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Master of Life and Death
Roy Walton, Director of the Bureau of Population Equalization, must find or terraform a planet suitable for colonization, before Earth's teeming billions begin rioting
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
14 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
About the author
Robert Silverberg
2,344 books1,604 followersThere 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.
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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December 3, 2025
Master of Life and Death - Robert Silverberg
في القرن الثالث والعشرين تعيش البشرية على حافة الخطر بسبب الاكتظاظ السكاني..
روي والتون -وبالصدفة، باتت لديه السلطة المطلقة لتقرير من يستحق الحياة ومن لا يستحقها -وهذا تلطيف للأمر لأن عنوان الرواية واضح..
من سلطاته الأخرى تقرير من ينقل من أرضه وإلى أين ...
الحقيقة قرأت هذه الرواية القصيرة في نهاية الربيع، ولكن لم أكتب عنها لأنها رواية مرعبة وفي عز الإبادة في غزة وخطط التهجير كانت الكتابة عنها مستحيلة تقريبًا..
أفكار هذه الرواية من قتل المرضى والمعوزين والأطفال وكبار السن فكرة نازية والرواية كتبت بعد إنتهاء الحرب العالمية الثانية بأقل من 15 عامًا..
كانت هذه أول رواية أقرأها لروبرت سيلفربيرغ، وهي رواية قصيرة وسريعة ومليئة بالمؤمرات السياسية والتلاعب بالجماهير والكثير من الأفكار الثورية والحقيقة أنها مبهرة من هذه الناحية كروراية خيال علمي كتبت قبل 70 عامًا.
في القرن الثالث والعشرين تعيش البشرية على حافة الخطر بسبب الاكتظاظ السكاني..
روي والتون -وبالصدفة، باتت لديه السلطة المطلقة لتقرير من يستحق الحياة ومن لا يستحقها -وهذا تلطيف للأمر لأن عنوان الرواية واضح..
من سلطاته الأخرى تقرير من ينقل من أرضه وإلى أين ...
الحقيقة قرأت هذه الرواية القصيرة في نهاية الربيع، ولكن لم أكتب عنها لأنها رواية مرعبة وفي عز الإبادة في غزة وخطط التهجير كانت الكتابة عنها مستحيلة تقريبًا..
أفكار هذه الرواية من قتل المرضى والمعوزين والأطفال وكبار السن فكرة نازية والرواية كتبت بعد إنتهاء الحرب العالمية الثانية بأقل من 15 عامًا..
كانت هذه أول رواية أقرأها لروبرت سيلفربيرغ، وهي رواية قصيرة وسريعة ومليئة بالمؤمرات السياسية والتلاعب بالجماهير والكثير من الأفكار الثورية والحقيقة أنها مبهرة من هذه الناحية كروراية خيال علمي كتبت قبل 70 عامًا.
February 8, 2019
A decent story, based upon the fundamental problem of human over-population on our planet, with a mix of a bit of politics, set in the year 2232. The ending seemed hurried.
A small book that can be read in a couple of hours, and is also a bit of a page-turner. But nothing outstanding here.
A small book that can be read in a couple of hours, and is also a bit of a page-turner. But nothing outstanding here.
January 20, 2015
Future Grand Master Robert Silverberg’s fifth sci-fi novel, "Master of Life and Death," was originally released as one-half of one of those cute little "Ace doubles" (D-237, for all you collectors out there), back to back with James White’s "The Secret Visitors." Published in 1957, this was one of "only" three novels that Silverberg would release that year (the others were "The Dawning Light" and "The Shrouded Planet"), a fairly paltry number, one might think, for this remarkably prolific author...until one realizes that he also came out with no fewer than 82 (!) short stories and novellas that year in the sci-fi vein, plus 19 "adult" stories. On average, that comes to around a story every three or four days, PLUS those three longer works! I am just in awe of that kind of superhuman productivity! "Master of Life and Death" is the earliest piece of work by Silverberg that I have read thus far, and reveals that the budding author was even then capable of penning a highly imaginative, fast-moving and thoughtful work. Hypercreativity means little without talent to back it up, and if this book is a typical one for Silverberg's early period, then I, for one, am going to be seeking out more.
