Silverberg, Robert Books - Page 6

The Man Who Melted

Jack Dann

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Introduction by Robert Silverberg

The Man Who Melted is a warning for the future. It is the Brave New World and 1984 for our time, for it gives us a glimpse into our own future—a future ruled by corporations that control deadly and powerful forms of mass manipulation. It is a prediction of what could happen...tomorrow.

The Man Who Melted examines how technology affects us and changes our morality, and it questions how we might remain human in an inhuman world. Will the future disenfranchise or empower the individual? Here you’ll find new forms of sexuality, new perversions, new epiphanies, and an entirely new form of consciousness.

Would you pay to "go down" with the Titanic?

In this dystopia the Titanic is brought back from the bottom of the sea and refurbished, only to be sunk again for those who want the ultimate decadent experience. Some passengers pay to commit suicide by "going under" with the ship.

The Man Who Melted has been called "one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time" by Science Fiction Age and is considered a genre classic. It is the stunning odyssey of a man searching through the glittering, apocalyptic landscape of the next century for a woman lost to him in a worldwide outbreak of telepathic fear. Here is a terrifying future where people can gamble away their hearts (and other organs) and telepathically taste the last flickering thoughts

Omega: The Last Days of the World (Bison Frontiers of Imagination)

Camille Flammarion

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Omega, written by astronomer Camille Flammarion (1842–1925), is no less than an epic history of our future—a startling and unforgettable vision of the end of the world. Reasoned scientific speculation combined with probing philosophical inquiry lend credibility and magnitude to this tale of how humankind will physically and culturally evolve over the next several million years. The end begins in the twenty-fifth century, when a comet threatens to collide with the earth. The consequences of that frightening cosmic event are far-reaching, setting in motion a series of physical, psychic, and social changes that will profoundly affect the planet and its people far into the future. The earth’s surface drastically transforms over time. Cultures radically alter, collapse, and fade away. Nations rise and fall, species become extinct, and human beings find themselves at the end of the world, alone and changed in fundamental ways. This melancholic, poetic science fiction tale of things to come is as compelling and disturbing today as when it was first written.

Born With the Dead

Robert Silverberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Three stories of people dealing with unique death issues. 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This consists of 3 short stories. The first bears the title of the book, and concerns a man's attempts to continue a relationship with his dead wife, who has been rekindled into a new life. He notices disturbing differences in her personality, but continues to seek his old relationship with her. A horrible end to his efforts is the consequence. The second story, "Thomas the proclaimer", concerns an evangelist who decides to prove to everyone that God is still watching over them by asking for a sign from Him. After the sign is apparently received, Thomas expects the people of the world to come together in peace. Things do not go as expected, however. The third story, simply titled "Going", tells an emotional tale of a 135 year old man dealing with a decision to end his life. The custom of the day allows the man to retire to a sort of nursing home, where he is allowed as much time as needed to prepare for and determine the exact day of his death. The process is completely voluntary. Upon entering the home the man believes he is ready. But as, one by one, others in the home depart from their lives, the man copes with many mixed feelings. The story is so absorbing for many reasons, the least of which is the story itself. The words quietly and softly spoke volumes about the issues of aging and quality of life, and about the journey each of us must eventually face. This story alone earns the book a place at my home. While the other two are also interesting, they did not grip me on a personal level the way "Going" did. The strong feelings that it brought me are the reasons I enjoy good science fiction, and the reasons I find myself constantly amazed with the writings of Robert Silverberg.

Editorial Review:

His wife was among the rekindled dead now. He'd heard that she was on a plane to Zanzibar with five other rekindled dead. As a "warm" he was not really allowed to make contact with her. The dead liked to stay in their cold-cities. But he'd loved her so much when she was alive, he just had to try. Science Fiction Hall of Fame Pick, Nebula Award(R) Winner, Locus Poll Award Winner, Hugo Award Nominee

The Ultimate Dinosaur

Robert Silverberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

a decent but flawed book 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The Ultimate Dinosaur is an ambitious book, one that seeks to alternate sections on the latest theories on the origin, lives, and deaths of dinosaurs as well as pterosaurs and prehistoric marine reptiles, all written by such noted experts as George Olshevsky, Sankar Chatterjee, and others, with dinosaur-themed science fiction short stories by such authors as Charles Sheffield, Gregory Benford, and Harry Turtledove. A great concept.

Unfortunately it was rather unevenly carried out. The non-fiction sections are quite good, though a few are relatively dry to read. I did learn a few things reading these sections, and alone they just about make the book worthwhile. There were some interesting discussions over the relationship of prosauropods and sauropods for instance, and there was a great article on migrating dinosaurs.

However the short stories vary alot in style and quality, some quite good, other more moderately decent, and a few frankly terrible and hard to get through. The short stories and non-fictions are paired together, and it looks like they found it difficult to find a short story to put with some of the non-fiction sections.

Though this may only apply to the hard-cover edition which I have, I feel I must point out the book was either poorly edited, which I find suprising, or poorly published. The book was replete with words that were run together, misplaced punctuation, odd gaps in sentences, and even misspelled words. They were so common at times that it was jarring and irritating. While many books have one or two such errors, there were many of them in this work. Hopefully the paperback version cleared this up.

Having said that though this was still not a bad book and a worthwhile one to get, though frankly I would not place at the top of the list of books to fill your dinosaur needs. Still, wouldn't be bad to have either.

Editorial Review:

A collaboration to excite the mind and dazzle the eye, probing such mysteries as: Where the first dinosaurs appeared and how they evolved; how the giant sauropods lived and reared their young; hunting strategies among the predators; migratory habits and family life of the dinosaurs; possible causes of extinction. An extraordinary new look at the prehistoric life of the dinosaurs by some of the world's foremost paleontologists, dinosaur illustrators, and visionary authors. This unique collaboration produces a spectacular tour of the world of the dinosaurs with vivid pictures, fascinating new ideas and thought-provoking tales by a dozen respected dreamers.

Dying Inside

Robert Silverberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Superlative. 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I started this book with only the basic knowledge of its plot, which is pretty much what's on the back matter: a guy coming to grips with the loss of his telepathic ability. Now that I've read it, I doubt I any paragraph-long summary (let alone analysis) could do anything other than butcher this wonderful book--but I'll try.

This has long been one of Silverberg's own favorite works, and it's easy to see why. Like many of his short stories and novels, it is deeply wrapped up in the problem of identity--specifically, why we are ourselves instead of someone else. David Selig is a man who has let himself become so defined by his power, that he becomes first dismayed, then angry, and finally lost by its waning.

The book itself is a swift and captivating read, one that keeps you on your toes by constantly switching between first and third person, sometimes in the same paragraph. The book is rife with references to Eliot, Whitman, and Joyce, in keeping with the protagonist's unabashed pride in his knowledge, again drawing you into direct communication with Selig. Not surprisingly, much of the book takes place in Selig's head, as a kind of running meditation on his life.

Selig himself is a consummately fascinating character, especially for such a slender novel; he is by turns narcissistic, perverse, paranoid, and exasperating (even to himself)--but never boring, and never wholly unsympathetic. This is a work that forces you to confront what you would do if you were faced with Selig's life and choices.

A must-read; that it's no longer in print is a bloody shame.

Editorial Review:

Imagine what it would be like if you could tell what the innermost thoughts and feelings of those around you were. Imagine if, as you reached middle age, you lost that ability. What would it do to you to be like everyone else?

The Masks of Time

Robert Silverberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Brilliant, compact storytelling 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Somebody out there finally wised up and started getting these novels back into print. Back in the seventies Robert Silverberg wrote a string of novels that are simply unreal in their consistant high quality. Not only did many of them tackle ideas that SF had merely toyed with or completely ignored but each was a distinct entity. This one isn't as groundbreaking as some of the other, more famous ones (A Time of Changes or Dying Inside being probably the best known) but is an excellent read in its own right. The concept here is blissfully simple and has been tackled dozens of times by other authors . . . a man claiming to be a visitor from the future lands in the present day (in this book 1999, the future when it was written). The man, Vernan-19, states that he is here merely to look around and experience the sights, a team of scientists from a variety of disciplines assigned to escort him aren't so sure, but they can't prove it either way and that inability to prove becomes almost maddening. Silverberg does a good job of twisting expectations around, the book isn't told from the POV of the future guy, but from one of the scientists, whose own work is in the physics of time travel, so Vernan is kept at arm's length. In fact, the central question in the book, whether Vernan is indeed a man from the future or just a faker, is left up in the air, as well as its sister question, just what is his purpose for doing all this? His impact on the world at large is shown in broad detail and for the most part his fictional 1999 feels a lot like ours. The characters are drawn with his usual eye for details, even without seeing into their thoughts the reader gets a good sense of them. What impresses most in this novel is Silverberg's economical style of storytelling, this is a brief book that presents its premise, extrapolates it to entertaining effect and then wraps up, leaving questions dangling in the air. The prose is sharp and lean, with no needless flourishes of flowery sentences to muddle the story. Once past a somewhat slow beginning, it moves at a good clip, never going too fast or lingering on one idea for too long. In the end, the book really isn't about the man from the future, but the people he affects and changes and how they deal with it, and once changed, where they go from there. Not the most attention grabbing of his novels, but excellent in its own quiet way and just as worthy as his other novels from this period. Grab it if you see it.

