What do you think?
Rate this book
Tower of Glass
From the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning “High adventure, considerable tension, and—most important—social consciousness” (Harlan Ellison). Simeon Krug is the king of the universe. A self-made man, he is the Bill Gates of the era, having built a megacommercial empire on the backs of his androids, genetically engineered human slaves. Having amassed incredible wealth, his next major goal is to communicate with aliens living in an uninhabitable world, sending a mysterious signal. This requires building a mile high tower in the arctic tundra. The androids want civil equality with humans, but are divided on the best means to the goal—political agitation or religious devotion to Krug, their creator. And Krug’s son, Manuel, is reluctant to step into his role as heir to his father’s empire.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1970
74 people are currently reading
1690 people want to read
About the author
Robert Silverberg
2,342 books1,601 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
July 12, 2015
Tower of Glass is Robert Silverberg’s most Phillip K. Dickian novel.
If this were a film I would want it directed, of course, by Wes Anderson or maybe Alex Proyas, he did a good job with I, Robot and The Crow and I would cast it with Albert Finney, Kevin Spacey, Hugh Laurie and … Will Ferrell?
Was that humor I detected? Subtle, certainly, potentially a black comedy if at all, but isn’t Absurdist Theater only a first cousin of speculative fiction? Are Eugene Ionescu and Samuel Beckett that far removed from Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov? Stuff is being made up, situations are created to produce an effect, a message is being presented not on its face but peripherally, as metaphor and hyperbole.
Silverberg’s 1970 publication (during his almost superhuman period of prolific writing) is about, among other things, androids. Thus the PKD reference? Not just that. There is also his absurdist setting, the abstract theme and the almost Jungian vision of the leading protagonist. There is misdirected theology, there is mind altering processes and drugs, there is sex, lots of wild sex, and a bacchanal of global proportions.
This also reminded me of Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination as teleportation has shrunken the world economy and made the global community one of accessible proximity.
Finally, the plight of the Android civil rights movement can be a metaphor for the equal rights struggle of the 60s.
If this were a film I would want it directed, of course, by Wes Anderson or maybe Alex Proyas, he did a good job with I, Robot and The Crow and I would cast it with Albert Finney, Kevin Spacey, Hugh Laurie and … Will Ferrell?
Was that humor I detected? Subtle, certainly, potentially a black comedy if at all, but isn’t Absurdist Theater only a first cousin of speculative fiction? Are Eugene Ionescu and Samuel Beckett that far removed from Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov? Stuff is being made up, situations are created to produce an effect, a message is being presented not on its face but peripherally, as metaphor and hyperbole.
Silverberg’s 1970 publication (during his almost superhuman period of prolific writing) is about, among other things, androids. Thus the PKD reference? Not just that. There is also his absurdist setting, the abstract theme and the almost Jungian vision of the leading protagonist. There is misdirected theology, there is mind altering processes and drugs, there is sex, lots of wild sex, and a bacchanal of global proportions.
This also reminded me of Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination as teleportation has shrunken the world economy and made the global community one of accessible proximity.
Finally, the plight of the Android civil rights movement can be a metaphor for the equal rights struggle of the 60s.
September 27, 2025
I have written a few reviews of Silverberg’s books on here that I would qualify as “raving”. I passionately love this author’s work. I think he’s one of the most exciting writers I have ever read, fun, deep, smart as hell, and one of the top 5 science fiction authors. For the power of his original ideas and his ability to transcend any specific genre, he’s been called the “Philip Roth of science fiction”, which sounds pretty good to me even if Philip Roth was a rotten pessimist, and Silverberg is not.
The reason why Robert Silverberg isn’t more popular than he is is simply because his work is too smart and sophisticated to be popular. Only really, really, really dumb stories have that “magic something” to become global blockbusters. If Silverberg wrote crap like Star Wars, everyone would know his name.
But let’s talk about this book. Another gigantic masterwork. In the early seventies, when it was published, it came second at the Hugo’s (most prestigious SF award) losing to “Ringworld” by Larry Niven, which I never liked that much.
The plot revolves around Simeon Krug, one of the richest men on Earth in the first decades of the 23rd century.
Krug has invented a way to create life in the laboratory, and he’s become the first designer of androids, living simulacra that appear human except for the red skin and for some physical improvements.
It’s on the backs of his androids that Krug is building his tower, a modern-day wonder of the world—a tower of glass that will stretch over a thousand and five hundred meters into the Arctic sky, a communications tower that will be one of the greatest human achievements.
A mysterious signal is being broadcast from deep space, which a few scientists understand to be from another intelligent species. Krug wants to use his tower as a massive communication device to reply to that message - “Here we are”, Krug will announce from his tower, “We are humans, we are worthy, we are not alone, come and speak unto us. Thus Krug has decreed. Thus shall it be.”
Krug sees his androids as “things”, although they are very much alive individuals with feelings and a conscience. They live a hard life of constant servitude and yearn to be free, but while a few of them advocate for political action, the majority of them have secretly organized in a religion, praying every night to Simon Krug the Creator for redemption (even though Krug knows nothing about this).
As part of this religion, they believe they’re being tested by their dedication and hard work for Krug to see if they are worthy, until the moment when he will finally set them free.
The way Silverberg describes this religion is a provocation in itself, as the androids use passages taken directly from the Bible to express their faith in Krug. I’m catholic myself, but I take this as a typical amusing provocation.
Of all the directions this novel might have taken, the author decided to focus on the “social struggle” aspect, to work on the concept of equality, and as the chapters fly by, that becomes the core of this complex novel.
The writing is typical Silverberg - so polished and tight and essential. He doesn’t waste a word.
He’s also great at mastering the overall structure, and at keeping the tension high despite all the layers of narration.
In other words, he is a real pro. Someone who got to this point in the only way possible: by writing A LOT.
Here is an excerpt from a 2000 interview with Silverberg:
“I think there's a lot of terribly-written material being published today, and neither writers nor editors nor readers seem aware of that. [AMEN! Even more today in 2018!!] Thus the premium on literary accomplishment, which carried such writers as Bradbury and Sturgeon and Leiber to fame, has been devalued: if no one can tell junk from gold these days, gold is worth no more than junk. But we've always had bad writing, and it hasn't mattered in the case of really powerful storytellers -- van Vogt, say. What really bothers me is the eagerness of people to buy huge quantities of books patched together out of dumb or recycled ideas, or out of stale concepts translated from mediocre Hollywood products that have lowest-common-denominator audience goals.”
Mass-produced, money-driven art has always existed in history, but NEVER in the shocking quantity that we see today. Quality still exists, but it’s swamped under this tsunami of Hunger Games and Star Wars and YA crap.
If you, like me, don’t have the time to go in search of true quality in today’s publishing world, and have no faith in book recommendations, don’t think twice and go back to classics like Silverberg, Asimov, Sturgeon, Clarke. Those guys knew how to write a damn good story.
The reason why Robert Silverberg isn’t more popular than he is is simply because his work is too smart and sophisticated to be popular. Only really, really, really dumb stories have that “magic something” to become global blockbusters. If Silverberg wrote crap like Star Wars, everyone would know his name.
But let’s talk about this book. Another gigantic masterwork. In the early seventies, when it was published, it came second at the Hugo’s (most prestigious SF award) losing to “Ringworld” by Larry Niven, which I never liked that much.
The plot revolves around Simeon Krug, one of the richest men on Earth in the first decades of the 23rd century.
Krug has invented a way to create life in the laboratory, and he’s become the first designer of androids, living simulacra that appear human except for the red skin and for some physical improvements.
It’s on the backs of his androids that Krug is building his tower, a modern-day wonder of the world—a tower of glass that will stretch over a thousand and five hundred meters into the Arctic sky, a communications tower that will be one of the greatest human achievements.
A mysterious signal is being broadcast from deep space, which a few scientists understand to be from another intelligent species. Krug wants to use his tower as a massive communication device to reply to that message - “Here we are”, Krug will announce from his tower, “We are humans, we are worthy, we are not alone, come and speak unto us. Thus Krug has decreed. Thus shall it be.”
Krug sees his androids as “things”, although they are very much alive individuals with feelings and a conscience. They live a hard life of constant servitude and yearn to be free, but while a few of them advocate for political action, the majority of them have secretly organized in a religion, praying every night to Simon Krug the Creator for redemption (even though Krug knows nothing about this).
As part of this religion, they believe they’re being tested by their dedication and hard work for Krug to see if they are worthy, until the moment when he will finally set them free.
The way Silverberg describes this religion is a provocation in itself, as the androids use passages taken directly from the Bible to express their faith in Krug. I’m catholic myself, but I take this as a typical amusing provocation.
Of all the directions this novel might have taken, the author decided to focus on the “social struggle” aspect, to work on the concept of equality, and as the chapters fly by, that becomes the core of this complex novel.
The writing is typical Silverberg - so polished and tight and essential. He doesn’t waste a word.
He’s also great at mastering the overall structure, and at keeping the tension high despite all the layers of narration.
In other words, he is a real pro. Someone who got to this point in the only way possible: by writing A LOT.
Here is an excerpt from a 2000 interview with Silverberg:
“I think there's a lot of terribly-written material being published today, and neither writers nor editors nor readers seem aware of that. [AMEN! Even more today in 2018!!] Thus the premium on literary accomplishment, which carried such writers as Bradbury and Sturgeon and Leiber to fame, has been devalued: if no one can tell junk from gold these days, gold is worth no more than junk. But we've always had bad writing, and it hasn't mattered in the case of really powerful storytellers -- van Vogt, say. What really bothers me is the eagerness of people to buy huge quantities of books patched together out of dumb or recycled ideas, or out of stale concepts translated from mediocre Hollywood products that have lowest-common-denominator audience goals.”
