World of a Thousand Colors

by Robert Silverberg

A stellar collection of the best stories from the universe of Robert Silverberg, author of Majipoor Chronicles and Lord Valentine’s Castle, America’s premier author of imaginative fiction.

From undiscovered worlds to the aliens lurking among us, Robert Silverberg here demonstrates his own unlimited imagination that succeeds in making fantasy as real, as acceptable as the ordinary world of mortals. World of a Thousand Colors is an immensely satisfying passage into the wondrous world of Robert Silverberg.

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

329 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1982

About the author

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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.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good collection of Silverberg's short science fiction stories dating from 1957-'71 that are reprinted from a wide range of original genre sources. None of them are what I'd put on a list of his very best work, but they're quite entertaining and enjoyable, if not particularly memorable. I preferred the latter stories for the most part; my favorites were Going Down Smooth, To the Dark Star, and particularly How It Was When the Past Went Away.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just returned from twelve days in northwest Wisconsin with friends who live nearby in East Rogers Park, Chicago. Having brought up a lengthy biography of Robert Graves and having expectations of what amounts to a used bookstore in Hayward, I expected to be set. But the store was disappointing, every interesting book being already owned or read, so I had to search the house we were staying in for material to bide the time until the "Friends of the Library" room was open at the Hayward Carnegie. Fortunately, the host is a longtime science fiction fan, so, being very familiar with Silverberg but not with particular stories in this collection, I pulled World of a 1000 Colors from a bedside bookstand.

Silverberg's stories were, as expected, competent, but not anything particularly memorable. All early works, none more recent than 1971, they show signs of being written at so many cents per word for pulp magazines--in other words, of being written quickly. The nineteen stories contained within took only a few hours to read. None were terrible. None were great.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

19 stories:

Something Wild Is Loose (1971)
The Pain Peddlers (1963)
Going Down Smooth (1968)
World of a Thousand Colors (1957)
The Outbreeders (1959)
Neighbor (1964)
The Man Who Never Forgot (1958)
Prime Commandment (1958)
One-Way Journey (1957)
To the Dark Star (1968)
The Four (1958)
Passport to Sirius (1958)
Counterpart (1959)
Neutral Planet (1957)
Solitary (1957)
Journey's End (1958)
The Fangs of the Trees (1968)
En Route to Earth (1957)
How It Was When the Past Went Away (1969)

[Joe Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining and creative short story collection. These were written in the mid-1950s through 1968. Some of the themes of the stories, such as racism, are as relevant today as when the story was written. All the stories deal with various aspects of relationships, and I didn't find any stories I disliked.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories, written between the late fifties and early seventies, has held up quite well. For the most part, they are set in the far distant future and explore questions of alien civilizations and space travel. Only two stories, written in 1959 and 1969 and taking place in 1989 and 2003 respectively contain technology that we now know was not in existence at those times. However, it is rather easy to suspend disbelief and treat the stories as if they take place in a future not too distant from now.
I did not dislike any of the tales in this collection, but I did not absolutely LOVE any of them either. They were all decent, but now, after I’ve finished, I find it rather difficult to remember them individually. Overall, not a waste of time, but not something I would recommend to anyone who isn’t a fan of science fiction in general and Robert Silverberg in particular.

[Saski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not usually a short story fan but my notes say I can be persuaded otherwise: Many [of these stories] remind me of what drew me to SciFi in the first place.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of 19 short stories by this marvelous author! All were at least 3 stars; the first six stories were all five-stars! Recommended for those who like moral lessons in their sci-fi, with stories that are more character-oriented than strict science.

[John Heinz · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not Mr. Silverberg's best work, it's a group of stories from his early writings. Some interesting concepts though.

[Richard Locke Peterson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Silverberg didn't put much effort in these stories, which he sort of admits to in his intro.