The Best of Robert Silverberg by Open Road Media

A team of space archaeologists makes an astonishing discovery about an ancient alien race in this science fiction tale from "a master of his craft" (Los Angeles Times). Graduate student Tom Rice is thrilled to embark on his first deep-space archeological expedition. He is part of a team from Earth, venturing out in search of artifacts from a civilization that ruled the universe many millennia ago. Called the High Ones, the members of this long-gone society left tantalizing clues about their history and culture scattered throughout space. One such clue, a "message cube" containing footage of the ancient ones, is more interesting than all of the others combined. It seems to indicate that the High Ones aren't extinct after all--and just like that, Tom Rice's archeological mission has become an intergalactic manhunt, one filled with ever-increasing danger that will send the explorers hurtling headlong into the greatest adventure--and peril--of their lives.

When aliens invade, a generations-long struggle begins against an impenetrable enemy in this sci-fi epic from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author. The Entities have arrived on Earth, fifteen feet tall with impenetrable defenses and inscrutable motives. As conquerors, they have no demands, no explanations, simply harsh consequences should they be challenged. Releasing a plague and plunging the world into a new Dark Age, the Entities seem unbeatable. But, one family at least—the Carmichael clan led by Colonel Anson Carmichael—will never give up the resistance. THE ALIEN YEARS is an epic story told over multiple generations by master of thoughtful science fiction Robert Silverberg. Can ideas of freedom survive in the face of an overwhelmingly powerful enemy? "A remarkable study of human endurance and patience that belongs in most SF collections." —The Library Journal "Sobering and frightening.... Silverberg's rich characters, his dead-on-target vision of modern society, his mastery at building tension—all are in evidence in this notable outing from one of the very best." —Publishers Weekly

"The time of falling death stars ushered in the Long Winter--eons of cold that caused plants and animals to vanish from Earth and drove people to take refuge in underground cocoons. Human ingenuity had never faced a greater challenge. For seven hundred thousand years, generation after generation was born and died below the Earth's surface. But now, one small tribe is sensing change. Chieftain Koshmar is sure that the New Springtime is near, so she leads her people above ground to explore the new world that awaits. The unfamiliar Earth, still a frozen shell of its former self, will test their mettle in every way, leading the people of the tribe to the brink of their destiny--or to their doom.

"Vividly realized and inventive . . . A brooding masterpiece of social science fiction" from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author ( Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations). After eight years away from the planet known as Holman's World, Edmund Gunderson has returned. Before, as the assistant station manager, he helped the Company exploit the bustling colonial outpost for Earth's gain—mining its riches and putting its native species to work. Now, the planet has been given back to its inhabitants: the intelligent, elephant-like beings known as the nildoror, who peacefully coexist with carnivorous bipeds known as the sulidoror. And Edmund Gunderson has come back to relive his past and meet up with old acquaintances. Or so he says . . . What Gunderson really wants is to witness the rebirth of the nildoror, a sacred ceremony performed in the northern mist country. Given permission from the elders, he travels deeper into the exotic world than he has ever gone before, through tropical jungles teeming with alien creatures. It is a journey that will take Gunderson deep within himself, where his own failings and fears reside, and bring him face to face with the planet's greatest mysteries—and the evil within men's souls . . . "Brilliantly imagined . . . One of the finest writers ever to work in science fiction." — The Philadelphia Inquirer on Tom O'Bedlam "Like all truly superior sci-fi, Downward to the Earth is the sort of novel that just bursts with some imaginative idea or unexpected touch on every single page. It is a terrific feat of the imagination, wonderfully well written by Silverberg, and with fascinating characters, both alien and human." — Fantasy Literature

Recreates the legend of the demi-god Sumerian king Gilgamesh, slayer of monsters and master of unsurpassed treasures, who searches for the key to immortality.

In the mid-21st century, time travel is used to send political prisoners to Hawksbill Station, a prison camp in the late Cambrian Era. When the latest arrival suspiciously deflects questions about his crimes and knowledge of 'Up Front', the inmates decide to find out his secret. (This story was used as the basis of the novel "Hawksbill Station".) Nebula Award(R) Nominee, Hugo Award Nominee

"Intelligent and engaging science fiction" set against the backdrop of an environmental apocalypse from the SF Grand Master ( The Washington Post). Not so very far in the future, the icecaps have melted and many coastal communities have been flooded out. The ozone layer is destroyed. Some areas are livable with breathing masks and injections that protect the skin from the now-deadly rays of the sun, but the only real refuge—for those who can afford it—has become the near-space orbital colonies built and run by private companies. Valparaiso Nuevo is one of these colonies—a haven and a center of action for hustlers, conspirators, and people looking for an edge. It is also the target of a disillusioned group of humans who become embroiled in a scheme to overthrow it. Their goals are individually motivated but the deadly combination of ambition, distrust, greed, stupidity, and lust leads to a dramatic conclusion that replicates in miniature the history of man's destruction of his own living space on the planet. A bleak picture of future Earth and a complex plot peopled with dark, rich characters, comes together as one of Silverberg's finer novels. "Silverberg focuses on his characters and their ruined world, providing a convincing portrayal of life in a greenhouse effect-cursed future. . . . [He] delivers powerful images of a world blighted by ecological abuse, and a satisfying novel as well." — Publishers Weekly "It's definitely major Silverberg and as such deserves all the readers it will undoubtedly get." — Booklist

Space opera at its best—wild and fast and furious, as only Robert Silverberg could write it As a young man, Robert Silverberg was a science fiction prodigy, turning out top-flight stories in the blink of an eye. Though written quickly, Silverberg's early prose already showed evidence of the literary and imaginative qualities that would make him a giant in the field. In "Slaves of the Star Giants," electrician Lloyd Harkins finds himself transported from 1956 into a desolate far-future Earth ruled by monstrous aliens. And in the gripping title story, a spacer named Barsac risks his life and sanity to free a friend from the clutches of an evil cult—by joining the cult himself. Filled with slam-bang action and dazzling speculation, these seven novellas pay eloquent homage to the Golden Age of science fiction and anticipate the groundbreaking work that has become Silverberg's legacy.

A pilgrimage leads to a shocking revelation in this "deeply affecting and evocative extraterrestrial novel" from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author ( Locus). The village of Jespodar nestles in the foothills of a world-dominating mountain known to all as "The Wall." Poilar Crookleg has grown up in Jespodar training hard and hoping that he will be chosen for the annual Pilgrimage, a group journey to the top of the mountain from which no pilgrim has ever returned both alive and sane. The pilgrims seek to replicate the legendary journey of a distant ancestor who scaled the mountain and, so the story goes, met with the gods. The Pilgrimage is a a life journey, an overwhelming challenge and a sacred honor and Poilar feels blessed when he is finally chosen to lead it. But not all is as it first seems. Along the journey lie hazards of all kinds, both vilently dangerous and seductively beguiling and to triumph in the climb is to confront a revelation so surprising and so disturbing that none, not even the smartest and best prepared, are likely to survive. What belief and what devotion leads so many to hope for such a challenging task and what will be the ultimate result of such dedication? Only The Wall itself can reveal the destiny for those who undertake the Pilgrimage.

At 4:44 in the morning, seventeen-year-old Jack Connolly is sprung awake in a panic, gasping for air. He's just had a vision from God revealing that he'll one day be required to save the world from a destructive force. But Jack is a timid follower who believes he's ill-equipped for such an assignment. However, he's certain the vision is real, and that he's been chosen for a reason. So Jack begins to plot an unconventional path to achieve the mission, unaware that powerful relatives he's never met are silently steering him in the opposite direction. Love, family, friendship, and faith will all be tested as Jack battles unforeseen forces to win the war for the future of humanity.

A New York Times Notable Book: A far-future coming-of-age tale from the SF Grand Master, "one of the world's finest stylists and storytellers" ( San Antonio Express-News). "What wonders and adventures he has to tell us," is how Ursula K. Le Guin characterized the work of Robert Silverberg, and in The Longest Way Home, he takes readers on another dazzling odyssey. Joseph, fifteen and separated from his family in the land known as Getfen, awakens to an attack on the Great House in which he is visiting. Narrowly escaping with his life but still pursued by enemies who wish to see him killed, Joseph must journey across a dark, unfamiliar world on his quest to return to his home of Helikis and his father. He has thousands of miles to travel and much to learn about this perilous alien world in transition—and about himself. "What the greatly changed Joseph might find at the end of his journey, and how he might react, are questions that I came to care deeply about." — The New York Times Book Review " The Longest Way Home recalls, in a lot of ways, the old-time frontier adventures, not the ones with the cowboys and the Indians, but the ones where people have to learn to survive in the wilderness or along the prairie. [Joseph's] adventures in survival are exciting, and the travels along this world are a pleasant escape." —SF Site "This engaging, entertaining book is a fast read with many thoughtful themes." — School Library Journal

As a devastating war is forgotten, an all-consuming madness takes its place in this epic sci-fi fantasy series from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author. Destined to rule over Majipoor, Prince Prestimion was shocked to see a charismatic rival usurp his throne. Only after a bloody conflict consumed the entire planet did he emerge victorious. Now, after finally attaining the Starburst Crown, Prestimion orders a spell of oblivion to erase the horrors of war from the memory of all but a select few . . . With peace restored, Prestimion seeks a just punishment for his wartime enemy, Dantirya Sambail. But how can this be achieved when his treachery is forgotten? Before Prestimion can solve this riddle, Sambail escapes. And as Prestimion's search extends across Majipoor, he discovers a strange madness overtaking his people . . . "An enchanting travelogue filled with a sense of wonder." — Locus "A tour de force of imagination, a marvel of inventive detail." —SFSite.com

In this epic, “[a] brilliant concept of the imagination,” an amnesiac wanderer rediscovers his destiny as ruler of a vast planet (Chicago Sun-Times). Valentine, a drifter who remembers nothing except his name, finds himself on the fringes of a great city. Joining a motley troupe of jugglers and acrobats, he travels with them across the magical planet of Majipoor. All the while, he hopes to meet someone who can help him retrieve his past. Then Valentine begins to dream—and to receive messages in those dreams. Messages that tell him he is a lord, a king turned out of his castle. Now his travels have a purpose: to return to his home, discover what enemy took his memory, and claim the destiny that awaits him. “An imaginative fusion of action, sorcery, and science fiction.” —The New York Times Book Review “Absorbing . . . a wildly imaginative universe.” —People

Hissune, favorite of Lord Valentine, probes the deepest secrets of Majipoor's long past in the depths of the great Labyrinth. To do so, he becomes one with its many peoples--dukes and generals, thieves and murderers, Ghayrogs and Metamorphs--and discovers wonder, terror, longing, and love as he learns the wisdom that will shape his destiny.

A collection of twenty classic stories from the Science Fiction Grand Master who "seems capable of amazements beyond those of mere mortals" ( The Washington Post Book World). Needle in a Timestack is Robert Silverberg at his very best—intelligent, inventive, and visionary. This collection showcases his talent for thought-provoking science fiction, ranging in themes from time travel to space travel, the media to mortality. In the titular story—now a feature film by Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley—a jealous ex-husband warps time in a vindictive attempt to destroy his former wife's new marriage. Thirty-one identical sons have a shocking surprise for their mother in "There Was an Old Woman." The prophetic "The Pain Peddlers" depicts reality TV in a way that allows viewers to revel in a voyeuristic, adrenaline-fueled rush. Also included are Silverberg's Hugo Award–winning "Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another," and the Locus Award winner "The Secret Sharer," a Joseph Conrad–inspired tale of a ship captain drawn into a strange alliance with a stowaway. The New York Times Book Review hailed Silverberg as "the John Updike of science fiction." The stories in Needle in a Timestack unite us in our humanity, in the face of science, technology, and our own changing culture.

This trio of early short novels by Grand Master Robert Silverberg is straight-up pulp science fiction at its finest As a young man, Robert Silverberg was a science fiction prodigy, turning out top-flight stories in the blink of an eye. Though written quickly, Silverberg's early prose already showed evidence of the literary and imaginative qualities that would make him a giant in the field. Here are three of his best early works. In The Planet Killers, after Earth's supercomputer calculates that the inhabitants of the planet Lurion will destroy Earth in sixty-seven years, Roy Gardner is sent to stop them—by any means necessary. In The Plot Against Earth, Special Investigator Lloyd Catton's efforts to crack a ring of "hypnojewel" traffickers uncovers a galaxy-wide conspiracy. And in One of Our Asteroids Is Missing, when miner John Storm stakes claim to an asteroid with a king's ransom of rare minerals, he's set for life—or would be, if his discovery didn't also mark him for death.

Nebula Award–winning author: Humans have emerged to reclaim the Earth after the Long Winter. But they never anticipated the battle that awaits . . . As Earth thaws after the Long Winter, the remaining human tribes journey from beneath the continent to the fertile land above. But the hjjk, an ancient insectlike race that remained on Earth’s surface throughout the frozen eons, stand in their way. Keeping a tight grip on their power, the hjjks are the chief barrier to the people’s further expansion in the New Springtime. When Kundalimon, a human who has lived with the hjjk for seventeen years, arrives as an emissary of peace, the tribes are wary. They rely on Nialli Apuilana, who had been stolen at thirteen by the hjjk and released months later, to ascertain his true mission. But in this new world, it’s hard to know whom to trust. As both sides prepare for war, the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. The Queen of Springtime is the second book of the New Springtime series, which begins with At Winter’s End. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Robert Silverberg including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection, as well as a detailed outline for the final, unrealized title in the New Springtime series, The Summer of Homecoming.

90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books 'Under bare Ben Bulben's head In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid. An ancestor was rector there Long years ago, a church stands near, By the road an ancient cross. No marble, no conventional phrase; On limestone quarried near the spot By his command these words are cut: Cast a cold eye On life, on death. Horseman, pass by!'

The Grand Master details his development as a writer and shares thirteen favorite sci-fi stories from his youth and what they taught him about writing. Every writer must start somewhere. Robert Silverberg was once simply a young man learning the art and craft of writing before he found success. But how did he get from there to winning four Hugo Awards, three Locus Awards, and six Nebula Awards, as well as being named a Grand Master of science fiction? In Science Fiction 101, the prolific author looks back to his roots in the genre to answer that question. With thought-provoking essays, Silverberg details the inspiration, lessons, strategies, and skills he gained from thirteen groundbreaking science fiction stories from the 1940s, '50s, and '60s—all included in this volume. It's an entertaining and enlightening read, perfect for those interested in sci-fi history and the craft of writing. Featuring thirteen classic stories from Brian W. Aldiss, Alfred Bester, James Blish, Philip K. Dick, Damon Knight, Cyril M. Kornbluth, Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, Frederik Pohl, Bob Shaw, Robert Sheckley, Cordwainer Smith, and Jack Vance. Previously published as Robert Silverberg's Worlds of Wonder Praise for Science Fiction 101 "An excellent introduction to the most important roots of modern SF." — The Washington Post "Offers encouragement and sound counsel . . . Anyone interested in writing science fiction and fantasy will profit from this book." — San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle "A virtual primer on the writing of science fiction . . . a fascinating portrait of a young man becoming a writer . . . Finally, we have the 13 stories, almost all of which are classics in the field, wonderful to reread and in some cases to encounter for the first time." — Publishers Weekly "A unique and successful work." — Los Angeles Times

An absorbing trilogy that introduces new characters—and conflicts—from the vast world of Majipoor: “Brilliant.” —Chicago Sun-Times On the planet Majipoor, it is a time of great change. Coronal Lord Confalume is preparing to make his transition to the higher, ceremonial role of Pontifex. It is no secret that the next Coronal will be Prince Prestimion. By law and custom, Confalume’s son, Korsibar, cannot be his successor. But Korsibar has been given a prophecy that will plunge the planet into a fearsome conflagration: “You will shake the world!” Plotting with his twin sister and their ambitious companions, Korsibar intends to seize the throne by force. But the burdens of the crown and scepter exact more of a price than Korsibar is prepared to pay. Especially when Prestimion, his rival, fights back to take his appointed place . . . “Plotted like a Shakespearian play. . . . With a brand-new cast of characters and engaging conflicts of heart and soul, Silverberg—one of the world’s finest stylists and storytellers—breathes fresh life (and quality) into sci-fi’s sister genre.” —San Antonio Express-News

Hugo and Nebula Award Finalist: This tale of an encounter between a probability expert and a psychic is "a treasure" ( San Francisco Examiner). Lew Nichols can predict the future. Not see the future, just make predictions based on research and statistics. Nichols is damn good at it, though, and his accuracy makes him a valuable addition to Paul Quinn's political campaign for New York City Mayor and possibly the White House. But, when Nichols meets eccentric millionaire Martin Carvajal, predictions suddenly seem petty and flippant. You see, Carvajal can actually see the future—not trends, not options—a signal line of events stretching out ahead. It's a gift Nichols can learn from this "mentor," but at what price? Will knowing the future make the present meaningless?

How far will four friends go for immortality? This novel is Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author "Robert Silverberg at his very best" (George R. R. Martin) . After Eli, a scholarly college student, finds and translates an ancient manuscript called The Book of Skulls, he and his friends embark on a cross-country trip to Arizona in search of a legendary monastery where they hope to find the secret of immortality. On the journey with Eli, there's Timothy, an upper-class WASP with a trust fund and a solid sense of entitlement; Ned, a cynical poet and alienated gay man; and Oliver, a Kansas farm boy who escaped his rural origins and now wants to escape death. If they can find the House of Skulls where immortal monks allegedly reside, they'll undergo a rigorous initiation. But do those eight grinning skulls mean the joke will be on them? For a sacrifice will be required. Two must die so that two may live forever . . . Stretching the boundary between science fiction and horror, Robert Silverberg masterfully probes deeper existential questions of morality, brotherhood, and self-determined destiny in what Harlan Ellison refers to as "one of my favorite nightmare novels." This ebook features an illustrated biography of Robert Silverberg including rare images from the author's personal collection.

Duncan Chalk's six-hundred-pound frame is nearly as large as his media empire. Beneath the depths of his immense rolls of flab, the fabulously wealthy mogul wields the editorial power to deliver his programming across the solar system to billions of viewers. His newest real-life romance drama is between a starman who survived painful surgical experimentation while in alien captivity, and an emotionally scarred 17-year-old virgin. When the arranged relationship takes off on a whirlwind tour of the antarctic and out to the moons of Saturn, the viewers are swept up in the romance, but Chalk's true motives are revealed when the doomed relationship begins to unravel... and Chalk can feed on the emotional anguish of the two lost souls.

Two enthralling novels by Robert Silverberg about a future in which the minds of the living can be changed for a price—often with dire consequences In To Live Again, thanks to the Scheffing Institute, death is not the end. For a hefty fee, the soul bank stores the personas of those who have died and inserts them into the brains of willing, living hosts. It's a process that integrates the two minds, imbuing the host with a menu of highly valuable abilities, memories, and traits. The more personas one absorbs, the greater his social status. When banking mogul Paul Kaufmann dies, many people apply to receive his persona. The leading applicants—his bitter business rivals—are locked in a battle to claim his soul. The Institute follows strict rules to ensure that the host always remains in control, but of course accidents do happen . . . In The Second Trip, Paul Macy wears the Rehab badge, the sign of healing that advertises his status as a reconstruct job. When society derides capital punishment and opts, instead, for personality rehabilitation, criminals undergo mindpick operations in which their identities are stripped and extinguished. Given a new bank of memories and a fresh identity, they are offered a second chance at life. For Paul, though, this gift comes with a price. His former self still lingers inside him, waiting for the opportunity to emerge and battle Paul's new self for ultimate control. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Robert Silverberg including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author's personal collection.

A tortured man's visions hold the key to mankind's future in Robert Silverberg's post-apocalyptic masterpiece Life in the blasted wasteland of 2103 California is nasty, brutish, and short. If the savage "scratchers" don't kill you, the poisoned environment will. But one man wanders this desolate landscape and sees beauty: glorious visions of impossible places and majestic beings not of Earth. Scorned and mocked as a madman, Tom doubts his sanity until his visions mysteriously begin to spread to others and a returning star probe offers evidence that they are real. Now, as a new religion is born, with Tom as its reluctant messiah, violent forces are unleashed—forces that have the power to transform humanity . . . or destroy it.

This sprawling, episodic novel by the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author is a "tour de force sci-fi outing . . . a wonderful read" ( Fantasy Literature). 2077. With Earth reeling from centuries of unregulated population growth and environmental decimation, a new religion has taken root. The Vorsters worship science and the material world over all else, searching for the promise of immortality through new technology and the promise of heaven among the physical stars. But on Venus, a renegade sect has found its home. The Harmonists find the answers to life's eternal questions in their own spirituality and in their own bodies, which have undergone genetic changes on Venus, giving them paranormal abilities. With humanity's future at stake, religion becomes a political business, and both groups will have to face their motivations and manipulations when a shocking discovery threatens the balance of power in the universe. "The absorbing story of an overpopulated and economically depressed world clinging to the outcome of a religious schism for its salvation." —sff180

What if there were an Afterworld? Not Heaven or Hell in the conventional sense, but a place where everyone who has ever lived reawakens when they die, to live again and die again and live again, seemingly forever. This is the premise of Robert Silverberg's brilliantly inventive new fantasy novel. The central character is the legendary warrior-king Gilgamesh, who has been in the Afterworld longer than almost anyone else save the Hairy Men from before the Flood, and who in recent centuries (insofar as you can count time) has seen it change beyond recognition, as the newly dead from industrial times import their machinery, their weaponry and their attitudes. Gilgamesh's adventures in the course of the novel take him to the Afterworld realms of other quasi-mythical figures like Prester John and Simon Magus, bring him into contact with such figures from more recent history as Walter Ralegh and Pablo Ruiz (known to some as Picasso), and eventually send him in search of a gateway which is rumoured to exist somewhere in the land of the dead - a gateway which leads back to the land of the living.

In the third novel of this acclaimed sci-fi/fantasy series, the ruler of a vast planet faces a threat of war—and conspiracy within his own court. Plagued by nightmares of blizzards and earthquakes besieging the planet Majipoor, Lord Valentine believes these dreams signal the coming of war between his people and the Shapeshifters, who once ruled the planet. For centuries they have conspired to regain their stolen world, and recently they were discovered impersonating members of the kingdom’s inner circle. Since coming to power, Valentine has made peaceful overtures to the Shapeshifters. This has led select members of the royal court to question his loyalties. Now some even want to remove Valentine from his governing role—casting him into the higher, ceremonial office of Pontifex. But if Valentine accepts the mantle of Pontifex and surrenders his position to his successor-in-waiting, he may be remembered as a leader who evaded his duties—and shattered the peace that has reigned for eight thousand years. . . . “[Valentine Pontifex is] a dance of conflicting emotions and political intrigue. Both the world and Lord Valentine have matured, and the trilogy becomes whole in a way that the form rarely achieves.” —The Village Voice “There’s an almost hypnotic grandeur to the thoughtful way Silverberg weaves the strands of the story together, effortlessly jugging the various motifs.” —Publishers Weekly