In the book, the year is 2232, and Earth's population, at 7 billion, is undergoing a major crisis of space and resources. (Whoa, stop right there! Earth's population in 2012 was a reported 7 billion already; methinks this to be the first of several slight problems with Silverberg's novel. Wisely, in his 1971 masterpiece "The World Inside," which also dealt with the dilemma of extreme overpopulation, the number of teeming humans is said to be 75 billion in the year 2381; a more believable crisis figure.) To solve Earth's paramount problem, the Bureau of Population Equalization, or Popeek, has come into being. Its threefold agenda: to relocate humans from densely packed regions to less densely populated areas; to euthanize disease-carrying babies and the elderly; and to find new worlds in outer space for future colonization. The reader encounters the No. 2 man at Popeek, Roy Walton, who is precipitately elevated to the No. 1 spot when his boss is assassinated by an anti-Popeek cabal. And what a first week in office Walton is forced to undergo! While acclimating to his new job, Walton must contend with the problem of a vanished terraforming team on Venus; the return of Earth's first faster-than-light exploratory vessel, and the coming of an ambassador from the planet Dirna; the kidnapping of a scientist who has just come up with an immortality serum; the mystery of who placed surveillance equipment in NYC's Popeek HQ; demands for his ouster by journalists and the public; AND a blackmail attempt by his brother Fred. Not to mention, of course, the little matter of bringing his ex-superior's killers to justice....
Yes, Walton surely does have a lot to juggle during his first week in office, and author Silverberg manages to keep all those balls aloft and spinning at a remarkably fast clip. This short novel really does move, especially as it barrels to its breathless conclusion. No wonder that "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction" enthused that the author's "success in maintaining complete clarity and strong narrative drive while manipulating unnumbered plots and complex concepts is a technical triumph," and the "New York Herald Tribune" called it "a virtuoso performance." I couldn't agree more. And as readers admire Silverberg's authorial dexterity, they should also marvel at Walton's ability to handle all his manifold stresses. And indeed, he does change as a character--growing stronger, more confident and more ruthless--as the book proceeds. Is it any wonder that he must depend on filtered rum, caffeine tablets and "benzolurethrin" to get him through his travails, a la a character in a Philip K. Dick novel? Ultimately, Walton, to achieve his goals, becomes a kind of dictator of sorts, his motto being "the end justifies the means," which DOES tend to bring up the rather uncomfortable notion that a benevolent dictator just might be the most efficient form of government. But Walton is at least a self-aware dictator, and cognizant of the fact that some of his maneuverings (e.g., subliminal advertising) are below the belt.
Silverberg fills his novel with all sorts of 23rd century marvels--such as "voicewriters," "jetbuses," "kaleidowhirl" TV shows, needle guns, an "executive filter" that obscures a person's sweat on visiscreens, cloud seeders, scheduled rainstorms--but manages to keep his NYC of the future fairly recognizable. "Master of Life and Death" is eminently readable, practically unputdownable, and yet feels a tad dated at one point, perhaps unavoidably, when the capital city of Leopoldville is mentioned (it became Kinshasa in 1966). Strangely, Silverberg refers to the Indonesian capital as "Batavia," although it was renamed Jakarta in 1946. An independent Ghana is referred to passingly in the book, which might serve as a guidepost as to when Silverberg penned this particular novel (Ghana received its independence in March '57). The author makes a few flubs as regards time in his book (Walton at one point reflects that he had saved a boy's life on the previous day, whereas it had been two days earlier; at one point, Walton looks at his watch and sees that the hour is 1100, whereas the reader knows, based on what had come before, that it should be more like 1300), but these are minor errors that only the most nitpicking wackadoodle (such as myself) would notice or be bothered by. The bottom line is that "Master of Life and Death" is some kind of minor wonder, and a sure indicator that the young Robert Silverberg was truly a talent to be reckoned with. At one point, Walton muses that the modern-day perception of Dostoyevsky might be something along the lines of "all he did was write books, and therefore could not have been of any great importance." Well, all I can say is, thank heavens for the writers of books, especially for such fun and entertaining books as this one....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website, a most excellent destination for all fans of Robert Silverberg.... http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ )
In the book, the year is 2232, and Earth's population, at 7 billion, is undergoing a major crisis of space and resources. (Whoa, stop right there! Earth's population in 2012 was a reported 7 billion already; methinks this to be the first of several slight problems with Silverberg's novel. Wisely, in his 1971 masterpiece "The World Inside," which also dealt with the dilemma of extreme overpopulation, the number of teeming humans is said to be 75 billion in the year 2381; a more believable crisis figure.) To solve Earth's paramount problem, the Bureau of Population Equalization, or Popeek, has come into being. Its threefold agenda: to relocate humans from densely packed regions to less densely populated areas; to euthanize disease-carrying babies and the elderly; and to find new worlds in outer space for future colonization. The reader encounters the No. 2 man at Popeek, Roy Walton, who is precipitately elevated to the No. 1 spot when his boss is assassinated by an anti-Popeek cabal. And what a first week in office Walton is forced to undergo! While acclimating to his new job, Walton must contend with the problem of a vanished terraforming team on Venus; the return of Earth's first faster-than-light exploratory vessel, and the coming of an ambassador from the planet Dirna; the kidnapping of a scientist who has just come up with an immortality serum; the mystery of who placed surveillance equipment in NYC's Popeek HQ; demands for his ouster by journalists and the public; AND a blackmail attempt by his brother Fred. Not to mention, of course, the little matter of bringing his ex-superior's killers to justice....
Yes, Walton surely does have a lot to juggle during his first week in office, and author Silverberg manages to keep all those balls aloft and spinning at a remarkably fast clip. This short novel really does move, especially as it barrels to its breathless conclusion. No wonder that "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction" enthused that the author's "success in maintaining complete clarity and strong narrative drive while manipulating unnumbered plots and complex concepts is a technical triumph," and the "New York Herald Tribune" called it "a virtuoso performance." I couldn't agree more. And as readers admire Silverberg's authorial dexterity, they should also marvel at Walton's ability to handle all his manifold stresses. And indeed, he does change as a character--growing stronger, more confident and more ruthless--as the book proceeds. Is it any wonder that he must depend on filtered rum, caffeine tablets and "benzolurethrin" to get him through his travails, a la a character in a Philip K. Dick novel? Ultimately, Walton, to achieve his goals, becomes a kind of dictator of sorts, his motto being "the end justifies the means," which DOES tend to bring up the rather uncomfortable notion that a benevolent dictator just might be the most efficient form of government. But Walton is at least a self-aware dictator, and cognizant of the fact that some of his maneuverings (e.g., subliminal advertising) are below the belt.
Silverberg fills his novel with all sorts of 23rd century marvels--such as "voicewriters," "jetbuses," "kaleidowhirl" TV shows, needle guns, an "executive filter" that obscures a person's sweat on visiscreens, cloud seeders, scheduled rainstorms--but manages to keep his NYC of the future fairly recognizable. "Master of Life and Death" is eminently readable, practically unputdownable, and yet feels a tad dated at one point, perhaps unavoidably, when the capital city of Leopoldville is mentioned (it became Kinshasa in 1966). Strangely, Silverberg refers to the Indonesian capital as "Batavia," although it was renamed Jakarta in 1946. An independent Ghana is referred to passingly in the book, which might serve as a guidepost as to when Silverberg penned this particular novel (Ghana received its independence in March '57). The author makes a few flubs as regards time in his book (Walton at one point reflects that he had saved a boy's life on the previous day, whereas it had been two days earlier; at one point, Walton looks at his watch and sees that the hour is 1100, whereas the reader knows, based on what had come before, that it should be more like 1300), but these are minor errors that only the most nitpicking wackadoodle (such as myself) would notice or be bothered by. The bottom line is that "Master of Life and Death" is some kind of minor wonder, and a sure indicator that the young Robert Silverberg was truly a talent to be reckoned with. At one point, Walton muses that the modern-day perception of Dostoyevsky might be something along the lines of "all he did was write books, and therefore could not have been of any great importance." Well, all I can say is, thank heavens for the writers of books, especially for such fun and entertaining books as this one....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website, a most excellent destination for all fans of Robert Silverberg.... http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ )
August 11, 2020
Still only in his twenties, Silverberg was churning out out good classic pulp, and this is an example of the best of it as far as where he was at the time. It is a little cheesy in some places yet sophisticated in others. Well worth checking into before reading his greater future works.
Look to "Sandy's" review to get a proper review for this one, and may others from this author.
Look to "Sandy's" review to get a proper review for this one, and may others from this author.
April 7, 2021
Fast read with no added filler. It's crazy how much happens so fast to our lead character, and at times I felt his anxiety as everything piled up. The plot was a bit too "neat" at times with solutions coming very easily. Overall a quick solid scifi read.
October 13, 2019
3,4
Sicherlich nicht immer politisch korrekt.
Für PR-Leser interessant: es taucht in der Handlung ein Volk mit folgenden
Eigenschaften auf: Wasserstoff/Ammoniak-Atmer, sehr groß (240 cm),
vier Arme, ein halsloser Kopf...
Zur Erinnerung: Silverbergs Roman stammt von 1957 (Meine deutsche
Ausgabe erschien 1973 bei Heyne)
Sicherlich nicht immer politisch korrekt.
Für PR-Leser interessant: es taucht in der Handlung ein Volk mit folgenden
Eigenschaften auf: Wasserstoff/Ammoniak-Atmer, sehr groß (240 cm),
vier Arme, ein halsloser Kopf...
Zur Erinnerung: Silverbergs Roman stammt von 1957 (Meine deutsche
Ausgabe erschien 1973 bei Heyne)
September 28, 2015
In the year 2232 Earth's population has to be forcibly controlled through a combination of geographical redistributions and infant euthanasia. The Bureau of Population Equalization, or Popeek, has the mandated task to solve "the biggest chess problem in the history of humanity", and after the assassination of the founder and director of the agency, assistant administrator Roy Walton finds himself in charge.
He instantly has to contend with troublesome opposition groups, from the extremist Herschelites, who don't feel that the measures go far enough, to a cadre of rich landowners, who fear for the appropriation of their land to migrated populations.
Walton also becomes aware of various secret initiatives that the founder, FitzMaugham, was working on that could have solved the problem and render the exigencies of Popeek superfluous.
Master of Life and Death is recognizably Silverbergian in premise and plotting, a decent enough read, but pre-dating his golden period from the late 60's and early 70's when he discovered LSD (or some such catalyst) and really spread his writer's wings.
Also on the debit side, the initial premise becomes cluttered with the addition of further sub-plots about faster than light travel, first contact with an alien species, and an immortality formula - all pretty major developments that, curiously, no one seems to consider the implications of apart from how they impact on the central quandary.
All these ideas may have been best left for other stories, certainly not for a slim novel clocking in at under 150 pages in length.
Not bad, but I should really stop reading the (many) inferior Silverberg novels that he churned out before his prime.
He instantly has to contend with troublesome opposition groups, from the extremist Herschelites, who don't feel that the measures go far enough, to a cadre of rich landowners, who fear for the appropriation of their land to migrated populations.
Walton also becomes aware of various secret initiatives that the founder, FitzMaugham, was working on that could have solved the problem and render the exigencies of Popeek superfluous.
Master of Life and Death is recognizably Silverbergian in premise and plotting, a decent enough read, but pre-dating his golden period from the late 60's and early 70's when he discovered LSD (or some such catalyst) and really spread his writer's wings.
Also on the debit side, the initial premise becomes cluttered with the addition of further sub-plots about faster than light travel, first contact with an alien species, and an immortality formula - all pretty major developments that, curiously, no one seems to consider the implications of apart from how they impact on the central quandary.
All these ideas may have been best left for other stories, certainly not for a slim novel clocking in at under 150 pages in length.
Not bad, but I should really stop reading the (many) inferior Silverberg novels that he churned out before his prime.
April 20, 2019
As Assistant Director of the Bureau of Population Equalization, Roy Walton’s job is to ensure the planet’s sick children, elderly, disabled, and criminally insane persons are identified and euthanized as quickly as possible. He has the power to forcibly relocate whole communities from overcrowded cities to underpopulated rural areas.
Some people compare him to a modern-day Hitler, but he believes himself a hero--saving humanity from overcrowding.
When his boss is assassinated by a radical fringe group, he finds himself suddenly also managing two secret programs to terraform Venus and/or invent a light-speed drive that can send our species outside the solar system to find new homes.
This was the 2nd of over 20 books Robert Silverberg wrote for the now-classic line of Ace double novels. These were imaginative, breezy pulp adventures. He would describe them fifty years later as “short, fast moving books set a few hundred years in the future and rich in colorful description and melodramatic conflict.” Each was about 50,000 words long—barely longer than a novella—and can be read in a single sitting.
The most noteworthy aspect of this one is its use of an immoral and unrepentant protagonist. Roy truly believes the ends always justify the means. In his pursuit of finding a new home for humans, he routinely lies, cheats, extorts, brainwashes, kills and tortures anyone who gets in his way. One complaint of a few readers is that he gets away with it, his plans are successful. There is none of the moralizing comeuppance that is common in this type of story.
The plot of course borders on the absurd, but it is enjoyable and fun nonetheless. In the span of eight days, Roy manages to make first contact with an alien species, destroy an entire planet, manipulate global politics to turn himself into a de facto dictator, and rescue all mankind from certain destruction.
This is the sort of action-adventure that could have only been written in the 1950’s and only originated from the mind of Robert Silverberg.
Some people compare him to a modern-day Hitler, but he believes himself a hero--saving humanity from overcrowding.
When his boss is assassinated by a radical fringe group, he finds himself suddenly also managing two secret programs to terraform Venus and/or invent a light-speed drive that can send our species outside the solar system to find new homes.
This was the 2nd of over 20 books Robert Silverberg wrote for the now-classic line of Ace double novels. These were imaginative, breezy pulp adventures. He would describe them fifty years later as “short, fast moving books set a few hundred years in the future and rich in colorful description and melodramatic conflict.” Each was about 50,000 words long—barely longer than a novella—and can be read in a single sitting.
The most noteworthy aspect of this one is its use of an immoral and unrepentant protagonist. Roy truly believes the ends always justify the means. In his pursuit of finding a new home for humans, he routinely lies, cheats, extorts, brainwashes, kills and tortures anyone who gets in his way. One complaint of a few readers is that he gets away with it, his plans are successful. There is none of the moralizing comeuppance that is common in this type of story.
The plot of course borders on the absurd, but it is enjoyable and fun nonetheless. In the span of eight days, Roy manages to make first contact with an alien species, destroy an entire planet, manipulate global politics to turn himself into a de facto dictator, and rescue all mankind from certain destruction.
This is the sort of action-adventure that could have only been written in the 1950’s and only originated from the mind of Robert Silverberg.
December 19, 2022
Lot of interesting science fiction themes, and typical sci fi tropes. A good plot that fit together well, but some of the characters were a bit 2 dimensional and merely foils for the main characters vision, akin to what you get with Ayn Rand's work. It sped along well though with a captivating series of events and some insights into the machinations of people in power and some of the tricks they have to engage in of media propaganda, using people against each other, in to get their ideas enacted. And that even some good policies require a certain amount of evil actions along the way. It is hard to feel the main character would not have become more corrupted by some of the actions he did in reality, he seemed to breeze through it all with little to no emotional response and just relying on taking the odd tranquiliser drug. That emotional impact element was something completely absent in this story. A quite old fashioned libertarian rationalist style approach was pursued throughout. Still this kind of thing has its place in classic science fiction, and did not spoil too much this particular story for the message it was trying to deliver.
December 29, 2020
This is a book from Silverberg's first SF period in the 50's. These books can safely be ignored and aren't on the level his later novels reached. It starts with the premise. It's the year 2232, Earth is hopelessly overpopulated and just reached 7 billion inhabitants. Yeah, ok. Thus, an agency to control population size has been established. Decisions are taken by a single person, worldwide. In only eight days after taking over from his predecessor who got murdered, he's able to turn around humanity's fate. Mankind is able to fly to planets lightyears away and make contact with intelligent aliens. But they are still using pneumatic delivery in offices and quick communication happens via fax.
Pulp fiction in its truest sense. Only worth a second star because the choice of topic hints at Silverberg's occupation with humanity's issues which later will distinguish his books from those of many other SF writers.
Pulp fiction in its truest sense. Only worth a second star because the choice of topic hints at Silverberg's occupation with humanity's issues which later will distinguish his books from those of many other SF writers.
August 9, 2022
Silverberg's third published novel is _much_ better than the one he published this same year (_The 13th Immortal_). This is a kind of reflection on Nazism and how power corrupts even well-intentioned people. The only flaw here is that Silverberg doesn't seem to be able to quite figure out how to finish off this dystopia: the Hitler figure, who should, by all rights, go down in defeat, is instead a heroic figure who saves the people of his planet in defiance of any moral standard (and through colonial usurpation of another civilization's planet, no less).
Still, there is a lot here that is worth reading and thinking about.
Still, there is a lot here that is worth reading and thinking about.
June 4, 2020
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"First, a few words to describe the tattered novel (I hurled it on the ground at one point) in front of me.
Politically dangerous: Master of Life and Death (1957) presents dictatorship (well, so-called “benevolent” dictatorship), propaganda, extreme distrust of the common person, fratricide, surveillance, torture, government control of the press, political assassination, euthanization of children, among other [...]"
"First, a few words to describe the tattered novel (I hurled it on the ground at one point) in front of me.
Politically dangerous: Master of Life and Death (1957) presents dictatorship (well, so-called “benevolent” dictatorship), propaganda, extreme distrust of the common person, fratricide, surveillance, torture, government control of the press, political assassination, euthanization of children, among other [...]"
February 21, 2022
This book uses every trope of SF (e.g. mysterious Venus, first encounters, faster than light travel, immortality, dystopia, etc.) and often doesn't develop these items, just throwing them in to possibly increase word count. There's no shock for anyone at discovering aliens or having them visit for a diplomatic mission. But, the story was engaging and a very fast read. The politics involved are scarily real and still relevant today: propaganda, manipulation, nationalism, violence, resource inequality, etc.
April 26, 2019
Of course this is very dated in style and content - though given the state of the world today it has a frightening plausibility in its central concept - and it's very much a kitchen-sink science fiction novel with just about everything thrown at it in a melting pot of ideas. But... there's something page turning about it nonetheless, even while some of its imagining of the future is unadventurous to say the least. In the end, a good yarn and worth it for that alone.
March 16, 2025
Silverberg spins a sci-fi political spy thriller within the Bureau of Population Equalization. Earth has become overcrowded and desperate measures have been accepted by society. But not accepted by everyone. There are a lot of interesting ideas in this book and it's kept my interest right through to the end. Excellent!
March 1, 2018
aggiornamento vecchio libro letto chissà quando
August 20, 2020
Une livre paru vers 1956 mais qui n'en laisse rien paraître tant les innovations semblent du possible.
Une belle découverte pour ce livre très bien écrit qui traite du sujet de la surpopulation.
Une belle découverte pour ce livre très bien écrit qui traite du sujet de la surpopulation.
October 28, 2023
I listened to this as part of The 11th Science Fiction Megapack. It was a quick interesting listen. 2023
May 4, 2025
Manic pulp, admin-core and elevated by Silverberg to peak page-turning efficiency.
July 27, 2025
For the young'uns who might be reading this, an Ace Double was a nifty idea from Ace Books. Two short SF novels in one fat (for the time period) paperback, each with its own cover. While either story might be a bit thin to sell on its own, the package made it good value for money.
The two novels in D-237 are Robert Silverberg's "Master of Life and Death", and James White's "The Secret Visitors." Both are copyright 1957.
The Silverberg story takes place in the 23rd Century, when Earth faces an overpopulation crisis (due in part to unexplained "excesses" in the 22nd Century that wiped out all progress on that front made in the previous years.) The UN has therefore created a new agency, the Bureau of Population Equalization (vulgarly, "Popeek".) Armed with dictatorial powers, Popeek is trying to ease the population crisis by various means.
The protagonist is Roy Walton, the Deputy Director of Popeek (and very quickly, the Director), a man who fervently agrees with the principles his agency was founded on, but conflicted on a personal level with the decisions he must make. His position is made even more difficult when his jealous brother gets hold of evidence that could make Roy look very bad indeed.
As with many old SF books, it's amusing to see what isn't predicted--no personal computers, for example. If someone wants computer work done, they have to schlep down to the mainframe's input terminal and punch it in, and see the results on printer sheets. (All records being on paper is a plot point a couple of times.) People get their news from a newspaper that's printed several times a day, while television is strictly for entertainment. (The #1 TV programs are kaleidowhirls, hypnotically swirling color patterns--I'm sure you can guess what's coming there.)
More relevantly to the problem facing Earth, there are some...interesting gaps. There's shifting population from heavily populated areas to less populated ones. There's involuntary sterilization of men (but not women) with genetic disorders, as well as euthanasia of defective infants and senior citizens with incurable diseases. But no birth control (not even a mention of condoms!) no attempts at family planning, and most certainly no abortion. You'd think Popeek would at least *try* "keep it in your pants" public service announcements.
Interestingly, this story skips the usual token romantic subplot, sparing us the whole "but we cannot bring a new life into this overcrowded world" whinging that might otherwise ensue. However, this means that there end up being no major female characters. A couple of women are department heads in Popeek and have bit parts, and "girls" are mentioned as doing most of the clerical work but never appear on stage.
Roy is believably flawed, and screws up more than once when he lets his emotions get the better of him. His brother, conversely, comes across as being cartoonishly villainous. Yep, the director of the most powerful agency on Earth is going to hand over the reins of leadership on a day's notice just because you have an incriminating printout. That's really going to happen.
The ending would have been better, though, if it had stuck to the downer it was headed for. A last second deus ex machina kind of sticks in my craw.
The two novels in D-237 are Robert Silverberg's "Master of Life and Death", and James White's "The Secret Visitors." Both are copyright 1957.
The Silverberg story takes place in the 23rd Century, when Earth faces an overpopulation crisis (due in part to unexplained "excesses" in the 22nd Century that wiped out all progress on that front made in the previous years.) The UN has therefore created a new agency, the Bureau of Population Equalization (vulgarly, "Popeek".) Armed with dictatorial powers, Popeek is trying to ease the population crisis by various means.
The protagonist is Roy Walton, the Deputy Director of Popeek (and very quickly, the Director), a man who fervently agrees with the principles his agency was founded on, but conflicted on a personal level with the decisions he must make. His position is made even more difficult when his jealous brother gets hold of evidence that could make Roy look very bad indeed.
As with many old SF books, it's amusing to see what isn't predicted--no personal computers, for example. If someone wants computer work done, they have to schlep down to the mainframe's input terminal and punch it in, and see the results on printer sheets. (All records being on paper is a plot point a couple of times.) People get their news from a newspaper that's printed several times a day, while television is strictly for entertainment. (The #1 TV programs are kaleidowhirls, hypnotically swirling color patterns--I'm sure you can guess what's coming there.)
More relevantly to the problem facing Earth, there are some...interesting gaps. There's shifting population from heavily populated areas to less populated ones. There's involuntary sterilization of men (but not women) with genetic disorders, as well as euthanasia of defective infants and senior citizens with incurable diseases. But no birth control (not even a mention of condoms!) no attempts at family planning, and most certainly no abortion. You'd think Popeek would at least *try* "keep it in your pants" public service announcements.
Interestingly, this story skips the usual token romantic subplot, sparing us the whole "but we cannot bring a new life into this overcrowded world" whinging that might otherwise ensue. However, this means that there end up being no major female characters. A couple of women are department heads in Popeek and have bit parts, and "girls" are mentioned as doing most of the clerical work but never appear on stage.
Roy is believably flawed, and screws up more than once when he lets his emotions get the better of him. His brother, conversely, comes across as being cartoonishly villainous. Yep, the director of the most powerful agency on Earth is going to hand over the reins of leadership on a day's notice just because you have an incriminating printout. That's really going to happen.
The ending would have been better, though, if it had stuck to the downer it was headed for. A last second deus ex machina kind of sticks in my craw.
April 12, 2020
Silverberg's early novels are a little hit and miss and sometimes a tad strange.
Roy Walton is second in command to Fitzmaugham, head of the Bureau of Population Equalisation, known generally as Popeek. Popeek's aim is to deal with the problem of overpopulation and has enormous powers over a world which, it appears, is now centrally controlled from the US.
They're not a very nice organisation, practising a form of eugenics in which all babies are examined and those not found to be of a genetic or physical standard sent off for euthanasia. Popeek also has other research arms, such as a team attempting to terraform Venus and an interstellar expedition searching for habitable worlds to which to migrate.
Walton begins to question the issue of euthanasia when he is visited by the father of a child on the euthanasia list. Walton, unaccountably influenced by the visit, manages to alter the computer records to give the boy a clear medical check.
Fitzmaugham is then assassinated in his office by one of the groups opposed to Popeek's work, and Walton is elevated to Head of Popeek.
His brother Fred, another Popeek employee, has discovered the altered medical record and begins to blackmail his brother.
The narrative has an almost Shakespearean feel as Walton, forced into very drastic acts to not only save himself and his position but also prevent the world falling into war and chaos, begins to assume the mantle of a tyrant. He, in a rather prophetic section, uses Popeek funds to buy up the media and promote a pro-Popeek agenda. He has subliminal messages broadcast worldwide via visual media. He has people killed and tortured indiscriminately, including his own brother, although to be honest, Fred was asking for it.
The denouement then, is somewhat surprising since Walton manages to fulfil Popeek's aims and emerges as a kind of hero. It's a surprisingly prescient novel in that respect given the people we are currently electing worldwide, all of us slyly influenced by social and mainstream media.
One can argue that Ace Doubles were often very hastily written pieces with no psychological depth, but this is Robert Silverberg. I can't work out if it is just a lazy ending or the bleak realisation of how things really work.
Roy Walton is second in command to Fitzmaugham, head of the Bureau of Population Equalisation, known generally as Popeek. Popeek's aim is to deal with the problem of overpopulation and has enormous powers over a world which, it appears, is now centrally controlled from the US.
They're not a very nice organisation, practising a form of eugenics in which all babies are examined and those not found to be of a genetic or physical standard sent off for euthanasia. Popeek also has other research arms, such as a team attempting to terraform Venus and an interstellar expedition searching for habitable worlds to which to migrate.
Walton begins to question the issue of euthanasia when he is visited by the father of a child on the euthanasia list. Walton, unaccountably influenced by the visit, manages to alter the computer records to give the boy a clear medical check.
Fitzmaugham is then assassinated in his office by one of the groups opposed to Popeek's work, and Walton is elevated to Head of Popeek.
His brother Fred, another Popeek employee, has discovered the altered medical record and begins to blackmail his brother.
The narrative has an almost Shakespearean feel as Walton, forced into very drastic acts to not only save himself and his position but also prevent the world falling into war and chaos, begins to assume the mantle of a tyrant. He, in a rather prophetic section, uses Popeek funds to buy up the media and promote a pro-Popeek agenda. He has subliminal messages broadcast worldwide via visual media. He has people killed and tortured indiscriminately, including his own brother, although to be honest, Fred was asking for it.
The denouement then, is somewhat surprising since Walton manages to fulfil Popeek's aims and emerges as a kind of hero. It's a surprisingly prescient novel in that respect given the people we are currently electing worldwide, all of us slyly influenced by social and mainstream media.
One can argue that Ace Doubles were often very hastily written pieces with no psychological depth, but this is Robert Silverberg. I can't work out if it is just a lazy ending or the bleak realisation of how things really work.
April 29, 2014
Silverberg places this 1957 novel in the year 2232. Earth’s population has reached crisis level at seven billion people. (We have actually beaten Silverberg’s prediction by a little more that 200 years. Score one for Earth!) After decades of lobbying and political wrangling, the United Nations has green lighted the Bureau of Population Equalization (Popeek). Popeek’s mandate includes two procedures. They must relocate people from overcrowded zones to the less densely populated areas of the planet. That’s how a few hundred thousand Belgians find themselves in Patagonia. People not affected by these manipulations tend to think this a good thing. More controversial is the euthanasia program the weeds out at birth children with defective genetic tendencies and hastens the death of the incurably ill. The poor and uneducated feel unjustly targeted by this program. Wealthy, educated individuals and organizations write Popeek with suggestions for entire swaths of humanity the Earth could do without.
