Customer Reviews (1)

Fine anthology with provocative stories
There are twenty stories collected in Universe 1, only two of which (by Francis Valery and K. Hernandez-Brun) are unreadable.Most of the remaining eighteen are provocative, enjoyable, amusing, moving, or all of the above - a remarkably high success rate for any anthology.

Some particular standouts:

"The Translator" by Kim Stanley Robinson.A human is forced to use an inaccurate translating machine to avert a war between two alien cultures.A deft portrayal of cunning deception, and the loose translations generated by the machine show Robinson to be herself a master of language.

"One Night in Television City" by Paul DiFilippo.The story itself is rather blah, but DiFilippo creates a narrative voice that is very Raymond Chandler-esque while advancing the slang and idioms a few hundred years.The word choices and the language that ensues is a fine example of a technical mastery of the written word (it is just unfortunate that the substance does not live up to the technique).

"Alimentary Tract" by Scott Baker describes a world where gluttony is punished by allowing the glutton to gorge himself; all calories are diverted to needy families in Southeast Asia.An intriguing idea played to out to wonderful comedic and insightful effect.

"The Songs the Anemone Sing" by Grania Davis is a powerful, moving tale of inter-species (platonic) love.Davis' ability to evoke powerful emotions in fifteen pages is astonishing.

"Love Is a Drug" by Leah Alpert is, perhaps, the highlight of the book.In Alpert's society, couples must undergo drug therapy before they can be divorced.Occasionally, though, the therapist injects the wrong drug!Wildly entertaining, and a pure pleasure from the opening line to the satisfying ending.

Amidst such excellent stories, Ursula K. LeGuin's contribution, "The Shobie's Story" is the only actual disappointment.Which isn't to say that the Shobie's story is a dull one; it's just that one expects perfection from the author of The Left Hand of Darkness and perfection isn't present here.

One final observation, several of the stories are post-apocalyptic, which is somewhat surprising given the stories were written in 1989/1990 when the Cold War seemed to be coming to an end and world-wide optimism was high.Once upon a time science fiction was the literature of the hopeful; not for several of these writers.

Overall, Universe 1 is a very worthwhile collection, one that should be appreciated by not only science fiction fans, but also fans of good literature in general. ... Read more

Product Description

It Was The Worst of Times...

Fifteen feet tall, the Entities land in cities across Earth. Ignoring humankind, they wall themselves in impenetrable enclaves, enslaving a few willing collaborators with their telepathic PUSH. Then they plunge humans into a new Dark Age without electricity, allowing us to live--but no longer as a dominant species.

But a few refuse to submit to fate, including the Carmichael family, whose patriarch, an aging colonel devoted to resistance, will inspire a daring new generation of dissidents. United in spirit, these diverse rebels--an aging hippie, a cold-blooded Muslim assassin, a prodigal son, and a renegade hacker--will carry on the colonel's legacy as they attempt to kill the mysterious Prime Entity and free the planet.

Customer Reviews (68)

An ending and a plot would make this a great book!
It took me a little while to get into the characters so I found myself skimming some meaningless dialogue. The main family of Characters were mostly pretty lame, Khalid had the most interesting part of the book. What I found happening to lead me into continuing to read the bookwas a genuine curiosity to see one of the following things:

1. We learn what the aliens purpose is/ or something about them other than their existance as an obstacle, or more accurately a defining inanimate obect in the world.
2. The generational resistance by the Carmichael family comes to some satisfactory conclusion.

Instead of that, the Aliens just left and the book was over.

If you enjoyed the universally laudedSF classic, "Rendesvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clark where humanity encounters Alien technology, pokes around, learns nothing, meets no one, and has an ending thqat leaves you wondering if someone tore out the last few chapters of the book; then this is the book for you! If not read something else.

The aliens invade and bore us to death
The aliens invade and put everyone to sleep!Virtually nothing happens in this overlong, sophomoric novel.The aliens invade, turn off all the electricity, and a resistance movement starts that does absolutely nothing for years.Then, the aliens leave as mysteriously as they arrived.The book goes nowhere!Geez, if this got published, there's hope for all of us!

Winning, inventive, uplifting
Robert Silverberg is the author of such classics as Dying Inside, the Nebula award winning A Time of Changes, and the popular heroic fantasy Lord Valentine's Castle. With over one hundred novels to his credit, he has earned a reputation as a man of ideas, and as a writer whose work stands a cut above that of his peers.The Alien Years adds to that sterling reputation.A multigenerational saga set against the backdrop of an alien invasion, this is a well conceived exploration of how ordinary men and women cope under extreme circumstances.

The first chapter is set about seven years from now, as pilot Mike Carmichael returns from a solitary camping trip to discover that dozens of alien spacecraft have landed in various cities around the world, creating widespread panic.The aliens, dubbed "Entities" by a shaken government official, literally appeared out of nowhere, taking the entire world by surprise.Three types of Entities are identified--floaters (gleaming, faceless, limbless, ghost-like creatures), squids (tentacled, purple, saucer eyed giants), and behemoths ("double-humped medium-sized bluish-gray mountains with legs").

