 12 edited with Marta Randall). New York, Doubleday, 3 vols., 1971-73; New York, New American Library, 1 vol., 1974; New York, Harper, 6 vols., 1975-80; New York, Pocket Books, 2 vols., 1980-81; 5-7 published London, Gollancz, 3 vols., 1976-77.
Editor, The Day the Sun Stood Still. Nashville, Nelson, 1972.
Editor, Invaders from Space. New York, Hawthorn, 1972.
Editor, Beyond Control. Nashville, Nelson, 1972; London, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1973.
Editor, Deep Space. Nashville, Nelson, 1973; London, Abelard Schuman, 1976.
Editor, Chains of the Sea. Nashville, Nelson, 1973.
Editor, No Mind of Man. New York, Hawthorn, 1973.
Editor, Other Dimensions. New York, Hawthorn, 1973.
Editor, Three Trips in Time and Space. New York, Hawthorn, 1973.
Editor, Mutants. Nashville, Nelson, 1974; London, Abelard Schuman, 1976.
Editor, Threads of Time. Nashville, Nelson, 1974; London, Millington, 1975.
Editor, Infinite Jests. Radnor, Pennsylvania, Chilton, 1974.
Editor, Windows into Tomorrow. New York, Hawthorn, 1974.
Editor, with Roger Elwood, Epoch. New York, Berkley, 1975.
Editor, Explorers of Space. Nashville, Nelson, 1975.
Editor, The New Atlantis. New York, Hawthorn, 1975.
Editor, Strange Gifts. Nashville, Nelson, 1975.
Editor, The Aliens. Nashville, Nelson, 1976.
Editor, The Crystal Ship. Nashville, Nelson, 1976; London, Millington, 1980.
Editor, Triax. Los Angeles, Pinnacle, 1977; London, Fontana, 1979.
Editor, Trips in Time. Nashville, Nelson, 1977; London, Hale, 1979.
Editor, Earth Is the Strangest Planet. Nashville, Nelson, 1977.
Editor, Galactic Dreamers. New York, Random House, 1977.
Editor, The Infinite Web. New York, Dial Press, 1977.
Editor, The Androids Are Coming. New York, Elsevier Nelson, 1979.
Editor, Lost Worlds, Unknown Horizons. New York, Elsevier Nelson, 1979.
Editor, The Edge of Space. New York, Elsevier Nelson, 1979.
Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander, Car Sinister. New York, Avon, 1979.
Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander, Dawn of Time: Prehistory Through Science Fiction. New York, Elsevier Nelson, 1979.
Editor, The Best of New Dimensions. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1979.
Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg, The Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction. New York, Arbor House, 1980; as Great Science Fiction of the 20th Century, New York, Avenel, 1987.
Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg, The Arbor House Treasury of Great Science Fiction Short Novels. New York, Arbor House, 1980; as Worlds Imagined, New York, Avenel, 1989.
Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh, The Science Fictional Dinosaur. New York, Avon, 1982.
Editor, The Best of Randall Garrett. New York, Pocket Books, 1982.
Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg, The Arbor House Treasury of Science Fiction Masterpieces. New York, Arbor House, 1983; as Great Tales of Science Fiction, New York, Galahad, 1985.
Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg, Fantasy Hall of Fame. New York, Arbor House, 1983; as The Mammoth Book of Fantasy All-Time Greats, London, Robinson, 1988.
Editor, The Nebula Awards 18. New York, Arbor House, 1983.
Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg, The Time Travelers: A Science Fiction Quartet. New York, Fine, 1985.
Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh, Neanderthals. New York, New American Library, 1987.
Editor, Robert Silverberg's Worlds of Wonder. New York, Warner, 1987; London, Gollancz, 1988.
Editor, with Karen Haber, Universe 1. New York, Doubleday, 1990.
Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg, The Horror Hall of Fame. New York, Carroll and Graf, 1991.
Editor, Murasaki: A Novel in Six Parts, by Poul Anderson. New York, Bantam, 1992; London, Grafton, 1993.
Editor, A Century of Fantasy, 1980-1989. New York, MJF Books, 1997.
Editor, A Century of Science-Fiction, 1950-1959. New York, MJF Books, 1997.
Editor, with Grania Davis, The Avram Davidson Treasury: A Tribute Collection. New York, Tor, 1998.
Editor, Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy. New York, Tor, 1998.
Editor, Far Horizons: All New Tales from the Greatest Worlds of Science Fiction. New York, Avon Eos, 1999.
*
Bibliography:
In Fantasy and Science Fiction (New York), April 1974.
Manuscript Collection:
Syracuse University, New York.