Roy Walton is the overworked assistant director of Popeek. By the end of the first chapter, he has put himself at risk by allowing a child who might become tubercular a pass on his euthanasia appointment, and after the assassination of his boss he has become interim head of the entire Popeek operation. Over the next nine days, there will be plots and betrayals, a nuclear holocaust on Venus, discouraging news from the first expedition to discover an earthlike planet in another star system, and a public that is approaching revolt. Walton, who is a nice enough guy when the story begins, will learn the efficacy of ruthlessness, manipulative public relations, and how to deal with eight-foot-tall green aliens who breathe ammonia and are none to happy to see humans moving in on their solar system.
Silverberg moves the story along with the no-frills pacing of the best B Movies from the same period, those features that required only 65 – 80 minutes to tell a satisfying story.
Roy Walton is the overworked assistant director of Popeek. By the end of the first chapter, he has put himself at risk by allowing a child who might become tubercular a pass on his euthanasia appointment, and after the assassination of his boss he has become interim head of the entire Popeek operation. Over the next nine days, there will be plots and betrayals, a nuclear holocaust on Venus, discouraging news from the first expedition to discover an earthlike planet in another star system, and a public that is approaching revolt. Walton, who is a nice enough guy when the story begins, will learn the efficacy of ruthlessness, manipulative public relations, and how to deal with eight-foot-tall green aliens who breathe ammonia and are none to happy to see humans moving in on their solar system.
Silverberg moves the story along with the no-frills pacing of the best B Movies from the same period, those features that required only 65 – 80 minutes to tell a satisfying story.
April 3, 2011
A very fast moving and well-plotted science fiction thriller. As with many sf books of its era, it is marred by a fascistic worldview. The main character blunders into dictatorship, explicitly adopting the slogan "the ends justify the means," and maneuvers ruthlessly to do what he thinks is best. He's right, of course -- in the book, the ends do justify the means, and therefore justify his assumption of dictatorship. All the same, the book is very engaging and the dictator is predictably likable.
March 22, 2016
7 billion people will supposedly necessitate mass slaughter. It's hard to know what to hate more about this book, the glorification of mass murder and eugenics, the ends justifies the means philosophy, the idiotic belief in the UN as a governing force, or the numerous anti-literary slogans, in one case saying poetry is just a diversion from living life. Two stars is probably generous for an author who would go on to write far better things. It is worth reading as a historical record of the contemptible nature of the leftwing ideologues of this time.
May 7, 2017
This book at the beginning made me very sad as it is set in the future and all people who are disabled or too ill or too old are sent to Happy Sleep, I thought of all the people I loved who would be effected by this and it made me sad, however I did bear with it until the end and the aim of the story was to stop the process, this was a very good book despite the beginning that made me sad, this is the second time I have read it, and I still enjoyed it just as much.
Easily worth the 5 stars I have given it.
Easily worth the 5 stars I have given it.
January 21, 2017
It's dated, so I read it in context.
It's about eugenics and political machinations to manage population growth; there's also faster than light space travel, a serum of immortality and.......an actual green alien. Yesss!
Oh, and all of the main characters are loathsome.
Why then, have I rated it so highly? Because it's a really good read, written by a much underrated story teller. Thoroughly enjoyable and only let down by the schmaltzy ending.
They don't write them like this anymore.
It's about eugenics and political machinations to manage population growth; there's also faster than light space travel, a serum of immortality and.......an actual green alien. Yesss!
Oh, and all of the main characters are loathsome.
Why then, have I rated it so highly? Because it's a really good read, written by a much underrated story teller. Thoroughly enjoyable and only let down by the schmaltzy ending.
They don't write them like this anymore.
October 18, 2016
Catapulted into the number 1 position of an organization responsible for finding solutions to lethal overpopulation on earth, a self-deprecating hero toughens up to tackle the job at home and in the cosmos. In the hands of Robert Silverberg, his tumultuous education lasts 24/7 from beginning to end. A must read.
January 25, 2024
My first Silverberg, also one of his earliest works, and I loved it! Its a very pulpy scifi novel that moves on a lightning fast pace. Really, the plot moves so quick that you can't let your guard down.
If you set your expectations low (it is pure pulp), this might surprise you in a very pleasant way.
If you set your expectations low (it is pure pulp), this might surprise you in a very pleasant way.
October 8, 2016
Kind of sad if this is what our world is coming to, having to euthanize babies and the elderly to keep the population under check, and having one company that is able to relocate your family without a second thought primarily due to evening out the earth.
August 3, 2015
I loved this book. It was a great way to deal with the subject of overpopulation and it was a perfect set-up of a society and interlinked characters for a thrilling story all the way to the end.
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