Sailing to Byzantium/Seven American Nights

by Robert Silverberg, Gene Wolfe

Sailing to Byzantium (Feb 1985)
Awards:

1986 Hugo Award - Best Novella (Nomination)
1986 Locus Poll Award - Best Novella (Place: 2)
1986 Nebula Award - Novella (Win)
1986 SF Chronicle Award - Novella (Nomination)

Seven American Nights (1978)
Awards:

1979 Hugo Award - Best Novella (Nomination)
1979 Locus Poll Award - Best Novella (Place: 3)
1979 Nebula Award - Novella (Nomination)

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

183 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1989

About the author

There are many authors in the database with this name.

Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars Byzantium/ 3 1/2 stars Seven American Nights
Sailing To Byzantium is one of Silverberg's favorite stories and maybe my favorite story by him, there is a whole lot packed into a novella, and his own spin on Yeat's poem.



Is it better to be "real" or to be immortal? Charles is first shaken to learn that he is software construct, but is in love with and loved by a "real" person who is aging normally in a world of immortals.

The visitors might be artificial, but they were not unreal. Belilala had been trying to tell him that just the other night. You suffer. You love. You love Gioia. Would Gioia love what is not real? Surely he was real, or at any rate real enough. What he was was something strange, something that would probably have been all but incomprehensible to the twentieth-century people whom he had been designed to simulate. But that did not mean that he was unreal. Did one have to be of woman born to be real? No. No. No. His kind of reality was a sufficient reality. He had no need to be ashamed of it.

" He had no need to be ashamed of it" he had no choice anyway, the only way to find any happiness is to accept it.


I'm not really sure what happened in Wolfe's "Seven American Nights", we have a very unreliable narrator, never sure if he is drugged or not.

Mr. Tallman and me—mentioned for the final time that day that the water had turned yellow. “I know,” the captain said. “It’s his country” (here he jerked his head in the direction of the pitiful Mr. Tallman), “bleeding to death.”

America is ruined, the east coast has damage then the interior.

and told him that, yes, I was certain America would be great again someday

“smell is the essence of communication. Look at that word essence itself. When you smell another human being, you take chemicals from his body into your own, analyze them, and from the analysis you accurately deduce his emotional state.

“It used to be believed that only a limited number K of levels of abstraction were possible before the original matter disappeared altogether—some very interesting mathematical work was done about seventy years ago in an attempt to derive a generalized expression for K for various systems. Now we know that the number can be infinite if the array represents an open curve, and that closed curves are also possible.”

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the tenth Tor Double book, published in the style of the long-running classic Ace series; two stories are presented in the same volume, but printed back-to-back with separate covers and in opposition to one another, a format known as tête-bêche. Both are something of homages to works of classic literature, Wolfe's Seven American Nights to the 1001 Arabian Nights, and Silverberg's Sailing to Byzantium to the titular W.B. Yeats poem. The Wolfe story first appeared in Damon Knight's twentieth (and penultimate) Orbit anthology in 1978 and was nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novella of that year, losing to John Varley's The Persistence of Vision both times. Silverberg's novella premiered in the February issue of Asimov's SF magazine in 1985, and was also nominated for both awards, winning the Nebula but losing the Hugo to Roger Zelazny's 24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai. Wolfe's story takes the unreliable narrator trope to new heights but presents a fascinating alternate view of its world... it's one of those Wolfe stories that you must read very carefully and then when you read it again it's something altogether different anyway. Silverberg explores immortality and aging in a setting of visiting historical points as 50th century recreations. They're both thoughtful and enjoyable pieces.

[Tomislav · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Tor Double #10, of a series of 36 double books published from 1988 to 1991 by Tor Books. It contains two novellas, bound together tête-bêche in mass market paperback – back-to-back, inverted, with two front covers and both titles on the spine. The novellas are listed here alphabetically by author; neither should be considered “primary.”

