Robert Silverberg

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Silverberg at the Worldcon (August 2009)

Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935 in Brooklyn , New York ) is an American author who is best known for his science fiction works and four times with the Hugo , five times with the Nebula and nine times with the Locus Award was awarded.

Life

Silverberg has been a voracious reader since childhood and endeavored to publish short stories in science fiction magazines from his early teens. He attended Columbia University and graduated with a BA in English Literature in 1956 . He stayed true to science fiction and published his first book, the children's book Revolt on Alpha C , in 1955 . The following year he won his first Hugo as "best new author". For the next four years he wrote, by his own count, a million words a year for magazines and Ace Doubles. In 1959, the science fiction market collapsed, and Silverberg applied his extensive writing skills to other areas, from carefully researched history literature to softcore porn for Nightstand Books.

In the mid-1960s, science fiction sought to raise its literary and content-related level. Frederik Pohl , then editor of three science fiction magazines, gave Silverberg a free hand in writing for her. Encouraged by this, Silverberg returned to the SF. He paid more attention to depth of character and social background than in the past. He also mixed elements of modern literature that he had learned at Columbia University .

The books of this creative period break radically with his previous work. To Open the Sky , a volume of stories that previously appeared in Pohl's Galaxy magazine , describe a new religion that opens the way to the stars for mankind. This was followed by Downward to the Earth , perhaps the first post-colonial science fiction book, a book with echoes of Joseph Conrad , in which the former earthly steward of an alien world returns after it is set free. Other popular and critically acclaimed works of the period include To Live Again , in which it is possible to transfer the personalities of the dead, The World Inside , which looks into an overpopulated future, and Dying Inside , the story of a telepath who is his Loses strength.

In 1969 Nightwings won a Hugo Award for best novel. Then in 1970 the short story Passengers and in 1971 the novel A Time of Changes and the short story Good News from the Vatican and in 1975 the novella Born with the Dead received the Nebula Award and the Locus Award . In 1970 Robert Silverberg was guest of honor at the "World Science-Fiction Convention".

After years of high literary productivity, Robert Silverberg was looking for a creative break. Stress due to a thyroid disorder and an apartment fire deepened this intention. He moved from his native New York to the West Coast in 1972 and announced his retirement from writing in 1975.

He returned to writing in 1980 with Lord Valentine's Castle , a panoramic adventure on an alien planet. This novel is the basis for a series that continues to this day (2009), the Majipoor cycle (named after the planet on which it is set). In the mid to late 1980s, he devoted himself to the subject of the Gilgamesh epic in two fantasy novels . The first, Gilgamesh the King (Eng. King Gilgamesh , 1987), three more appeared in 1984. In the years 1986, 1987 and 1988 published Silverberg Gilgamesh -Novellen in the anthology series Heroes in Hell with the titles of Gilgamesh in the Outback (dt. Gilgamesh in the Outback , published in the Heyne Science Fiction annual volume for the anniversary year 1988 ), The Fascination of the Abomination and Gilgamesh in Uruk . These three novellas from Heroes in Hell were first published in England in 1989 and in the USA in 1990 in a heavily revised form as his second Gilgamesh novel To the Land of the Living ( The Land of the Living , 1996).

Awards (selection)

Hugo Award

  • 1955 as "the most promising new author"
  • 1969 for the novella Nightwings (German: Schwingen der Nacht )
  • 1987 for the novella Gilgamesh in the Outback
  • 1989 for the story Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another
  • 2001 Retro Hugo as a fan author in 1951

Nebula Award

  • 1970 for the short story Passengers
  • 1972 for the short story Good News from the Vatican
  • 1972 for the novel A Time of Changes (German: Time of Changes )
  • 1975 for the novella Born with the Dead (German: born with the dead )
  • 1985 for the novella Sailing to Byzantium (German: Seafaring to Byzantium )

Locus Award

  • 1971 for the short story collection The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 1
  • 1975 for the novella Born with the Dead (German: born with the dead )
  • 1976 for the short story collection Epoch
  • 1981 for the fantasy novel Lord Valentine's Castle (German: war of dreams )
  • 1988 for the novella The Secret Sharer
  • 1993 for the short story collection The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume 1: Secret Sharers
  • 1999 for the short story collection The Avram Davidson Treasury (Ed. Avram Davidson )
  • 1999 for the anthology Legends
  • 2000 for the Far Horizons anthology

Awards for life's work:

Other awards:

  • 1975 Seiun Prize for the novel Nightwings (German: swing of the night )
  • 1973 John W. Campbell Memorial Award , special award for Dying Inside (Eng .: It dies in me )
  • 1974 Jupiter Award for the story The Feast of St. Dionysus (Eng .: The Feast of St. Dionysus )
  • 1975 Seiun Prize for the novel Up the Line (German: Zeitpatrouille )
  • 1976 Prix ​​Apollo for the French translation of the novel Nightwings (German: swing of the night )
  • 1988 Science Fiction Chronicle Readers Poll for the story The Secret Sharer (German: Vox )
  • 1998 Science Fiction Age Readers Poll for the short story On the Inside
  • 2001 Premio Ignotus for the Spanish translation of the short story Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another (German: first appearance: soldier. Then: another )
  • 2013 Geffen Award for the Hebrew translation of the novel Tower of Glass (Eng .: Children of the Retort )
  • 2015 Premio Italia for the novel Roma Eterna

bibliography

Novels

Nidor cycle

(with Randall Garrett, as Robert Randall)

  • The hidden planet. 1964, Moewig , The Shrouded Planet. 1957.
  • Nidor wakes up. 1964, Moewig: The Dawning Light. 1957.

Gilgamesh

  • King Gilgamesh also: King Gilgamesh of Uruk. 1987, ISBN 3-404-13798-1 , Gilgamesh the King. 1984.
  • The land of the living. 1996, ISBN 3-453-11886-3 , To the Land of the Living. 1990.

After dark cycle

The Majipoor Chronicles

The Legends of Majipoor

Single novels

  • Revolt on Alpha C. 1954.
  • The 13th immortal. 1962, Moewig: The Thirteenth Immortal. 1956.
  • Power over life and death. 1972, ISBN 3-453-30159-5 , Master of Life and Death. 1957.
  • Aliens from Space. 1958. (as David Osborne)
  • Star driver undesirable. 1960, Pabel too: The stars are drawing closer. 1971, Heyne, Starman's Quest. 1958.
  • Arbitration of the Stars. 1960, Moewig: Collision Course. 1958.
  • Grabbing the Ganymede. 1959, Pabel: Invaders from Earth. 1958.
  • Invisible barriers. 1958. (as David Osborne)
  • The earth lives. 1959, Pabel: Read We Forget Thee, Earth. 1958. (as Calvin M. Knox)
  • Shadows over the stars. 1959, Moewig: Stepsons of Terra also: Shadow on the Stars. 1958.
  • Omega space station. 1959, Semrau n.d. , Starhaven. 1958. (as Ivar Jorgensen)
  • Does Lurion have to die? 1960, Moewig: The Planet Killers. 1959.
  • Traitors, gangsters and rockets too: Mission on Morilar too: conspiracy against earth. The Plot Against Earth, 1959. (as Calvin M. Knox)
  • Lost Race of Mars. 1960.
  • Recalled To Life. 1962.
  • The colonists of Terras. 1985, Droemer Knaur , ISBN 3-426-05740-9 , The Seed of Earth. 1962.
  • They stole his world. 1965, Pabel: One of Our Asteroids Is Missing. 1963. (as Calvin M. Knox)
  • The Silent Invaders. 1963.
  • The city under the ice. 1968, Tosa , Time of the Great Freeze. 1963.
  • Regan's satellite. 1976, Pabel: Regan's Planet. 1964.
  • Conquerors from the Darkness. 1965.
  • The Mask of Akhnaten. 1965.
  • Off to the Hesperides !. 1982, Droemer Knaur, ISBN 3-426-05752-2 , The Gate of Worlds. 1967.
  • Planet of Death. 1967.
  • The song of the neurons. 1971, Lichtenberg, ISBN 3-7852-2012-X , Thorns. 1967.
  • UFOs over the earth too: observers from space. 1968, ISBN 3-442-23389-5 , Those Who Watch. 1967.
  • Escape from the future too: time jumpers. 1968, ISBN 3-442-23394-1 , The Time Hoppers. 1967.
  • The sacred atom too: open the sky. 1971, ISBN 3-8118-3537-8 , To Open the Sky. 1967.
  • Exile in the cosmos too: the man in the labyrinth. 1971, ISBN 3-8118-3578-5 , The Man in the Maze. 1968.
  • Guest from the future. 1970, Heyne , The Masks of Time also: Vornan-19. 1968.
  • World's Fair 1992. 1968.
  • After all the billions of years. 1982, ISBN 3-8118-3601-3 , Across a Billion Years. 1969.
  • The Belzagor Mysteries. 1973, ISBN 3-453-31326-7 , Downward to the Earth. 1969.
  • Swing of night. 1971, ISBN 3-453-30901-4 , Nightwings. 1969.
  • Three survived. 1969.
  • The soul bank too: Live again. 1971, ISBN 3-8118-3521-1 , To Live Again. 1969.
  • Time patrol. 1971, ISBN 3-442-23125-6 , Up the Line. 1969.
  • Exiles for Eternity. 1973, Pabel: The Anvil of Time also: Hawksbill Station. 1970.
  • Children of the retort. 1975, ISBN 3-453-30353-9 , Tower of Glass. 1970.
  • The second trip. 1977, ISBN 3-442-23245-7 , The Second Trip. 1971.
  • Son of man. 1983, ISBN 3-548-31050-8 , Son of Man. 1971.
  • Time of change. 1980, ISBN 3-442-25042-0 , A Time of Changes. 1971.
  • A Happy Day in 2381. 1976, ISBN 3-453-30367-9 , The World Inside. 1971.
  • Brotherhood of the Immortals. 1980, ISBN 3-8118-3500-9 , The Book of Skulls. 1972.
  • It dies in me. 1975, ISBN 3-453-21527-3 , Dying Inside. 1972.
  • The seer. 1978, ISBN 3-453-30496-9 , The Stochastic Man. 1975.
  • Schadrach in the furnace. 1979, ISBN 3-453-30537-X , Shadrach in the Furnace. 1976.
  • Lord of Darkness. The great historical novel about Africa. 1995, Bastei-Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach, ISBN 3-404-25245-4 , Lord of Darkness. 1983.
  • Tom O'Bedlam or Poor Tom von Bethlehem also: Tom O'Bedlam. 1987, ISBN 3-453-00970-3 , Tom O'Bedlam. 1985.
  • Gypsy star. 1988, ISBN 3-453-03130-X , Star of Gypsies. 1986.
  • Project Pendulum. 1987.
  • Letters from Atlantis. 1992, ISBN 3-404-20193-0 , Letters from Atlantis. 1990.
  • The age of the mutants. 1994, ISBN 3-453-07951-5 , The Mutant Season. 1990.
  • Nightfall . 1997, ISBN 3-453-11689-5 , Nightfall. 1990. (with Isaac Asimov )
  • Above the waters. 1995, ISBN 3-453-06209-4 , The Face of the Waters. 1991.
  • Thebes of the Hundred Gates. 1991, Harper Collins, London, ISBN 0-00-223975-2 .
  • Kingdoms of the Wall. 1992.
  • The positronic man too: the 200 year old man. 1998, ISBN 3-453-13696-9 , The Positronic Man. 1992. (with Isaac Asimov)
  • Child of time. 1997, ISBN 3-453-12537-1 , The Ugly Little Boy. 1992. (with Isaac Asimov)
  • The hot sky at midnight. 1997, ISBN 3-453-12635-1 , Hot Sky at Midnight. 1994.
  • Starborne. 1996.
  • The years of the aliens. 2000, ISBN 3-453-17101-2 , The Alien Years. 1997.
  • The Longest Way Home. 2001, EOS Books, New York, ISBN 0-380-97858-X .
  • Roma Eterna. 2003, Gollancz, London, ISBN 0-575-07556-2 .

Short story collections

  • People for Mars. 1965, Moewig: To Worlds Beyond. 1965.
  • Visa for the Sirius. 1975, ISBN 3-442-23212-0 , Needle in a Timestack. 1966.
  • The Calibrated Alligator and Other Science Fiction Stories. 1969.
  • Dimension 12. 1972, Heyne: Dimension Thirteen. 1969.
  • The shadows of dark wings. 1975, ISBN 3-442-23203-1 , The Cube Root of Uncertainty. 1970.
  • Night over humanity. 1976, Pabel: Parsecs and Parables. 1970.
  • Moonferns and Starsongs. 1971.
  • The Reality Trip and Other Implausibilities. 1972.
  • The earth's other shadows. 1979, ISBN 3-442-23333-X , Earth's Other Shadow. 1973.
  • Now plus minus. 1977, ISBN 3-442-23250-3 , Unfamiliar Territory. 1973.
  • Beyond time. 1981, Pabel: Valley Beyond Time. 1973.
  • Born with the dead. 1979, ISBN 3-453-30557-4 , Born with the Dead. 1974.
  • The neutral planet. 1976, ISBN 3-442-23240-6 , Sundance and Other Science Fiction Stories. 1974.
  • The Feast of St. Dionysus. 1975.
  • Sunrise on Mercury. 1975.
  • Capricorn Games. 1977, ISBN 3-442-23257-0 , Capricorn Games. 1976.
  • The Best of Robert Silverberg. 1976.
  • Shores of tomorrow. 1979, ISBN 3-442-23312-7 , The Shores of Tomorrow. 1976.
  • The hero of the universe. 1963, Moewig: Next Stop the Stars. 1977.
  • The Best of Robert Silverberg Volume 2. 1978.
  • The Songs of Summer. 1979.
  • Invaders from Earth and To Worlds Beyond. 1980.
  • A Robert Silverberg Omnibus. 1981.
  • World of a Thousand Colors. 1982.
  • The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party. 1984.
  • Beyond the Safe Zone. 1986.
  • Pluto in the Morning Light (The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume 1). 1992.
  • Secret Sharers (The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume 2). 1992.
  • The Secret Sharer (The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume 3). 1993.
  • The Road to Nightfall (The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume 4). 1996.
  • Reflections and Refractions. 1997.
  • Ringing the Changes (The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume 5). 1997.
  • Edge of Light: The Robert Silverberg Omnibus. 1998.
  • Valentine of Majipoor. 1999.
  • Lion Time in Timbuctoo (The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume 6). 2000.
  • Sailing to Byzantium. 2000.
  • Cronos. 2001.
  • Hawksbill Times Two. 2002.
  • Other dimensions. 2003.
  • Phases of the Moon. 2004.
  • In the Beginning: Tales from the Pulp Era. 2006.
  • To Be Continued: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume One. 2006.
  • To the Dark Star: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Two. 2007.

As editor

Non-fiction books (selection)

  • Lost Cities and Vanished Civilizations . Chilton Books, New York 1962.
  • The Man who Found Nineveh: The story of Austen Henry Layard . 1964.
    • Palaces under the desert sand. Henry Austen Layard finds Nineveh . from the English by R. Zins, dtv Junior, Munich 1974, ISBN 3-423-07119-2 .
  • Mound-Builders of Ancient America . NYGS, Greenwich, Conn. 1968.
  • Musings and Meditations: Essays and Thoughts. 2010.

literature

Monographs and Articles
  • Uwe Anton : Robert Silverberg. Times of change . SF Personality, Volume 26. Memoranda at Golkonda, Munich / Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946503-30-9 .
  • Edgar L. Chapman: The road to Castle Mount. The science fiction of Robert Silverberg . Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn. 1999, ISBN 0-313-26145-8 . (Contributions to the study of science fiction and fantasy; 82).
  • Charles L. Elkins: Robert Silverberg's many trapdoors. Critical essays on his science fiction . Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn. 1992, ISBN 0-313-26308-6 (Contributions to the study of science fiction and fantasy; 53).
  • Albrecht Fritzsche: Definitions are not my problem. Robert Silverberg and the impossibility of becoming a writer . In: Ders .: The worlds of science fiction. 15 approaches to the most successful genre of our time . Corian-Verlag, Meitingen 1988, ISBN 3-89048-313-5 .
  • Detlef Hedderich: King Gilgamesh. In: The Science Fiction Year 1988 (Vol. 3), edited by Wolfgang Jeschke , Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-453-00983-5 , pp. 593-596.
  • Detlef Hedderich: Tom O'Bedlam. In: The Science Fiction Year 1989 (Vol. 4), edited by Wolfgang Jeschke, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-453-03139-3 , pp. 579-582.
  • Darrell Schweitzer: SF Voices: Interviews with Science Fiction Masters. TK Graphics, 1976, pp. 17-24.
  • Brian M. Stableford : Masters of science fiction. Edmond Hamilton, Leigh Brackett, Barry N. Malzberg, Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Silverberg, Mack Reynolds. Essays on 6 science fiction authors . Borgo Press, San Bernardino, Calif. 1981, ISBN 0-89370-147-5 (Popular writers today; 32).
Lexicons

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Silverberg, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Knox, Calvin M. (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn