The Ultimate Silver Surfer

Marvel Berkley/Byron Preiss Productions Prose Novels

by Stan Lee

A collection of action-packed stories includes the creation of the Silver Surfer, brand-new stories documenting his adventures, and never-before-seen artwork that spans three decades of Marvel illustrators. Original.

Genres: Marvel, Superheroes, Fiction, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Comics, Graphic Novels

Audio CD

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Silver Surfer wasn't the best comic character that Jack Kirby ever came up with, but he was definitely the coolest. If you don't believe me, just ask Joe Satriani. This is an anthology of prose stories featuring Norrin Radd that was part of the Byron Preiss produced Marvel prose series from a couple of decades back. The word "Ultimate" in the title is for the original, traditional definition, not one of the alternate-universe labels. It's an uneven mix of stories, though the intent was good throughout. I especially enjoyed the origin story by Stan Lee with Tom DeFalco and the Keith R.A. DeCandido tale. Surf's up, True Believers!

[Al Burke · Rating 3 out of 5]

An anthology of Silver Surfer tales in short story form, and like most anthologies, it was a mixed bag. I found the first few stories to be the best (for the most part), then dipping somewhat it went on. One thing I aprreciated was that each and every author seemed to capture the essence of the Silver Surfer to the same degree, and there was the occasional less well known Marvil bad person, such as Mephisto, popping up. My favourite tales? Check out Improper Procedure by Keith RR DeCandido, where in the early days of his life on earth the Silver Surfer unintentionally interrups a hostage situation, and ends up getting to know more about humanity. It also has a lot of humour (which most other tales lack), but also the fear we pesky humans have of our super heroes. Also The Broken Land by Pierce Askegren, where a piece of the power cosmic is stolen and the Surfer goes to retrieve it, but what he finds is no mere thief.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this book was a mixed bag, like most story collections.

There are some that are brilliant, and some that are not so good.

The problem here was that the brilliant stories were absolutely amazing, but the not so good ones, absolutely terrible.

I stuck with it though, and I'm glad I did because the last story was my favourite and by far the best.

The beginning and the end are each 4.5 stars, but the middle stories, 2.5 stars, on a good day.

I probably won't re-read this, and if I do, it will only be for the first and last stories.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great accumulation of stories that ends up killing its perfect reputation in the final act.

For being a B list Marvel character with little to no origins or stories (unrelated to the Fantastic 4), I had to give this book a try. I only have known of the Silver Surfer from ‘Fantastic 4: The Rise of Silver Surfer’ and references in video-games. What a better time to give this book a try before the new Fantastic 4 movie comes out!

I have to say, I was blown away by the first half of the book. It’s structured in three parts with multiple authors adding small stories to the overall narrative (I’m not sure if they preexisted but it all coincides well). Part 1: Origins, is easily one of the best parts of the book, written by the one and only Stan Lee. It’s only fifty pages yet it demonstrates everything we already know about the character and more. His home planet, how he became the Silver Surfer, what made him break free from Galactus, and where is now. It all happens very quickly yet it gives you all the information you need to know without lingering on the characters and cameos to long (like F4 and other heroes).

The second part of the story is called, ‘The Exile.’ I found it strange it immediately starts with a story of random folk in the middle of nowhere. But you learn quick that the story is about Silver Surfer discovering his humanity. Being a world destroying chrome man for hundreds of years, he’s lost touch with reality and who people really are. Him learning how to reconnect and show empathy to others throughout the stories is touching. Much better than superhero fights and stuff like that (xD). Some of the stories didn’t match up timeline wise, but still progressed the plot in the right direction.

The final part, ‘Freedom,’ is where the book takes a nose dive for me. In the last part, Silver Surfer was learning his own humanity while being stuck on Earth and yearning to be free. Once he is free from his restraints, the character has nowhere to go and nothing to do. Although the Silver Surfer is known for roaming and wanting to be a free space traveler before his transformation, as the reader is feels like there is no overall plot anymore. Theres more stories getting deeper into his psyche, fighting off god-like beings, and cameos from larger characters (Thanos, Mephisto, and Morg). But the story feels much better when there is an overall direction. The only story that seemed to contribute to this is when someone came to kill him for destroying his planet. Silver Surfer needs to learn to live with the guilt and mourn the lives he has destroyed.

The cameos from the Marvel Universe are always welcome, but I’m thankful they did not over take the story as a whole. My favorite ‘cameos’ you could say is the expanded universe as a whole. In the Chapter, ‘Disturb Not Her Dream,’ I loved the large woman character in space. The multiple planets and species he comes across. All original marvel ‘cameos’ that we will probably never get to see on the big screen. Many of the great stories we probably will never get to see. ‘Incident on a Skyscraper.’ ‘On the Beach.’ ‘To See Heaven in a Wildflower.’ All amazing stories I will never forget with this character.

Even with the unforgettable stories, I cannot describe how hard it was to finish the last 150 pages of the book. If the whole story was written like the first half, this would easily be 5 stars and a top seller. Now I know why I have never heard of anyone reading this. XD

[Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This rating is my own fault...

My expectations for a novelization of the Silver surfer were unrealistically sky-high and mislead. The rating is also not a reflection of my love of the character. This book is a collection of short stories detailing the Herald of galactus and his journey through space and earth, but too much time was spent trapped on earth, and it made my interest wane. When I picked up this book from the library, it was my understanding I would be reading more about his service of galactus and planet of origin.

The absolute best short story for me, without a doubt, was the PoV chapter. The intro had me hooked:

"The heat of the nearby sun whipped past his face. Like the hot breath of summer, he shifted his left foot forward slightly on his gleaming board, changing the angle of his flight picking up speed. The myriad of stars that glittered around him reflecting off his seamless metallic shell like so many distant diamonds. He was Norrin Radd the silver surfer, and today, he was trying to outrace a comet."

Later in the chapter, he was also given a philosophical and moral choice between two differing planets to feed to galactus. A decision of which civilization to end. I think this chapter showed the true potential of what this shiny man of the cosways and his story can be.

Several of the other short stories fell flat and didn't interest me what so ever, but there were some gems as well. For instance, when he used his cosmic powers of telepathy to talk down a girl out of suicide, I thought delving into this was an excellent snippet of the Surfer learning about humanity.

If I was writing a silver surfer TV show. It would be an episodic telling of him zipping through the stars at speeds unknown, stopping at each unique planet. Surveying for his ever hungry master and the adventures that come with it.

Unrelated, but the entire time I was reading his dailogue in my head was the booming drawl of 2007 fantastic four silver surfer stating things as matter of fact in his almost noble nonchalance

Bonus tiktok edit if you read this far
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8BVvo3R/

[Csepke Sallai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marvel: "hey guys do you want to write fanfiction that we will officially publish and endorse??"
Authors: "yes."

and so they did.

There was not much fanfiction to be found online about the Silver Surfer, so I had to turn to this book.
A few of the stories in this compilation were very well written, but there were also a nonzero amount of duds, with the majority being mediocre.
What puts this book really in the 'Mid' category for me, though, is that none of the writers really know what to do with Galactus. Galactus, when mentioned, fails to come across as the terrifying Lovecraftian entity they semi- successfully disguised as a supervillain. The last story is the only one that has him as a major character in the narrative, and he is very much acting out of character in that one (it does have great worldbuilding, though)
And if any Marvel executive is reading this, with the push you are making in the prose novel field, please revisit this character and publish a modern novel series about the Silver Surfer. I will be one of the most enthusiastic readers. I just want it to be well written and understand the cores of the characters.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dimly remember reading this when it first came out, but my copy was lost a long time ago. This copy was picked up pretty cheap. It is a compilation (anthology?) of short stories about the Silver Surfer (fifteen in all). It starts with him telling his story to a Terran of why he was trapped on Earth. Six stories take place during his exile on Earth; the remaining eight stories take place after he has been "set free" from his Terran prison. Most of the stories are pretty good. It does move at a decent clip; I would have finished it sooner, but for homework for my online courses. Overall, I enjoyed reading it. There were some stories that I really enjoyed; one or two were pretty "meh" for me. Still, though, I am glad that I revisited this book and reread it.

My thoughts on some of the stories:
[1] The Silver Surfer - this was an interesting take on the origin story of the Silver Surfer. He has saved a young boy from harm and the boy asks him a few questions. The Surfer takes time to answer the boy's questions before leaving. We learn a bit more from this different perspective of what happened before the Surfer became a Herald of Galactus.

[2] Improper Procedure - this story was interesting to me, as it involved the Surfer interrupting a police operation and some officers getting injured in the process. Hoping to atone for his mistake, he offers to assist the police in resolving a case. He ends up resolving the police's case to his satisfaction and not to the satisfaction of the police. He also interacts with the family of one of the officers, which better helps him understand humanity better than he had before.

[3] Do You Dream in Silver? - was kind of corny, as it is primarily about women who have fallen in love with the Silver Surfer, three or four of whom are being interviewed on a nationally broadcasted show and describing their fantasies involving the Surfer. A young gal who also "loves" the Surfer is watching the show, only to be interrupted by the Surfer flying into her apartment while battling a foe trying to kill him. She assists him and inadvertently helps the Surfer figure out how to defeat his foe. The story ends with the young lady going on a "real date" with a friend/co-worker after having decided she needed to leave her fantasies about the Surfer behind.

[4] Incident on a Skyscraper - was "good" as it is about the Surfer saving the life of a teenage girl who has attempted to commit suicide. The Surfer asks to "live" through her memories so he can better understand why she wants to kill herself. In return, he lets her experience some of his memories. He ends up inspiring her not to kill herself and to continue finding reasons to live. It is a rather serious story in a mix of off-beat stories and stupid stories.

[5] On the Beach - the title is a nice take-off of the old 50's classic turned into a movie! This was an interesting story as the Surfer has grown despondent and depressed during his Terran exile. He encounters a young man on a beach who has left his "beach party" behind to take a walk. The two talk for a bit, and the Surfer is encouraged by the young man not to give up hope. The talk is enough to perk up the Surfer's mood, and the Surfer flies away. As he flies away, we discover the young man is actually a Skrull who has been exiled to Earth for some reason, and who has also resolved to follow the same advice he gave the Surfer and not give up on life yet, to not stop hoping his situation will change as well.

[6] Disturb Not Her Dream - was kind of a weird story. The Surfer encounters an "ethereal" woman in space who is both beautiful and enormous. She is so big she has planets in spheres that dangle from her belt, and she is sleeping. The Surfer tries to free the planets from their prisons, only to discover he does not have the power to do so. He also awakens the woman and discovers she is a prisoner and the planets are the chains that keep her imprisoned. She was of a race of "non-corporeal" beings and wished to become solid/physical. For her blasphemy, she was imprisoned in the physical realm. She would gladly free the planets from their spherical prisons but is unable to do so. She also haunts the dreams of the inhabitants of each planet as a nightmarish being. The Surfer helps free the planets by turning the woman into the savior of each planet in the dreams of every individual on each planet. Before he leaves her to her rest, the Surfer promises to visit her from time to time, and she admits she would enjoy his visits.

These were probably the stories that stood out to me the most [well, these and the one involving Mephisto trying to trick the Surfer and to capture the Surfer's immortal soul. For some inexplicable reason, the Surfer is viewed as "completely morally pure" and "without sin" despite having served as a Herald of Galactus for as long as he did [the "cop-out" there is that Galactus altered his mind, spirit, and conscience to the point that Norrin Radd could not be held accountable for his actions as Galactus' herald]. The story involving Thanos was somewhat interesting. It was not "brawn" [brute strength] that won the day against Thanos. Instead, Thanos had captured some "bauble" that he believed had the power to alter reality to his bidding. What he did not realize was that the "bauble" [gemstone/orb] messed with his mind and actually imprisoned him, mentally, as it altered his mind so drastically that the Mad Thanos truly became mad and imprisoned himself on a planetoid because of his fantasies having taken over. That story was kind of crazy.

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comic book action doesn't really translate well to prose, and it seems like the writers here knew that because these stories all feel a bit slow and introspective rather than the cage matches that comics usually are. When we do get some action it feels stilted and awkward.

If you have to read everything related the the Silver Surfer then by all means pick it up. Otherwise, just stick to the comics.

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this because I'm currently in the season on Marvel Snap of the Silver Surfer and I know very little. This is a collection of stories (not a fan personally), but many of them were pretty good and now I understand who this character is better. It made playing the Marvel Snap Silver Surfer season a bit more fun to play through.

[Kirby Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Created by Jack Kirby.

The best stories were the ones by Len Wein and Tom DeFalco, the only pro-comic writers, both of whom have written for him before. The rest of the stories are right where they need to be, okay to good Surfer stories that should be part of an anthology. All the drawings by the pros are great.

[Dustin Rhoades · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable stories to read but all are short so there is very little character development.

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology even though there were a few slow stories. It really got me thinking about the Silver Surfer again.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Silver Surfer is such a cool character, and I absolutely love his origin story. Which is why this book fully grabbed my attention right away and I was really excited for the ride. Alas, like with all short story collections, while some entries are good, others were not so much. Somewhere along the way I got completely turned around and just felt confused, so I quickly lost interest with where the collection was going. It's a bummer, because I was really enjoying the first few stories.

[Stna Clint · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first super hero novel I ever read. I picked it up when I was in the 5th grade. I read this book 3 times that year. I couldn't help but relate. The Silver Surfer held sentimental value to me because I felt like an alien in a new place when I transferred schools. The stories in the book expressed how the Silver Surfer struggled with philosophical ordeals of morality and humanity. He was an outcast on earth. As was how I felt and often still do. This is more of a testimony than a review but sometimes good books can't be defined by reviews.