I started reading Robert Silverberg stories in the late 1950s. Little did I know Silverberg started writing Science Fiction in his teens. Now, over 70 years later, Silverberg is still publishing collectIons of his vast output: 82 SF novels, over 200 erotic novels (as “Don Elliott”), and hundreds of short stories.
Between 1956 and 1959 alone, Silverberg routinely averaged five published stories a month, with over 80 stories published in 1958 alone. Take the first story in A Multitude of Worlds (2026), “Collecting Team” (Super Science Fiction, December 1956) for example. A human crew is search for planets with Life. They discover a planet that teems with various species. But when the crew tries to depart from the planet, they discover their rocket engines have been sabotaged.
Compare that with a more recent story, “Defenders of the Frontier” (2010). A garrison that once numbered in the thousands defends a fort on the edge of a desert. For 20 years, the garrison has fought the Enemy. Time after time they have won battles and stopped the invasion. But the Empire has lost touch with the soldiers. The garrison, after so many years of fighting, is now reduced to 11 survivors. Their Seeker, a soldier with the power to locate Enemy troops by telepathy, claims there is no more Enemy. The soldiers have to decide whether to stay in the fort or return to the Empire.
A Multitude of Worlds is a good place to start if you want to experience one of the best Science Fiction writers. You’ll be awed by the range of themes and settings in these 13 stories. David Gerrold provides a laudatory Foreword about Silverberg’s long and successful career. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
FORWARD By David Gerrold — vii
INTRODUCTION By Robert Silverberg — xiii
I. Collecting Team — 1
II. World of a Thousand Colors — 15
III. Death’s Planet — 39
IV. Spacerogue — 55
V. The Sixth Place — 95
VI. These and the Ghayrog — 107
VII. Symbiont — 147
VIII. Sunrise on Pluto — 167
IX. We Are for the Dark — 179
X. The Tree That Grew From the Sky — 247
XI. Travelers — 293
XII. The Colonel Returns to the Stars — 311
XIII. Defenders of the Frontier — 373
About the Author — 403
One of my earliest Silverberg-as-writer reads was the novel version of HAWKSBILL STATION, though I had read a few of his stories in anthologies beforehand, and his anthologies as the young-reader slanted BEYOND CONTROL and his editing the first SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME volume, as part of his position as SF Writers of America (SFWA) president, were inducements to keep reading in the field (I read my father’s copy of the HOF volume).
And he’s still with us.
I don’t think I have read any stories by him.
Patti, Robert Silveberg is one of those rare writers who can both write excellent novels and excellent short stories. Here’s the proof:
Hugo Awards:
• Most Promising New Author (1956)
• “Nightwings” (1969, Best Novella)
• “Gilgamesh in the Outback” (1987, Best Novella)
• “Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another” (1990, Best Novelette)
Nebula Awards:
• “Passengers” (1969/1970, Best Short Story)
• A Time of Changes (1971/1972, Best Novel)
• “Good News from the Vatican” (1971/1972, Best Short Story)
• “Born with the Dead” (1974/1975, Best Novella)
• “Sailing to Byzantium” (1985/1986, Best Novella)
Todd, yes, Silverberg is 91 and still providing collections of his excellent stories. I admire that!
I haven’t read a lot of his novels, but I’ve read a ton of his short stories. I love his introductions and stories about when and how he wrote them. I have his self-chosen Collected Stones, but there are always others that pop up.
Jeff, I’m constantly amazed at the number of novels and short stories Silverberg wrote over his long career. I have at least a dozen of his novels waiting to be read…
I have a couple of his Don Elliott books, but were there really 200 of them? Wow.
Jeff, STARK HOUSE has reprinted some of Silverberg’s DON ELLIOTT books. But there are many more waiting… Silverberg wrote a couple DON ELLIOTT books per week at one time!
Not being a fan of SF, I have never read him, but I know he’s well regarded & best selling
Maggie, Silverberg starting writing SF as a teenager in the 1950s and continued his career into the 21st Century.
And the 21st! (I suspect that was an easy typo to make…)
Todd, once again WORDPRESS is changing my dates! Argggggggh!
Blogspot can be annoying, but it usually isn’t “Helpful” in that way!
And while most of his most serious work has been sf or fantasy, he’s also written a lot of other sorts of fiction, and quite a lot of nonfiction, including some key works about archaeology and similar subjects. In his occasional memoirs, he has noted there was a period in his 30s where he was considering writing mostly nonfiction going forward.
Sounds like it’s up my alley! I’ll keep an eye peeled!
Bob, I’m hoping to read some Robert Silverberg SF novels in 2026!
This does sound like a good collection of Robert Silverberg stories. I will see if I can find a copy.
Tracy, Robert Silverberg and I go way back to the 1950s when I was in Junior High School. I kept reading his works right into the 21st Century.
Silverberg was one of the first SF authors whose novels and short stories were translated into German in the early 60s so I read a lot of them and enjoyed them.
Wolf, you show excellent taste in SF writers by reading a lot of Silverberg!