Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is one my favourite SF writers, and possibly my absolute favourite. Born in Brooklyn, New York he began submitting stories to science fiction magazines during his early teenage years. While at Columbia University, he wrote the juvenile novel Revolt on Alpha C (1955) and won a Hugo as the "best new writer" that year. From 1956 to 1959, Silverberg was highly prolific, publishing as many as five stories a month, and had over 80 stories published in 1958 alone. However, by the mid-1960s, science fiction was becoming more serious and Frederik Pohl (editor of several SF magazines at the time), encouraged Silverberg to write less pulpy, more serious fiction - a freedom he very much capitlaised on. Over the next ten years Silverberg wrote and published many of his greatest works, both in short fiction, and in his many high quality novels of the time.
Personal Recommendation
Robert Silverberg's Greatest SF Novels were published in a 'purple patch' decade from 1967-1976:
Nightwings (1969)
Downward to the Earth (1970)
Tower of Glass (1970)
The Second Trip (1971)
The World Inside (1971)
The Book of Skulls (1971)
A Time of Changes (
1971)
Dying Inside (1972)
The Stochastic Man (1975)
Major Awards
Hugo Awards: Most Promising New Author (1956), Nightwings (Best Novella, 1969), Gilgamesh in the Outback (Best Novella, 1987),
Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another (Best Novelette, 1990)
Nebula Awards: "Passengers" (Best Short Story, 1969), A Time of Changes (Best Novel, 1971), Good News from the Vatican (Best Short Story, 1971), Born with the Dead (Best Novella, 1974), Sailing to Byzantium (Best Novella, 1985)
Damon Knight Grand Master Award (2003)
Robert Silverberg Annotated Bibliography
Early Writing Career - The Pulp Years
Revolt
on Alpha C (1955)
The 13th
Immortal (1956)
Master
of Life and Death (1957)
The
Shrouded Planet, with Randall Garrett, as Robert Randall (1957)
Invaders
from Earth (1958)
Lest We
Forget Thee, Earth (1958), as Calvin M. Knox
Stepsons
of Terra (1958)
Aliens
from Space (1958)
Invisible
Barriers (1958)
Starhaven
(1958)
Starman's
Quest (1958)
The Plot
Against Earth (1959)
The
Dawning Light, with Randall Garrett, as Robert Randall (1959)
The
Planet Killers (1959)
Lost
Race of Mars (1960)
Collision
Course (1961)
The Seed
of Earth (1962)
Recalled
to Life (1962) - Better than many others in this period
The
Silent Invaders (1963) - this is actually a fun read, though Silverberg admits he can't even remember writing it, in his 1976 introduction!
Time of
the Great Freeze (1964)
Regan's
Planet (1964)
One of
Our Asteroids is Missing (1964)
Conquerors
from the Darkness (1965)
The Gate
of Worlds (1980)
Planet
of Death (1967)
Mature Writing from 1967-1976
Those
Who Watch (1967)
Thorns (1967) - Nebula Award nominee, 1967; Hugo Award nominee, 1968
The Time
Hoppers (1967)
To Open
the Sky (1967)
Hawksbill Station (1968) - Nebula nominee, 1968
The Masks of Time (1968) -
a good book, very enjoyable
Across a Billion Years (1969)
The Man
in the Maze (1969)
To Live Again (1969)
Up the Line (1969) - Nebula Award nominee, 1969; Hugo Award nominee, 1970
Nightwings
(1969) - Incorporates the novella Nightwings, which won a Hugo in 1969
Downward
to the Earth (1970) - Locus SF nominated, 1971 - excellent
World's Fair 1992 (1970)
Three
Survived (1969) - novella, published alone
Tower of
Glass (1970) - Nebula Award nominee, 1970; Hugo and Locus SF nominee, 1971
Son of
Man (1971)
The
Second Trip (1971) - this is a great read, one of his best for shear entertainment
The
World Inside (1971) - Hugo nominated, 1972
A Time
of Changes (1971) - Nebula winner, 1972; Hugo and Locus SF nominee, 1972
The Book
of Skulls (1971) - Nebula Award nominee, 1972; Hugo and Locus SF Award nominee, 1973
Dying
Inside (1972) - Nebula Award nominee, 1972; Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1973 - one of the all-time classics
The
Stochastic Man (1975) - Nebula Award nominee, 1975; Hugo & Locus SF Awards nominee, 1976 - possibly my favourite Silverberg
Shadrach
in the Furnace (1976) - Nebula nominee, 1976; Hugo nominee, 1977
Later Career and the Majipoor Books
Lord
Valentine's Castle (1980) -
Majipoor series - Locus SF Award winner and Hugo nominee, 1981
Majipoor
Chronicles (1982) - Majipoor series - linked short stories in Majipoor
Valentine
Pontifex (1983) - Majipoor series
Lord of
Darkness (1983)
Gilgamesh
the King (1984)
Tom
O'Bedlam (1985)
Star of
Gypsies (1986)
At
Winter's End (1988)
Project
Pendulum (1989)
Letters
From Atlantis (1990)
The New
Springtime (1990)
To the
Land of the Living (1990)
Nightfall
(1990) with Isaac Asimov
Thebes
of the Hundred Gates (1991)
The Face
of the Waters (1991)
Child of
Time (1991) with Isaac Asimov
Kingdoms
of the Wall (1992)
The
Positronic Man (1992) with Isaac Asimov
Hot Sky
at Midnight (1994)
The
Mountains of Majipoor (1995) - Majipoor series
Starborne
(1996)
Sorcerers
of Majipoor (1997) - Majipoor series
The
Alien Years (1998) - Locus SF nominee, 1999
Lord
Prestimion (1999) - Majipoor series
King of
Dreams (2001) - Majipoor series
The
Longest Way Home (2002)
Roma
Eterna (2003)
Short
Story Collections
Next
Stop, the Stars (1962)
Godling,
Go Home (1964)
Needle
in a Timestack (1966)
The
Calibrated Alligator (1969)
Dimension
Thirteen (1969)
The Cube
Root of Uncertainty (1970)
Parsecs
and Parables (1973)
Moonferns
& Starsongs (1971)
The
Reality Trip and Other Implausibilities (1972)
Valley
Beyond Time (1973)
Earth's
Other Shadow 1973)
Unfamiliar
Territory (1973)
The
Feast of St. Dionysus: Five Science Fiction Stories (1975)
Sunrise
on Mercury (1975)
Capricorn
Games (1976)
The Best
of Robert Silverberg (1976)
The
Shores of Tomorrow (1976)
World of
a Thousand Colors (1982)
The
Conglomeroid Cocktail Party (1984)
Beyond
the Safe Zone (1986)
Pluto in
the Morning Light (1992)
The
Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg: Secret Sharers (1992)
Phases
of the Moon (2004) - an excllent collection of Silverberg's best short SF
In the
Beginning: Tales from the Pulp Era (2006)
To Be
Continued: The Collected Stories Volume 1, 1953-58 (2006)
To the
Dark Star: The Collected Stories Volume 2, 1962-69 (2007)
Something
Wild Is Loose: The Collected Stories Volume 3, 1969-72 (2008)
Trips:
The Collected Stories Volume 4, 1972-73 (2009)
The
Palace at Midnight: The Collected Stories Volume 5, 1980-82 (2010)
Multiples:
The Collected Stories Volume 6, 1983-87 (2011)
We Are
for the Dark: The Collected Stories Volume 7, 1987-90 (2012)
Hot
Times in Magma City: The Collected Stories Volume 8, 1990-95 (2013)
The
Millennium Express: The Collected Stories Volume 9, 1995-2009 (2014)