Mass-produced, money-driven art has always existed in history, but NEVER in the shocking quantity that we see today. Quality still exists, but it’s swamped under this tsunami of Hunger Games and Star Wars and YA crap.
If you, like me, don’t have the time to go in search of true quality in today’s publishing world, and have no faith in book recommendations, don’t think twice and go back to classics like Silverberg, Asimov, Sturgeon, Clarke. Those guys knew how to write a damn good story.
September 23, 2015
This is another of Robert Silverberg’s ambitious novels from his most prolific period in the late 60s/early 70s. In those he was churning out several books each year that were intelligent, thematically challenging, beautifully written stories that explored identity, sexuality, telepathy, alien contact, religion and consciousness. At his best, he produced some masterpieces like Downward to the Earth and Dying Inside, as well as some dreadful books like Up the Line, but his unfettered imagination and prolific energy was undeniable.
Unfortunately, a wealth of ideas can sometimes overwhelm even the best books, and I think Tower of Glass is a perfect example. It is the story of Simeon Krug, a brilliant genetic engineer and industrialist who develops androids with human-like intelligence who he nevertheless considers mere tools to serve human interests. Krug’s driving ambition in to build a massive tower of glass in the Canadian tundra that will extend into space and allow FTL tachyon communications with NGC-7293, a nebula which has been emitting intelligent alien signals.
At all costs, Krug wishes to establish contact with these aliens beings, and assigns his top engineer android, Alpha Thor Watchmen, to oversee the construction. Meanwhile, his decadent and unambitious son Manuel uses the “transmat” matter transporters to shunt people across the world to enjoy a global 24-hour party. Manuel has a love affair with a beautiful android named Lilith Meson, who wants to enlist his support for the growing android rights movement. Unbeknownst to Krug, the androids have formed an elaborate religion built around Krug the Creator, and expect to receive salvation from Krug sometime in the future. They have actually created an Android Bible and complete set of rituals, services, etc. As the story develops, Krug gets increasingly obsessed with building the tower even at the price of android lives lost in the construction. When a android-rights activist is killed accidentally, he shows little sympathy.
The book introduces enough ideas for at least 5 or 6 full-length novels, so it’s inevitable that each story line doesn’t get full shrift. For example, the technology of instant teleportation around the world recalls the great SF classic The Stars My Destination (1954) by Alfred Bester, but there aren’t enough pages devoted to exploring the implications since the entire book is 194 pages long. There is also the technology of shunting, which allows the swapping of identities (machine-assisted telepathic exchange) for a period. This sharing of minds was more fully explored in Dying Inside and A Time of Changes, but gets only passing mention until the end of the novel.
There is also a very lightly-sketched sub-plot about Krug’s other side-project to build a generational starship to visit NGC-7293, which would be manned by androids. In yet another side-plot, Silverberg explores the social problems encountered by the three tiers of android society (mirroring Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World), broken down into alphas (the most intelligent), betas (the middle caste), and gammas (the lower proletarian class of androids). The main characters visit a gamma ghetto, which resembles an ethnic ghetto in a major city, complete with crime, drug abuse, discontent, and resentment. Finally, Silverberg devotes a great deal of time to exploring the religious conflicts of the androids’ religion of salvation via Krug. There are quotes from their Android Bible that sound just as fully developed as the human Bible. The painful irony is that Krug himself dismisses the android’s worship of him, and he has contempt for their misplaced aspirations.
The story reaches a climax when Krug and his android engineering chief Thor Watchman share a telepathic link in which Watchman discovers Krug’s contempt for the androids, crushing his religious belief and his faith in the merit of Krug’s Tower of Glass. There are all kinds of metaphors involves, the most obvious being the Tower of Babel, as well as the conflicted relationship of creator and creation, which we see in the confrontation between replicant Roy Batty and Dr. Eldon Tyrell in Blade Runner (1982). Though the android religion is the most fully-explored of themes in Tower of Glass, it is battling for space with all the other ideas.
In the end, I felt like Tower of Glass simply had too many good ideas to be properly explored in under 200 pages. Normally I really appreciate the brevity of SF novels from the 1960s/70s, this is a rare case where Silverberg should have cut down on the number of ideas or devoted full novels to them instead. Nowadays, Tower of Glass would probably warrant a 1,000 page door-stopper, but Silverberg’s real genius was in creating fully-developed novels with exciting ideas and lyrical writing in a tight, fast-moving story. Unfortunately, this novel is a case of too much of a good thing.
Unfortunately, a wealth of ideas can sometimes overwhelm even the best books, and I think Tower of Glass is a perfect example. It is the story of Simeon Krug, a brilliant genetic engineer and industrialist who develops androids with human-like intelligence who he nevertheless considers mere tools to serve human interests. Krug’s driving ambition in to build a massive tower of glass in the Canadian tundra that will extend into space and allow FTL tachyon communications with NGC-7293, a nebula which has been emitting intelligent alien signals.
At all costs, Krug wishes to establish contact with these aliens beings, and assigns his top engineer android, Alpha Thor Watchmen, to oversee the construction. Meanwhile, his decadent and unambitious son Manuel uses the “transmat” matter transporters to shunt people across the world to enjoy a global 24-hour party. Manuel has a love affair with a beautiful android named Lilith Meson, who wants to enlist his support for the growing android rights movement. Unbeknownst to Krug, the androids have formed an elaborate religion built around Krug the Creator, and expect to receive salvation from Krug sometime in the future. They have actually created an Android Bible and complete set of rituals, services, etc. As the story develops, Krug gets increasingly obsessed with building the tower even at the price of android lives lost in the construction. When a android-rights activist is killed accidentally, he shows little sympathy.
The book introduces enough ideas for at least 5 or 6 full-length novels, so it’s inevitable that each story line doesn’t get full shrift. For example, the technology of instant teleportation around the world recalls the great SF classic The Stars My Destination (1954) by Alfred Bester, but there aren’t enough pages devoted to exploring the implications since the entire book is 194 pages long. There is also the technology of shunting, which allows the swapping of identities (machine-assisted telepathic exchange) for a period. This sharing of minds was more fully explored in Dying Inside and A Time of Changes, but gets only passing mention until the end of the novel.
There is also a very lightly-sketched sub-plot about Krug’s other side-project to build a generational starship to visit NGC-7293, which would be manned by androids. In yet another side-plot, Silverberg explores the social problems encountered by the three tiers of android society (mirroring Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World), broken down into alphas (the most intelligent), betas (the middle caste), and gammas (the lower proletarian class of androids). The main characters visit a gamma ghetto, which resembles an ethnic ghetto in a major city, complete with crime, drug abuse, discontent, and resentment. Finally, Silverberg devotes a great deal of time to exploring the religious conflicts of the androids’ religion of salvation via Krug. There are quotes from their Android Bible that sound just as fully developed as the human Bible. The painful irony is that Krug himself dismisses the android’s worship of him, and he has contempt for their misplaced aspirations.
The story reaches a climax when Krug and his android engineering chief Thor Watchman share a telepathic link in which Watchman discovers Krug’s contempt for the androids, crushing his religious belief and his faith in the merit of Krug’s Tower of Glass. There are all kinds of metaphors involves, the most obvious being the Tower of Babel, as well as the conflicted relationship of creator and creation, which we see in the confrontation between replicant Roy Batty and Dr. Eldon Tyrell in Blade Runner (1982). Though the android religion is the most fully-explored of themes in Tower of Glass, it is battling for space with all the other ideas.
In the end, I felt like Tower of Glass simply had too many good ideas to be properly explored in under 200 pages. Normally I really appreciate the brevity of SF novels from the 1960s/70s, this is a rare case where Silverberg should have cut down on the number of ideas or devoted full novels to them instead. Nowadays, Tower of Glass would probably warrant a 1,000 page door-stopper, but Silverberg’s real genius was in creating fully-developed novels with exciting ideas and lyrical writing in a tight, fast-moving story. Unfortunately, this novel is a case of too much of a good thing.
Read
February 22, 2016Simeon Krug bir iş adamı. O tipik zalim bir patron değil. Zeki ve idealleri olan bir adam. Uzaydan gelmiş mesajı takıntı haline getirmiş ve cevabı radyo dalgaları gibi şeylerle vererek 300 yıl beklemek yerine takyon ışınlarıyla çözmeyi planlıyor. Böylece muazzam Cam kulesi yükselmeye başlıyor. Bunun ilk adımındaysa işlevsiz bulduğu robotların yerine androidleri getiriyor.
Androidler tıpkı Aldous Huxley’nin Cesur Yeni Dünya’sında olduğu gibi sınıflara sahip. Bir insana denk alfalar, onlardan biraz daha geride kalan betalar ve tamamen alt sınıf olan, sadece kol gücü için kullanılan gamalar.
Ama olay bununla da bitmiyor. Çünkü Krug DNA dizilimlerinden ürettiği bu canlıları ne kadar insana benzerse benzesin “insan olmadıklarını” vurgulayacak şekilde üretmiş. Evet, onlar fiziksel açıdan bir insandan daha mükemmeller ancak kısırlar. Tenleri kızılımsı bir renk, gözleri metalik gri. Yani anlayacağınız, hepimizin çok aşina olduğu o ten rengi farkı burada da kendini gösteriyor. Oysa Cam Kule’nin geçtiği 23. yüzyılda artık insanlar birbirlerini ten renklerine göre ayırmıyor. Artık daha büyük bir ayrım var: Rahimden Doğan ve Tanktan Doğan.
Milyonlarca androide göre Krug bir tanrı. Ve onlar bu dinin müritleri. Krug onları bir gün Rahimden Doğanlar’la aynı düzeye getirecek bir gücün tezahürü. Androidler için iki Krug var: İnsan Krug ve Tanrı Krug.
Kitap boyunca her karakterin benliğiyle bütünleşerek olaylara onların gözünden bakıyoruz. Hem andoridlerin gözündeki Tanrı Krug’u, hem de kuleyi bir an önce bitirip mesaja cevap vermek için her şeyi hiçe sayan İnsan Krug’u görüyoruz.
Cam Kule, Silverberg’e yakışan ve her hayranının beğeneceğini düşündüğüm bir eser. İçten içe gözümdeki magnum opusu olan İçeriden Ölmek ile kıyaslıyorum onu. Evet, bir İçeriden Ölmek değil. Ama bu onu kötü ya da yetersiz yapmıyor.
Dıştan bakıldığında klişe bir konuya sahip, fakat detaylarında yaradılış miti ve işçi – iş veren sınıfıyla olan çift bağı sayesinde kendine has bir havaya sahip olan bir eser bu. Silverberg gibi bir ustanın ellerinden çıkmasa çok sıradan olabilecek bir kurgu, onun maharetli ellerinde sayfaları yırtarcasına çevirmenize yol açan bir kitaba dönüşüyor.
Bu eseri dilimizde okuma şansına eriştiğim için Krug’a şükürler olsun.
- Hazal ÇAMUR
İncelemenin tamamı için: http://www.kayiprihtim.org/portal/inc...
Androidler tıpkı Aldous Huxley’nin Cesur Yeni Dünya’sında olduğu gibi sınıflara sahip. Bir insana denk alfalar, onlardan biraz daha geride kalan betalar ve tamamen alt sınıf olan, sadece kol gücü için kullanılan gamalar.
Ama olay bununla da bitmiyor. Çünkü Krug DNA dizilimlerinden ürettiği bu canlıları ne kadar insana benzerse benzesin “insan olmadıklarını” vurgulayacak şekilde üretmiş. Evet, onlar fiziksel açıdan bir insandan daha mükemmeller ancak kısırlar. Tenleri kızılımsı bir renk, gözleri metalik gri. Yani anlayacağınız, hepimizin çok aşina olduğu o ten rengi farkı burada da kendini gösteriyor. Oysa Cam Kule’nin geçtiği 23. yüzyılda artık insanlar birbirlerini ten renklerine göre ayırmıyor. Artık daha büyük bir ayrım var: Rahimden Doğan ve Tanktan Doğan.
Milyonlarca androide göre Krug bir tanrı. Ve onlar bu dinin müritleri. Krug onları bir gün Rahimden Doğanlar’la aynı düzeye getirecek bir gücün tezahürü. Androidler için iki Krug var: İnsan Krug ve Tanrı Krug.
Kitap boyunca her karakterin benliğiyle bütünleşerek olaylara onların gözünden bakıyoruz. Hem andoridlerin gözündeki Tanrı Krug’u, hem de kuleyi bir an önce bitirip mesaja cevap vermek için her şeyi hiçe sayan İnsan Krug’u görüyoruz.
Cam Kule, Silverberg’e yakışan ve her hayranının beğeneceğini düşündüğüm bir eser. İçten içe gözümdeki magnum opusu olan İçeriden Ölmek ile kıyaslıyorum onu. Evet, bir İçeriden Ölmek değil. Ama bu onu kötü ya da yetersiz yapmıyor.
Dıştan bakıldığında klişe bir konuya sahip, fakat detaylarında yaradılış miti ve işçi – iş veren sınıfıyla olan çift bağı sayesinde kendine has bir havaya sahip olan bir eser bu. Silverberg gibi bir ustanın ellerinden çıkmasa çok sıradan olabilecek bir kurgu, onun maharetli ellerinde sayfaları yırtarcasına çevirmenize yol açan bir kitaba dönüşüyor.
Bu eseri dilimizde okuma şansına eriştiğim için Krug’a şükürler olsun.
- Hazal ÇAMUR
İncelemenin tamamı için: http://www.kayiprihtim.org/portal/inc...
April 19, 2010
5.0 stars. This is an outstanding novel. Robert Silverberg writes serious, adult science fiction stories that usually address deep emotional and pschological issues. There are times that his books, while well-written, are a bit too dry to keep my attention throughout. That is DEFINITELY NOT THE CASE WITH THIS BOOK. I loved this story from the opening page all the way through.
Simoen Krug, billionaire industrialist of a future Earth, is a man obsessed with pushing mankind forward. Toward that end, he is constructing a 1500 Meter high "Tower of Glass" in the Artic tundra in order to respond to messages recently received from an alien intelligence (the first ever encountered). Krug is not evil, but he is singularly obssessed with completing his goal. He reminded me a lot of a darker version of Dr Vannevar Morgan from Arthur C. Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise.
Building the tower for Krug are androids created by Krug's company who worship him as a god (literally). Their fervent (and secret) hope is that Krug will free them and grant them equality with humans. In charge of the construction is Thor Watchman, an Alpha android who secretly runs the android prayer groups that worship Krug.
The conflict that arises when the religious ideals of the androids and the obsession of thier creator come together is absolutely superb. This novel deals with issues of obsession, racism, religious ferver, population control, class distinction and what it means to be human. This is powerful stuff that is handled very well by Silverberg.
I also have to mention that, in addition to tackling some very serious issues, there are some great "ideas" developed by the author. Two of my favorites were (1) "shunting" which allows two or more people to actually share their consciousness for a few hours, learning everything about the other and (2) the "Nemo Club", a restaurant built 15,000 feet below the water in the Challenger Deep.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Nominee: Hugo Award for Best Novel
Nominee: Nebula Award for Best Novel
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Novel
Simoen Krug, billionaire industrialist of a future Earth, is a man obsessed with pushing mankind forward. Toward that end, he is constructing a 1500 Meter high "Tower of Glass" in the Artic tundra in order to respond to messages recently received from an alien intelligence (the first ever encountered). Krug is not evil, but he is singularly obssessed with completing his goal. He reminded me a lot of a darker version of Dr Vannevar Morgan from Arthur C. Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise.
Building the tower for Krug are androids created by Krug's company who worship him as a god (literally). Their fervent (and secret) hope is that Krug will free them and grant them equality with humans. In charge of the construction is Thor Watchman, an Alpha android who secretly runs the android prayer groups that worship Krug.
The conflict that arises when the religious ideals of the androids and the obsession of thier creator come together is absolutely superb. This novel deals with issues of obsession, racism, religious ferver, population control, class distinction and what it means to be human. This is powerful stuff that is handled very well by Silverberg.
I also have to mention that, in addition to tackling some very serious issues, there are some great "ideas" developed by the author. Two of my favorites were (1) "shunting" which allows two or more people to actually share their consciousness for a few hours, learning everything about the other and (2) the "Nemo Club", a restaurant built 15,000 feet below the water in the Challenger Deep.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Nominee: Hugo Award for Best Novel
Nominee: Nebula Award for Best Novel
Nominee: Locus Award for Best Novel
June 9, 2025
Tower of Glass - Robert Silverberg
هذه رواية خيال علمي، عن ملياردير عصامي في عالم مستقبلي وهوسه بالاتصال بكائنات عاقلة عبر الفضاء وعلاقته بابنه ووريثه وآليين صنعهم للخدمة والعمل.
نحن الآن 2218 وسيمون كروغ أغنى رجل في الأرض وهو ملياردير عصامي بعد أن بنى إمبراطوريته ها هو الآن يقيم برجًا زجاجيًا ضخمًا في مكان ما التندرا النصف الشمالي من الكرة الأرضية طوله 1500 متر، هدفه استقبال الإشارات القادمة من الفضاء بعد تلقيه إشارة غامضة... يعمل على بناء البرج الزجاجي آليون صنعهم كروغ بنفسه عبر التعديل والتصنيع وهم يعملون كعبيد بلا حقوق في كل شيء في هذا العالم..
الآليون يتطلعون لـ المساواة يومًا ما مع البشر، لكنهم منقسمون حول أفضل الوسائل لتحقيق هذا الهدف - عبر النضال السياسي أو التفاني الديني لكروغ، خالقهم. وابن كروج، مانويل، متردد في تولي دوره كوريث لإمبراطورية والده.
رواية بأفكار فلسفية وتطرح أسئلة كثيرة، صراع إرادات وأفكار وحوارات ونتنقل بين كروغ الآب والابن وآلي يدعى ثور هو اليد اليمنى لكروغ الأب وقائد مشروع البرج الزجاجي؛ رواية رائعة عن الوعي وفكرة الحرية والإرادة والدين... أفكار تناقش بعمق وفي أقل من 300 صفحة
تذكرني بشكل ما/قليلًا برواية فيليب ك.ديك،"هل تحلم الروبوتات بخراف آلية" وبرواية الدوس هيكسلي "عالم جديد شجاع"، فيما يخص تصنيف الآليين: جاما وبيتا وألفا...
أحب روايات الخيال العلمي الكلاسيكية، تدهشني دائمًا بعمقها وقوتها...
بعد إنهائها بدأت رواية أخرى للكاتب وأقترب من إنهائها هي الأخرى-كعادتي عند اكتشاف كاتب خيال علمي جديد..
ملاحظة مترددة في إضافتها؛ في وصف بعض النساء والآليات، يصفن كفتيات صغيرات-رغم كونهن نسوة/آليات بالغات وهو أمر غير مريح وتكرر في عدة فصول منفصلة، ولا أدري هل كان هذا متعمدًا أم ماذا؟..
هذه رواية خيال علمي، عن ملياردير عصامي في عالم مستقبلي وهوسه بالاتصال بكائنات عاقلة عبر الفضاء وعلاقته بابنه ووريثه وآليين صنعهم للخدمة والعمل.
نحن الآن 2218 وسيمون كروغ أغنى رجل في الأرض وهو ملياردير عصامي بعد أن بنى إمبراطوريته ها هو الآن يقيم برجًا زجاجيًا ضخمًا في مكان ما التندرا النصف الشمالي من الكرة الأرضية طوله 1500 متر، هدفه استقبال الإشارات القادمة من الفضاء بعد تلقيه إشارة غامضة... يعمل على بناء البرج الزجاجي آليون صنعهم كروغ بنفسه عبر التعديل والتصنيع وهم يعملون كعبيد بلا حقوق في كل شيء في هذا العالم..
الآليون يتطلعون لـ المساواة يومًا ما مع البشر، لكنهم منقسمون حول أفضل الوسائل لتحقيق هذا الهدف - عبر النضال السياسي أو التفاني الديني لكروغ، خالقهم. وابن كروج، مانويل، متردد في تولي دوره كوريث لإمبراطورية والده.
رواية بأفكار فلسفية وتطرح أسئلة كثيرة، صراع إرادات وأفكار وحوارات ونتنقل بين كروغ الآب والابن وآلي يدعى ثور هو اليد اليمنى لكروغ الأب وقائد مشروع البرج الزجاجي؛ رواية رائعة عن الوعي وفكرة الحرية والإرادة والدين... أفكار تناقش بعمق وفي أقل من 300 صفحة
تذكرني بشكل ما/قليلًا برواية فيليب ك.ديك،"هل تحلم الروبوتات بخراف آلية" وبرواية الدوس هيكسلي "عالم جديد شجاع"، فيما يخص تصنيف الآليين: جاما وبيتا وألفا...
أحب روايات الخيال العلمي الكلاسيكية، تدهشني دائمًا بعمقها وقوتها...
بعد إنهائها بدأت رواية أخرى للكاتب وأقترب من إنهائها هي الأخرى-كعادتي عند اكتشاف كاتب خيال علمي جديد..
ملاحظة مترددة في إضافتها؛ في وصف بعض النساء والآليات، يصفن كفتيات صغيرات-رغم كونهن نسوة/آليات بالغات وهو أمر غير مريح وتكرر في عدة فصول منفصلة، ولا أدري هل كان هذا متعمدًا أم ماذا؟..
February 25, 2013
Released in 1970, "Tower of Glass" was Robert Silverberg's 42nd sci-fi novel...his 18th since 1967 alone! The amazingly prolific author had embarked on a more mature phase of his writing career in '67, with an emphasis on ideas and a distinct literary quality, and "Tower of Glass" is yet another superior novel in this remarkable streak. Justifiably nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula awards (but "losing," respectively, to Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" and Larry Niven's "Ringworld"), it demonstrates that Silverberg, at this stage, was truly one of the very best in the sci-fi field.
In the book, the reader encounters an obsessed, 60-year-old magnate named Simeon Krug. One of the world's wealthiest men, in the year 2218, by dint of his discovery of a process to create synthetic, humanoid androids out of vat-processed DNA, Krug now sets himself a new challenge: erecting a 1,500-meter-tall (!) tower in the Canadian tundra, using android laborers, to house the communication apparatus that will enable him to "talk to the stars." It seems that signals have been picked up from the planetary nebula NGC 7293, which Silverberg tells us is 300 light-years distant, and Krug is determined to utilize his billions to communicate with the star people, using a faster-than-light tachyon transmitter. In addition to its fascinating central plot, "Tower of Glass" gives the reader several exciting subplots, as well. We learn of Krug's son, Manuel, who is having a love affair with an upper-caste android woman. We read of the Android Equality Party, comprised of synthetic humans who are trying to gain full civil rights in the World Congress. We learn of the android religion, how it is in conflict with the tactics of the A.E.P., and of how Thor Watchman, Krug's most trusted android foreman at the construction site, is torn between the two factions....
"Tower of Glass," besides its interesting story lines, is just loaded with fascinating detail and colorful description, in Silverberg's best manner. The reader is treated to a tour of Krug's main android factory in Duluth, where, thanks to a bit of hard sci-fi pedagogy, we learn how his synthetic humans are created. We see several demonstrations of a "shunt room," where the wealthy can go to swap egos and live inside one another's head space for a while. We visit Krug's upper-crust restaurant in the Pacific's Challenger Deep, 30,000 feet underwater; are given a look at the lower-caste android underground in Stockholm; and observe an android religious meeting. Taking advantage of the recently loosened sexual constraints in science fiction, the author gives us a scene featuring copulation between Manuel and his android lover Lilith Meson, and a sex scene involving two androids, Lilith and Thor. "Tower of Glass" is a novel that really does move, and that sense of movement is primarily due to the fact that it takes place in a society that has perfected the use of "transmats." Remember how, in Alfred Bester's 1956 classic "The Stars My Destination" (STILL this reader's favorite sci-fi novel, after all these years), characters are able to flit from one geographic location to another by a process called "jaunting"? Well, here, the transmats serve a similar function, allowing, say, Krug to travel from Uganda to Canada instantaneously, and on to Duluth, and then Colorado and New York City. (Oh, to live in a world with transmats!!!) The net effect of this rapid hopping about (and yes, Silverberg DOES discuss the ramifications of such a lifestyle in depth) is a feeling of tremendous narrative energy and drive; as I said, this novel really does move! Silverberg, something of a genuine prose stylist at this point, alternates his writing methods to suit each particular chapter. Some chapters feature hard science, others well-written expository dialogue, while others give us snippets of the android Bible, and still others (such as the scenes in the shunt room and the Stockholm underground) are written almost Impressionistically, with shorthand, psychedelic imagery. The book is marvelously entertaining and almost overwhelmingly imaginative, with every page boasting some curious touch, unexpected development, unique character or colorful locale. Truly, modern sci-fi at its very best.
I would set down only one quibble that I had with Silverberg's book, and it is that statement of NGC 7293 being 300 light-years distant. Perhaps, back in 1970, when Silverberg wrote his novel, this was the accepted figure, but today, it seems to be fairly well recognized that NGC 7293 is more on the order of 715 light-years away from planet Earth. Still, as I say, this is a mere quibble. The bottom line is that "Tower of Glass" is still another wonderfully gripping, intelligent piece of sci-fi from Robert Silverberg. And now, just one question for the author: Where can I purchase a "tesseract divan" for my own living room?
In the book, the reader encounters an obsessed, 60-year-old magnate named Simeon Krug. One of the world's wealthiest men, in the year 2218, by dint of his discovery of a process to create synthetic, humanoid androids out of vat-processed DNA, Krug now sets himself a new challenge: erecting a 1,500-meter-tall (!) tower in the Canadian tundra, using android laborers, to house the communication apparatus that will enable him to "talk to the stars." It seems that signals have been picked up from the planetary nebula NGC 7293, which Silverberg tells us is 300 light-years distant, and Krug is determined to utilize his billions to communicate with the star people, using a faster-than-light tachyon transmitter. In addition to its fascinating central plot, "Tower of Glass" gives the reader several exciting subplots, as well. We learn of Krug's son, Manuel, who is having a love affair with an upper-caste android woman. We read of the Android Equality Party, comprised of synthetic humans who are trying to gain full civil rights in the World Congress. We learn of the android religion, how it is in conflict with the tactics of the A.E.P., and of how Thor Watchman, Krug's most trusted android foreman at the construction site, is torn between the two factions....
"Tower of Glass," besides its interesting story lines, is just loaded with fascinating detail and colorful description, in Silverberg's best manner. The reader is treated to a tour of Krug's main android factory in Duluth, where, thanks to a bit of hard sci-fi pedagogy, we learn how his synthetic humans are created. We see several demonstrations of a "shunt room," where the wealthy can go to swap egos and live inside one another's head space for a while. We visit Krug's upper-crust restaurant in the Pacific's Challenger Deep, 30,000 feet underwater; are given a look at the lower-caste android underground in Stockholm; and observe an android religious meeting. Taking advantage of the recently loosened sexual constraints in science fiction, the author gives us a scene featuring copulation between Manuel and his android lover Lilith Meson, and a sex scene involving two androids, Lilith and Thor. "Tower of Glass" is a novel that really does move, and that sense of movement is primarily due to the fact that it takes place in a society that has perfected the use of "transmats." Remember how, in Alfred Bester's 1956 classic "The Stars My Destination" (STILL this reader's favorite sci-fi novel, after all these years), characters are able to flit from one geographic location to another by a process called "jaunting"? Well, here, the transmats serve a similar function, allowing, say, Krug to travel from Uganda to Canada instantaneously, and on to Duluth, and then Colorado and New York City. (Oh, to live in a world with transmats!!!) The net effect of this rapid hopping about (and yes, Silverberg DOES discuss the ramifications of such a lifestyle in depth) is a feeling of tremendous narrative energy and drive; as I said, this novel really does move! Silverberg, something of a genuine prose stylist at this point, alternates his writing methods to suit each particular chapter. Some chapters feature hard science, others well-written expository dialogue, while others give us snippets of the android Bible, and still others (such as the scenes in the shunt room and the Stockholm underground) are written almost Impressionistically, with shorthand, psychedelic imagery. The book is marvelously entertaining and almost overwhelmingly imaginative, with every page boasting some curious touch, unexpected development, unique character or colorful locale. Truly, modern sci-fi at its very best.
I would set down only one quibble that I had with Silverberg's book, and it is that statement of NGC 7293 being 300 light-years distant. Perhaps, back in 1970, when Silverberg wrote his novel, this was the accepted figure, but today, it seems to be fairly well recognized that NGC 7293 is more on the order of 715 light-years away from planet Earth. Still, as I say, this is a mere quibble. The bottom line is that "Tower of Glass" is still another wonderfully gripping, intelligent piece of sci-fi from Robert Silverberg. And now, just one question for the author: Where can I purchase a "tesseract divan" for my own living room?
July 21, 2021
Tam bir bilim kurgu romanı Cam Kule.
Silverberg'in her konuya bilimsel dayanak sunmasına, RNA dizilimine kadar vermesine ba yıl dım. Üretilmiş ama nasıl olduğunu bilmediğimiz robotlar canlılar vs yok her şey açıklanmış...
Öncelikle androidlerin robotik değil de etten sentetik insanlar olması fikri çok iyi.
Krug bir iş insanı, bu fikrin yaratıcısı, üreticisi. Uzaydan gelen sesleri takyon ışınları ile çözmek için devasa bir cam kule yükseliyor...
Androidler ise bu projeyi hızlandırmak için varlar, aralarında sınıf sistemi var. Alfalar; bilince sahip, zeki ve başarılılar. Betalar daha kalabalık ve alt seviye ve fren düşük sınıf olup iş gücü olan gamalar...
1 Alfaya karşılık 100 beta, 1000 gama üretiliyor.
Krug ise androidleri yarattığı için onların gözünde bir tanrı, kendilerince bir inanç sistemleri, tapınakları var... İnsanlar ile eşit haklara sahip olmak ve meclise girmek istiyorlar.
İşte burada Krug'ın tutumu ne olacak, bir tanrı gibi davranabilecek mi? Yoksa rasyonalist bir iş insanı mı?
💚💚
Ufak tefek gereksiz yerler vardı da ondan puan kıramayacağım.
Silverberg'in her konuya bilimsel dayanak sunmasına, RNA dizilimine kadar vermesine ba yıl dım. Üretilmiş ama nasıl olduğunu bilmediğimiz robotlar canlılar vs yok her şey açıklanmış...
Öncelikle androidlerin robotik değil de etten sentetik insanlar olması fikri çok iyi.
Krug bir iş insanı, bu fikrin yaratıcısı, üreticisi. Uzaydan gelen sesleri takyon ışınları ile çözmek için devasa bir cam kule yükseliyor...
Androidler ise bu projeyi hızlandırmak için varlar, aralarında sınıf sistemi var. Alfalar; bilince sahip, zeki ve başarılılar. Betalar daha kalabalık ve alt seviye ve fren düşük sınıf olup iş gücü olan gamalar...
1 Alfaya karşılık 100 beta, 1000 gama üretiliyor.
Krug ise androidleri yarattığı için onların gözünde bir tanrı, kendilerince bir inanç sistemleri, tapınakları var... İnsanlar ile eşit haklara sahip olmak ve meclise girmek istiyorlar.
İşte burada Krug'ın tutumu ne olacak, bir tanrı gibi davranabilecek mi? Yoksa rasyonalist bir iş insanı mı?
💚💚
Ufak tefek gereksiz yerler vardı da ondan puan kıramayacağım.
April 22, 2021
Ufff koja knjiga...
Odlicno, toliko dobro likove razradjuje da bas se skoro svi do kraja knjige nekako promijene. Odlican mi je seks izmedju Lilith i Thora (legenda je on). I super je Simeon Krug i cijela njegova ideja i prica...i sta sad, kamo, kome ????
Odlicno, toliko dobro likove razradjuje da bas se skoro svi do kraja knjige nekako promijene. Odlican mi je seks izmedju Lilith i Thora (legenda je on). I super je Simeon Krug i cijela njegova ideja i prica...i sta sad, kamo, kome ????
January 22, 2015
This is my second novel by Silverberg and it will most definitely not be the last. I cannot believe how a book this good can be so overlooked these days.
The Gollancz blurb is a good plot introduction:
"Simeon Krug is a man with a vision and he has the vast wealth necessary to bring it into being. For Krug wishes to communicate with the stars, to answer signals from deep space.
The colossal glass tower that he is building for the purpose soars high above the Arctic tundra, a sparkling monument to his determination and obsession. The androids who are working on it are perfect synthetic creatures, created by Krug’s own process in Krug’s own factories, and their commitment to the project and their loyalty to Krug are beyond question. For they have made him their god and believe that through him they will become flesh and blood.
But Krug is not a god and when the androids learn the bitter truth their anger is terrible and uncontrollable and threatens much more than Krug’s tower."
The book deals with a lot of things. It's incredible how Silverberg can tackle obsession, racism, class distinction, religious fever and what means to be human in a neat two hundred pages package.
Among various things, I enjoyed the fact that the book never quite made obvious what the story was about. Was it the tower and contacting the aliens? Was it ultimately about Krug's son, Manuel? Was it about the Androids and their struggle for equality? Was it about the religion the Androids created and how a frail, double sided blade it proved to be? Was it about slavery and how easily a leash can snap?
Ultimately, it was all of it and a bit more.
Highly recommended for any science fiction fan.
The Gollancz blurb is a good plot introduction:
"Simeon Krug is a man with a vision and he has the vast wealth necessary to bring it into being. For Krug wishes to communicate with the stars, to answer signals from deep space.
The colossal glass tower that he is building for the purpose soars high above the Arctic tundra, a sparkling monument to his determination and obsession. The androids who are working on it are perfect synthetic creatures, created by Krug’s own process in Krug’s own factories, and their commitment to the project and their loyalty to Krug are beyond question. For they have made him their god and believe that through him they will become flesh and blood.
But Krug is not a god and when the androids learn the bitter truth their anger is terrible and uncontrollable and threatens much more than Krug’s tower."
The book deals with a lot of things. It's incredible how Silverberg can tackle obsession, racism, class distinction, religious fever and what means to be human in a neat two hundred pages package.
Among various things, I enjoyed the fact that the book never quite made obvious what the story was about. Was it the tower and contacting the aliens? Was it ultimately about Krug's son, Manuel? Was it about the Androids and their struggle for equality? Was it about the religion the Androids created and how a frail, double sided blade it proved to be? Was it about slavery and how easily a leash can snap?
Ultimately, it was all of it and a bit more.
Highly recommended for any science fiction fan.
January 1, 2020
Nominally a story of the discovery of coded alien signals emanating from a nearby star system and the construction of an enormous tower capable of transmitting a response. However, the real story here is about the development of androids and their struggle to be recognized and given rights as people, rather than property.
Silverberg is a master world builder, and is in top form here. We get our obligatory android sex scenes, as one would expect from Sliverberg, but as with his best stuff the story resonates more deeply, touching on society's struggles with human rights and equality, as well as the folly of blind faith.
The story, and ending in particular, follow a pattern that's not difficult to predict. Yet, I found it an enjoyable ride, made interesting by some of the technological wonders in this 23rd century world, including instant global teleportation and a process for consensual mind/thought swapping in particular.
Silverberg is a master world builder, and is in top form here. We get our obligatory android sex scenes, as one would expect from Sliverberg, but as with his best stuff the story resonates more deeply, touching on society's struggles with human rights and equality, as well as the folly of blind faith.
The story, and ending in particular, follow a pattern that's not difficult to predict. Yet, I found it an enjoyable ride, made interesting by some of the technological wonders in this 23rd century world, including instant global teleportation and a process for consensual mind/thought swapping in particular.
May 30, 2015
4,5/5
Silverberg'den çok güzel bir kitap daha.
Frankenstein kadar zihin açıcı olmasa da yine yaratıcı-yaratılan üzerine süper bir kitap. Distopya temelleri üstüne oturtulması ve bunu sıradınlıktan uzak bir anlatımla işlenmesi de cabası.
Silverberg'den çok güzel bir kitap daha.
Frankenstein kadar zihin açıcı olmasa da yine yaratıcı-yaratılan üzerine süper bir kitap. Distopya temelleri üstüne oturtulması ve bunu sıradınlıktan uzak bir anlatımla işlenmesi de cabası.
August 27, 2020
Ressenya en català:
https://www.elkraken.com/Ressenyes_Ca...
Reseña en castellano:
https://www.elkraken.com/Esp/T-esp/R-...
https://www.elkraken.com/Ressenyes_Ca...
Reseña en castellano:
https://www.elkraken.com/Esp/T-esp/R-...
November 27, 2016
Kitap son kısımlara kadar gerek bilim-kurgu olarak gerek edindiği konuları sorgulamalarıyla iyi gidiyordu ama sonunu beğenmedim, hem de hiç. Ben plot twist beklerken fail'e denk geldim.
Spoiler
Manuel zaten düşüncesiz, ona bir şey demiyorum. Peki ya Krug? Sen servetini, hırsını ve umudunu bir kule için harca, sonra Thor ile düşünce takası yap. Thor senin tanrı olma konusunda tüm düşünce ve hislerini görsün, fakat sen Thor'un bunu öğrendiğindeki hislerini, konumunun önemini, aklından geçebilecek devrim düşüncelerini göreme, üstüne üstlük bir tane insan "dünyanın en önemli yapıtının" yıkılmasına engel olabilecek seviyede olmasın. Normalde Krug gibi katı ve net düşüncelere sahip bir karakterin %10-15'lik gibi bir tehditi bırak %1'lik bile tehdit gördüğünde onu ortadan kaldırması gerek.
Spoiler
Manuel zaten düşüncesiz, ona bir şey demiyorum. Peki ya Krug? Sen servetini, hırsını ve umudunu bir kule için harca, sonra Thor ile düşünce takası yap. Thor senin tanrı olma konusunda tüm düşünce ve hislerini görsün, fakat sen Thor'un bunu öğrendiğindeki hislerini, konumunun önemini, aklından geçebilecek devrim düşüncelerini göreme, üstüne üstlük bir tane insan "dünyanın en önemli yapıtının" yıkılmasına engel olabilecek seviyede olmasın. Normalde Krug gibi katı ve net düşüncelere sahip bir karakterin %10-15'lik gibi bir tehditi bırak %1'lik bile tehdit gördüğünde onu ortadan kaldırması gerek.
July 4, 2016
Cam Kule'de gerçek dünyamıza paralel bir çok özellik var, robotları, bilim kurguyu sevmeseniz bile bu paralellik sizi romanın içine çekiyor ve sayfaların nasıl aktığını anlamıyorsunuz. Kitabın tek güzel yönü dünyamızla olan paralelliği değildi tabii ki, dili, karakterleri ve kurgusu da güzeldi. Yazarın fazla uzatmadan vermek istediği mesajı vererek romanı bitirmesinden de gayet hoşlandım, tadı damağınızda kalıyor ancak uzun anlatımlarla da sıkmıyor.
İnsanoğluna birde yirmiüçüncü yüzyıldan Silverberg kaleminden göz atmak istiyorsanız hiç durmayın derim. :)
Ayrıntılı yorum için; http://yorumatolyesi.blogspot.com/201...
İnsanoğluna birde yirmiüçüncü yüzyıldan Silverberg kaleminden göz atmak istiyorsanız hiç durmayın derim. :)
Ayrıntılı yorum için; http://yorumatolyesi.blogspot.com/201...
March 5, 2016
Okuduğum en iyi bilimkurgu eserlerinden. Türün seveniyseniz asla kaçırmayın. Bambaşka bir bakış açısı.
October 17, 2018
I've made my position on how or whether authors and what you know of them belong in a review perfectly clear, on Goodreads, and copied here on this blog. It's a point people still try to argue on the Goodreads version, although I gave up responding a long time ago - I think through that and a bunch of responses, I've done my part to explain clearly, why I do think that it is perfectly acceptable, even necessary, to bring what you know of an author into a review, at least the kind of reviews that I write.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
October 11, 2023
A science fiction retelling of the Tower of Babel spiced up with the classic “robots are slaves” trope. Not a bad exploration of the concept, mind you—especially with the idea that the androids see their creator as a god and built a whole religion around him—but it wasn’t super satisfying.
I still liked the journey but Silverberg didn’t nail the ending quite like other books I’ve read by him. Definitely a flat three stars.
I still liked the journey but Silverberg didn’t nail the ending quite like other books I’ve read by him. Definitely a flat three stars.
May 24, 2012
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
"Some of them are looking for God, and some of them are looking for power, and some of them are just looking."
Simeon Krug, a brilliant inventor, has changed the world by creating synthetic humans in vats. They are so similar to humans that, to avoid confusion, Krug made their skin a reddish color and gave them no body hair. To these androids, Krug is God, but he doesn’t realize it. He thinks of them as mere machines and he’s set them the task of building a giant glass tower which will reach into the heavens to communicate with the aliens who have been sending messages to Earth. Krug’s son, poised to take over the company when his father dies, doesn’t share Krug’s obsession with talking to aliens, and he is particularly disturbed when he discovers the android religion. What will happen when the androids find out that Krug is not their salvation?
There aren’t any likeable characters here, and it’s hard for me to relate to androids, but Tower of Glass made me think (most of Robert Silverberg’s stories make me think). In Tower of Glass, Silverberg uses androids to explore a common science fiction theme: What makes us human? I’ve read dozens of stories which ask this question, but Tower of Glass will stick with me. Originally published in 1970, Tower of Glass has worn very well, probably because it deals with timeless human problems.
Krug’s androids, who call themselves “vat-born” to distinguish themselves from the “womb-born,” are constructed with human DNA which has been altered to give them a slightly alien look and to make them hard-working faithful servants. What Krug didn’t realize, perhaps, was that this human DNA would make them ambitious and would give them a desire to worship their creator. Under the leadership of Thor Watchman, the android who works as Krug’s right-hand man in the tower project, they develop an entire religion around Krug. In their time off from building Krug’s tower, they get involved in politics, build temples, write holy scriptures, hold worship services, conduct sacraments, chant and pray. Their chants and prayers consist of recitations of genetic code and their scriptures, modeled after the Christian Bible, speak of Krug’s love for them and his plan to save them by transforming them, with genetic code, into full human beings after they die. It’s understandable, then, that they’d be a little upset when they find out that their religion is false and that they’re not going to be saved after all.
As usual with a novel by Robert Silverberg, you have to suffer through some unpleasant sex scenes (I find many of Silverberg’s sex scenes to be disturbing), but there are fewer far-out tangents in Tower of Glass than in some of his other stories and at least here there is some purpose to them here. The pace moves quickly and Silverberg packs in a lot of ideas as he shows us a newly developing android society that is dealing with the same kinds of issues that humans have always dealt with — racism, caste systems, slavery, outcasts, ghettos, disease, drug abuse, political agitators, religious zealots, and the rise of an oppressed population. All the while Silverberg ratchets up the tension as the tower gets taller and Krug becomes more obsessed and noticeably less godlike.
I listened to Stefan Rudnicki narrate Audible Frontiers’ version of Tower of Glass. Rudnicki always gives a great reading — he has a nice voice, he never overacts, and he always seems to “get” what he reads. Tower of Glass was nominated for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus awards.
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
"Some of them are looking for God, and some of them are looking for power, and some of them are just looking."
Simeon Krug, a brilliant inventor, has changed the world by creating synthetic humans in vats. They are so similar to humans that, to avoid confusion, Krug made their skin a reddish color and gave them no body hair. To these androids, Krug is God, but he doesn’t realize it. He thinks of them as mere machines and he’s set them the task of building a giant glass tower which will reach into the heavens to communicate with the aliens who have been sending messages to Earth. Krug’s son, poised to take over the company when his father dies, doesn’t share Krug’s obsession with talking to aliens, and he is particularly disturbed when he discovers the android religion. What will happen when the androids find out that Krug is not their salvation?
There aren’t any likeable characters here, and it’s hard for me to relate to androids, but Tower of Glass made me think (most of Robert Silverberg’s stories make me think). In Tower of Glass, Silverberg uses androids to explore a common science fiction theme: What makes us human? I’ve read dozens of stories which ask this question, but Tower of Glass will stick with me. Originally published in 1970, Tower of Glass has worn very well, probably because it deals with timeless human problems.
Krug’s androids, who call themselves “vat-born” to distinguish themselves from the “womb-born,” are constructed with human DNA which has been altered to give them a slightly alien look and to make them hard-working faithful servants. What Krug didn’t realize, perhaps, was that this human DNA would make them ambitious and would give them a desire to worship their creator. Under the leadership of Thor Watchman, the android who works as Krug’s right-hand man in the tower project, they develop an entire religion around Krug. In their time off from building Krug’s tower, they get involved in politics, build temples, write holy scriptures, hold worship services, conduct sacraments, chant and pray. Their chants and prayers consist of recitations of genetic code and their scriptures, modeled after the Christian Bible, speak of Krug’s love for them and his plan to save them by transforming them, with genetic code, into full human beings after they die. It’s understandable, then, that they’d be a little upset when they find out that their religion is false and that they’re not going to be saved after all.
As usual with a novel by Robert Silverberg, you have to suffer through some unpleasant sex scenes (I find many of Silverberg’s sex scenes to be disturbing), but there are fewer far-out tangents in Tower of Glass than in some of his other stories and at least here there is some purpose to them here. The pace moves quickly and Silverberg packs in a lot of ideas as he shows us a newly developing android society that is dealing with the same kinds of issues that humans have always dealt with — racism, caste systems, slavery, outcasts, ghettos, disease, drug abuse, political agitators, religious zealots, and the rise of an oppressed population. All the while Silverberg ratchets up the tension as the tower gets taller and Krug becomes more obsessed and noticeably less godlike.
I listened to Stefan Rudnicki narrate Audible Frontiers’ version of Tower of Glass. Rudnicki always gives a great reading — he has a nice voice, he never overacts, and he always seems to “get” what he reads. Tower of Glass was nominated for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus awards.