Sailing to Byzantium, by Robert Silverberg (1985)
This was originally published in the February 1985 issue of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. It won the 1986 Nebula Award in the novella category, and was nominated for other awards. It has been widely anthologized.

Sailing to Byzantium is a 1928 poem by William Butler Yeats, which uses a journey to Constantinople as a metaphor for a spiritual journey. Silverberg's novella tells a contemporary man transported to a future where people live out their lives rotating among reconstructions of historical cities. He falls into an impossible love with a woman there, evoking the elusive nature of immortality. Stylistically superb.

Seven American Nights, by Gene Wolfe (1978)
This was originally published in the Damon Knight's 1978 anthology Orbit 20, and was nominated for 1979 Nebula Award in the novella category. It has been widely anthologized. I first read it in Gene Wolfe's 1980 collection The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories, so this Tor Double was half a re-read for me.

One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic, and translated to English in the early 18th century - the frame story being about king Shahryar and his story-telling wife Scheherazade. Wolfe flips the narrative upside down, the frame story being the journal of a young future middle-eastern tourist visiting a post-apocalyptic America, foolishly falling in love with a woman there. Both stories get high recommendations from me.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Comentario solo para "Siete noches americanas")
6/10. De los tres libros leídos del autor esta es la que más me gustó suya…y un 6/10 tampoco es que sea mucho.
Novela corta que casi se lleva Hugo y Nebula en el 79 pero que es olvidable.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book was the tenth entry in the Tor Double series, where two science-fiction novellas were published back to back, and you could read either by flipping the book over. The pairing of Robert Silverberg's "Sailing to Byzantium" with Gene Wolfe's "Seven American Nights" makes the book an attractive prospect, for these two novellas rank among the very best works of science fiction *as literature*.

Silverberg wrote "Sailing to Byzantium" in 1984. In this story, a man from our time finds himself in a far-future Earth where the sparse and utterly inexplicable population pass their time as tourists, visiting re-creations of famous cities from the past. The nature of this strange world and his place in it is gradually revealed. The emotional impact of the story is devastating, for Silverberg really makes you feel the protagonist's pain and alienation. Not only is the dramatic pacing excellent, but the prose is excellent as well. Plus, it's nice that Silverberg maintains a relationship with the literary canon with his references to Yeats' famous poem.

Wolfe's "Seven American Nights" was first published in one of Damon Knight's Orbit anthologies in 1978. It is the record of an Iranian visiting a bizarre post-apocalyptic America for less than honourable purposes, an ironic reversal of the phenomenon of 1960s hippies visiting the Middle East for drug tourism. The novella contains the hallmarks of Wolfe's finest writing: unreliable narration, casual revelations, fantastic world-building, the perpetual feeling that the reader isn't getting the whole story, and an ending that shows that all the plot's secrets were really right there in the text all along.

Inexpensive used copies of this Tor Double abound, so you're not taking much of a risk. However, the stories can be found elsewhere, and those collections might interest fans of the genre more. "Sailing to Byzantium" has been widely anthologized and it might be best to read it in the eponymous collection of Silverberg novellas, as the other material there is entertaining. "Seven American Nights" is the last story in the Wolfe collection The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories (sic!).

[Ed [Redacted] · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Tor Double...kind of an interesting concept the doubles. I like the idea of having a couple of novellas packaged together like this. I started with Sailing To Byzantium.

Sailing to Byzantium is a story about a man from the 1980's who was somehow transported some thirty centuries into the future. He is travelling with a group of "citizens" from this future, one of which he is in love with. All they appear to do is travel between one of the five cities in the world. The cities are replicas of historic cities. They are regularly torn down and changed into other city replicas.

I was not particularly enthused upon reading the description of this story and I actually picked this book up for the Gene Wolfe novella (Which as it turned out I have already in a best of collection.) This story, however, was beautifully written, almost stunning. Sailing to Byzantium is essentially a story about alienation. Both the alienation felt by the protagonist, Charles, but also by his lover, Gioia. Very well done.

Seven American Nights was a bit more of a mixed bag. It is a tale about an Iranian tourist, Nadan, who comes to visit the United States after the US was decimated by some kind of plague that appeared to be related to the various chemicals Americans put in...well, everything So the US is not the economic powerhouse it is now was recently. The story is written in one of those "found manuscript" styles and Nadan goes traveling around seeing the sights. He becomes involved with a stage actress and hilarity ensues. This was a very well written story but there was a lot going on. I liked it very much; I think I need to read it again in order to get everything. Luckily it is not only a short story but one I want to explore more fully in the future.

These were two of the better novellas I have ever read and has caused me to want to read more Silverberg and Wolfe.

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sailing to Byzantium – Robert Silverberg
This story has also been published as a stand-alone, but it is quite short, so I'm only counting this as half a book!
In the fiftieth century, there are only five cities. Staffed by "temporaries" and constantly destroyed and re-built by robots, the cities exist only for the pleasure of the citizens, who live in a seemingly endless round of leisure and pleasure – Alexandria, Asgard, Timbuctoo – history and mythology blend together in these vacation-resort-like creations. Somewhat lost in this land is Charles Phillips – a man who believes he was torn from his life in 1984 and who found himself in this far-future fantasyland. He finds himself strangely vague and uncurious about the details of his past, but now he has fallen in love with the beautiful Gioia, a citizen of the future who seems like yet unlike all the others...
Interesting ideas, but the story doesn't let the reader know how things resolve... which I always find slightly frustrating.


Seven American Nights – Gene Wolfe
Another story with an unexplained, "what do YOU think the truth was?" kind of ending... maybe that's why the editors put these two together.
In the future, the family of a young Iranian man is searching for him. A journal is discovered, which shows that he traveled to the dangerous land of America as a tourist. Through the pages of the journal, we discover his impressions of a week in the former Washington D.C. – now a wild no-man's land of ruins, mutants and the remnants of a civilization. The young man, Nadan, upon his arrival, quickly falls into the pursuit of the degenerate pleasures of this land, playing Russian Roulette with a possibly dangerous hallucinogen (which renders him a rather unreliable narrator), and quickly developing an obsession with a pretty entertainer whom, he hopes, may be a prostitute.

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gene Wolfe - Seven American Nights

     An alien/visitor/stranger story about a wealthy Iranian tourist visiting a future North American that has suffered genetic disaster through overuse of agrcultural chemicals. The former U.S. is reduced to a primitive level of pre-combustion engine existence.

     He is told: “This is a republic of hideousness, as you have no doubt already seen. Our national symbol is supposed to be an extinct eagle; it is in fact the nightmare.”

     As readers, we should keep in mind the admonitory advice of critic Peter Wright: "....as the majority of critics and reviewers who have approached his oeuvre would admit, Gene Wolfe is a complex and wily writer, ambiguous, subtle and playful. His fiction is intricately wrought, densely allusive, and conceptually elusive; it encourages misreadings, demands thoughtful reflection, and is able to involve the reader in labyrinthine possibilities for
interpretation." [Attending Daedalus, 2003].

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven American Nights Was the first one i read. It is a sad story of a future America that is on the way down. The Americans have experienced a environmental catastrophe that leaves them disfigured at birth.

The main character is a middle eastern man who falls in lust with an American actress. Overall the tone is dark. One can not help but find parallels with the current problem in America.

Sailing to Byzantium fortunately is not so sad. While the main character can not remember what happened prior to coming to a time far in the future it is more a love story than a the wholesale night mare of 7 nights.

[Cat Randle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed both as a light distraction. Gene Wolf's dystopian American which has suffered a global catastrophe was an Ernest Hemingway-style story from the point of view of a Muslim visitor. It had a distinct Phillip K Dick feel. I suspect Wolf relied on us understanding all the references. A YouTube analysis may be required. It was interesting but not arresting.
Robert Silverberg drops us into the 51st Century in a slaughterhouse five-style displacement. However, this novella is another interesting take on AI and artificial humans. It is a slow burn, and a story for people who like history, architecture and speculation. I enjoyed it, especially the theme of the story which comes predictably at the third act turning point. I enjoyed it.
This book holds two novellas and is a fun read.
This book would be good for young adults who like fantasy SF, older American sci fi readers and writers like me who are researching all the literature about artificial life.

[Paulmatthew]

Wierd, secular science fiction. It's a quick read. The stories have interesting premises, but the characters are 1970's "emancipated" "free love" types. They have no idea what to do when horrors beset them. Like a Sartre play, the characters have to deal with the possibility that they may be in figurative hell. The whole, moderate power of the stories rests in the tense hope of fleeing the unpleasant discoveries the protagonists make about their situations followed by despair when it seems that flight may not be possible.

[Deedee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sailing to Byzantium was entertaining -- Silverberg's other novellas are better, but this one is really good - 3 1/2 stars

Seven American Nights -- started off intriguing, then went hallucinogenic, and then I could not follow the story -- part of the difficulty is the "unreliable narrator" telling the story - did not finish

2 stars overall because Sailing to Byzantium can be found in many collections, not just this TOR Doubles

[Luke Dylan Ramsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sailing to Byzantium grade: A-/A

I enjoyed this novella a lot. It seemed to require a lot of research or acquired knowledge, which I thought was really cool. I don’t have any quibbles really, other than that I kinda wish the cast of characters would’ve been more fleshed out and bigger. Definitely inventive and imaginative. Loved all the allusions too.

I’ve read 7 American Nights before but it’s been a couple years. I will be reading it again soon.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both of these were solid, interesting stories. I might have liked Silverberg's just a smidge more, but Wolfe's was pretty wild. Suggested for sci-fi fans that are looking for something that doesn't involve space

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silverberg is very good; the Wolfe is brilliant.

[Abe Something · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Tight detective story told through a journal written by someone who was possibly in a drug haze. Good Wolfe, not the best Wolfe. As always, read closely for best results.

[Raphael]

https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comm...

[Radek Ok · Rating 3 out of 5]

Opis zniszczonej Ameryki przedstawiony przez podróżnika z dobrze prosperujacego kraju arabskiego? Zaskakuje tak sam teraz jak 20 lat temu.

[Mark Schiffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read the Silverberg, but really, really enjoyed. Very bawdy, very moving, and the world itself was quite imaginative.

[Stelios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sailing to Byzantium: 5 stars.
Seven American nights: 3 stars.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read Sailing to Byzantium but couldn't find it by itself... Interesting.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting novella about a man from 1984 who's transported to a future where the people recreate cities of the past five at a time.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sailing...: Well worth the read especially for the descriptions of famous cities. Silverberg indulges in these descriptions somewhat, but what writer wouldn't?

Seven...: An example of Wolfe at his enigmatic best, combining the sensibilities of Wells (story) with Dostoyevsky or Hamsum (character).

[Jim N · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Silverberg tale is very good but Gene Wolfe's Seven American Nights is an amazing experience. Familiar, unfamiliar, hallucinatory, surprising and mysterious, it's a work that just sings. It ranks as one of my favorite stories by one of my favorite authors.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two excellent stories from the Tor doubles series from about 20 years ago. A bunch of these doubles were on the shelf at Mr. K's used bookstore in North Charleston. Now I wish I'd picked up more of the series.

[Doni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fresh, short, fascinating stories.

[jj · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Sailing to Byzantium / Silverberg)

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

2 novellas:

***** Seven American Nights • (1978) • novella by Gene Wolfe

**** Sailing to Byzantium • (1985) • novella by Robert Silverberg

[Jeff Youngstrom]

My review from July 23, 1995