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The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg #6
Multiples: 1983-87
"By the time this present group of stories was written I had passed through the cultural turbulence that engulfed nearly everyone s life in the wild, stormy period we know as 'the Sixties,' which for me had actually lasted from 1968 to 1974 or 1975. I had come through my own angry four-year-long retirement from writing in the middle 1970s, and was working again at a steady pace, though not with the frenetic prolificacy of the pre-retirement years. At the beginning of this period my personal life was still pretty chaotic, a carryover from all that Sixties madness, and plenty of new chaos was going to descend on me while some of these stories were written, but I was tiptoeing toward an escape from the various messes that were complicating my life, and by the time the last five stories of this volume were being written I was heading into the stability of my second marriage."
Robert Silverberg, from his Introduction
Robert Silverberg, from his Introduction
432 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2011
10 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Robert Silverberg
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Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.
Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 5, 2011
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
I’m a fan of Silverberg’s stories, so I think this series is wonderful — it’s a sure way to get one copy of each of his most important stories in eight tidy volumes. Volume six, titled Multiples, contains fourteen stories and novellas published in the mid-1980s.
In a general introduction to Multiples, Silverberg talks about the state of the short story market in the mid 1980s — how most of the pulps had gone under and been replaced by original anthologies in the 1970s and then by slick magazines in the 1980s. The biggest and best-paying venues were Playboy and Omni, so several of the stories in this collection were first printed in those magazines.
Each story in Multiples also has its own introduction in which Silverberg talks about the writing and publication process of that particular piece and reports any awards or significant acknowledgments it received. For example, the first of these explains how the invention of word processing affected Silverberg’s writing process and how nice it was to not have to re-type all the drafts he had to produce to satisfy Alice K. Turner, fiction editor for Playboy. (By the way, after reading Multiples, I have come to respect Ms. Turner’s literary taste, and next time some man tells me he reads Playboy for the stories, I will believe him!)
Here are the stories in Multiples:
* “Tourist Trade” — (1983, Playboy) Eitel is an art dealer who is selling a Renaissance painting to collectors from Centauras. His price was four million, but he offers a special deal when he sees the lady Centauran.
* “Multiples” — (1983, Omni) A scary but fascinating look at Multiple Personality Disorder. Multiple Personality Disorder is a controversial diagnosis, but after reading “Multiples” you won’t think about it the same way again.
* “Against Babylon” — (1986, Omni) Aliens visit and inadvertently set fire to Los Angeles. As explained in his introduction, this story highlights Robert Silverberg’s love/hate relationship with L.A.
* “Symbiont” — (1985, Playboy) The fascinating idea for this story was supplied by a woman whom Silverberg met on a speaking tour. He wrote the story and married her. This is an excellent almost-horror story about cowardice and mercy.
* “Sailing to Byzantium” — (1985, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine). I was delighted that this popular novella was included in the collection! “Sailing to Byzantium” won the Nebula Award in 1986 and earned second place for the Hugo that year. It’s about a future 50th century youthful alien culture which enjoys temporarily recreating and touring ancient Earth cities. For some reason, they enjoy pulling a few human visitors out of time to share their creations with them. This story makes us think about aging and consider what it means to be human.
* “Sunrise on Pluto” — (1985, The Planets) The first explorers on Pluto find a life form. Or is a machine? How do we know the difference?
* “Hardware” — (1985, Omni) The theme of “Hardware” is very similar to the previous story’s theme. Scientists from Earth discover a computer embedded in an asteroid. When they bring it back to the lab, it begins to rally the computers on Earth. Very funny, but frightening, too.
* “Hannibal’s Elephants” — (1988, Omni) This humorous story is about aliens landing in Central Park.
* “Blindsight” — (1986, Playboy) A twist on the familiar revenge story.
* “Gilgamesh in the Outback” — (1986, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine) This Hugo-winning novella is an afterlife fantasy in the style of Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld and John Kendrick Bangs’ Houseboat on the Styx. In Silverberg’s version, Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft meet Gilgamesh in Hell. When Howard sees Gilgamesh, he thinks he’s found Conan and he becomes disturbed by his feelings toward his hero. This novella is especially well-written, funny and, though I learned a bit about Robert E. Howard, not as teachy as Farmer’s and Bangs’ works tend to be.