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
November 11, 2023
Tower of Glass is definitely one of the ambitious novels by Silverberg as it is full of different Science Fiction elements.
Set in the 23rd century, the wealthy entrepreneur Simeon Krug builds a 1500m high tower made of glass to communicate with an alien intelligence 300 light years away. For the construction, he uses androids which he himself has created. What seems to be at first glance a classic first contact story, the book deals for the main part with the liberation movement of the androids which is in my view a quite unique and very intriguing idea!
The story is told from different perspectives and it includes the viewpoint of Alpha Thor Watchman who belongs to the most intelligent and flawless androids. He is responsible for the construction of the tower and directs the other working androids (betas and gammas). The classification of androids into alphas, betas and gammas reminds me of Brave New World which is certainly intentional.
Throughout the story we are confronted with the conveniences of 23rd century society: transmat which allow everyone to travel to nearly every location on Earth in an instant. Androids are used for every work and service. Rich people can use the so-called shunting for pleasure where they switch personalities with their friends or lovers for a certain time. And there is even a luxury restaurant at the bottom of the Mariana Trench! And in this setting, Krug wants to build a tower to communicate with another alien intelligence, the first ever discovered. Wow!
In its core, Tower of Glass deals with very important questions like What makes a human humane? Is there really a difference between androids (Children of the Vat) and humans (Children of the Womb) if one cannot decide anymore who is artificial and who is not? Should androids be treated equally if they want to be? Or are the only things which can be possessed and used and? Is killing androids murder?
The story offers even more, there is a respectable political movement of androids and a religious cult who worships Krug as a god, and in the end, a confrontation between Krug and his creations is inevitable...
I am really overwhelmed again by Silverberg's imagination and immensely good writing that the next Silverberg is just right around the corner!
Set in the 23rd century, the wealthy entrepreneur Simeon Krug builds a 1500m high tower made of glass to communicate with an alien intelligence 300 light years away. For the construction, he uses androids which he himself has created. What seems to be at first glance a classic first contact story, the book deals for the main part with the liberation movement of the androids which is in my view a quite unique and very intriguing idea!
The story is told from different perspectives and it includes the viewpoint of Alpha Thor Watchman who belongs to the most intelligent and flawless androids. He is responsible for the construction of the tower and directs the other working androids (betas and gammas). The classification of androids into alphas, betas and gammas reminds me of Brave New World which is certainly intentional.
Throughout the story we are confronted with the conveniences of 23rd century society: transmat which allow everyone to travel to nearly every location on Earth in an instant. Androids are used for every work and service. Rich people can use the so-called shunting for pleasure where they switch personalities with their friends or lovers for a certain time. And there is even a luxury restaurant at the bottom of the Mariana Trench! And in this setting, Krug wants to build a tower to communicate with another alien intelligence, the first ever discovered. Wow!
In its core, Tower of Glass deals with very important questions like What makes a human humane? Is there really a difference between androids (Children of the Vat) and humans (Children of the Womb) if one cannot decide anymore who is artificial and who is not? Should androids be treated equally if they want to be? Or are the only things which can be possessed and used and? Is killing androids murder?
The story offers even more, there is a respectable political movement of androids and a religious cult who worships Krug as a god, and in the end, a confrontation between Krug and his creations is inevitable...
I am really overwhelmed again by Silverberg's imagination and immensely good writing that the next Silverberg is just right around the corner!
June 11, 2016
Storyline: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 4/5
World: 4/5
Bait and switch.
That's what it was.... a bait and switch trick. But Silverberg! the bait and switch was totally unnecessary! Granted, you hooked me with the first contact story, but I would happily have signed on to a story about android civil rights. The only thing, Mr. Silverberg, is that I wanted you to develop and finish the stories. All you had to do was call, and I would have helped you narrow down the options. You could a) write one book, on either Krug's quest to reach out to the stars or a human-android relations book. On the other hand, with option b) you would get to write two books! (the enthusiasm in my voice would let you know that this was really the only true option): one exploring 2-4-1 2-5-1 3-1 and the other on the AEP politics. You could even have set these in the same future! Yeah, seductive, huh? The whole "it's not really a sequel, but it is set in the same fictional universe" bit. That would have worked, and I would have loved it so much more. What?... option c) you would have asked. Well, I wouldn't have brought it up myself, but if you really wanted a third option I would have begrudgingly told you that you could combine the two, but.... But! - this is an important but - you have to make it a tome. 208 pages is not going to be enough for you to play with aliens, meglomania, shunting, space travel, megaprojects, robot politics, liberation theology, and civil rights. If you take on both stories and insist on your wonderful, glossy worldbuilding, the result is going to be a tentative, shiny novel that promises grandeur and disappoints when it delivers only intrigue. If you again pen your truly engrossing first person omniscient views, the intimidating biological hard science details, and the thought experiments on future oppression - but insist on keeping it short - then you won't be able to satisfy us. 400 pages? 600 pages? I would have read it, and it would have been great. As it was, it was simply good. Next time, just call; I'll be happy to help.
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 4/5
World: 4/5
Bait and switch.
That's what it was.... a bait and switch trick. But Silverberg! the bait and switch was totally unnecessary! Granted, you hooked me with the first contact story, but I would happily have signed on to a story about android civil rights. The only thing, Mr. Silverberg, is that I wanted you to develop and finish the stories. All you had to do was call, and I would have helped you narrow down the options. You could a) write one book, on either Krug's quest to reach out to the stars or a human-android relations book. On the other hand, with option b) you would get to write two books! (the enthusiasm in my voice would let you know that this was really the only true option): one exploring 2-4-1 2-5-1 3-1 and the other on the AEP politics. You could even have set these in the same future! Yeah, seductive, huh? The whole "it's not really a sequel, but it is set in the same fictional universe" bit. That would have worked, and I would have loved it so much more. What?... option c) you would have asked. Well, I wouldn't have brought it up myself, but if you really wanted a third option I would have begrudgingly told you that you could combine the two, but.... But! - this is an important but - you have to make it a tome. 208 pages is not going to be enough for you to play with aliens, meglomania, shunting, space travel, megaprojects, robot politics, liberation theology, and civil rights. If you take on both stories and insist on your wonderful, glossy worldbuilding, the result is going to be a tentative, shiny novel that promises grandeur and disappoints when it delivers only intrigue. If you again pen your truly engrossing first person omniscient views, the intimidating biological hard science details, and the thought experiments on future oppression - but insist on keeping it short - then you won't be able to satisfy us. 400 pages? 600 pages? I would have read it, and it would have been great. As it was, it was simply good. Next time, just call; I'll be happy to help.
October 14, 2025
This is an SF initially about a first contact, but that wanders in another direction. It was nominated for Hugo and Nebula in 1971 but won neither. I read it as a part of the monthly reading for October 2025 at Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels group.
The story is set in the 24th century. A signal from out of the Solar system is received, short and repeating, too regular to be random but too brief to decipher. An absence of faster-than-light travel makes a journey to the source a 300-year-long challenge, so another way is suggested: to build an emitter of tachyons (The term tachyon was coined by Gerald Feinberg in a 1967 paper titled "Possibility of faster-than-light particles", just 3 years before the publication of this book). This theoretical faster-than-light particle can hypothetically speed up communication.
Enter Simeon Krug, the richest man on Earth, creator of mass-produced androids. He uses his wealth to start the construction of a colossal tower above the Arctic tundra (so that permafrost is able to withstand the weight of this 1500-meter-long transparent tower from the title). His androids are of three classes (alphas, betas, gammas), they are based on human DNA, but to stress their difference, they are blue-skinned and without hair on their body except for their heads.
A lot of androids worship Krug, literally; they created a clandestine religion that sees him as their creator and savior. There is also a group of androids, who follow reason and instead try to get rights for androids. At the same time, Krug sees them only as things, instruments, valuable, but replaceable. Krug has a son, who is in a secret love affair with an android named Lilith.
It is curious how the attitudes have changed since the publication. The struggle for equal rights is still a hot topic; just recall this year (2025) Hugo nominee Service Model. At the same time, depilation is now quite popular, so statements like “They had small high-set breasts, flat bellies, narrow waists, flaring hips, full buttocks. They had hair on their heads and they had eyebrows, but otherwise they were without body hair, which gave them a certain sexless look; yet the groove of sex was inscribed between their legs” or ” He looked down at her, at her bareness. Bare, yes, but not because she had been shaven. She was like a child there.” (and this strikes the character more seriously than Android's skin color) sound forced…
An interesting read with a strong climax, but I expected more from the double nominee.
The story is set in the 24th century. A signal from out of the Solar system is received, short and repeating, too regular to be random but too brief to decipher. An absence of faster-than-light travel makes a journey to the source a 300-year-long challenge, so another way is suggested: to build an emitter of tachyons (The term tachyon was coined by Gerald Feinberg in a 1967 paper titled "Possibility of faster-than-light particles", just 3 years before the publication of this book). This theoretical faster-than-light particle can hypothetically speed up communication.
Enter Simeon Krug, the richest man on Earth, creator of mass-produced androids. He uses his wealth to start the construction of a colossal tower above the Arctic tundra (so that permafrost is able to withstand the weight of this 1500-meter-long transparent tower from the title). His androids are of three classes (alphas, betas, gammas), they are based on human DNA, but to stress their difference, they are blue-skinned and without hair on their body except for their heads.