Editorial Review:

Vornan-19 fell from the sky, naked, and landed on the Spanish steps in Rome on Christmas afternoon toward the end of the Millennium. And for Leo Garfield things would never be the same. For he is an acknowledged expert in the time reversal properties of sub-atomic particles...and Vornan-19 claims to come from far in the future. Whether or not he is telling the truth, a nervous and edgy world accepts the charming and magnetically charismatic Vornan as some kind of messiah. Even Garfield and his fellow scientists fall under Vornan's spell. But, has he really traveled across time--or is he just a charlatan and a fraud? A compassionate and powerful novel worthy of comparison to Stranger in a Strange Land.

SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME,VOLUME ONE

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Editorial Review:

THE GREATEST SCIENCE FICTION STORIES OF ALL TIMES CHOSEN BY THE MEMBERS OF THE SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS OF AMERICA

Robert Silverberg's Worlds of Wonder: Exploring the Craft of Science Fiction

Robert Silverberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Truly original Science Fiction. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I borrowed this book from the library, and now I have to have it. Not only do the ideas behind the stories capture my imagination, but the actual writing is wonderful. I'm interested in the craft of writing fiction, science fiction in particular. The critic's look that Robert Silverberg gives with each short story really made me think about what I was reading. This is a must-have if you are even remotely interested in the writing of science fiction.

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Vol I (1)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Bought for "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is truly a collection of great stories from between the years of 1929 and 1964. I am glad they reprinted this book because my older version is yellowing. I hope one day they will reprint a new hard back copy and I will buy it also.

Even though this book is packed from cover to cover with intriguing stories, I bought it for one story in particular "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett. First published in 1943 ("Lewis Padgett" was a pseudonym employed by Henry Kuttner and his wife, C. L. Moore)

My first encounter with this story was a vinyl record recording with William Shatner later it is replaces with a cassette tape. I believe this book is the only surviving form of the story.

Unthahorsten is experimenting with time travel and sends two black boxes back into the past. He had to put something in them so as a last minute thought places his old toys in them. They do not return so he forgets them. It is too late the mischief is done. One is found by children in 1942. The other well look at the title for a clue.

The Last Mimzy (Widescreen Infinifilm Edition)

Editorial Review:

Chosen by the members of the Science Fiction Writers of America. #51201. All edges red.

Gilgamesh the King

Robert Silverberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

An uplifting, hopeful adventure story 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 13 people found this review helpful.

This book may be a peculiar exception to what people expect from this author. The book seems to be somewhat maligned in reviews, and by library staff as well - i think that is extremely undeserved.

Silverburg tells the story of the archetypical royal hero Gilgamesh in this book. The story here is stark and sophisticatedly simple versus well developed and textured, maybe analogous to the simple early Middle Eastern figurines, staring hauntingly down through the ages with their exaggeratedly large eyes, versus some busy Bosch painting.

Paintings and such aside, Silverburg's telling of the story has Gilgamesh swashbuckling his masculine way through the times of early Middle Eastern city-states. While the times may have actually been brutal, Silverburg's version makes it seem better characterized as 'passionate', royalty and dominion being established by hubris and warring, and sexuality being an integral part of the society.

In the original story, from the beginnings of history, a rivalry goes unresolved in a contest; Gilgamesh meets his match, and becomes an admirer of the mysterious Enki-du, his proven equal. Silverburg's Gilgamesh has a big heart. Gilgamesh's hearty confidence and gusto, through which the reader sees the events in the story, tempers the impression of the actual time and place. In fact, the warmth and uplifting emotional buoyancy of this character puts a winning and human face on masculinity.

In a culture that has turned to hatefully undermining heterosexual masculinity and destroying fraternity wherever it is found, this book is a hopeful illustration, not only of a distant past, but maintenance of a spirit for the future. Definitely, it is the opposite of one of our contemporary 'chick books'.

This book does not deserve maligning reviews, nor does the author deserve the belittling review. It is a 'must read' for a thinking man, and will only disappoint those who are narrow-minded.