* “The Pardoner’s Tale” — (1987, Playboy) A fun and fast-moving cyberpunk story which was later used in Silverberg’s novel The Alien Years.
* “The Iron Star” — (1987, The Universe anthology) This story about the fear of first contact with an alien civilization felt like something Ray Bradbury would write, probably because it was so pessimistic. I liked it.
* “The Secret Sharer” — (1988, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine) This beautiful and unsettling tribute to Joseph Conrad’s novella “The Secret Sharer” is about loneliness, companionship, the difference between mind and body, and the quiet beauty of space.
* “House of Bones” — (1988, Terry’s Universe) I never tire of stories about modern people going back to prehistoric times. This is a warm-hearted version published in a memorial anthology for editor Terry Carr.
Usually a story collection is a chancy thing unless it was compiled as a “best of” compendium. It’s remarkable, then, that I enjoyed every story in this collection. When I tried to narrow the list down to my favorites, it was hard to do, so I’ll pick the three that will stick with me the longest for different reasons: “Symbiont” (made me feel horror), “Sailing to Byzantium” (such a unique concept), and “Hardware” (just plain fun).
I highly recommend The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume Six: Multiples 1983-1987 to all Silverberg fans and to any reader who’d like an excellent introduction to the work of this prolific Science Fiction Grand Master. I am looking forward to Volume Seven!
I’m a fan of Silverberg’s stories, so I think this series is wonderful — it’s a sure way to get one copy of each of his most important stories in eight tidy volumes. Volume six, titled Multiples, contains fourteen stories and novellas published in the mid-1980s.
In a general introduction to Multiples, Silverberg talks about the state of the short story market in the mid 1980s — how most of the pulps had gone under and been replaced by original anthologies in the 1970s and then by slick magazines in the 1980s. The biggest and best-paying venues were Playboy and Omni, so several of the stories in this collection were first printed in those magazines.
Each story in Multiples also has its own introduction in which Silverberg talks about the writing and publication process of that particular piece and reports any awards or significant acknowledgments it received. For example, the first of these explains how the invention of word processing affected Silverberg’s writing process and how nice it was to not have to re-type all the drafts he had to produce to satisfy Alice K. Turner, fiction editor for Playboy. (By the way, after reading Multiples, I have come to respect Ms. Turner’s literary taste, and next time some man tells me he reads Playboy for the stories, I will believe him!)
Here are the stories in Multiples:
* “Tourist Trade” — (1983, Playboy) Eitel is an art dealer who is selling a Renaissance painting to collectors from Centauras. His price was four million, but he offers a special deal when he sees the lady Centauran.
* “Multiples” — (1983, Omni) A scary but fascinating look at Multiple Personality Disorder. Multiple Personality Disorder is a controversial diagnosis, but after reading “Multiples” you won’t think about it the same way again.
* “Against Babylon” — (1986, Omni) Aliens visit and inadvertently set fire to Los Angeles. As explained in his introduction, this story highlights Robert Silverberg’s love/hate relationship with L.A.
* “Symbiont” — (1985, Playboy) The fascinating idea for this story was supplied by a woman whom Silverberg met on a speaking tour. He wrote the story and married her. This is an excellent almost-horror story about cowardice and mercy.
* “Sailing to Byzantium” — (1985, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine). I was delighted that this popular novella was included in the collection! “Sailing to Byzantium” won the Nebula Award in 1986 and earned second place for the Hugo that year. It’s about a future 50th century youthful alien culture which enjoys temporarily recreating and touring ancient Earth cities. For some reason, they enjoy pulling a few human visitors out of time to share their creations with them. This story makes us think about aging and consider what it means to be human.
* “Sunrise on Pluto” — (1985, The Planets) The first explorers on Pluto find a life form. Or is a machine? How do we know the difference?
* “Hardware” — (1985, Omni) The theme of “Hardware” is very similar to the previous story’s theme. Scientists from Earth discover a computer embedded in an asteroid. When they bring it back to the lab, it begins to rally the computers on Earth. Very funny, but frightening, too.
* “Hannibal’s Elephants” — (1988, Omni) This humorous story is about aliens landing in Central Park.
* “Blindsight” — (1986, Playboy) A twist on the familiar revenge story.
* “Gilgamesh in the Outback” — (1986, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine) This Hugo-winning novella is an afterlife fantasy in the style of Philip Jose Farmer’s Riverworld and John Kendrick Bangs’ Houseboat on the Styx. In Silverberg’s version, Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft meet Gilgamesh in Hell. When Howard sees Gilgamesh, he thinks he’s found Conan and he becomes disturbed by his feelings toward his hero. This novella is especially well-written, funny and, though I learned a bit about Robert E. Howard, not as teachy as Farmer’s and Bangs’ works tend to be.
* “The Pardoner’s Tale” — (1987, Playboy) A fun and fast-moving cyberpunk story which was later used in Silverberg’s novel The Alien Years.
* “The Iron Star” — (1987, The Universe anthology) This story about the fear of first contact with an alien civilization felt like something Ray Bradbury would write, probably because it was so pessimistic. I liked it.
* “The Secret Sharer” — (1988, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine) This beautiful and unsettling tribute to Joseph Conrad’s novella “The Secret Sharer” is about loneliness, companionship, the difference between mind and body, and the quiet beauty of space.
* “House of Bones” — (1988, Terry’s Universe) I never tire of stories about modern people going back to prehistoric times. This is a warm-hearted version published in a memorial anthology for editor Terry Carr.
Usually a story collection is a chancy thing unless it was compiled as a “best of” compendium. It’s remarkable, then, that I enjoyed every story in this collection. When I tried to narrow the list down to my favorites, it was hard to do, so I’ll pick the three that will stick with me the longest for different reasons: “Symbiont” (made me feel horror), “Sailing to Byzantium” (such a unique concept), and “Hardware” (just plain fun).
I highly recommend The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume Six: Multiples 1983-1987 to all Silverberg fans and to any reader who’d like an excellent introduction to the work of this prolific Science Fiction Grand Master. I am looking forward to Volume Seven!
December 10, 2016
Pure gold. Anything I've read by Robert Silverberg is gold, and not only in the sense of "Science Fiction gold", just gold... extremely well-crafted stories and novels.
Yes, he is one of the 5/6 best SF writers ever, but his style has a characteristic depth that transcends science fiction and turns his work into a unique literary marvel.
These stories were written between 1983 and 1987.
Silverberg might not be as famous as Asimov or Clarke because he doesn't have a "That One Novel" like 2001 or Foundation that he is known for. Although I think his "Dying inside", about a telepathic man who is gradually losing his powers is a phenomenal novel, and maybe his best. But he is such a master! He is a literary SF writer, who's been called "the Philip Roth of science fiction". Not sure about that one, but I just love his writing, it really resonates with me.
If you are interested in a detailed list of all the 14 stories in this volume, go back and check out Kat's review (first of the list).
My favorites are "Sailing to Byzantium", so powerful, about a guy who wakes up in year 50,000 and has to figure out what the hell is going on, and "House of bones", a time travel story involving Neanderthals.
This collection is a treasure chest, full of imagination.
Yes, he is one of the 5/6 best SF writers ever, but his style has a characteristic depth that transcends science fiction and turns his work into a unique literary marvel.
These stories were written between 1983 and 1987.
Silverberg might not be as famous as Asimov or Clarke because he doesn't have a "That One Novel" like 2001 or Foundation that he is known for. Although I think his "Dying inside", about a telepathic man who is gradually losing his powers is a phenomenal novel, and maybe his best. But he is such a master! He is a literary SF writer, who's been called "the Philip Roth of science fiction". Not sure about that one, but I just love his writing, it really resonates with me.
If you are interested in a detailed list of all the 14 stories in this volume, go back and check out Kat's review (first of the list).
My favorites are "Sailing to Byzantium", so powerful, about a guy who wakes up in year 50,000 and has to figure out what the hell is going on, and "House of bones", a time travel story involving Neanderthals.
This collection is a treasure chest, full of imagination.
February 22, 2022
Vrh Vrhova....
Dakle price: Multiples, Sailing to Byzant, Secret sherer su stvarno nesto pre pre pre jako i zbog njih sam zavolio davno Silverberga, a i danas ga jako volim.