A lot of androids worship Krug, literally; they created a clandestine religion that sees him as their creator and savior. There is also a group of androids, who follow reason and instead try to get rights for androids. At the same time, Krug sees them only as things, instruments, valuable, but replaceable. Krug has a son, who is in a secret love affair with an android named Lilith.
It is curious how the attitudes have changed since the publication. The struggle for equal rights is still a hot topic; just recall this year (2025) Hugo nominee Service Model. At the same time, depilation is now quite popular, so statements like “They had small high-set breasts, flat bellies, narrow waists, flaring hips, full buttocks. They had hair on their heads and they had eyebrows, but otherwise they were without body hair, which gave them a certain sexless look; yet the groove of sex was inscribed between their legs” or ” He looked down at her, at her bareness. Bare, yes, but not because she had been shaven. She was like a child there.” (and this strikes the character more seriously than Android's skin color) sound forced…
An interesting read with a strong climax, but I expected more from the double nominee.
February 8, 2025
Humanity has received a mysterious signal from the distant stars and billionaire Simeon Krug has become obsessed with establishing contact with what he deems to be an intelligent alien race. To do this, he is pouring his fortune into the construction of an enormous glass tower in the tundra which upon completion, will be the largest structure ever built on Earth. It will house a tachyon beam capable of projecting messages at faster-than-light speeds, which Krug hopes will help establish two-way communication with the alien race. He is employing thousands of androids, synthetic humans that he created who are born as adults from frothing vats of chemicals. The androids have red skin to distinguish them from humans and they worship Krug as their god, in a secret religion with elaborate chapels and prayer rituals.
This story follows three characters including Simeon Krug, his uninterested son Manuel and the android foreman responsible for the construction of the tower, Thor Watchman. While the tower is being erected to its final height of 1,500 meters, there is a rift forming among the android population. Some of them are deeply embedded in the religion while others are forming a political group to advocate for the freedom and rights of the androids, hoping to elevate them to the same status as humans and security positions within world governments. This world features a teleportation infrastructure which allows androids and humans the ability to zip around the globe instantaneously, resulting in a globalised culture and the freedom to live and work anywhere with ease. There's also an activity called shunting, in which you can effectively become somebody else for a brief period under supervised conditions, embodying their thoughts, feelings and memories. This is a common theme for the author and features most prominently in 'A Time of Changes'.
As he usually does, Silverberg includes a fair bit of sexual content here although in this case, it is often uncomfortable, awkward and creepy. This mostly comes through the treatment of Manuel's wife and the female android characters. I think the religious and political allegory is also a bit heavy-handed, with some comparisons between the androids and oppressed groups in human history that were close to the line.
Although some of the components of this novel are a little unstable, I still think Silverberg has pulled off another solid construction, even if it's not among my favourites from him.
This story follows three characters including Simeon Krug, his uninterested son Manuel and the android foreman responsible for the construction of the tower, Thor Watchman. While the tower is being erected to its final height of 1,500 meters, there is a rift forming among the android population. Some of them are deeply embedded in the religion while others are forming a political group to advocate for the freedom and rights of the androids, hoping to elevate them to the same status as humans and security positions within world governments. This world features a teleportation infrastructure which allows androids and humans the ability to zip around the globe instantaneously, resulting in a globalised culture and the freedom to live and work anywhere with ease. There's also an activity called shunting, in which you can effectively become somebody else for a brief period under supervised conditions, embodying their thoughts, feelings and memories. This is a common theme for the author and features most prominently in 'A Time of Changes'.
As he usually does, Silverberg includes a fair bit of sexual content here although in this case, it is often uncomfortable, awkward and creepy. This mostly comes through the treatment of Manuel's wife and the female android characters. I think the religious and political allegory is also a bit heavy-handed, with some comparisons between the androids and oppressed groups in human history that were close to the line.
Although some of the components of this novel are a little unstable, I still think Silverberg has pulled off another solid construction, even if it's not among my favourites from him.
September 6, 2022
Recensione completa -> https://thebooksblender.altervista.or...
July 12, 2021
Historisches Rating, mit 16 oder so der beste Science-Fiction-Roman aller Zeiten für mich.
March 3, 2024
Milliardär Krug wurde reich, indem er die Androiden erschuf, künstliche Menschen, die als Sklaven die Arbeit für eine geschrumpfte Erdbevölkerung erledigen.
Doch sie leiden unter der Situation und haben eine von ihnen geheimgehaltene Religion begründet, in der Krug als ihr Schöpfer der Gott ist. Sie warten darauf, dass er sie von ihrem Leiden erlöst.
Das tragische ist, dass ihrem "Gott" ihr Anliegen völlig gleichgültig ist. Er ist monomanisch besessen davon, mit Außerirdischen in Kontakt zu treten, wofür er eine gigantische Tachyonen-Antenne bauen lässt.
Die Erschaffung einer neuen Religion als Opium fürs (Androiden-)Volk fand ich ein interessantes Thema.
Der Plot war eigentlich auch außergewöhnlich gut.
100%ig gefallen hat mir das ganze trotzdem nicht, drum "nur" 3.5/5
Doch sie leiden unter der Situation und haben eine von ihnen geheimgehaltene Religion begründet, in der Krug als ihr Schöpfer der Gott ist. Sie warten darauf, dass er sie von ihrem Leiden erlöst.
Das tragische ist, dass ihrem "Gott" ihr Anliegen völlig gleichgültig ist. Er ist monomanisch besessen davon, mit Außerirdischen in Kontakt zu treten, wofür er eine gigantische Tachyonen-Antenne bauen lässt.
Die Erschaffung einer neuen Religion als Opium fürs (Androiden-)Volk fand ich ein interessantes Thema.
Der Plot war eigentlich auch außergewöhnlich gut.
100%ig gefallen hat mir das ganze trotzdem nicht, drum "nur" 3.5/5
July 19, 2016
Este livro enganou-me. Quem diria que ao começar a ler sobre uma mensagem vinda das estrelas, de uma nebulosa inabitável, com níveis de radiação e temperaturas absolutamente impossíveis de suportar por um ser vivo que caiba na nossa imaginação, a 300 anos luz da terra, acabaria a ler sobre a ainda, mas cada vez menos, especulativa relação entre o ser humano e o andróide ... Fantástico. Gostei principalmente da exploração do sexo e da religião entre os andróides, que ao longo do livro se foram tornando mais humanos, ou talvez sempre o tenham sido....
A visão do futuro que a ficção científica do fim dos anos 60 nos oferece, claro, é sempre um grande bónus.
A visão do futuro que a ficção científica do fim dos anos 60 nos oferece, claro, é sempre um grande bónus.
July 24, 2023
I always come back to Silverberg. The writing is magnificent. The eye to understand history, spot on. The commentary on society is there if you want to. His use of robots to understand humans, he has it too. The credibility and verisimilitude, sharp, consequential. It reaveals the reason behind religion, the building of monuments, the reaction with your dad and with your wife, the intricacies of flesh against flesh… all with a writing finesse and engagement unparalleled. And I got it for 4 euros in a Second Hand bookshop in Youghal, on the amazing West Coast of the Republic of Ireland. Wow
January 23, 2013
Brilliant, multilayered work by one of the genre's best. A playful SF take on the tower of Babel. I wish I wrote as well as Robert Silverberg.
March 1, 2021
"Look, he would say, a billion years ago there wasn’t even any man, there was only a fish. A slippery thing with gills and scales and little round eyes. He lived in the ocean, and the ocean was like a jail, and the air was like a roof on top of the jail. Nobody could go through the roof. You’ll die if you go through, everybody said, and there was this fish, he went through, and he died. And there was this other fish, and he went through, and he died. But there was another fish, and he went through, and it was like his brain was on fire, and his gills were blazing, and the air was drowning him, and the sun was a torch in his eyes, and he was lying there in the mud, waiting to die, and he didn’t die. He crawled back down the beach and went into the water and said, Look, there’s a whole other world up there. And he went up there again, and stayed for maybe two days, and then he died. And other fishes wondered about that world. And crawled up onto the muddy shore. And stayed. And taught themselves how to breathe the air. And taught themselves how to stand up, how to walk around, how to live with the sunlight in their eyes. And they turned into lizards, dinosaurs, whatever they became, and they walked around for millions of years, and they started to get up on their hind legs, and they used their hands to grab things, and they turned into apes, and the apes got smarter and became men. And all the time some of them, a few, anyway, kept looking for new worlds. You say to them, Let’s go back into the ocean, let’s be fishes again, it’s easier that way. And maybe half of them are ready to do it, more than half, maybe, but there are always some who say, Don’t be crazy. We can’t be fishes any more. We’re men. And so they don’t go back. They keep climbing up. They find out about fire, and about axes, and about wheels, and they make wagons and houses and clothing, and then boats, and cars, and trains. Why are they climbing? What do they want to find? They don’t know. Some of them are looking for God, and some of them are looking for power, and some of them are just looking. They say, You have to keep going, or else you die. And then they’re walking on the moon, and they go on to the planets, and all the time there are other people saying, It was nice in the ocean, it was simple in the ocean, what are we doing here, why don’t we go back? And a few people have to say, We don’t go back, we only go forward, that’s what men do"
A wild story of humanity, robots, religion, love, sex, exploration, and so much more. Equal parts touching, sad, and thought provoking.
A wild story of humanity, robots, religion, love, sex, exploration, and so much more. Equal parts touching, sad, and thought provoking.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews