The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party

by Robert Silverberg

A collection of short stories which features stories such as "The Changeling" and "Waiting for the Earthquake", this book also includes "A Thousand Paces Along the Via Dolorosa". The author's previous books include "Dying Inside" and "The Time Hoppers".xi Introduction (The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party) (1984) essay by Robert Silverberg1 The Far Side of the Bell-Shaped Curve (1982) novelette by Robert Silverberg24 The Pope of the Chimps (1982) short story by Robert Silverberg48 The Changeling (1982) short story by Robert Silverberg72 The Man Who Floated in Time (1982) short story by Robert Silverberg84 The Palace at Midnight (1981) short story by Robert Silverberg102 A Thousand Paces Along the Via Dolorosa (1981) novelette by Robert Silverberg130 At the Conglomeroid Cocktail Party (1982) short story by Robert Silverberg141 Our Lady of the Sauropods (1980) short story by Robert Silverberg160 Gianni (1982) short story by Robert Silverberg182 The Trouble with Sempoanga (1982) short story by Robert Silverberg194 How They Pass the Time in Pelpel (1981) short story by Robert Silverberg212 Waiting for the Earthquake (1981) novelette by Robert Silverberg240 Not Our Brother (1982) novelette by Robert Silverberg264 The Regulars (1981) short story by Robert Silverberg276 Jennifer's Lover (1982) short story by Robert Silverberg297 Needle in a Timestack (1983) short story by Robert Silverberg

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

Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

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

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of five novelettes and eleven short stories that appeared in a brief and highly prolific three-year span from 1980 to '82. It doesn't rival his production of the late 1950s, when he was regularly filling whole magazines with stories under a myriad of pseudonyms and writing a novel every other week or so on top of that, but his high-quality output at the time was remarkable. A few of the stories are from genre magazines like Twilight Zone, Amazing, and Asimov's, and three or four are from original book anthologies, but many are from the high-circulation slicks of the time (Penthouse, Omni, and Playboy), so he surely made more from each of those story sales than he did from many of his earlier books. My favorites in this were Our Lady of the Sauropods, The Pope of the Chimps, and A Thousand Paces Along the Via Dolorosa. Note that he recycled the title of his 1966 collection for one of the Playboy stories, Needle in a Timestack, which is both unusual and confusing. Also, Waiting for the Earthquake is one of the stories in Harlan Ellison's Medea volume.

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though these short stories were all originally published between 1980-1984, there is something sort of Playboy Mansion circa 1976 about most of them. The men in these books tend have multiple girlfriends and female lovers; there are some poly-amorous relationships. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but you keep expecting everyone to end up at Studio 54, or for Maude to suddenly show up and go all feminist on some these guy's asses. They are all very pre-AIDs too, except a biting little story called "The Trouble with Sempoanga" about a sexually transmitted parasite that dooms people to quarantine to the most beautiful planet in the universe. Sort of prescient, to say the least; and very Twilight Zone too. I particularly liked the short stories featuring time travel (and the perils of time travel). Overall this is a good collection, and although some of the stories can feel a little dated, they are all mostly quite fun to read. One is set in the "future" of 2012; I'm not sure all the cool (and sexy) things Robert Silverberg imagined the future to be have actually happened. He must be quite disappointed.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of early 80s tales. Holds up pretty well.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I like Silverberg and I have read and enjoyed other Silverberg short story collections, but this collection fell a bit flat for me.

[Andrei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bella lettura. Mai letto questo autore, interessanti le varie storie sui viaggi nel tempo.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

16 stories:

The Far Side of the Bell-Shaped Curve (1982)
The Pope of the Chimps (1982)
The Changeling (1982)
The Man Who Floated in Time (1982)
The Palace at Midnight (1981)
A Thousand Paces Along the Via Dolorosa (1981)
At the Conglomeroid Cocktail Party (1982)
Our Lady of the Sauropods (1980)
Gianni (1982)
The Trouble with Sempoanga (1982)
How They Pass the Time in Pelpel (1981)
Waiting for the Earthquake (1981)
Not Our Brother (1982)
The Regulars (1981)
Jennifer's Lover (1982)
Needle in a Timestack (1983)

[Keith Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silverberg is on the short list of truly great Science Fiction short story authors, along with Alfred Bester, Theodore Sturgeon, Philip K. Dick, and James Tiptree Jr.

[Baronne Samedi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Certainly not the best of Silverberg. The short stories are not innovative nor moving like many of his excellent writings.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories. Often based on time travel. Generally enjoyable and engaging. A few had a slight Christian attitude that I found slightly annoying.