The Best of Robert Silverberg

by Robert Silverberg

Book

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Collections, Short Story Collection, Speculative Fiction

258 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1976

About the author

There are many authors in the database with this name.

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.

Reviews

[Tom LA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, boy, these stories. The vivid power of them, the nuclear-bomb imagination, the intelligence, the depth. These are stories that fully transcend the genre... which is a problem with SF as a category: how can you even compare “Star Wars” to Silverberg ? And yet, they both fall in the SF bucket, even if Star Wars is to Silverberg what “Fifty Shades of Grey” is to Ian McEwan or Philip Roth. There, I said it, and I’ll say it again: as far as science fiction stories go, Star Wars really sucks. It’s so, so bad.

If you like speculative fiction and you haven’t read Silverberg yet, I kindly suggest you drop everything you’re reading and dive into his entire body of work. That’s what I intend to do in the coming months, anyway. I’ve read maybe 5 or 6 books of his so far, ALL of them diamonds.

I found this 1975 anthology in a used bookstore in LA, nice and yellowed with that great mystical old-book scent.

It includes 10 of the best stories written by Robert Silverberg from 1958 to 1971. Two of them are Nebula award winners, one is a Hugo award winner, and the other ones were nominated for one or the other.

1. Road to Nightfall - In a city of starving people only a certain kind of merchant is still in business... yep, it’s about cannibalism.
2. Warm man - A new neighbour appears, with the magnetic powers of a bizarre confessor.
3. To see the invisible man - A future where the punishment for some crimes is “invisibility”, even though people can still see you: they will see the mark on your forehead and avoid you. A story that was made into an episode of the “Amazing stories” TV show.
4. The Sixth Palace - A variation on the theme of the enigmatic Sphinx. A robot guards a vast treasure - you need to answer his questions correctly if you want access to the treasure. Very amusing.
5. Flies - Aliens save an astronaut and send him back to Earth ... only, something is not right with him.
6. Hawksbill Station - Those accused of sedition , in a right-wing government of 2010, are sent back in time to the Pleistocene, with a time machine that works only one-way. I loved this story especially for the main character, he was so alive and vibrant and sprung out of the pages.
7. Passengers - Invaders whimsically take over men and women, body and soul.
8. Nightwings - My favorite story (and the longest one) of the lot. The epic journey of the Watcher and the characters around him. The core of the story almost sounds like a dream or a hallucination. (Silverberg expanded it into a novel later on).
9. Sundance - A team of scientists exterminate “pests” on a new world without trying to learn their true nature. Echoes of “Downward to Earth”.
10. Good news from the Vatican - The story of the first robot who was elected Pope.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of ten very good stories by Silverberg. I'm not sure if Silverberg selected them himself, if Barry N. Malzberg (who contributes an introduction) did, or if someone unnamed did. The original publication dates range from very early in his career (1954) but the most recent is 1971, five years prior to this volume's printing. It's all subjective, of course, but I wouldn't call it the best of his short work without Born with the Dead and How It Was When the Past Went Away and After the Myths Went Home... But Silverberg produced such a vast amount of work with such a high quality of writing that probably very few people would agree on his ten best. Silverberg does offer notes and autobiographical insights that enhance the stories. There's one story from the 1970's (the excellent Good News from the Vatican), two from the '50s (Road to Nightfall and Warm Man), and the rest date from the turbulent 1960s, so it is fun to see how his style evolves and sharpens over the years. I think my three favorites are Passengers, Nightwings, and Sundance.

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Silverberg es otro de esos nombres básicos de la ciencia ficción. El propio Silverberg escribe una introducción a cada relato que sirve como repaso de lo que fue su carrera como escritor en los años 50 y 60. Y es que Silverberg escribió en esa época cientos de cuentos, algunos de los cuáles dieron lugar a más de una novela, como es el caso de ‘Alas nocturnas’ o ‘La estación Hawksbill’, que son de mis favoritos de la antología. En estos relatos hay aventura, space opera, viajes en el tiempo (que tanto gustan al autor), experimentación, crítica social…

Estos son los diez relatos incluidos en ‘Los mejor de Silverberg’ (The Best of Robert Silverberg, 1976):

-Hacia el anochecer.
-Hombre cálido.
-Para ver el hombre invisible.
-El sexto palacio.
-Moscas.
-La estación Hawksbill.
-Pasajeros.
-Alas nocturnas.
-Danza al sol.
-Buenas noticias del Vaticano.

[Branwen Sedai *of the Brown Ajah* · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What a cruel and dark place the world is, for all its beauty, all its wonder! We have miracles around us on every side-a spider web is a miracle! But we also have violence, insanity, terrible disease, sudden death. The same Nature that brings us the mountains and the rivers and the green glistening meadows brings us the hurricane, the earthquake, and floods..."

This was an anthology of some of Robert Silverberg's best work, mostly stories that center around time travel, which is just fascinating. I had never read anything by this author before this book, but let me tell you I am just positively hooked on his writing! He's really brilliant. Not only are the stories so fascinating and intriguing (which takes a lot for me to say about short stories, since I am generally not a big fan of them) but the writing is just nothing short of beautiful.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of time travel stories or even just science fiction in general.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

BOOK 63: Mid-20th Century North American Crime Readathon - Round 2
"Six Frightened Men" (I could find no separate listing/ISBN for this short story nor could I find this story listed as being in any Silverberg anthology, so I took a guess and placed it here. A friend located this on-line and pointed it out to me, but I lost the link.)
I thought Silverberg's "Blood on the Mink" crime novel to be very good (4.0) but I couldn't locate further Silverberg crime novels at my library. I like syfy, and syfy crime is one of my favorite subgenres. Isaac Asimov once published an article and stated one might think syfy crime stories couldn't be done fairly: the rules could be any rules, so could that be fair to the reader? Then Asimov published three very good syfy murder mysteries, the first being "The Naked Sun". He established 3 rules as guides for readers, and he played fair. As does Silverberg here in this short story.
Hook=4 stars: A group of 8 men land on an alien planet. It is explored by 6 men at a time via rotation so that 2 men man their ship at all times. A 60-foot-tall monster appears out of thin air.
Pace=3: Short story solid.
Plot=3: One by one, our explorers are murdered. If this sounds familiar, it should. It's Agatha Silverberg does a beautiful job in this homage to Dame Christie, but if you remember Christie's stunning solution, you'll figure this one out instantly.Christie's famous "None" novel, and the isolated area (Christie's island) is an isolated planet. This is a very good plot, but not original, for a 3-star rating.
People=3: You'll remember the monster but no one else.
Place=2: A missed opportunity. Silverberg is a good author, but he doesn't give us anything about this ship, the planet, nothing. But, 8 men on an isolated planet does propel the story and creates an uneasy atmosphere.
Summary: My average rating is 3.2. If you like crime syfy AND you're a Christie fan, this one's for you.
Blood on the Mink: 4.0
Six Frightened Men: 3.0
Robert Silverberg Author Average: 3.5

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 3 out of 5]

Další z návratů. Přiznám se, že Robert Silverberg nikdy nepatřil k mým oblíbeným autorům, ale ve své knihovně jsem našel jeho starou sbírku povídek (v polském samizdatovém vydání), tak jsem se na to mrknul. A víc než stáří je z nich cítit poetická melancholie autora a určitá skepse – ve většině povídek vládne bezmoc. Svět ovládli mimozemšťané, kteří si půjčují naše těla a nedá se s tím nic dělat. Hlavního hrdinu překopali mimozemšťané do role sadisty/mučedníka a vrátili ho na Zem… a je proti tomu bezbranný. Někdy je člověk prostě jen obětí svých schopností, nebo emocí. Happyendů tu moc není.
Dost z toho jsou věci, které si pamatuju – hlavně ty Passengers, či The See the Invisible Man, kdy je trestem za zločin pečeť neviditelnosti, díky které na vás lidi nesmějí reagovat. (Tyhle podivné tresty byly svého času ve fantastice velmi oblíbené – i u nás.) Klasický je taky pohádkově laděný The Sixth Palace (souboj se strážcem pokladu) či čistě obrázek Good News from the Vatican, ve kterém má být zvolený první robotický papež.
To, že je něco spíš obrázek, či vyjádření emoce z nějakého nápadu, to se dá říct o většině povídek. Rozhodně to nejsou hard SF, spíš náhledy do lidské psychiky ve střetu s neznámem. Upřímně, nebyly to úplně povídky pro mě, tahle exkurze do fantastiky sedmdesátých let, z dob Nebezpečných vizí. Je to jedna z těch věcí, u kterých si říkám, že chápu, proč jsou pro literaturu tak zásadní, ale literaturu musí chápat, proč nejsou tak zásadní pro mě.

[spikeINflorida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Placed in chronological order, the reader has a front row seat to study Silverberg's metamorphosis from a fledgling (stories 1-3) to master author (stories 4-9). Hawksbill Station and Nightwings were so enjoyable that I will be reading their expanded novel length editions. A must read for Robert Silverberg fans.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reason I keep reading Silverberg books is right here. The best more than makes up for the disappointing. These “best of” Silverberg stories were chosen by the author, and span his career. It starts with “Road to Nightfall”, which was not his first published story, but was one of the very first ones he wrote. He wrote it for a contest in 1953-1954 and then neglected to submit it. It’s quite good, and still probably the least of the stories in this book. It’s very much a mid-fifties story, taking place after some sort of limited nuclear exchange that has cut off most of the parts of the United States from most other parts, with the result that it is impossible to get food from one place to another.

Each story is preceded by an introduction (which you might want to read after reading the story; most times it doesn’t matter, but it does for the first one and probably a few others).

When I decided to add this book to my shopping list, I added it with the very strange cover by Alan Magee, because I liked the cover in general. After reading the stories, I might rather have gone for the Gerry Daly cover on the 1980 paperback. The latter is an illustration from the story “Nightwings” which is a great story, one of the best in the collection, in the dying earth genre. It follows a trio consisting of the Watcher guild, whose sole job is to use retro radio equipment watch the skies for pending invasion, a magical Flier guildmember, who has faerie wings, and an unguilded amateur historian.

The world also has strange alien creatures already living on the world, with a variety of jobs; in one case a room is “concealed by streamers of quasi-sentient outworld gauzes”.

All of the stories are very good; the other two highlights are “Sundance” and “To See the Invisible Man”. The former starts out as a bog-standard anti-imperialist story, an American Indian scientist on another planet taking part in the biological extermination of an alien race. But throughout there’s the sense that the character is taking the logic too far; the ending flips everything around so many times there’s no telling what is going on except that it’s not the expected.

“To See the Invisible Man” is about a justice system that can impose invisibility. An invisible criminal is not actually invisible, but everyone must treat them invisible on threat of being treated as invisible themselves.

With stories spanning 1954 to 1969, it’s not surprising that there is a lot of optimism even in the least optimistic stories. In one of the grimmest, “Hawksbill Station”, time travel is possible by 2004 at the latest. The same story has space travel so commonplace that people take lunar honeymoons by 2029.

[Steve LaForest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this collection includes "Passengers" (one of the very best SF stories ever) and "Sundance" (also extremely good and very thought-provoking) - it definitely deserves a high rating. I will not claim that every single story is worth 4 stars, but then, there are exceedingly few collections by any author where you could make that claim.

Most importantly, this collection will give you a taste of Silverberg (or "AGberg" for the chemically inclined). You owe it to yourself to track down the rest of his Hugo and Nebula Award winning SF - including "Enter a Soldier, Later: Enter Another" (1991). I recently read his novel "Dying Inside" - and it truly is wonderful. Another classic is his Nebula winning novel "A Time of Changes" (1971).

My rating system:
Since Goodreads only allows 1 to 5 stars (no half-stars), you have no option but to be ruthless. I reserve one star for a book that is a BOMB - or poor (equivalent to a letter grade of F, E, or at most D). Progressing upwards, 2 stars is equivalent to C (C -, C or C+), 3 stars (equals B - or B), 4 stars (equals B+ or A -), and 5 stars (equals A or A+). As a result, I maximize my rating space for good books, and don't waste half or more of that rating space on books that are of marginal quality.

[Chris Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, first anything by Robert silverberg. Apparently a great in 50’s-70’s sci-fi. I will find out. I am partial to short stories, and Robert Silverberg likes to play with it. Many different tones, paces, and voices are shown in this collection. Makes me interested in his future work. I do not yet have any novels by him, but I shall look out for them in the future.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

10 stories:

Road to Nightfall (1958)
Warm Man (1957)
To See the Invisible Man (1963)
The Sixth Palace (1965)
Flies (1967)
Hawksbill Station (1967)
Passengers (1968)
Nightwings (1968)
Sundance (1969)
Good News from the Vatican (1971)

[VENKATRAMAN C K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely mind blowing stories.

[J STANTON · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent entry point into the many weird and fabulous works of one of the true greats of speculative fiction.

[Hector Camposano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection was top tier. Solid. It took me by surprise.
I have found a special place for me in the old science fiction world lately. Robert Silverberg is a name that often pops up when dwelling in that world. I had randomly picked up one of his novellas for a dollar a couple of years ago, and had actually enjoyed it enough to pick up another one in my next visit to the bookstore. I enjoyed both and thought, I’ll pick up some of this guy when I see him, he makes for quick entertaining reads. Then I read a non-fiction piece Harlan Ellison wrote where he mentions his dear friend “Bob” Silverberg, and that made me look into him even further. Surely if he was Ellison’s close friend and Ellison gave him props, then he was bigger than I thought.
That should be obvious to anybody that has any decent knowledge in the world of SF, but it wasn’t for me, a total newbie in that realm. Anyway, I was out of town and saw this collection, and what better way to acquaint myself with a writer than by reading his “Best Of” collection. I don’t know what I was expecting, but holy god of Earth and Ganymede, this shook me in my seat. I was enthralled from page one. You can see how these stories would inspire modern shows such as Black Mirror.
The first story is about cannibalism, and what a man would do to survive. Eating of Shakespeare’s pages was insane. That was “Road to Nightfall.” I feel that “Warm Man” and “To See the Invisible Man” were similar in themes. One is about a man who is an amplified empath, and the other about a man who is punished by being shunned from society. So far, so good.
Then we come to a science fiction story that actually takes place in space. Oh, good ol’ space exploration. “Sixth Palace” was terribly witty, and shows how greed can end a man. Now, for one of the best and my second favorite, “Flies.” Oh, man. This one was insane. I loved it. I turned page after page in a terrible hunger to see how it would unravel, and unravel it did. “Flies. Wanton boys.My sport Mirabel. I’m a god now, did you know that?” Imagine looking down to an ex-lover and explaining you are a god now. Insane.
Hawksbill was good, “Passengers” was very tragic, though the concept was a far stretch. I suppose that plays into Silverberg’s stories, and what makes a great writer. Stretching concepts. Now we come to my absolute favorite: “Nightwings.” Man, this one had it all. Fantasy, sci-fi, everything. It would take me pages to express everything about it. I need to read what actually became of it as it started a trilogy or a full novel, or something like that. “Sundance” was a trip too. Just like the protagonist, you don’t know what the hell to believe either, and that was magnificent. This was my third favorite. Last story was probably my least favorite, “Good News from the Vatican.” The concept was cool, but other than a passing idea, I thought it was too stretched for a full story.
Overall, damn. I need more Silverberg in my life after finishing this collection.

[Chad Saylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad I dipped back in time with this one. I read one of his novels, Dying Inside (very good) and these short stories are great - Bradbury vibes with some teeth.

[Florin Constantinescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite short form writers, this small-sized collection as the title implies brings together what the publishing house thought of as Silverberg's best short works.
Can't fully agree with their choices, but this is pretty close to a 5-star rating, as there are some timeless classics in here ("Good News from the Vatican", "Passengers", "Nightwings").

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on holiday and didn't have time to finish it - I remember reading the following:
"Road to Nightfall" - a depressing post-nuclear scenario, where people are running out of food
"Warm Man"
"To See the Invisible Man" - a man is punished by being made 'invisible', so everyone must ignore him. An interesting concept.
"Hawksbill Station" - a classic time travel story

[Raro de Concurso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante compendio de cuentos de Silverberg, comentados y seleccionados por él mismo, que dan un repaso a toda su carrera.
Un autor que no conocía, y que es un personaje importante dentro de la Sci-Fi moderna.

Tampoco es que me hayan entusiasmado, pero tampoco me han aburrido. Gran variedad de temas y bien llevados.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silverberg is a staple author, his work is clean and devoid of jargon; his ideas are vivid and imaginative. He has the ability to tell a story with much heart just as Ray Bradbury. Here you find some of his best work, of which the favorites of mine are Hawksbill Station, Sundance among others.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of these stories, the only one that seems to me to be great is "To See the Invisible Man" (although I definitely could've done without that Tarzan-ish last sentence). The rest of them didn't really do much for me.

[Scott Golden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talent. Like his British contemporary, John Brunner, Silverberg cranked out competent hackwork stories and novels for 15 years, before finally clicking in mid-60's. His Best Of contains some of the best stories of any writer of his time.

[Mike S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of Silverburg's absolute best, ranging from 1954 to 1971. Some of the stories are a little dark but they are all well-written, and some are brilliant. Silverburg is a natural writer, he's just so talented it's a pleasure reading his work.

[Victor Whitman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still think the amazing Silverberg is one of the best story tellers and writers around. This is a collection of some of his best stories up to 1971. Lots of great stuff in here.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still remember bits and pieces of these vivid stories.

[Gastón Kolocsar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esperaba mas.

[Robert Walrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highlights: "Road to Nightfall," "To See the Invisible Man," "The Sixth Palace," "Passengers," "Good News From the Vatican."

[Norman Howe]

Science-Fiction

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb collection of Robert Silberberg's early short works. Excellent reading!