Product Description
Seeking the immortality promised in an ancient manuscript, The Book of Skulls, four friends, college roommates, go on a spring break trip to Arizona: Eli, the scholar, who found and translated the book; Timothy, scion of an American dynasty, born and bred to lead; Ned, poet and cynic; and Oliver, the brilliant farm boy obsessed with death.

Somewhere in the desert lies the House of Skulls, where a mystic brotherhood guards the secret of eternal life. There, the four aspirants will present themselves–and a horrific price will be demanded.

For immortality requires sacrifice. Two victims to balance two survivors. One by suicide, one by murder.

Now, beneath the gaze of grinning skulls, the terror begins. . . . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

A road trip into Hell
Other Amazon reviewers have correctly knocked this novel for its utilitarian depictions of women. I would add that Ned, the gay element in the foursome seeking immortality in the Arizona desert, reads like a rancid leftover from the self-hating homosexuals in "The Boys in the Band." Even so, "The Book of Skulls" is a master class in sustained tension and mystery. The drawback in this particular quest -- of the foursome, two will live forever, but one must commit suicide and another must be murdered by his fellows -- is an irresistible setup, and the payoff is genuinely surprising. One of Robert Silverberg's best novels, in a class with "Thorns" and "Dying Inside."

Immortal?
Four frat boys depart on a quest for immortality based on some old manuscript about a skull-worshipping cult: now, can we expect anything worthwhile from a premise so sophomoric? We can if it is Robert Silverberg writing, evidently.

With the right balance of wit, erudition, humour, and earnestness, Silverberg pulls it off. The House of Skulls exists: that is made plausible enough. And a proper dose of irony prevents this immortal-life-and-death mystery, with its Aztec and ancient symbology and mumbo jumbo, from ever veering into ridicule. Anyway, The Book of Skulls, though classified as science fiction, is actually a piece of social and private commentary. The point is in the relationship between the four students: an East Coast wasp scion, the overachieving son of poor Kansas farmers, a young Jewish New York philologist, and a flippant, gay, aspiring poet. Silverberg's desert classic is both extremely funny and penetrating, written with brio and truthfully told - and the trick of having all four main protagonists as narrators works especially well.

More than that, The Book of Skulls does not shrink from broader subjects: friendship, trust, mortality, atonement. In this sense, it belongs to a 1960s and 70s sci-fi tradition prepared to take on big themes. Think Stranger in a Strange Land, or some of Philip K Dick's novels. This is a metaphysical work. And it has a refreshing vitality, an optimism one fails to find in nowadays equivalents. It dares to be about something, unlike the shrivelled dystopias being churned out by more current authors, the meagre servings that are McCarthy's The Road, say. The Book of Skulls is not quite on a par with Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz, but almost.

great writing, but not for me
i came in search of science fiction and found something else.This IS a fantastically written story, but it just isn't what I was seeking.This is the second Silverberg novel I have read and I'm beginning to detect a theme.GREAT story, relevant themes, fantastic in most every way, but not (to me) science fiction.As it wasn't what I sought, I really was not prepared for it, and hence the low rating. I am reading the Hugo and Nebula award nominees and winners in chronological order.So this story came up in sequence.I respect the work, but must respectfully state that I fail to see how this is science fiction.Even if you disagree on that point, you cannot disagree that the key mystical component of this story is a VERY VERY small part of the overall story.Just not science fiction , or even fantasy, to me.This is purely a character driven drama - setting, science, even fantasy is virtually non-existent.

an American journey
The Book of Skulls presents a realistic portrayal of the thoughts of four young men trying to figure out themselves and life.

The story is skillfully revealed through the alternating views as the four main characters journey in a car to find a "fountain of youth".

I ended up considering my own journey for identity and purpose, and I have come to make meaning of life.

It gradually shifts to challenge our thinking on what we do to stay alive and live well (I laughed to see hints of many fads for healthy living that have popped up in the 90's in this novel from 1972.)

This isn't scary, not really what I think of when I think of science fiction, but it becomes surreal.

Quite cerebral and very fun!

Sex and skulduggery
I like Silverberg's work, and have read a number of his books, so it's somewhat disappointing that this one left me strangely unmoved. TBoS starts out well and shows great promise at the start. The writing style is deceptively straightforward, the prose clear and precise. The foundation for a fascinating mystery is well-laid. Unfortunately predictability soon sets in which gradually dilutes the story's effectiveness. As we get to know the four would-be immortals it becomes clear what the outcome will be. Although the backstories are for the most part interesting some sections feel almost superfluous and I can't help but think that this might have worked better as a pared-down novella. Despite this, however, its never dull, it's just that I was left feeling somewhat ambivalent rather than fulfilled. ... Read more

Product Description
The great anthology of short novels by the masters of modern fantasy.

Robert Jordan relates crucial events in the years leading up to The Wheel of Time in "New Spring."

Ursula K. Le Guin adds a sequel to her famous books of Earthsea, portraying a woman who wants to learn magic, in "Dragonfly."

Tad Williams tells a dark and enthralling story of a haunted castle in the age before Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, in "The Burning Man."

Terry Pratchett relates an amusing incident in Discworld, of a magical contest and the witch Granny Weatherwax, in "The Sea and Little Fishes."
... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Excellent Glimpses into Wonderful Worlds
Many years ago, when this series of three books first came out in paperback, I bought the first volume because of the Stephen King Dark Tower Story.I love the Dark Tower series and when I accidentally stumbled on this story, I was very excited.Needless to say, I loved the novella but I also read the other novellas in the volume and quickly became an Orson Scott Card fan and have read the Ender series written by Card because of this volume (I was already a fan of Sci-fi so the Ender series was a logical place to start on Card books).This volume also got me interested more in the fantasy genre and before this had only read the Stephen R Donaldson series "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" which I still highly recommend as being one of the best fantasy series available.However, since reading volume 1 of the Legends series, I have become a huge fantasy fan.

So, I finally ran across this particular volume (Legends Volume 3) in a used book store and when I saw that Terry Pratchett and Tad Williams had contributed novellas, I had to buy it.To start off, I have not yet read any of the Jordan "Wheel of Time" series because I have heard so many different opinions about his style of writing.His books are huge to say the least so that has made me shy away from his series.I must say though, that after reading "New Spring" (which he has since expanded on to make a prequel novel) that I am interested in the series and plan on reading the first book to see if I like it.Yes, it was confusing for the first half of the story since I had no background to this series, but I was intrigued enough to keep reading and ended up enjoying the story.

The second story is Ursula LeGuin's Story "Dragonfly".This story is simply beautiful.I have read some of LeGuin's other stories but never any full novels.I WILL be reading this series, though I know the series is older than the others in this volume.

Tad Williams' story is also well written and as great as I had expected.I own the "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" series but have not read it yet, though I have been looking forward to reading it.I have read his "Otherland" series (over 4000 wonderful pages) and loved every word of it.From reading the "Otherland" series, I consider Mr. Williams one of my favorite authors, right up there with Stephen King with character development and making the reader feel like you are there with the characters sharing the adventure with them.This guy is one of the greatest.

The last story is "The Sea and Little Fishes" by Terry Pratchett, another one of my favorite authors.This novella is just as funny and well written as any of his books.It is a great introduction to his Discworld universe and provides an excellent example of this series.Read this story, laugh, and nod your head in agreement to the social commentary that he throws in and I bet you will want to read more.Pratchett's Discworld series will have you laughing and even on the verge of tears in some places.I would recommend starting with Wyrd Sisters (one of the Granny novels), "Guards! Guards!" (a great dragon story and introduction to the Night Watch of the Discworld series), or "Mort" ( a hilarious story about a favorite Discworld character known as "Death".Did you know that the great stallion that "Death" rides is named "Binky"? How funny is that?)

Anyway, I went on a lot more about these stories then I intended.Get the Legends series, all three books and then get the new Legends II series which also has some great novellas by authors like Terry Brooks and another one by Tad WIlliams which is based on that great "Otherland" series.You will not be disappointed.It is well worth the money you spend.

Be careful, the revs & book info for all 3 vols are mixed up
I purchased this book looking for the stories by King and McCaffrey, only to find out that they are in a different volume.The reviews and book info are the same for all three volumes, so I suppose this review will also be listed on all three.Anyway, this is a review for LEGENDS 3!

There are four stories in Legends 3:

New Spring, by Robert Jordan, a Wheel of Time story.

Dragonfly, by Ursula K. Le Guin, an Earthsea story.

The Burning Man, by Tad Williams, a Memory, Sorrow and Thorn story.

The Sea and Little Fishes, by Terry Pratchett, a Discworld story.

This is a case where they saved the best for last :)Each story gets progressively better.I thought I would go ahead and read this book rather than return it since I am always on the lookout for new (to me) fantasy writers.After all the hype about Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, I must say I was sorely dissappointed.The story was fairly interesting, and maybe the books are better than this short story, but I can't say I'm in much of a hurry to buy them now.However, I think maybe my daughter might like the children's versions.

Dragonfly was better, and the ending was the best part of all.If this was the beginning of the series, I'd be much more likely to want to buy the books, but from what I can figure out, this happens at the end of the series.Will we ever find out what happens next?I kinda doubt it.There hasn't been a new book in this series for a long time.But, I might eventually check this series out.

The Burning Man was pretty cool.It seemed to kinda stand alone though.Can't really imagine what the series is like.

The Sea and Little Fishes was the coolest.The whole Discworld thing, the world being flat and flying thru space on the backs of four elephants riding on a giant turtle was a little weird, but that hardly had anything at all to do with the story.It was about witches, not so much about magic as how they interacted with one another and with the mortals all around them.I think I'd like to read more of these.

I hope you find this helpful and don't make the same mistake that I did, thinking all of these stories are in one book, because they are actually in three.If you did find it helpful, please vote that you did.Thanks!

Terry Pratchett Junky
Yes I know it's probably outrageous to the other authors of this book (but I don't care); I bought it for the Terry Pratchett short novel. The Terry Pratchett short novel "All the little fishes" (in case your wondering) takes place on discworld, revolving around Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg and the witch trials. These are the trials they have at the Ramtops every year where each witch proves her worth and shows off her magic ability. If you have the Nanny Ogg cookbook or want to learn more about the witch trials there are references to it in there. It is an excellent short story around 80 pages. However what makes it worth reading is that it really has the No-nonsense gritty fun of Granny Weatherwax proving she is the best of all the witches! Nothing like a contest of wills to bring out the wickedness. If you like Granny weatherwax or are at least smart enough to be afraid of her this story is for you! The other authors are worth a glance too, after all they got famous for some reason or other. I do have to admit Anne McAffery also tempted me to get the book as there is a pern dragon saga story as well, and her stuff is also a good read for sci-fi fans.

A Good Prequel chapter
If you are craving a new story in the Wheel of Time, try this one.It is a great look into the past of Moiraine and Lan.It is something that was hinted at in the main novels, but it certain expands on the readers knowledge of their relationship.Lan for much of the series is stone cold and he is hard to relate to, much like Rand 7-10.Lan is much like the boy Rand used to be, except a warrior.

It has to be read after 4 or 5, or it won't be as thoroughly enjoyed (thats for newbies).The great thing is Robert Jordan expressed an interest to do another such novella if the opportunity arose.Little stories can be found in "The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time" til the next book comes out.

As Amazon predicted, I indeed loved this.
I read Legends in one piece, so please bear with me reviewing here. Legends (and Far Horizons) as well, were a brilliant move. Short stories about the worlds you know and love, in one book with yet unexplored worlds... it's awesome, both from the fan's and the publisher's point of view.

The quality of the stories was high. King's story was beautiful and enchanting, I am not a great fan of Pratchett, though, Feist and Goodkind's stories were entertaining enough, if not a little predictable.

I felt myself also highly attracted to Williams' story for some reason. And I havent even read the series. Still gotta find the first book somewhere. :)
Jordan's story, as a WOT fan, was nice enough. It was nice to be back in the WOT world again (this was during the wait for book 9). For me, it grabbed hold and didnt let go. Although I agree that it might be a little vague and incomprehensible for the people who are not familiar with the Wheel of Time.
The big thing about Legends though, has got to be the Hedge Knight. It got me to reading Martin's work, and it had got me to favoring Martin above Jordan as soon as I was done with the series.

Legends did what it was made for - introduce fans into worlds they havent explored yet, and show them a little bit more of the worlds they know and love. So yes, Legends was brilliant. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Well Worth the effort
Robert Silverberg has been one of my top favorite Sci-Fi author since my childhood; for me, he lives up to that reputation and more, even today.

Reading the book, especially after you finish "At Winters End", you are taken away from wherever you are into the post apocalyptic earth, where the "people of the flesh" are grappling with survival... exploring, populating, developing, fighting the hkjjks...

Without giving away the contents, the conflicts, beliefs, emotions and interplay of the characters... it makes you wonder, it sets you thinking.

All in all, well worth the effort, and more!

The Queen of Springtime: The New Springtime, Volume 2 (Beyond Armageddon) (Purchased on 08/25/2008)
The Queen of Springtime: The New Springtime, Volume 2 (Beyond Armageddon) (Purchased on 08/25/2008)
by Robert Silverberg

A Satisfying Sequel
I read "At Winter's End" and was dying for more."New Springtime" was just what I needed!Do not read this if you have not read the first book.I am so fond of Hresh and of the People as a whole.I do not want to give anything away, just read the reviews for "At Winter's End" and if you decide to read it (and find you liked it) I promise this sequel will not dissapoint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A few gems in an overall unsatisfying collection
This book includes a few brilliant stories. First (in terms of quality, chronological order, and position in the book) is To See the Invisible Man, a fascinating and well-written take on the concept of shunning. There's Going Down Smooth, about a broken AI psychiatrist; the theme is nothing new today, but I am guessing back in 1968, before cyberpunk was invented, it may have been revolutionary. Then there's The Pleasure of Their Company, a very interesting story about guilt, loyalty, and delusion; and After the Myths Went Home, a compact, tightly-written story with a very satisfying ending.

So: four short stories that I truly recommend everyone to read.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book consists of generally unsatisfying and sometimes mediocre writing that I doubt would appeal to anyone who does not share Mr. Silverberg's sexual hangups. (On the other hand, if the concept of a human male temporarily marrying seventeen alien sisters is as titillating for you as it clearly is for the author, then hey, this book just might be perfect for you.)

Anyway, the question you should ask yourself is, are 4 excellent short stories (+ ballast) worth the $23?

early sci fi reading
i have been a fan of robert silverberg for more years than i can remember
and this collection is absolutely first rate mr. silverberg writes science fiction with a passion and shows the talentfor story telling from the first page to the last, any science fiction fan can not help but be emthralled at his story telling full marks to a superb collection ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Silver age of sci-fi
It is astonishing that Silverberg is not more often ranked among the great names of science fiction. His novels are bold, richly characterised, and written with a rare fluency.

A Time of Changes is set on Borthan, a planet colonised from Earth centuries ago. The austere puritans who founded it decreed that only humility could save their creed, creating a culture of self effacement in which 'I' and 'me' are considered swear words. But the exiled prince of one of its provinces, Kinnall of Salla, is fated to be the first pilgrim on the path of self-discovery. Eschewing wealth and social success, and prepared to put his kin and protectors alike in mortal danger, Kinnall procures a forbidden drug that forces open the sealed hearts of Borthan's desperately solitary citizens. But modern emulators of Buddha and Jesus Christ are only set for martyrdom...

The novel's sci-fi claims are thin: no technical pyrotechnics, here, and the other-world premise only serves to create a hypothetical environment, a what-if for speculating on self and community. I also tend to find Silverberg's assumption dubious, that self-effacement chimes with a highly stratified society where each and everyone is bottled up within. Rather the contrary, I would expect. But no matter. In the novel, communion with others - through the drug - is the key to the awakening of self. The parallel is obvious with the hippie movement and societal changes of the swinging 60s (the book was written in 1970 - this is not innocent, as the preface suggests). And Bortham remains convincing, absorbing as an alternate world. Besides, this is simply a good story of love, danger, and missionary zeal. A Time of Changes is as worthwhile reading as its subject is intriguing.

A proto-Majipoor?
Robert Silverberg has consistently provided readers with brilliant, artful, provocative and mesmerizing fiction from the early 1950s with the publication of his first short story, "Gorgon Planet," and his first novel, "Revolt on Alpha-C," to today (check out the listing for The Last Song of Orpheus, due out later this year.) Even that first novel, a juvenile, had some challenging material, as a young man finds his friends quickly becoming enemies willing to imprison or kill him if he doesn't support their revolt.
What was most interesting to me about A Time of Changes was the fact that it creates a nice bridge between Silverberg's introspective, moody, downbeat , philosophical works of the 60's with his world-creation mood, expressed in later works like the Majipoor novels, The Longest Way Home, Kingdoms of the Wall, and Face of the Waters.
This edition features a map of Borthan.The main subject of the novel is the odd culture of self-abnegation, but this culture is integrated with and partly explained by the environment.Silverberg has fun, and provides it, as he describes climates, flora, fauna, and geography. This kind of thing would become the most important part of Lord Valentine's Castle.More than perhaps any other writer, Silverberg makes you believe that his worlds exist.This is emphatically not because the books are "hard" science fiction.Writers in the hard category fill their pages with precise data and ingenious extrapolations, and too often leave the reader with an impression of artificiality.Silverberg remains within what is biologically and physically possible, and does work within the tradition of authors who take science seriously; this is part of the magic, but the greater part of it is that everything fits together, and feels real, and real people live among and react to the created environments.
One of my favorite parts of any novel is always the introduction provided by the author, and Silverberg has written one which appears in this edition. It explains a lot.But it left me with a big question.The author talks about the challenge of creating a novel without using the word, "I."He reveals that this was not just a clever trick or self-created challenge, but a necessary development of his idea.My confusion: the novel fetaure first-person pronouns on almost every page, as the story is being told by someone who has decided to abandon his culture's ways and define new ones for himself and those who follow him. I must have misunderstood the introduction.
One note on the drug feature of the story: the drug used here promotes shared consciousness and breaks down barriers of all kinds between people.Naturally, some regard this as obscene.Many people in our culture would, too.Does the novel advocate hallucinogens?It could be regarded that way, as the main character tells us that no one can experience what he has without the drug.But no Earthly hallucinogen can do what this drug does, and the real plea of the character is for sharing and self-discovery.I suppose a lot of people in the 60's and 70's believed drugs were an integral part of that, and that they would reshape society.
Every novel (and story) by Robert Silverberg fascinates, informs, enlightens, provokes, and forces us to challenge assumptions.I recommend to any reader: find and devour the novellas Hawksbill Station, Homefaring, Sailing to Byzantium, and my all-time favorite, Born With The Dead.
I look forward to Last Song of Orpheus with unashamed eagerness.

Well Written, But Not My Kind of Sci-Fi
I found the book well written, however I was bored. The subject matter and plotline simply did not interest me.There was nothing in this book that was inherently science fiction.This story could have been told as an earth-based story, with Schweiz coming from another country. The fact that it takes place on another planet, and Schweiz comes from Earth is really immaterial.So, while well-written, I came to find science fiction and found none.

A Great Story

I wasn't around for the 60s and I don't remember anything from the 70s--being only an infant during the glorious years of the Carter Administration.So I can't claim to have "been there" when the country was turned on its head and flower-child values became a part of America's social fabric.However, I have suffered through college lectures from people who don't seem to realize that they are walking stereotypes and I have had a taste of that period's philosophy and art.Generally speaking, it's a taste I don't care for--like a pungent cheese with little seeds of unknown origin embedded in it.The two exceptions to my general disdain for the cultural and intellectual products of the 60s and 70s are music and science fiction literature.The 1960s and 1970s were a golden age for science fiction and Robert Silverberg's 1971 Nebula Award-winning novel A Time of Changes is one of those novels that distinguishes itself as both a product of its troubled times and a timeless work of art that can be enjoyed by anyone--even people like me who probably would have voted for Nixon.

A Time of Changes takes place millennia in the future during a time in which humans have colonized extra-solar planets.One of those colonies is established on a planet called Borthan by members of a religious sect that follow a set of theological guidelines called the Covenant.The Covenant requires one to wall off both heart and mind from others.This denial of self is intended to prevent individuals from placing their personal burdens on others and it is such a fundamental element of life on the planet's northern continent, Velada Borthan, that the inhabitants have banished first-person pronouns (I, me, myself, mine, etc.) from their vocabulary.Use of a first-person pronoun is considered a terrible breach of manners and can even lead to a charge of "self-bearing," which is the ultimate sin among the people of Velada Borthan--a sin that can have both social and legal consequences.

Not everyone on Velada Borthan cherishes the Covenant.However, few have the courage to resist and still fewer have the resources to make their resistance anything more than a personal act of defiance.Then along comes a flawed hero named, Kinnall Darival.Kinnall is a prince from a province called Salla.As the younger son of Salla's prime septarch (i.e. king), Kinnall has little chance of becoming septarch himself and chooses to depart his home province upon his father's death.He wanders Velada Borthan for years before making a home in the continent's southern province.It is there that he makes contact with a man from Earth who challenges Kinnall's assumptions about his world and encourages him to try a drug that breaks down the barriers between human minds.The intimacy that Kinnall experiences during his telepathic experience changes him and leads him to become a prophet of self-bearing, or rather self-sharing as he calls it.

A Time of Changes is a wonderfully simple story that deals artfully with a variety of complex issues.Although the book focuses on the question of what is the source of love and how to create a happy society, it also forces the reader to consider the question of what responsibilities we have to those who care for us and what motivates a person to become a revolutionary.One of Siverberg's great accomplishments is that the narrative is constructed in a such a way that reasonable people can disagree with the implications of Kinnall's transformation from restless bureacrat to self-bearing messiah.The Kinnall character is presented in a sympathetic light, but is hardly air-brushed.We see Kinnall as strong, courageous, inquisitive, and introspective.However, we also see him as arrogant, destructively selfish at times, as well as oscillating between total self-confidence and paralyzing indecision.In other words, Kinnall is portrayed as a human being, albeit a remarkable one, and is totally convincing as a social revolutionary.One of the greatest weaknesses of the book is that there is no effective counter to the protagonist.The opponents of self-bearing are protrayed as brain-washed victims.Silverberg comes close to creating a worthy counterpoint to Kinnall with Noim, Kinnall's "bond-brother" who rejects Kinnall's teachings and clings to the Covenant.Unfortunately, Silverberg discredits Noim by suggesting that his opposition to Kennall is rooted in a self-loathing that is a product of Velada Borthan's twisted society.

It is impossible not to think of A Time of Changes as part of a larger body of science fiction works that deal with the conflict between individualism and communitarianism.However, Silverberg's book sets itself apart from novels like Ayn Rand's classic Anthem, because it offers a much more complex analysis of what it means to promote the interests of the individual.As in Anthem, the residents of Velada Borthan do not speak in the first-person.However, unlike in Anthem, the cure for denial of self is not to assert one's independence from one's community, but rather to forge a more intimate connection with others to the point of mentally merging with them. For Rand, collectivism and individualism are two very distinct things and their moral value is easily discerned.The former is bad the latter is good.For Silverberg, the lines that separate the two are blurry, with moral truth being somewhere between the two archetypal ends of the spectrum.

For this reason, the message of the book is refreshing, if not entirely convincing.The notion that human intimacy is necessary to have trust and love seems like a no-brainer, but the argument that total intimacy is the best means of creating a peaceful, happy society seems like a naive product hippie idealism.Indeed, the whole notion of using mind-altering drugs to expand one's ability to understand and perceive the surrounding world seems a little quaint, while the contention that totally dropping our defenses and allowing others into our minds to study our innermost thoughts is more than a little disturbing.Because there is no serious effort by the author to make the opponents of self-bearing into anything other than pitiable figures who will never know true happiness the book only affords one-side of the story.However, it does not harm the narrative as much as one might expect, because Kinnall's behavior is described in such brutally honest detail that it is possible to see him as either a martyr or a drug-crazed fool despite the lack of an effective philosophical rival.

The pacing of the book is rather good, although a few sections could have benefited from some trimming.There is enough adventure and intrigue in the story to keep the reader engaged and entertained, but the book's deeper mission is always apparent.The prose is generally excellent, although at first it can be difficult to determine when the author is being serious and when he is being facetious.For example..."Bulging muscles and a hairy hide do not a skilled lover make, nor is a massive genital member such as mine any guarantee of ecstasy..."Later on you can laugh with the author, rather than at him, but at first you'll wonder if you're reading a great work of science fiction or simply a juvenile pulp novel.Indeed, there were points early in the book where I could not help but picture Kinnall as Will Ferrell offering me "tickets to the gun show" and bragging about his "pubic mane."

Good stories should always entertain and the best stories will teach you something about yourself and the world around you.By that criteria, Robert Silverberg's A Time of Changes is a great story.I can't say I agree with the message of the book, which struck me as a troubling tale of how self-repression can be replaced with self-annihilation, butit did challenge me and force me to engage in a little introspection.If you're looking for epic space battles, a large cast of complex characters, or a story that deals with hard science fiction themes then A Time of Changes is not for you. However, if you are looking for a science fiction novel that provides an in-depth character study, a fascinating and very personal exploration of an alien world, as well as a story that delves into perennial questions, such as what does it mean to love one's self and to love others, then A Time for Changes will not disappoint.

This review came from the website Drink Your Kanar!

Hallucinogenic drug to loosen up closed society?
The author's 2008 introduction to this 1971 SF novel indicates that it was written as he was working through his decision to move from the staid East Coast to swinging California at the height of the countercultural movement.Set on a planet settled by colonists from a mostly-destroyed Earth, the culture there is closed and bureaucratic and apparently unchanged for thousands of years. The main character, Kinnall Darival, is a man from the ruling elite who is exiled from his own kingdom, but after some adventures he easily takes on a leading role in a nearby kingdom.The society reminded me of Asian cultures, where people refer to themselves as "one" rather than "I", and are generally extremely reticient to reveal anything about their inner lives even to family members.Still, everyone there has the benefit of the confessional and both a bondsister and brother to whom it is socially acceptable to be more emotionally open.Written in the first person, Darival describes what has led him to experiment with a mind-altering drug and write a book designed to change his society.I found his motivations less than convincing, and the similarity between the society of Borthan and that of the U.S. in the 60s remote.The writing was great, and the Darival's personality was complex; he was no hero and possessed no deep insights into his culture.The book is absorbing and interesting, but I think that the author's claim that it reflects the dynamic of the 60s did not help me to understand it.At the end, however, I wanted very much to know how that culture was going to change (if it was at all) because of Darival's actions or writings. ... Read more

Product Description
Twenty-four stories are included in this ambitious collection of Silverberg's work, each with an introduction by the author recollecting the time and place in which they were conceived. Winner of five Nebula Awards and four Hugos, Silverberg is one of the undisputed masters of science fiction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Collection of a master
Sailing to Byzantium is my favorite spec-fic tale of all time and is worth the price of admission alone.Several of the other stories are great as well.

Contents:

* "Homefaring"
* "Basileus"
* "Dancers in the Time-Flux"
* "Gate of Horn, Gate of Ivory"
* "Amanda and the Alien"
* "Snake and Ocean, Ocean and Snake"
* "Tourist Trade"
* "Multiples"
* "Against Babylon"
* "Symbiont"
* "Sailing to Byzantium"
* "Sunrise on Pluto"
* "Hardware"
* "Hannibal's Elephants"
* "The Iron Star"
* "The Secret Sharer"
* "House of Bones"
* "The Dead Man's Eyes"
* "Chip Runner"
* "To the Promised Land"
* "The Asenion Solution"
* "A Sleep and a Forgetting"
* "Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another"

Great later shorts by Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is one of the best writers of SF -- ever.From 1968 or so to the mid-70's Silverberg probably had the best five year run of any SF writer in producing great work. Novels like Nightwings, Dying Inside, TheBook of Skulls, and A Time of Changes, along with shorts from that periodlike "Good News from the Vatican"... Even Heinlein never had astraight run of great work in one five of six year period.Heck, the onlysimilar run of great work in SF was happening almost at the same time inU.K. Le Guin's work. And this is not to leave folks like Ellison and Nivenand resurent Fred Pohl's, Isaac Asimov's and Aurthur Clarke's out either. The late 60's and early 70's should really be considered the Golden Age ofSF when we look back now.And it was Silverberg was was leading the packthen.

This book contains much of his good short story work from the1980's and early 1990's. There is some good to almost great work stillcoming from the Typewriter/Word Processor of Silveberg.His shorts andnovellas like "Mulipules", "Sailing to Byzantuim","House of Bones" and "Enter a Soldier. Later:Enteranother" are all of high caliber.

I orginally found this book inthe library when I was going thru what I was catching up on SF.As soon asI have read it I wanted to own it. But I found it was out of print. We'll... It took a while, but I finally found it.And I have taken greatcare of it ever since.

I highly recommend this book, as well asanything else by Robert Silverberg.

Great collection of stories commented by the author
Some stories featured show a very strong writting fiber in Mr. silverberg, some are really among the best short science fiction stories I have read, the author also shares briefly his view on each story ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Fiction / Fantasy / General; Fiction / Science Fiction / General; Fiction / Science Fiction / Adventure; Fiction / Science Fiction / High Tech; Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Classic Sci Fi at it's best
An honest attempt to portray real science in an early sci-fi story, Robert Silverberg weaves a tale of a spaceman (and his brother) that just isn't happy with the way that the world of star men is working, with the huge time differences that relativity causes. Of course, it's dated, but that's one of the things I enjoy in these older Science Fiction stories....they still have the wonder and 'gee whiz' feel of it all that I had as a kid. I wouldn't call it his best early story, but it is a highly enjoyable, well written story of the world of the future, a la 1950's ideals.

Gambling with time ...
This was one of Silverberg's early novels and one of his best. Essentially it is the story to two brothers who make up part of a merchant family that travels by spaceship from star to star and near speed of light speeds which due to Einstein's time dilation find these journeys take only a few months while many years pass on Earth.

On a previous trip, one of the brothers has jumped ship and stayed behind on earth. Now its 6 weeks later for the on ship brother and they've come back to earth, but for the brother on earth many years have passed (10 to 12). The shipboard brother sets out to find his brother during the layover and does. He basically gets him back on the ship, but then decides to stay himself.

He meets a strange fellow who is a professional gambler and he himself becomes a gambler to support himself. After establishing himself and becoming wealthy he sets about to discover the secret of a lost "star drive" that will allow a ship to travel faster than light. And so the plot boils down to: will he be able to succeed in discovering this drive and then reuniting with his brother in space and them both be the same age again?

Read the book to experience a fascinating adventure in the world of gambling, a future earth (a rather strange one in fact) and a quest like adventure. Find out whether the hero succeeds or fails!

This is a great read and one that I read as a young lad, and then searched it out several years ago so that I could read it again. ... Read more

Product Description
The stories here, all of them written between March of 1972 and November of 1973, mark a critical turning point in my career. Those who know the three earlier volumes have traced my evolution from a capable journeyman, very young and as much concerned with paying the rent as he was to advancing the state of the art, into a serious, dedicated craftsman now seeking to leave his mark on science fiction in some significant way. Throughout the decade of the 1960s I had attempted to grow and evolve within the field of writing I loved building on the best that went before me, the work of Theodore Sturgeon and James Blish and Cyril Kornbluth and Jack Vance and Philip K. Dick and half a dozen others whose great stories had been beacons beckoning me onward and then, as I reached my own maturity, now trying to bring science fiction along with me into a new realm of development, hauling it along even farther out of its pulp-magazine origins toward what I regarded as a more resonant and evocative kind of visionary storytelling.

Robert Silverberg, from his introduction ... Read more

Product Description
In the course of his extraordinary--and prolific--career, Robert Silverberg has made an enormous contribution to imaginative literature. In The Last Song of Orpheus, his longest story in more than a decade, Silverberg has given us one of his most remarkable accomplishments, a resonant recreation of one of the central myths of western civilization.

In this mesmerizing narrative, Orpheus--wanderer, demigod, and master musician--recounts his own astonishing story. That story ranges from the depths of the Underworld, where he attempts to rescue his beloved but doomed Eurydice, to the farthest, most dangerous corners of the ancient world, where he journeys in search of the legendary Golden Fleece. It is a tale of men and gods, of miraculous encounters, of the binding power of inescapable Fate. More than that, it is a meditation on the power of the creative spirit, and on the eternal human search for balance and harmony in a chaotic universe. Beautifully constructed and masterfully written, The Last Song of Orpheus is Silverberg at his incomparable best, showing us a deeply familiar series of scenes, themes, and characters from a fresh, wholly original perspective. ... Read more

Product Description

The years since first be gained the Starburst Crown have been difficult ones for Coronal Lord Prestimion and the vast, unfathoniable realm he rules. But finally peace has been restored to Majipoor. And now it is time for Prestimion to name the able Prince Dekkeret his succeeding Coronal and to descend to the Labyrinth as Pontifex. But a power from a dark past that both men believed was dead is stirring once again -- an evil more potent and devastating than either leader dares to remember.

Once, decades past, a then knight-initiate Dekkeret had his dreams stolen from him. His quest for recovery led him to a remarkable helmetthat could invade the psyches of sleeping foes, a device the newly anointed Coronal Prestimion later utilized to defeat his enemy Dantirya Sambail, tyrant of the continent Zimroel. In the fires of civil war, the terrible weapon was destroyed forever -- or so it was believed.

The noxious weed of rebellion was torn out at its roots but its seeds have borne frightening fruit. Dantirya Sambail is dead, and the hungry jackals who ran at his heels now scheme to recover his lost lands and power. At their head is the tyrant's former henchman Mandralisca -- a villain of great wiles and icy heart, who somehow has unleashed a devastating plague of the mind upon Prestimion's subjects, Dark visions are invading the sleep of those loyal to the Lords and the Lady of Majipoor -- soul-shattering scenes of madness and monstrosity, driving those inflicted to commit horrible, destructive acts. And the dark wave is flowing ever-closer to the throne, seeping beneath the doors of the 30,000 rooms of the towering edifice atop Castle Mount ... and into sacrosanct depths of the imperial Labyrinth itself.

A new campaign for the soul of Majipoor has been declared -- and its catastrophic opening salvos have been fired in silence and in mystery. Once again Prestimion and Dekkeret have been called onto the battlefield of nightmare. But this time it will be a war to the death against a foe greater than all who came before: the master of murderous shadows who aspires to be King of all.

Customer Reviews (9)

Not the best way to finish off the Majipoor saga.
This book, like most of the other Majipoor books, was disappointing at best.Although I do enjoy the detailed world that Silverberg has created, I just have a hard time really getting excited about a story line that even the characters in the book don't seem too concerned over!Way too much time is spent on insignificant little sideplots and wearisome detailed descriptions of everything from the food thats eaten to the color of the leaves of a tree.I want more action, more conflict, and more excitment!I know part of that is just Silverberg's style, but most of these Majipoor books just havn't done it for me.

This book in particular really should have been much better.The basic plot had great potential, with Mandralisca using the Barjazid helmet to mess with peoples minds and the possibility of a inter-continental war.Also, the way the book ended was weak.You take 400-something pages to gradually (very gradually) build up to a climax and then have it end in a completely predictable and insanely quick way.Nothing in this entire book was a surprise (except maybe that Septach Melyn appears to be gay??) and although some of it was quite interesting, it didn't really do much to add to the overall story or to keep the reader interested.

I think Silverberg was just tired of writing about Majipoor and just decided to F-it and cap it off with this second rate work.

Unsatisfying Conclusion to the Cycle
I've seen too often now where writers decide that their favorite world of their creation was not adequately explored in their original trilogy, so they decide to embark on second and third installments of their now-epic sagas. (Yes, Stephen Donaldson and Katherine Kurtz--I'm looking at you.) That's the kind of thing we find here.

Silverberg produced a respectable trilogy back in the day when he fired up with "Lord Valentine's Castle". (Technically, this is a science fiction series, but it can also be read just as well from a fantasy standpoint.) There, he introduced the world of Majipoor and its governmental structure of the Pontifex, Coronal, Lady of the Isles, and the King of Dreams, along with the myriad races that have come to call the planet home. It was pretty good stuff. I doubt many people would call Silverberg a master of characterization, but he's great at big ideas and setting up seemingly simple, almost archetypical, plots that take a few interesting twists and turns along the way. So with the original set of books, you got a solid and entertaining tale of one man's journey back to himself. Arguably, it's a minor classic of the genre.

Then, much later, Silverberg bumped out the curious and pointless "Mountains of Majipoor" as a fourth volume (with its slim page count and irrelevant arc, it's pretty much just Majipoor Helper), and not satisfied with that, evidently decided to go for broke and churned out a second trilogy, set in an earlier time. The first book of the new trilogy was interesting enough, the second was somewhat less so, and the creative juices have pretty much dried up by the third.

Not a lot remains to be said, but the author persists in saying it, and at times it feels like we're very slowly traveling across the vast surface of Majipoor with the heroes, slogging wearily along with every footstep they take. From the original series, we already know that we'll see the introduction of the Fourth Power, the King of Dreams, so all of the sturm und drang leading up to that seems like a lot of empty noise. Meanwhile, minor characters take up undue stage time for no substantial payoff later. And the villains are grotesquely villainous without any hope of redemption. Silverberg does take some time to delineate Mandralisca, but basically only to conclude "Boy, he sure likes evil."

Ultimately, the books plods to its climax and then drops in its tracks right at the very denouement. It's as if the author ran out of sheets of paper, or realized he'd hit his contractual page count. We're hoping for a big emotional and dramatic payoff, but instead we get "Everyone is hit by a two-ton truck. The End."

Very frustrating. Everything after "Chronicles of Majipoor" really is only recommended for the purists who want to fill out their collections. Otherwise, there's just not anything compelling about the later material.

Overrated
I couldn't figure out why Silverberg's Majipoor was included among the series that were lauded in the Legends Anthology that Tor put out a few years ago. While the others were all unmistakably fantasy series, Majipoor is clearly science fiction. On top of that, despite being an old timer, Silverberg himself is no legend, except in his own mind. Seeing him with the likes of King and Jordan was laughable. Then I looked more closely and realized he was the editor. AHhhhhhhh.

The same sort of this shines here. A once decent, if not remarkable, series is being plumbed again, in the hope that it will produce another gusher. Sadly, the well is dry. This promises to be the conclusion, and I can only hope that it is, but the ending was amateurish at best, and I can't really say I will miss the world.

Just where to put this book?
I am a long time fan of all the Majipoor novels and as such I had been anxoiusly waiting for this one. Now I read it, and although I enjoyed it I just do not know what to think about it, especially because of Prestimion. Throughout the story his very valid concerns about the state of government and the attack on his closest family members seem to be no more than mere tantrums of an oldish king - although in truth they are very far from that, not to mention that Prestimion is not that old at all... (and Dekkeret is not that young...)

Finally I felt the conclusion too sudden and too rash. A war was fight and won, major characters died, a fourth power of the realm was established - which is one of the biggest changes in Majipoor's history - without clear answers on Prestimion's concerns as if he was a minor character in the story without real importance.

Fascinating world, painfully slow start
Prestimion is getting older, but he cannot go to his senior throne with the world safe. His long-time enemies are again looking to rebellion, this time attempting to split the planetary government of Majipoor. Can Prestimion, together with younger associate and now Coronal Dekkeret, overcome these enemies one more time--especially when they control the power to bring nightmares even to members of Prestimion's family?

Robert Silverberg is a wonderful writer and his Majipoor world is beautifully created. Silverberg also obviously loves his characters. Even the evil Mandralisca is sympathetically drawn.

I had two major problems with this novel.First, it spent too much time dealing with character introspection rather than moving the story forward. In limited amounts, this is great. We learn about the characters and empathize with their goals. In excess, we wallow in their wallowing as the plot stalls. Silverberg walked painfully close to this line.Second, the resolution of the novel included the creation of a new power in Majipoor. Prestimion had earlier objected to this, with an apparently legitimate concern for the potential for tyranny. This concern was not dealt with adequately and the assumption that a hereditary power could be created based on the moral virtue of a founding member is clearly inadequate.

THE KING OF DREAMS is an enjoyable read. Silverberg loves his world and his characters and you can't help loving them to. ... Read more

Product Description
If the world were all inside of one building, there would be no concept of "outside". Silverberg explores a time worn idea of Science Fiction in his own unique way and makes it fresh again. ... Read more

Product Description

Being a Time Courier was one of the best jobs Judson Daniel Elliott III ever had. It was tricky, though, taking group after group of tourists back to the same historic event without meeting yourself coming or going. Trickier still was avoiding the temptation to become intimately involved with the past and interfere with events to come. The deterrents for any such actions were frighteningly effective. So Judson Daniel Elliott played by the book. Then he met a lusty Greek in Byzantium who showed him how rules were made to be broken...and set him on a family-history-go-round that would change his past and his future forever! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Silverberg in a playful mood
"Up the Line" illustrates how literary science fiction is always decades ahead of filmic science fiction. In 1985, Robert Zemeckis and Eric Gale had movie audiences tittering at the sight of time-traveling Marty McFly fending off his teenaged mother's advances. Years earlier, in his time-travel epic "Up the Line," Silverberg gave readers a "time courier" -- i.e., tour guide -- who spends his spare time tracing his family tree back through the centuries so he can systematically copulate with all of his female ancestors, and another who starts a passionate love affair with his great-great-great-whatever grandmother. "Up the Line" is one of Silverberg's most enjoyable novels: ringing the changes on the paradoxes of time travel brings out the author's playful side, and he puts his love of Byzantine history to good use in a bravura depiction of the "Nika" riots that nearly destroyed Constantinople.

A Bizantine time travel story
A funny read that will be appreciated by time travel genre lovers. Sort of a satyre and homage both to De Camp's Lest Darkness Fall, and Twain's A Connecticut Yankee.

Time travel tourism - yes!
If you like time travel stories, if you like travelling at all, and if you like history - you'll probably like this too.It's an intriguing story based around tour guides leading bunches of tourists back to historical events, while avoiding the paradoxes of meeting themselves on previous tours or interfering with history and changing its course.It's engrossing, informative and funny.

Not Free SF Reader
What do you do if you can travel through time on tours?Have lots of sex, it appears, and fun.Of course, this sort of monkey business needs overseeing to stop all sorts of paradoxical happenings.

There are agents that do this sort of work, but they are not all immune to temptation.This is what happens here.

A very important book
I read this one in high school, and I will never ever forget it. I think we read certain books at certain times, and they are just the right thing to be read at that time. This is that book for me. There is something about the characters in Silverberg's novels that I can really feel for. This is a great time travel story, one of the best. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great book for adventurous kids
I liked this story in junior high school so much I swiped the only copy from the library (sorry Miss Edelson!). It's the story of Roy Crawford, a macho hunter who is framed for murder, and sneaks on board an expeditionary starship to an alien planet. The explorers quickly find that every plant and animal on the planet is a carnivore, and they are caught up in the battle for survival. Crawford even manages to solve the murder mystery through some liberal coincidence by the author :).

Parents should be warned about the violence (the opening hunting scene, fistfights, and animal and human deaths on the alien planet), however it's not bloody. There is an element of horror in some of the aliens' eating habits, but again it's not gory. If your kids like action and adventure, they'll like this book! Let's hope the publishers decide to print a new edition. ... Read more

Product Description
Poilar and his childhood friend Traiben traverse the mysterious Kingdoms and blasted landscapes, braving ghosts and monstrous apparitions to reach the summit of Kosa Saag and to discover the secret of the gods. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Tedious, pointless, and unpleasant; otherwise not too bad
When is a fantasy not a fantasy?When the writer gives a rational scientific explanation for everything that happens.At least that seems to be the concept behind this slow-moving account of the attempt by a company of Pilgrims to ascend the great Wall of their mysterious world.The story is told by Poilar Crookleg, one of the few Pilgrims who makes it back, and like everyone else in his village, he has little useful information about his place in the Universe and what the terrifying Wall really is.Dripping with mystery, mysticism, and dread, this book promises a lot, but, one wonders, will it deliver?This reader found the ending acceptable although a bit of an anticlimax.

Webster's defines "melodrama" as "a dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and that exaggerates emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization."This analysis seems accurate enough for at least 90% of this book.Okay, eventually we do find out the secrets of the Wall and why everything is so unpleasant there, but up to that point it all seems like pure melodrama as the Forty pilgrims face one horrid experience after another to no obvious purpose.Remember when fantasy novels used to be fun - full of beauty and wonder?Or if they weren't all that much fun, didn't they at least have some point to them?It's hard to see any real point behind this tedious tome.If neither of these criticisms put you off, this might be for you.

Sometimes after reading a really terrific book, I find myself looking forward to reading it again someday.While this was perhaps not really all that bad a novel, it's one you'd have to pay me to read again.Two and a half stars.

Not Free SF Reader
A planet with one really, really, big mountain dominates this novel.As such, it is natural for a reasonably primitive people to associate this with being the home of their deities.

Annually, a group of pilgrims are chosen to ascend the mountain and hopefully communicate with said deities.

Twists and turns await them on the trip.

Fine adventure story, well-told
Silverberg tells a good, if somewhat traditional, adventure story here, the tale of a long and dangerous journey with Homeric overtones.His effective, and sometimes subtle, use of first person narration takes the novel to a higher, more literary level.A very good read.

Silverberg does it again
This fabulous story is told to us by Poilar Crookleg, who is about to ascend the mountain of Kosa Saag, like his forefathers before him, along with 39 comrades, to perform the holy pilgrimage to meet the gods. What follows is a tale of friendship, hardship and the power of faith, not to mention a hell of a Rite of Passage.
Great, fully fleshed characters, incredible imagination, a true sense of mystery and fantastic twists, turns and surprises. What is up there on the summit? What are the Kingdoms of the Wall? Who will survive the journey and who will not?
What a great author Robert Silverberg is. A true master of his genre. This book is spellbinding. Read it.

Beyond mythic
Robert Silverberg has written the definitive coming of age (sci fi/ fantasy) novel. Yes, the ending has a dark twist, but the disillusion experienced by the survivors represents a growth of personal awareness. They loose their innocence and find themselves able to face a reality far greater than the myth they had followed up the mountain.

I have read this book twice using library copies, but finding the book no longer available, I must purchase my own copy. So it goes. I have no regrets. I learn something new everytime I read it.

Read and enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description

No power on Earth can resist the might of Imperial Rome, so it has been and so it ever shall be. Through brute force, terror, and sheer indomitable will, her armies have enslaved a world. From the reign of Maximilianus the Great in A.U.C. 1203 onward through the ages -- into a new era of scientific advancement and astounding technologies -- countless upstarts and enemies arise, only to be ground into the dust beneath the merciless Roman bootheels. But one people who suffer and endure throughout the many centuries of oppressive rule dream of the glorious day that is coming -- when the heavens themselves will be opened to them…and the ships they are preparing in secret will carry them on their "Great Exodus" to the stars.

Customer Reviews (32)

Borders on the Absurd
This is not a novel but a series of vignettes about a Roman Empire that never fell.Therefore, we do not have a singular location (except occasionally Rome), no set of major characters and no common theme. Still, some of the individual stories are good, a few are well-written.

But the flaws are everywhere.There's the names.Every individual has three or more L-O-N-G names ("Germanicus Romulus Laedaerius").I found myself skimming over Consuls, guards, Senators, etc.It was like reading an ancient Roman phone book.And those not so cute historical references.Alternate history is either like Tutledove - the same characters appear despite huge historical changes (dumb) - or an entirely new world is created (DUNE).Silverberg chose the former.

Muhammed is consumed with Allah despite his unfamiliarity with Judaism and Christianity from whence Islam emerged. The blurb spoke of Romans cruelly conquering the Mayans yet all I read were failed attempts.And where is the "astounding technology" advertised?Unless it refers to the horrid last chapter and the rocket ship ludicrously built by a few Jews in Egypt. When it explodes, an onlooker suddenly screams that Moses, the man aboard, was God's son - despite the fact that children of a God is anathema to Jews. Did someone held a gun to the author's head and force him to finish it in 5 minutes?

The treatment of Jews was simultaneously expected, trite and awful. Are we to belief that after 2,500 years only 20,000 are around?And how come the Roman government structure remains unchanged for 2,600 years?How does Rome launch an Industrial Revolution with the Protestant Reformation and private capital?Where is China all this time?My Grade - D+

Not worth the effort
If it hadn't been for our home computer acting up, I might not have ever finished reading this book.

It's an interesting premise: Silverberg posits a world where the Roman Empire never fell. It just kept on going. And yet the way Silverberg tried to tell this story fell flat in so many ways.

First of all, there's the structure. Rather than pick one time period and stick with it, Silverberg keeps jumping through time. The book is essentially a series of unconnected short stories, the only thing in common being the setting. Just when you're starting to care about the characters in the story, that story ends and they're never mentioned again. Or, if they are, it's an off-handed reference that really doesn't go anywhere.

Second, there's the repetitious nature of Silverberg's backstory. If he told me one more time that Maximilianus III subdued the barbarians once and for all, I'm pretty sure I would have torn my hair out. He did this time after time after time. And I kept thinking, I know, I know, you told me this ten pages ago!.

That's another problem. Lots of telling, not a lot of showing. It made for weak storytelling.

But the thing that really bothered me the most was Silverberg's point of historical departure. He posited that the reason why the Roman Empire never fell is because Christianity never existed. Now I've got theological problems with that that I won't go into here simply because those reasons aren't the reason why my suspended disbelief kept trying to unsuspend itself. I know that historians have suggested that Christianity brought about the fall of the Roman Empire. Given that possibility, it's within the realm of reason to believe that a lack of Christianity would mean a longer lasting Empire. The merits of the argument are beyond the scope of this book review and I leave that particular debate to people with more abbreviations behind their names than I.

No, there are two major reasons why I didn't like this point of departure. The first has to do with the idea of trajectory. Silverberg removes Christianity from the historical scene by having the Exodus fail. No Exodus, he reasons, no Isreal. No Isreal, no Jews. No Jews, no Christianity.

So that might work, but my problem here is that that leaves 1,200 years (at least) where things would be substantially different. No Exodus, no kingdom of Israel, right? Well, that leaves a power vacuum in the ancient world that would have to be filled. Who knows what might have arisen in the land of Canaan. A Philistine Empire? Would Egypt, who was the nominal overlords of the region at the time, maintained their hold, thus allowing them to resist the Assyrians and Babylonians? Who knows?

Silverberg's premise of removing the Exodus and only removing Christianity is far-fetched to the point of ridiculousness. It's entirely possible that by undoing the Exodus, the Roman Empire might never have arisen. The butterfly theory and all that.

The second reason why this point of departure is so ridiculous to me is because of what Silverberg does in his introduction. He has two Roman historians meet and discuss ancient history and one of them says something along these lines: "Well, what if that Moses guy had succeeded? Well, then, a religion may have arisen, based on resurrection, that would have appealed to Roman society and radically changed our society."

Um, excuse me? That's an awfully big intellectual leap for someone to make. Too big of one, if you ask me. Sure, Silverberg is trying to explain what's missing, but that could have been made pretty clear in short order rather than with the ham-fisted way he did.

According to Silverberg's biography, he's an award-winning author. Quite frankly, based on this book, I can't imagine why and I don't really care to learn. For me, if I want to see some good counterfactual storytelling in this same vein, I'll re-read Harry Turtledove's Agent of Byzantium. Much better and not quite so ludicrous.

Slow moving and flawed, but the good stories were very, very good
Other readers' criticisms are accurate --the collected stories are very slow moving, but to me it started picking up about halfway through.I've given it 5 stars because the good parts were excellent and made up for the rest.To me, the best stories were the analog of the French Revolution, the story of the last Emperor, and the very last vignette about the Jews and their second Exodus.

There's no Christianity, and there's no Islam.I wish Silverberg would have given us his theories on why no religions developed to replace them.He was also vague about how the Western Roman Empire didn't fall in the third or fourth centuries A.D.He just mentioned that there were some emperors who were good generals and fought off the Huns, Visigoths and Germans.I thought at first that this was too simple, that the Roman Empire would have fallen no matter what, but then I thought about men like George Washington and Winston Churchill, who probably changed world history.

Good, not great
Roma Eterna starts with an interesting concept: The Exodus failed, so there is no Jesus; Without the Christian church, the Roman Empire stands for all time (or at least until the end of the book). The book is chopped up into several short stories, and I found it to be very hard to put down initally. The writing is gripping, even if keeping dates and names straight can be a little tough.

However, the book seems to run out of steam for the final 80 pages or so, starting with "Via Roma". This incredibly boring short story takes four pages worth of material and stretches it into fifty. Reading the book at this point became a chore. The story after Via Roma is better, but it and the final story don't really connect the way the first seven do.

I wish I could give this book a 3.5, but since you can't do that, I've rounded it up to a four. Despite the disappointing final stretch, this is a good book. Recommended if you're something of a roman history buff. Those without much knowledge or interest in ancient Rome will probably want to pass.

SPQR Forever....what a book this could have been
I have heard of this book off and on for years and being both a Romanphile and a sci-fi devotee I thought it was long past time to get it. I had to order it from the used booksellers here, and it turned out to be an expensive purchase, but when it arrived I was just so very excited to get it. That lasted just about as long as reading the dust jacket blurb.....which was basically the evil Roman empire had kept the Jewish people in bondage for thousands of years and now they were going to finally escape in spacecraft. Oh no. No, no, no......I nearly didn't read the book after that, but, as it turns out, this isn't an evil Roman empire book at all and the blurb was just about as misleading a one as I have ever read in my life.

No, this book has it's problems, but it certainly isn't about Romans persecuting Jews for thousands of years as implied by the cover. The problems I had with the book are that it is not a novel but a series of short stories showing an alternate hsitory in which Rome does not fall. The short story approach creates a very choppy narrative and overall I didn't find the alternative history all that plausible or the writing that compelling. The book is OK, and I have enjoyed Silverberg as a writer in the past, but I was left fairly disappointed with this work. Part of the problem I think is that Silverberg never considered this as a novel...it just a series a different ideas he had at different times and created short stories out of. Then they are all strung together to make this tale. I'd love to read an alternative Roman history work where the author sat down and figured out the big picture first and then colored in all the details later. Robert Conroy did a good job of this in his "1901" which I found fascinating. My overall recommendation: you won't miss anything if you don't read this one. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not Free SF Reader
An anthology that came about from discussions at the 1981 World Fantasy Convention - so that is the upper limit on story inclusion. Apparently a poll was taken, and these were the 18 stories that garnered the highest number of votes.

Looks like the voters indeed did a very good job coming up with their favorites.

There is a several page introduction tracing the history of horror stories, briefly, from the gentle English ghost story, to Weird Tales and Unknown Worlds up to Rosemary's Baby and the Stephen King phenomenon.

Also, a fairly attractive biography section, with a long paragraph on each author included in the book.

Horror Hall of Fame : The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe
Horror Hall of Fame : Green Tea - Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Horror Hall of Fame : The Damned Thing - Ambrose Bierce
Horror Hall of Fame : The Yellow Sign - Robert W. Chambers
Horror Hall of Fame : The Monkey's Paw - W. W. Jacobs
Horror Hall of Fame : The White People - Arthur Machen
Horror Hall of Fame : The Willows - Algernon Blackwood
Horror Hall of Fame : Casting the Runes - M. R. James
Horror Hall of Fame : The Graveyard Rats - Henry Kuttner
Horror Hall of Fame : Pigeons from Hell - Robert E. Howard
Horror Hall of Fame : It - Theodore Sturgeon
Horror Hall of Fame : Smoke Ghost - Fritz Leiber
Horror Hall of Fame : Yours Truly Jack the Ripper - Robert Bloch
Horror Hall of Fame : The Small As5a5in - Ray Bradbury
Horror Hall of Fame : The Whimper of Whipped Dogs - Harlan Ellison
Horror Hall of Fame : Calling Card - Ramsey Campbell
Horror Hall of Fame : Coin of the Realm - Charles L. Grant
Horror Hall of Fame : The Reach [Do the Dead Sing?] - Stephen King

Blame Wodewick.

4 out of 5


Hesselius investigates a spectre that tends to not want to meet him.

3.5 out of 5


Invisible monster.

4 out of 5


Serpentskin books - don't get 'em.

3.5 out of 5


Wishes not so handy.

4 out of 5


Be choosy with literature and statuary.

3 out of 5


Wind in the tree monsters.

4.5 out of 5


Knocking the writing problem on the head.

3.5 out of 5


Mummy, it's a coffin.

4.5 out of 5


A man is murdered, and in no ordinary fashion. When law enforcement investigates this is the story he gets from a witness:

"and my G0d, sir, he was dead! His head had been split open. I saw brains and clotted blood oozing down his face, and his face"

It appears there is a zuvembie in town, the long awaited aftermath of a property that had white women mistreating their black slaves, badly.

4 out of 5


Mud man grandpa bones deals with hunters people until all washed up.

4 out of 5


Spectral look.

3.5 out of 5


Doc, you are actually right at the sharp end, stoopid.

4.5 out of 5


Rugrat's gonna get me, maybe I should get it first?

4 out of 5


City god call.

3.5 out of 5


First foot, slimy.

3.5 out of 5


Osiris toll.

4 out of 5


Mainland ghost, gran.

4 out of 5

Not Free SF Reader
An anthology that came about from discussions at the 1981 World Fantasy Convention - so that is the upper limit on story inclusion. Apparently a poll was taken, and these were the 18 stories that garnered the highest number of votes.

Looks like the voters indeed did a very good job coming up with their favorites.

There is a several page introduction tracing the history of horror stories, briefly, from the gentle English ghost story, to Weird Tales and Unknown Worlds up to Rosemary's Baby and the Stephen King phenomenon.

Also, a fairly attractive biography section, with a long paragraph on each author included in the book.

Horror Hall of Fame : The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe
Horror Hall of Fame : Green Tea - Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Horror Hall of Fame : The Damned Thing - Ambrose Bierce
Horror Hall of Fame : The Yellow Sign - Robert W. Chambers
Horror Hall of Fame : The Monkey's Paw - W. W. Jacobs
Horror Hall of Fame : The White People - Arthur Machen
Horror Hall of Fame : The Willows - Algernon Blackwood
Horror Hall of Fame : Casting the Runes - M. R. James
Horror Hall of Fame : The Graveyard Rats - Henry Kuttner
Horror Hall of Fame : Pigeons from Hell - Robert E. Howard
Horror Hall of Fame : It - Theodore Sturgeon
Horror Hall of Fame : Smoke Ghost - Fritz Leiber
Horror Hall of Fame : Yours Truly Jack the Ripper - Robert Bloch
Horror Hall of Fame : The Small As5a5in - Ray Bradbury
Horror Hall of Fame : The Whimper of Whipped Dogs - Harlan Ellison
Horror Hall of Fame : Calling Card - Ramsey Campbell
Horror Hall of Fame : Coin of the Realm - Charles L. Grant
Horror Hall of Fame : The Reach [Do the Dead Sing?] - Stephen King

Blame Wodewick.

4 out of 5


Hesselius investigates a spectre that tends to not want to meet him.

3.5 out of 5


Invisible monster.

4 out of 5


Serpentskin books - don't get 'em.

3.5 out of 5


Wishes not so handy.

4 out of 5


Be choosy with literature and statuary.

3 out of 5


Wind in the tree monsters.

4.5 out of 5


Knocking the writing problem on the head.

3.5 out of 5


Mummy, it's a coffin.

4.5 out of 5


A man is murdered, and in no ordinary fashion. When law enforcement investigates this is the story he gets from a witness:

"and my G0d, sir, he was dead! His head had been split open. I saw brains and clotted blood oozing down his face, and his face"

It appears there is a zuvembie in town, the long awaited aftermath of a property that had white women mistreating their black slaves, badly.

4 out of 5


Mud man grandpa bones deals with hunters people until all washed up.

4 out of 5


Spectral look.

3.5 out of 5


Doc, you are actually right at the sharp end, stoopid.

4.5 out of 5


Rugrat's gonna get me, maybe I should get it first?

4 out of 5


City god call.

3.5 out of 5


First foot, slimy.

3.5 out of 5


Osiris toll.

4 out of 5


Mainland ghost, gran.

4 out of 5 ... Read more

Product Description
Based on an Asimov short story, "The Ugly Little Boy". A children's nurse is hired as part of a scientific project aimed at bringing a living being from the past to the present. A four-year-old Neanderthal boy is snatched from his home and hurled 40,000 years into a terrifying future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Entertaining, sensitive, moving, and interesting fantasy
Child of Time is a very good read by two top science fiction authors. First published as a short story, "The Ugly Little Boy," by Issac Asimov, this novel expands the tale into a monumental battle between a nurse, hired to take care of a Neanderthal child kidnapped from his tribe 40,000 years ago by a research company, Stasis Technologies, and the firm, which exploits him.

The book builds to a startling climax, as the nurse, who initially sees the child as a subhuman "ape-boy," grows to admire and love him.

There are also some interesting sections that tell the story of the Neanderthal tribe, its suspected religious beliefs, and its clash with the "Other Ones" for territory.

This is a book that you will cherish and read again over the years. ... Read more