Dakle price: Multiples, Sailing to Byzant, Secret sherer su stvarno nesto pre pre pre jako i zbog njih sam zavolio davno Silverberga, a i danas ga jako volim.
November 5, 2016
Long lost story recovered
Years ago I had read a story that epitomizes what science fiction does so well: examining society from a whole new perspective by asking, what if it were different? In this case it was about what if having multiple personalities was the norm and someone with only one felt out of place.
It was astonishing in how it forces the reader to re-examine how we categorize people as "normal" or otherwise.
But after some years I had forgotten what it was called and who wrote it.
Fortunately the Internet came along and I did a search and was able to rediscover "Multiples." And along with it, this volume chock full of great storytelling and intriguing concepts.
Years ago I had read a story that epitomizes what science fiction does so well: examining society from a whole new perspective by asking, what if it were different? In this case it was about what if having multiple personalities was the norm and someone with only one felt out of place.
It was astonishing in how it forces the reader to re-examine how we categorize people as "normal" or otherwise.
But after some years I had forgotten what it was called and who wrote it.
Fortunately the Internet came along and I did a search and was able to rediscover "Multiples." And along with it, this volume chock full of great storytelling and intriguing concepts.
September 24, 2020
The stories in this collection showcase Silverberg in full-on Grandmaster form. By this point in his career, he was writing mainly for the "slicks" (Playboy, Omni, etc.) and had the luxury to write pretty much whatever he damn well felt like. A lot of the stories here fall into the longer novella format, which Silverberg himself says in one of the introductions is he preferred form.
More than anything, the stories collected in this volume show a depth of maturity that reflects the state of the science fiction genre in general as it was finally "growing up" in the 80s, having gone through the adolescent Pulp Era and the snotty, rebellious formative years of the New Wave. This volume more than any other in this series has a lot of stories I can see myself coming back to over the years: "Sailing to Byzantium," "Gilgamesh In the Outback," "The Secret Sharer," and the beautiful "House of Bones."
More than anything, the stories collected in this volume show a depth of maturity that reflects the state of the science fiction genre in general as it was finally "growing up" in the 80s, having gone through the adolescent Pulp Era and the snotty, rebellious formative years of the New Wave. This volume more than any other in this series has a lot of stories I can see myself coming back to over the years: "Sailing to Byzantium," "Gilgamesh In the Outback," "The Secret Sharer," and the beautiful "House of Bones."
December 14, 2020
A terrific volume in this fine series. I don't think there was a story in here that missed the mark for me. I especially liked "Gilgamesh in the Outback," which was vigorous and funny. I liked the emotional depths in "The Secret Sharer," while "Hannibal's Elephants" was very, very funny.
Highly recommended to any science fiction reader.
Highly recommended to any science fiction reader.
December 22, 2017
I enjoyed the stories, and I enjoyed the commentary about how he wrote them. He is a bit egotistical but he has the awards to prove his self belief.
Currently reading
December 29, 2019Hardware 4/5
June 21, 2025
I'm getting less interested in these collections. They seem ancient and not relatable anymore.
December 7, 2023
14 stories:
Tourist Trade (1984)
Multiples (1983)
Against Babylon (1986)
Symbiont (1985)
Sailing to Byzantium (1985)
Sunrise on Pluto (1985)
Hardware (1987)
Hannibal's Elephants (1988)
Blindsight (1986)
Gilgamesh in the Outback (1986)
The Pardoner's Tale (1987)
The Iron Star (1987)
The Secret Sharer (1987)
House of Bones (1988)
Tourist Trade (1984)
Multiples (1983)
Against Babylon (1986)
Symbiont (1985)
Sailing to Byzantium (1985)
Sunrise on Pluto (1985)
Hardware (1987)
Hannibal's Elephants (1988)
Blindsight (1986)
Gilgamesh in the Outback (1986)
The Pardoner's Tale (1987)
The Iron Star (1987)
The Secret Sharer (1987)
House of Bones (1988)
July 31, 2011
This collection of stories by Silverberg actually filled in a gap for me. In the eighties I was reading fewer short stories so I had only read one of these before. Although one or two show their age, there's a timeless quality to his fiction, focussing on people rather than the "science" in SF or the more obvious fantasy tropes. This is enjoyable for everyone who enjoys good short stories or novellas.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews