This new collection of Science Fiction stories by Robert Silverberg includes some classics like “In Another Country” and “Ship-Sister, Star-Sister” as well as some very early stories from the 1950s and early 1960s like “The Sixth Palace” and “Why.”
“In Another Country” is a companion story to C. L. Moore’s very moving “Vintage Season” where a group of Time Travelers visit the Past at certain key moments. “Ship-Sister, Star-Sister” concerns a pair of sisters who are linked through telepathy. But when their thoughts are interrupted by static, they make an incredible discovery.
“The Sixth Palace” is a puzzle story. A robot guards a deserted palace full of rare and valuable objects. The robot will only let someone have access to the riches if they answer its questions correctly. Many have failed (and were destroyed by the robot) but two adventurers are willing to try anyway.
“We Are For the Dark” is the longest story in this collection. It concerns a religious cult that seeks to form a galactic empire, but at the extreme margins, something is going very wrong. A trouble-shooter is sent to find out what is happening and discovers something astonishing.
In addition to these great stories, Silverberg also provides interesting Introductions to each story putting them in context and revealing how the stories actually came to be written. If you’re looking for some wonderful reading, I highly recommend Voyagers. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction by Robert Silverberg — i
In Another Country — 1
Travelers — 81
Chip Runner — 101
Looking For The Fountain — 119
Ship-Sister, Star-Sister — 144
The Changeling — 173
We Are For The Dark — 196
The Trouble With Sempoanga — 271
The Sixth Palace — 283
Why? — 297
The Pleasure Of Their Company — 312
Thebes Of The Hundred Gates — 331
One of my favorite sf writers, He wrote a ton of good stuff from 1960 until the mid 70’s when his output slowed down. I especially liked his novels Dying Inside, A Time of Changes and Up the Line.
Steve, same here. I was a huge Silverberg fan in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I need to reread DYING INSIDE.
I’m guessing I’ve read all or most of these, but will happily reread them. I read the Silverberg/Moore stories back to back to see the connection after reading his introduction about how he came to write it. I agree that the introductions really make reading his collections even more worthwhile. I have the Collected Stories and a couple of other collections of his early stories and have read them all.
Jeff, TOR Books issued one of their faux-ACE Double editions with VINTAGE SEASON on one side and IN ANOTHER COUNTRY on the other side. Like you, I have all these stories in different editions, but I was happy to reread them with new Silverberg Introductions!
I picked up that Tor edition a couple of years ago to read them back to back.
I read DYING INSIDE in the last couple of years. I agree with Steve on it. Very good book.
Jeff, I read DYING INSIDE when it was first published. Time to reread it!
For many of us Silverberg was a transformational witer in the Sixties and Seventies. He was more than willing to take chances with his later books. Although he hasn’t published a novel in almost two decades, his works remain fresh. His mining of his catalog of short stories and novelettes is a welcome reminder og his immense talent.
Jerry, I totally agree! Silverberg was a giant in the SF genre in the Sixties and Seventies. I was eager to read every one of his books from that era. These collections with their informative Introductions take me right back to those Golden times!
I discovered Silverberg in the late fifties, and I even remember the first thing I read–a so-called “complete novel” that appeared in an issue of AMAZING called “COLLISION COURSE”, which I remember absolutely nothing about. But it got his name in my head, and his work in the sixties turned him into my favorite. I’m a sucker for time travel stories, and UP THE LINE is the best one I ever read.
Michael, a good proportion of Silverberg’s SF deals with Time Travel, both in novels and short stories. He’s a master of Time!
Unlike just about everyone else, I guess, I don’t care much for Silverberg’s writing. I read both novels and short stories and they were okay, but I never warmed to his writing the way I did the big three, or Clement, Anderson, and so many others.
Rick, different strokes for different folks.
Well, as I mentioned on my blog a while back, Silverberg was the first living adult sf writer whose novel I read (vs. Wells, Bellamy, et al.) when I read the novel version of HAWKSBILL STATION when I was 12 or so…before that, his anthology TRAVELERS IN TIME was the first anthology of sf I remember reading (aimed at YA, but including adult short fiction and an excerpt from Wells’s THE TIME MACHINE)…I read from some mysterious pulp reprint magazine before that, when I was about four or five, but picking up the paperback my father had of the time-travel compilation was my first exposure to adult sf that I thoroughly enjoyed, at about 8yo. So, I’m pro-Silverberg. Barry Malzberg remains his most vociferous fan.
Todd, I’m pro-Silverberg, too. I first read Silverberg when I started reading ACE Doubles.
RS’s BEYOND CONTROL was another YA anthology of his that was key early reading…when I saw the name of this one, I thought at first it might be a variation on my first adult sf anthology…
Anthology Title: Voyagers in Time • (1967) • anthology by Robert Silverberg
Contents
ix • Introduction (Voyagers in Time) • (1967) • essay by Robert Silverberg
1 • The Sands of Time • [Sands of Time • 1] • (1937) • novella by P. Schuyler Miller
43 • … and It Comes Out Here • (1951) • short story by Lester del Rey (variant of And It Comes Out Here)
60 • Brooklyn Project • (1948) • short story by William Tenn
74 • The Men Who Murdered Mohammed • (1958) • short story by Alfred Bester
92 • Time Heals • (1949) • novelette by Poul Anderson
118 • Wrong-Way Street • [Time Travel – Parallel Universe] • (1965) • short story by Larry Niven
135 • Flux • (1963) • novelette by Barrington J. Bayley and Michael Moorcock
171 • Dominoes • (1953) • short story by C. M. Kornbluth
184 • A Bulletin from the Trustees of the Institute for Advanced Research at Marmouth, Mass. • (1964) • short story by Wilma Shore
196 • Traveler’s Rest • (1965) • short story by David I. Masson (variant of Traveller’s Rest)
220 • Absolutely Inflexible • (1956) • short story by Robert Silverberg
236 • The Time Machine [Chapter XI, XII—part] • [H. G. Wells’ Time Machine Universe] • short story by H. G. Wells
Beyond Control ed. Robert Silverberg (Thomas Nelson 0-8407-6236-4, 1972, $6.95, 219pp, hc)
11 · Introduction · Robert Silverberg · in
13 · Child’s Play · William Tenn · nv Astounding Mar 1947
48 · Autofac · Philip K. Dick · nv Galaxy Nov 1955
80 · Adam and No Eve · Alfred Bester · ss Astounding Sep 1941
98 · City of Yesterday · Terry Carr · ss If Dec 1967
109 · The Iron Chancellor · Robert Silverberg · nv Galaxy May 1958
137 · The Box · James Blish · ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Apr 1949
162 · The Dead Past · Isaac Asimov · nv Astounding Apr 1956
Todd, thanks for the BEYOND CONTROL and VOYAGERS IN TIME Tables of Contents. Robert Silverberg is an underrated editor, too!