The Entities are slow to make their intentions known, but when they do, the result is spectacular, as the aliens assert their control of electromagnetic waves, setting the world's entire technological capability back "three and a half centuries" in a single moment.This raw display of power is followed in short order by a global plague and by the creation of slave labor camps throughout the world, where humans are mentally "pushed" to carry out their captors' commands.Resistance, so to speak, is futile.Attempts at rebellion are severely punished, or crushed at the beginning, due to the Entities' formidable psychicabilities.

The bulk of the story, however, focuses neither on the aliens nor on the global reaction to their presence, but rather on a single (albeit extended) American family, the Carmichaels.This eclectic band of adventurous, resourceful folk are led by aged Vietnam veteran Colonel Anson Carmichael (brother of the aforementioned Mike).Shortly after first contact, the Colonel leads his clan to his compound nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara, the better to wait out the occupation. Silverberg populates the Colonel's homestead with a colorful cast of characters, including Ron, the black sheep who rises to the occasion, Andy, a second generation hacker extraordinaire, and Khalid, a Muslim who may hold the secret to the Entities' downfall.From their base of operations in the mountains, the Carmichaels lead the resistance movement against the Entities for close to fifty years, until the book's abrupt, surprising, yet internally consistent ending.

In the Alien Years, Robert Silverberg breathes new life into an old premise.A combination of elements from novels such as H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds (the book is dedicated to Wells, whom Silverberg dubs "The father of us all"), Niven and Pournelle's Footfall, Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz, George Stewart's Earth Abides and other stories of apocalypse, the book transcends its influences, combining great storytelling, living, breathing characters, and mysterious, unknowable antagonists to great advantage.A winning, inventive, and ultimately uplifting novel which showcases its author's formidable talents, The Alien Years is an example of science fiction at its finest.

Not Free SF Reader
Aliens all of a sudden arrive on earth, and they are pretty cryptic, but brook no resistance.They do take over some people to use as agents.

A few resisters do hold out, particularly the Carmichael family in the hills over Los Angeles.However, are they really kidding themselves about what is really happening?

Get to the payoff already
The First Silverburg I have read in years, like all his others it is

1. Slow in the beginning
2. Great in the middle
3. so-so ending

The main characters which basically follows a family of soldiers through alien occupation for 60 years. They all do their best to resist the aliens who seem to care nothing for humans but most of what they do is completely pointless and useless.

Still it is a nice little moral tale about the endurance of the human spirit in times of adversity.This is also true of most Silverburg stories.
... Read more

Product Description
The first volume of a series of audio cd collections of science fiction short stories by both well known authors, and fairly new contributors to the science fiction scene. ... Read more

Product Description
Legends, the monumental series of fantasy audios, concludes with this astounding collection of all-new stories by three of the best-loved and acclaimed authors of the genre, all of them set in the uncanny realms of their phenomenally popular novels.In this extraordinary fourth volume, Anne McCaffrey returns to her world of romance and adventure to tell the story of a Runner of Pern. Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Saga is the setting for the revenge of The Wood Boy. And George R. R. Martin sets his adventure of The Hedge Knight in the generation before his epic A Song of Ice and Fire. The Legends series spans four audio volumes and includes short novels from the greatest living writers in all fantasy. Look for other Legends volumes with stories from: Stephen King, Robert Silverberg, Robert Jordan, Terry Pratchett, Orson Scott Card, Terry Goodkind, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Tad Williams.In addition to her best-selling Dragons of Pern series, Anne McCaffrey is also the author of Acorna: The Unicorn Girl and the Brainship series.Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Saga includes Magician: Apprentice, Magician: Master, Silverthorn, and A Darkness at Sethanon.George R. R. Martin is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author best known for his novellas and his Wild Cards novels.Kathryn Walker performs Runner of PernSam Tsoutsouvas performs The Wood BoyFrank Muller performs The Hedge Knight ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The fourth and final part of the Legends anthology, in audio format
The Runner of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

A young woman from a family of "runners" of news, is sent on her first long run and gets knocked off the path into dangerous sickle bushes. She ends up at a station house until she can heal and bumps in to the man who ran her off the path, and ends up falling for him in the end.

I was bored with this one. I'm sure there was supposed to be more to this story then I got but it just wasn't appealing enough to keep my interest. I liked the touch of romance found in this story, and the concept of how news gets around in this world is enjoyable, but other then that, this story left something to be desired.

The Wood Boy by Raymond E Feist: I already forget most of this story. A compound is attacked and everyone slain but the young wood boy and a young girl with whom he is friends. The girl was taken by the murderer and the wood boy goes to rescue her, only to have disastous results.

This book was not appealing to me and I didn't get anything out of it, hence why I already forget most of it, even having just "read" it a week ago. I suppose it could have been a good story as it started out interesting, and the series it stems from may be a good one, but I'm not going to try any more of them just now.

The Hedge Knight by George R R Martin

A young squire is knighted just before his master knight dies. Dunk, the former squire, goes off to compete in a tourney. Along the way, he takes on a young orphaned boy as his squire who is not at all what he seems. All comes out in the open when Dunk the knight defends a young woman against one of the cruel princes and he finds he must face the consequences of what happened.

This was the most interesting of the three stories in this volume. I'm actually interested in this one and following along quite nicely, not getting distracted in the middle of it. I love the idea of medieval knghts standing up for honor and support of those in need. It must be the romantic in me who enjoys this sort of thing.
... Read more

Product Description
The definitive collection of the best in science fiction stories between 1929-1964.

This book contains twenty-six of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. They represent the considered verdict of the Science Fiction Writers of America, those who have shaped the genre and who know, more intimately than anyone else, what the criteria for excellence in the field should be. The authors chosen for The Science Fiction Hall Fame are the men and women who have shaped the body and heart of modern science fiction; their brilliantly imaginative creations continue to inspire and astound new generations of writers and fans.

Robert Heinlein in "The Roads Must Roll" describes an industrial civilization of the future caught up in the deadly flaws of its own complexity. "Country of the Kind," by Damon Knight, is a frightening portrayal of biological mutation. "Nightfall," by Isaac Asimov, one of the greatest stories in the science fiction field, is the story of a planet where the sun sets only once every millennium and is a chilling study in mass psychology.

Originally published in 1970 to honor those writers and their stories that had come before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame, Volume One, was the book that introduced tens of thousands of young readers to the wonders of science fiction. Too long unavailable, this new edition will treasured by all science fiction fans everywhere.

The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame, Volume One, contains stories by such great masters of the form and includes the following authors:

Isaac Asimov
Alfred Bester
Jerome Bixby
James Blish
Anthony Boucher
Ray Bradbury
Fredric Brown
John W. Campbell
Arthur C. Clarke
Lester del Rey
Tom Godwin
Robert A. Heinlein
Daniel Keyes
Damon Knight
C.M. Kornbluth
Fritz Leiber
Murray Leinster
Richard Matheson
Judith Merril
Lewis Padgett
Clifford D. Simak
Cordwainer Smith
Theodore Sturgeon
A.E. van Vogt
Stanley G. Weinbaum
Roger Zelazny
... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Science fiction as it was
This was an excellent set of science fiction short stories from the past.I came back to science fiction after a 40+ year hiatus, and the stories were as wonderful and full of enchantment as I remembered.I recommend the book for the thought provoking ideas and for the link to the present day world.The themes of the stories and the problems of the world do not change.

Oldies but goodies, take 2
This review applies to BOTH Science Fiction anthologies I bought at the same time ... all are works fromearly in SF's history.It consistently amazes me how accurate and forward-seeing the authors seemed to be.The occasional references to "tubes" and "tapes" can be forgiven, as it would be beyond belief to expect anyone to precisely preconceive transistors and solid-state microcircuits.Both "SF Hall of Fame, Vol 1" and "Masterpieces: 20th Century SF" are enthusiastically recommended.

Great SCi-Fi
This is a great collection of stories, even if you're not a sci-fi fan.They are mind expanding and have alot to tell us about ourselves.

For aficionados
Great stuff.Some stories feel less immersive due to an antiquated writing style, but show a surprising level of technical sophistication for the time in which they were written.Must read.

Thankyou
I thought this was no longer published.Thanks to all who got this back in print.

Great stories from SF's early years.Five stars for the book, though it may be as much for the memories as for the quality and impact these have had.I admit I read all the stories in 1970's from a first edition (as I recall) and many of the stories stayed with me.Ideas.Points of view.Wit.And, uh, the darn fun.


For a new reader interested in SF I think this part of a great starting point.May even cause some to think about writing.

Highly recommended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Strong Premise, Heavy Sailing
For those who reach the voyage's end, the last chapter of The Face of the Waters will determine whether one loves or hates the book. Till that point, though, the voyage presents heavy sailing.

The author starts with a strong premise: human criminals have been exiled to Hydros, a world of floating artificial islands whose inhabitants, the "Gillies," grudgingly grant the intruders asylum. After the earth's destruction makes their exile permanent, they must build a society on the fringes of the Gillies' world.

Conflict arises on Sorve, where the family of Valben Lawler, the island's hereditary doctor, has lived in precarious contentment for generations. When, though, Nid Delagard, a crass, but powerful shipowner who makes Sorve his port, accidentally kills some semi-intelligent marine mammals, the Gilles peremptorily order him and all of the other humans on the island to leave it within thirty days, on pain of death. Even the intercession of Lawler, who trades on his family's services to the Gillies, fails to move them, and he and his companions are cast out of their marginal Eden.

The story of their quest for a new home follows the traditions of the great novels of the sea, in which the sky is the face of an impersonal god of nature, the surface of the sea a mirror of the human soul, and the depths a crucible of human experience. The goal of the islanders' quest mutates under the influence of the endless sea and of Father Quillan, an apostate priest who both doubts and longs for the exsitence of a personal God. Heeding Father Quillan's exhortations, Delagard turns his fleet away from the inhabited islands and towards the Face of the Waters, a mysterious natural island taboo to the Gillies. There, the voyagers learn the true nature of their adoptive world and face a choice that will evermore alter their nature.