Critical Studies:
"Robert Silverberg Issue" of SF Commentary (Melbourne), March 1977; Robert Silverberg by Thomas D. Clareson, Mercer Island, Washington, Starmont House, 1983; Robert Silverberg's Many Trapdoors: Critical Essays on His Science Fiction edited by Charles L. Elkins and Martin Harry Greenberg, Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood Press, 1992; The Road to Castle Mount: The Science Fiction of Robert Silverberg by Edgar L. Chapman, Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood Press, 1999.
* * *
Robert Silverberg is a masterly science fiction writer who has demonstrated the capacity of the genre to encompass and enrich the themes of the traditional realistic novel. He quickly developed the qualities that made him a very successful purveyor of commercial science fiction: the ability to grasp a reader's attention with his opening sentences, to sustain a compelling narrative, to evoke character and setting vividly and swiftly, to generate and elaborate fascinating ideas. He has carried these qualities into his later work, and they have been complemented, in his best novels and short stories, by characterization in depth and by a prose style that is rhythmically resourceful and rich in allusion and imagery.
Silverberg is especially concerned with time and death; with journeys to, and visions of, past and future; and with attempts to avoid or overcome mortality. For instance, Recalled to Life, by means of imaginative extrapolations from American society in the second half of the twentieth century, vividly dramatizes the social, political, and ethical consequences of the discovery of a scientific means of resurrecting the newly dead. To Live Again evokes a world that offers the wealthy not physical immortality but the survival, in recorded form, of a persona that can be transplanted into the mind of a living individual: The individual chooses the persona that will best complement her or him, but there is always the risk that the persona may take over. By means of a science fiction hypothesis, To Live Again recasts and extends the traditional theme of the divided self.
The Book of Skulls may be Silverberg's most powerful dramatization of the quest for immortality. Four American students—one Jewish, one gay, one a WASP, and one an upwardly mobile Kansas farmer's boy—set out on a journey to Arizona to find a sect they believe can grant them immortality. There is one drawback: Only two students will be eligible; they must kill the third student, and the fourth must kill himself. They do not know, however, who is to die and who is to be saved. The novel is a compelling combination of a science fiction story and a thriller, the suspense of which is increased by a narrative technique that alternates between first-person accounts by each student. This technique also enables Silverberg to offer complex psychological portrayals of each of his four protagonists.
The combination of complex psychological characterization with science fiction achieves possibly its greatest success in Dying Inside, a novel about a middle-aged Jewish telepath, David Selig, who is losing his powers. The novel combines memories of Selig's unhappy childhood and youth with an evocation of his present life, in which he ekes out a living by ghostwriting essays for students. Selig laments the loss of his gift, even though it has been more of a curse than a blessing, isolating him from his fellows and thwarting his hopes of forming enduring relationships. At times we might be reading a realistic novel; but the science fiction element adds an extra dimension, Selig's telepathic power serving as a metaphor for intensity of emotion and for a faculty of perception that makes one special but sets one apart.
Silverberg's fiction grew less intense in the 1970s, when he produced novels and short stories about the fantasy world of Majipoor and historical novels like Lord of Darkness. As he entered the 1990s, he could still produce very effective work, such as Thebes of the Hundred Gates, which combines elements of a science fiction story and an historical novel in its tale of a time traveler returning to ancient Thebes in search of two other travelers who have gone missing. Silverberg vividly evokes the sights, sounds, and smells of ancient Egypt, but the novel is more than a skillful rhetorical construction. It poses, once again, a question often raised in his previous work: whether to choose the past or the future. Some of his most notable earlier fiction, despite its pessimistic projections, ended on a progressive note: The choice was made for the future, despite all its perils. Sorcerers of Majipoor, the fifth novel in that series, concerns the question of who will succeed the Pontifex, ruler of Majipoor. Yet again the theme is the future, but in The Alien Years, which uses elements of Silverberg's 1986 short story "The Pardoner's Tale," the future looks bleak indeed: invaded by hostile aliens, Earth is plunged into darkness as technology breaks down, and the Carmichael family is forced to survive in a mountain redoubt.
Although he has been highly praised, Silverberg has not won promotion to the ranks of a significant contemporary novelist as quickly and easily as some other science fiction writers, such as Philip K. Dick or William Gibson. His overwhelming productivity, as well as his continued willingness to publish fiction that is highly competent but not ostentatiously literary, may have inhibited the growth of his serious reputation. In the 1990s, however, it is possible to take stock of his work and to see that it comprises a substantial, and sometimes outstanding, contribution to modern fiction.
—Nicolas Tredell
Additional topics
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