In telling his sweeping tale of a voyage of discovery, Mr. Silverberg deliberately frustrates many of the conventions that would involve the reader in it. Meticulously described, fascinating alien organisms emerge from the depths, only to play apparently no further role in the story. Other creatures, for no apparent reason, attack the fleet and destroy persons and ships as abruptly and unsentimentally as death does in real life.

The characters are often more frustrating than the setting is. Coarse, selfish, and short-sighted, they speak, not in the artificially clear and significant speech of conventional fiction, but in a style that faithfully reflects the ambiguities and banality of everyday fiction, and the narrowness of their own lives.

Mr. Silverberg's greatest challenge to the reader is his choice of a viewpoint character: a man alienated from his society and even from himself. Although Valben Lawler holds a respected position in his society, he himself is a loner, largely content to be a passive observer of life. (As a symbol of his distance from the world around him, he regularly doses himself with an extract of numbweed, which dulls his perceptions as well as his pain.) Wishing to preserve his memories of a happier past (the earth's and his own), he interacts only reluctantly with his crewmates. Thus, whatever joys and sorrows they feel reach the reader through the filter of an outsider's mind

In the end the novel's seemingly pointless events and disagreeable characters fall into a pattern: looking back from the Face of the Waters, one can see why the sea had to be hostile and the characters petty. At this point one's response to the ending will be as personal as an evangelist's presentation of the Gospel. What the reader brings into one's reading will determine whether one finds the ending triumphant, tragic, or trivial. Mr. Silverberg has created a work that challenges rather than caresses the reader, and leaves one to find for oneself the work's significance.

Good
I actually quite enjoyed this book. I have kept it amongst my favourites and gone back to read it several times over the past 15 or so years. Would love to read more along the same ideas.

Workable, but uninspiring
This book has one big problem; more than half the novel is set on water, where the only thing to do is watch the native lifeforms and wonder which crewman is going to be the next to be picked off.

The protagonist, as has been mentioned, is not the most likable, and the entire crew seems lacking in different ways -- there is little love or comfort between people who have supposedly lived their entire lives on the same tiny island.In some ways the mood reminds me of Dying Inside, but without the complex interpersonal reactions and introspection.This is just down.

Ultimately they reach their goal, but I found even this unsatisfying.It's a perfectly reasonable science fiction novel, but there's nothing that indicates Silverburg was trying with this one.

Silverberg's best
I've read most of Silverberg's work, so believe me when I say this is his best work.It's one of his serious sci-fi novels, as opposed to the more adventure-oriented or idea-oriented books.The book is a great one because it dwells on what it means to be a human in an alien world.Other books deal with this issue, but mostly not so directly as Silverberg does here.As in the best sci-fi books, the characters can be interesting, but it's not really about them.And there's a journey, but it's not really about that either.Mostly it's about the creepy alienation that the humans feel from this world.The wonder and oddity of the the alien world makes for some great reading.And the ending is perfect.

Not Silverbob's Best But..........
Although this novel is not one of Robert Silverberg's best it still demonstrates enough of his strengths as a Master of Science Fiction to be readable.I did find that this novel did tend to drag a little bit and I found that I really did not like the main protagonist (Valben Lawer) all that much due to his tremendous self-absorbtion.Still, with all this going against the book the world Silverberg created is still fascinating enough to keep the reader turning the pages wondering what mysteries will be revealed next. I truly found it interesting that Silverberg was able to maintain my interest even though I really did not have a lot of interest in the characters.It is to his credit as a writer that he is able to write a decent novel without powerful characterizations. Silverberg's talent at creating a sense of wonder and fascination about the world that his characters are exploring and the dangers they encounter are what carry this novel. Many aspiring science-fiction writers could learn from this book. If the characters had been better drawn out and more sympathetic this would have been a winner like the New Springtime books-as it is -not bad but far from his best. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of short stories which features stories such as "The Changeling" and "Waiting for the Earthquake", this book also includes "A Thousand Paces Along the Via Dolorosa". The author's previous books include "Dying Inside" and "The Time Hoppers". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

16 Short Stories
It is somewhat disturbing that "The Half-Blood Prince" has 3,273 reviews (and counting) while a book by a serious SF author (snapping at their heels of the Big Three) has 0.Nothing against Harry Potter, but there is overkill and there is neglect.

"The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party" is a collection of 16 short stories (copyrights 1980 to 1984), covering the genres of fantasy, horror, mainstream, but mostly SF.As one would expect with Silverberg, the stories are extremely well written.Some of the highlights are:

"The Pope of the Chimps".Coincidentally I have just watched a Jane Goodall interview in which she spoke about her belief that chimpanzees have a sense of "awe", which could lead to a primitive religion if only they had a sophisticated language. In this story it actually happens.

"How they Pass the Time in Pelpel" is not SF or fantasy, it simply is a story about a strange event in a Mexican village.I think it surpasses the stories from"Tales of the Unexpected" by Roald Dahl. Silverberg seems to have a love for Mexico, which also comes across in "Not Our Brother", a horror piece which takes place during the `Day of the Dead' celebrations.

"The Changeling" is a Twilight Zone like `switch between alternative universes' story, mostly set in Mexico (surprise!)

Silverberg also seems to have an obsession with the problems of love and time-travel, investigating it in three of the stories."Needle in a Timestack" considers what might happen if the ex-husband of your wife attempted to change the past so that he and she would never have separated.In "Jennifer's Lover" a husband faces a rival from the future.If after this you believe that the only person you can depend on is yourself, then think again - just read "The Far Side of the Bell-Shaped Curve".

To conclude, this is a good collection, that anybody who likes short stories of the SF variety will enjoy, although I did not find all the stories equally entertaining, which is why I only give it 4 stars. ... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1969, this novel by one of the most prolific authors in the history of science fiction explores an idea that is truly "far out." Imagine a future world where death is not exactly the end. You can record everything about you that ever made you a distinct human being and then be implanted in the mind of someone living.

Paul Kaufmann had been the richest and most powerful man on Earth. Imagine having his knowledge and insights integrated with your own persona. The tycoon's mind becomes the prize in a deadly game for those still living who want more out of life than they could ever achieve on their own.

The great man's "soul" is stored in the Scheffing Institute, waiting for the time when someone hungry enough gives him back his appetite. Silverberg extrapolates as only he can from this intriguing premise. "To Live Again" is about a future where the dead are slaves to the living--until at last someone leads a rebellion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent entertainment...
...this is one of my favorite Silverberg novels. Five stars may seem rather high, but I have found pleasure in reading it many times, and what truer measure of value is there than repeated enjoyable readings?
It is considered to be a minor work in the Silverberg opus, however. If you are looking for pretense or snob-literature, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for the definitive statement of Silverberg-the-writer, then this is not that either (and there is no such book, Silverbob has had too varied and rich a career to be epitomized by any one work).
If, on the other hand, you want a strongly plotted story with some interesting characters and events, a world you can enjoy dipping into from time to time, then this book is great! The story has great drive and the motivations are well-justified and intense.
One note: Although I have never yet seen it mentioned (well, I haven't looked very hard), I suspect that this book is a "tribute novel" to Jack Vance's "To Live Forever" which contains many of the same devices and even very similar scenes in certain places (this is legitimate in SF, by the way; TLA is a very different work than TLF in essential ways). I wonder if anyone can confirm this for me? TLF was published, I believe, in the same year that Silverberg won the Hugo for Most Promising etc (1956).
Anyway, buy it, enjoy it, read it again later. I did.

Not just Science-Fiction.
To me, TLA is not just the average sci-fi story, it is set in the future (at least the future, as Silverberg saw it in the sixties), but that is merely a help to let the story unfold, as the transplanting of people's mind was not quite possible (yet?) The story primarily focuses on the Kaufmann family, and their greatest enemy Roditis, whom all want the mind of a deceased multinational, it is really about greed and power, about human nature, and it is very interesting at that. ... Read more

Product Description
Science Fiction examining the moral and legal implications of man's first steps oward immortality. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Science, religion, and politics clash.
This is a futuristic story about the discovery of a medical procedure that enables recently deceased people (from natural causes) to be brought back to life. The protagonist, who is a former well known politician, is solicited to represent a private company that discovered the procedure. He agrees to try to gather support from current politicians, who must legalize the procedure, and from religious and public groups. The story is well told, and the moral and ethical considerations are surprisingly realistic and
thoughtful. The problem is complicated by the fact that the procedure is not foolproof, and that some will be brought back to physical life, but without any mental activity. This is a typical
classic Silverberg story, and is thought provoking. ... Read more

Product Description
Duncan Chalk's six-hundred-pound frame is nearly as large as his media empire. Beneath the depths of his immense rolls of flab, the fabulously wealthy mogul wields the editorial power to deliver his programming across the solar system to billions of viewers. His newest real-life romance drama is between a starman who survived painful surgical experimentation while in alien captivity, and an emotionally scarred 17-year-old virgin. When the arranged relationship takes off on a whirlwind tour of the antarctic and out to the moons of Saturn, the viewers are swept up in the romance, but Chalk's true motives are revealed when the doomed relationship begins to unravel ... and Chalk can feed on the emotional anguish of the two lost souls. Nebula Award- Nominee, Hugo Award Nominee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The turning point for Robert Silverberg
After making his mark with a series of clever but callow science fiction novels, Robert Silverberg set out to transform his work (and, by example, the entire genre) by holding himself to higher literary standards. Thorns was the first Silverberg novel to reflect this renewed dedication, and while parts of it have aged badly -- the science behind Lona Kelvin's fertility experience is no longer novel -- it remains a bracing, hard-nosed read. The idea of using mass media to manipulate weak and vulnerable people has, if anything, become more timely with the rise of "reality" shows. A watershed novel in Silverberg's career, and a must-read for anyone interested in seeing the best SF has to offer.

This book changed me!
I read Robert Silverberg's Dying Inside at the age of 19 in 1983, followed closely by Thorns, and to state it as simply as possible, these two books changed me from an adolescent to an adult. Up to that point in time I could only see the world from a surface point of view. I basically believed that everyone is basically the same, so I enjoyed books about characters I could identify with. When I came across a book with characters I didn't understand, I thought the writer was an idiot. I didn't realize that the problem was with ME!

But Dying Inside and Thorns took me on a voyage into the minds of human beings who were TOTALLY unlike me, yet TOTALLY understandable. I could LITERALLY feel my mind expanding as I read these books. It was as close as I have ever come to having a 'spiritual' experience. By the time Silverberg was through with me, I was not the same dumb kid. I suddenly saw that people are all DIFFERENT, not alike! I was able to read authors I hadn't appreciated before, because now I could accept not only that people are different, but actually take pleasure in trying to see the world from their point of view!

I didn't read many other Silverberg books after that, sad to say. The simple fact is, these two books were a bit sad for me. The characters and situations are VERY depressing, as well as brilliantly rendered. But I will always be appreciative of the gift reading these books gave to me: The simple ability to imagine the world from someone else's point of view, without judgement.

The world is packed full of people who have yet to learn this lesson, perhaps because they don't read anything that challenges their status quo. They see themselves as the standard of perfection, and feel justified to hate and distrust anyone who thinks differently, goes to a different church, or votes for a different political party. I think this basic lack of imagination and empathy is the core cause of most human suffering.

Just in case Robert Silverberg ever happens to read this review, I'd like to thank him for making me a better person.

I heartily recommend these novels to dumb young kids who need a kick in the brain

A character driven play more that anything else
Growing up, I must have read almost 30 books by Robert Silverberg who, for a long time, I considered to be one of my favorite authors."Thorns" is one of his earliest novels, and, while I'm sure I liked it more when I read it over 20 years ago, read to me now like an author attempting to find his voice.Really, "Dying Inside," "Book of Skulls" and other Silverberg novels written several years later are much better.Nevertheless "Thorns" held my interest as a character study of the three principles: Minner Burris, Duncan Chalk and Lona Kelvin.

First, there's Minner Burris, an astronaut who, having been captured by an advanced alien race with his two colleagues, is inexplicably transformed into something grotesque, which the aliens "perfected" after killing his two friends while attempting the same transformation.In typical Silverberg fashion, the author leaves it to our imagination why the aliens did this, why they let him go, or even whether they meant to help Burris in some inexplicable fashion.The Burris character is quite compelling and well conceived.

Not nearly as interesting or believable though, are the other two other central characters Duncan Chalk and Lona Kelvin.The extremely obese and wealthy Chalk is described as a psychic vampire who feeds on other people's pain; but really, he seemed to me to be nothing more than what any producer of so-called "reality" shows is like these days.We've seen those shows where two people, obviously not meant for each other, are paired up in some dating scenario, to the obvious merriment of the watching audience.Here, Chalk finds a way to bring Burris together with Lona Kelvin, a 17 year old waif of a girl, who "they" (the government? privately funded scientists?) took 100 viable eggs from, paired it with sperm from a single donor, and brought the fetus' to term, using either surrogate mothers or artificial wombs.

The Kelvin character seemed terribly out-dated to me.Since we now obviously have the technology to do this (other than the artificial womb part), this "experiment" seemed kind of silly, especially since Lona is so completely ordinary (wouldn't "they" at least want an exceptional man and woman paired?).And, of course, they have forgotten about Lona and left her an emotionally empty husk who feels robbed of her children, until Chalk sees a viewing bonanza and sets Minner and Lona up.

The scene at the end between the three principles strikes me as an author who was looking for that blockbuster ending which ultimately made absolutely no sense in light of what led up to to it.Even so, I enjoyed re-reading "Thorns" after all these years, if nothing more, than as an interesting example of late 1960s science fiction from one of the masters of the genre.

science dysfunctional fiction
This is the only book by Silverberg that I've read but I will move on to others after this one.There are plot devices here that I haven't seen before, and I'm curious to know if this is true of his other works as well.Very interesting character development initially, although I found that my interest flagged towards the end.Silverberg has created his characters well, only to have half of them promptly shift to two dimensions once Lona and Minner begin their relationship.It seems that more could have been done with the materials Silverberg has assembled.I give the book three stars for this reason, but it's worth reading if only to get to know the two main characters, who have been beaten up by life in ways that most of us will never experience.Their courtship and arguments seem very familiar to me, however.Perhaps one moral of the story is that we're all alien in some respect, and the damage we bring to the table will always present challenges to forming truly nurturing relationships. ... Read more

Product Description
From the most celebrated writers of modern fantasy fiction, the most fabulous worlds ever created. Eleven breathtaking new short novels, each set in the unique universe that brought its author world-wide acclaim, are here gathered together in one outstanding volume. Robin Hobb introduces us to another part of her Realm of the Elderlings in Homecoming. George R. R. Martin returns to an earlier era of the world of A Song of Ice and Fire to tell the tale of The Sworn Sword. The Yazoo Queen is a new story from Orson Scott Card's world of the Tales of Alvin Maker. Diana Gabaldon gives us Lord John and the Succubus, a new Outlander tale. Robert Silverberg returns to the giant world of Majipoor for The Book of Changes. Tad Williams brings us a new tale from the Otherland: The Happiest Dead Boy in the World. Anne McCaffrey returns to Pern for Beyond Between. The Messenger, by Raymond E. Feist, is a new story from his ever-popular Riftwar. Elizabeth Hayden brings us Threshold, a fresh tale from The Symphony of Ages. With The Monarch of the Glen Neil Gaiman returns to the world of American Gods. Terry Brooks gives us Indomitable, a new Shannara story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Good book
I need this book for some research and the seller was helpful.The book was in good condition, and was send in good time.

George R R Martin&Anne McCaffrey
Note:This review is for the item pictured, with stories by Terry Goodkind, George RR Martin, and Anne McCaffrey.It seems that the reviews run the range of available editions and volumes, so I just wanted to be clear.

Further, I'm reviewing only the two stories and not Goodkind's because due to limited time I only chose the two to read, and in my previous experience I haven't liked Goodkind's writing.I didn't read it, so I can't say good nor ill in this circumstance.

George R.R. Martin's tale, The Sworn Sword, tells of Dunk the Hedge Knight and his squire, Egg.Martin's strength is writing believable characters in a fantasy setting and in this tale he's at his best.Dunk, nearly 7 feet tall, illiterate, and poorly bred is sent to negotiate a peace with the Red Widow over water rights between two disputing Lordships.It's a tale of nobility and honor and is resolved in a brilliant contest of wills.

The edition I have includes the short story, Beyond Between, by Anne McCaffrey.This is a story about Moreta, the Weyrwoman from Fort Weyr riding on a borrowed dragon, Holth, in order to deliver medicine to the holds to prevent a contagious illness from decimating the population.She'd been riding all day, making jumps between space and time in order to get the deliveries completed and when they jumped for the last time, they were forever trapped between.

Long ago I'd stopped reading Pern novels because they were too juvenile and repetitive.I may have to change my mind.The elements of this story were very strong.Moreta explores the between and finds another trapped there, an ancient dragonrider, among the first of all of them, and she discovers ways to haunt the living from her netherworld prison.But above all, this is a story about love and loss and a willful desire to reunite with your life partner despite the costs.I loved it.

- CV Rick

Lovely.
Robert Silverberg (ed.), Legends, vol. 2 (Tor, 1998)

This is water in the desert for fans of fantasy series whose books have a tendency to have a long time between releases. Anne McCaffrey (Pern), George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), and Terry Goodkind (Sword of Truth) all contribute short novels to this volume in the Legends series, and all are well worth your time.

Goodkind's story, "Debt of Bones," leads off the trilogy, and deals with a time when Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander was much younger than he is in the Sword of Truth novels. Here, he's pitted against Panis Rahl, and must decide whether to put himself, and the fate of the Midlands, in danger in order to fulfill a debt of bones to the daughter of a deceased sorceress. One has come to expect strong storytelling and easy turning of pages from Goodkind, and he does not disappoint here. Martin's story, "The Hedge Knight," follows. Again taking place some time before the events in the Song of Ice and Fire books, "he Hedge Knight" follows the squire of a newly deceased mercenary, who has a desire to make his name in a tournament against some of the biggest names in the business (including a number of Targaryens, who at the time of this story have not yet been banished; in fact, they play a major part in the story, which should be a pleasant surprise to many Ice and Fire fans). Martin's work on this series is always a pleasure, and once again, the is no disappointment to be found here, though one wonders about the loose end to be found.

The biggest surprise of the bunch, to me, was McCaffrey's "Runner of Pern." I've always shied away from the Pern books, for no real reason. This story is a welcome change of pace from the two that precede it; rather than battles, jousting, and the rest, this is a quiet romantic coming-of-age tale that hits just the right spot, like a lemon ice after a boeuf bourguignon. It's convinced me to go back and try the Pern novels, as McCaffrey's style is simple and engaging. Like the others, she keeps the pages turning.

Definitely a worthwhile piece of work. I shouldn't have to sell those who are already enmeshed in the various series covered here, but others will find it a perfect sampling to see if the three titans covered here are to their tastes. I can almost guarantee they will be. ****

Good stuff.
I have to admit I bought this book for "The Hedge Knight".I enjoyed the other stories too, but I can't get enough of Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series.The Hedge Knight gives us a little history of a few of the families from the other stories.I especially like how it makes the Targaryens more tangible.They seem almost like a family of crazy, yet mystical people in the other books, but here we see them as your typical royal family with troubles like every one else.I eagerly await the next installment of the Dunk and Egg novellas.

Some advice that may be helpful
This version of legends is divided into three parts, if you search for Robert Silverberg you can find it in one volume for about the same price, so that you get all three parts together for about a third of the price
As to the book,I can only review the second part (I made the mistake of ordering legends 2 thinking that it was all 11 stories, but it was really just three.) The three stories that were in it were:Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind
The Hedge Knight by George R.R. Martin
and Runner of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey
Of the three I read, The Hedge Knight was definitely the best, it has alot of action and the grimly real, but exciting story that only Martin can provide.It is set in the Seven Kingdoms of Martin's excellent series, A Song of Ice and Fire.
Debt of Bones was good, and it showed me what type of a writer Goodkind is,(I haven't read anything by him but that, but it got me interested and I bought the first book in his series, The Sword Of Truth.
Runner of Pern was probably the one I least liked, I knew nothing about Anne McCaffrey, and it was okay, but not nearly as good as The Hedge Knight.
Be sure to buy the edition with all 11 stories, I have just ordered the full edition, Most all of the writers in the 11 stories, I have read before and it is interesting to have a short work to read by them, about a different part of their world. This will also help you get aquainted with writers you havn't read before, see their writing style, and decide if you want to read more of them. ... Read more

Product Description
This book has DirectLink Technology built into the formatting. This means that we have made it easy for you to navigate the various chapters of this book. Some other versions of this book may not have the DirectLink technology built into them. We can guarantee that if you buy this version of the book it will be formatted perfectly on your Kindle. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A pageturner because it's exciting in a quaint way
Reading Those Who Watch, you wonder how many days Silverberg used to write it; and yet I liked this book. It is easy to read, but so are Asimov's books, and it brings back some of that old sense of wonder that you felt when you started reading SF. The book is a pageturner: you sympathize with humans and aliens alike, and you keep hoping for a happy ending. This is not a very original book, but it's exciting in its own quaint way. It's definitely a book for all those who need a break before plunging into the deep waters of Blue Mars (if ever they had the stamina to finish the first two). ... Read more

Product Description
Humankind's soul is at stake in a futuristic tale of an earth bordering on ecological collapse, from which the only escapes are genetic adaptation or emigration to satellite cities in the sky. By the author of Kingdoms of the Wall. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

An Environmental Morality Play

In Hot Sky at Midnight, thoughtless human activity has created a 24th Century that sits on the brink of disaster that threatens to make the planet unlivable. Some lucky folks have escaped to large satellites in earth orbit, while others are left to cope with desertification, rising seas, and foul air. Top executives of powerful Japanese corporations, cast adrift in a diaspora since Japan's lowlands were swamped by rising oceans, compete with one another for the means to save and perhaps enslave humanity.
Robert Silverberg appears to have written the book that jump started Al Gore's headlong rush into his ideological crusade for climate change. Reader's that loved The Day After Tomorrow will be at home here. If this scenario makes you twitchy, don't wring your hands over the evils of the Industrial Revolution and Western civilization, its what got you sitting in your climate controlled quarters in front of your computer. Do make good choices for efficient transportation and other energy intensive purchases.
But don't just sneer at the people driving the Hummer, cluck your tongue at Al Gore for his energy intensive lifestyle.

Lush with a tech edge
Gideon's Fall: When You Dont Have a Prayer, Only a Miracle Will Do In tone it reminded me of tower of glass. A more tech feel to it than most silverberg's but still had the lushness that is silverberg's hallmark. Think of that...

Not Silverberg's best, but not bad
This book has the writing style of the author going for it, which is always a plus, but this is not Silverberg's best work.The central characters are fairly well developed, and the scenario of a "greenhoused" earth is convincingly depicted, but the story itself is rather episodic and ultimately has no really profound point to make.A good, but not great read.

Something wasn't quite right
Something about this book just didn't click for me.Hot Sky at Midnight takes place in the not-so-distant future, when humans have ruined the ecology to such an extent that they will die out unless genetically modified.The modifications needed to save the race would be so extreme that the survivors might not even be human anymore.

With this as a backdrop, we meet Nick Rhodes, a brilliant but naive geneticist struggling with the ethics of his work.We also meet Paul Carpenter, a very junior exec who is trying to move up in the corporate world.Mr. Silverberg does a very good job at the beginning of introducing these characters and the decisions they struggle with.However, about halfway through the book, he has the characters do things "out of character."Paul, supposedly a moral anchor who does the right thing out of instinct, makes an incredibly stupid and callous decision which kills people.Nick, an indecisive incipient alcoholic, is able to make up his own mind to remove a monopoly on genetic technology.

It seemed that halfway through the book, Mr. Silverberg needed to find a way to finish it.He did so, but not in a satisfying way.

NO DREAMS�NO DISILLUSIONMENTS
A bit of skyward soap opera here complete with love and lust.The Author presents cast of characters all submerged in the dystopian world of lust within environmentally ruined cities.Global warming has flooded the seacoasts, nearly destroyed Japan and turned the good old days on its head.To finalize this headlong dive into dystopia many of the characters are blown up in an ill fated plot to conquer a space station, get rich quick and live happily ever after.

There were a few flaws in this story where irrelevant questions were given high priority.For example, one big question posed was whether company S or company K would make the adapto metabolic breakthroughs, thus allowing for a new species of man who could breath methane rather than oxygen.Such a successful process would allow either company to one day control the world.This reader didn't see what difference it would make who the winner was.

The stories most novel idea was that faster than light space travel will render ordinary human sight useless, requiring man to develop trick vision in order to pilot space ships to new worlds.Even thebrilliant character, Farcas, who develops a new kind of sightless vision, must be sacrificed to the plot'sneed to end the story.Another main character is led through a series of failures so mind shattering that he volunteers for the flight to outer space with no other hope but to erase the memory of his life on planet earth.With no dreams there will be no further disillusionment. ... Read more