Sailing to Byzantium: Six Novellas

by Robert Silverberg

Six science fiction novellas by the author hailed as “a master” by Robert Jordan—including two Nebula Award winners and two finalists.  Robert Silverberg’s novellas open the door to new In “Born with the Dead,” a woman wills her body to be “rekindled” after death, allowing her to walk among the living, while her husband is left in the impossible position of accepting her death when he can still see her. In the Nebula Award­–nominated story “Homefaring,” the time-traveling narrator finds himself trapped in the consciousness of a lobsterlike creature of the far future, leading him to reflect on what it means to be human. And in the collection’s Nebula Award­–winning title story, the Earth of the fiftieth century is a place where time is elusive and fluid, and young citizens live as tourists in ancient cities. “When Silverberg is at the top of his form, no one is better,” says George R. R. Martin. Also including Nebula Award finalist “The Secret Sharer,” as well as “Thomas the Proclaimer” and “We Are for the Dark," this collection offers an engrossing exploration of the work of this Grand Master, hailed by the New York Times Book Review as “the John Updike of science fiction.”  This ebook features an illustrated biography of Robert Silverberg including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Time Travel, Science Fiction Fantasy

Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2013

About the author

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

Reviews

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Sailing to Byzantium, winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1986, Silverberg weaves a poetic and gripping tale about a man from 1984 called Phillips who mysteriously finds himself in the 50th century. The people in this future epoch (called citizens) do not age and amuse themselves by recreating great historical cities, such as Alexandria, Chang-an and Tumbuctoo, and even mythical ones, such as Asgard. The cities are populated by temporaries, creatures who resemble and seemingly act like human beings, but are nothing more than zombie-like ‘props’ designed to enhance the illusion of grand, inhabited cities. Phillips is in love with Goia, a citizen, and follows her everywhere as they travel from city to city, enjoying all the magnificence and splendour they have to offer.

When they move on to Chang-an, he notices that Goia is starting to show signs of aging. That night they both attend a banquet and afterwards Goia suddenly disappears without giving Phillips any explanation as to why. As Phillips desperately goes in search of her, he starts to question why he was brought to the 50th century and what the point is of this utopian illusion.

There is a great twist at one point, which really keeps you turning the pages. Sailing to Byzantium is a SF love story that is beautifully written and explores some interesting themes, such as mortality, one’s sense of belonging and the nature of reality. Recommended.

[Akemi G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the first story, Sailing to Byzantium. The prose is elegant, and I like the ending, too. A few times during the reading, I had a sneaking suspicion that the plot might be quite predictable, and in part, it was, but I still like it. I love how the namesake poem by William Butler Yeats is used throughout the story. And it's a good love story. I'd say this is one of the best stories I've read this year.

The book contains 5 other stories:
Thomas the Proclaimer
Born With the Dead
Homefaring
We Are For the Dark
The Secret Sharer

[Raphael]

https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comm...

[Karl Schaeffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written book of Silverberg novellas. Stretched my mind. Found some of the stories hard to read primary due to the way of interpreted the stories thru the lens of our current life. "Thomas the Proclaimer", set as a Y2K story talks about the breakdown of organized religion into fringe sects and cults that eat away at the fabric of society. Reminds me too much of today's white evangelical nationalists and QAnon-ers. Things don't end well. "Sailing the Byyzantium", the namesake novella of the anthology presents a depressing future of humanity. Humanity is at a narcissistic point in it's existence with a kind of "is that all there is" type tone. I enjoyed the lobster story. I also enjoyed Siverberg's intro's to the stories where he explained where his head was at when he wrote them. Kind of a look behind the curtain.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novellas

Six novellas by Robert Silverburg. The Secret Sharer and Sailing to Byzantium, Homefaring, included. Highly recommended. One of the best writers of the 20th century writing in any genre

[Lana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sailing to Byzantium

This was well enough written; it just didn’t appeal to me. I finished it because one of the reviews said it was novella length and got better in the second half. For me, it didn’t.

[Shaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 2013 collection contains six novellas published in the 1970s and 1980s and I hadn't read any of them before. There is something a bit melancholy about all of them though they explore many different themes and ideas. My favourite is probably the titular Sailing to Byzantium.

[Derick Parsons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit silly

The idea of robots having feelings and/or thinking they're human is not a new one, and certainly not with this author. But emotions come directly from chemicals acting on the brain and without them, and an organic brain, emotions are simply not possible. And that includes love. Obviously there are different forms of love but no robot could feel any of them. Aside from that this story is very depressing: depicting an empty, sterile future where empty, identical people live utterly pointless lives of aimless pleasure seeking. That this thrill and pleasure seeking involves recreating ancient cities -temporarily- and flitting between them seems weird but i suppose not impossible. And the visitors seem utterly pointless: they're just machines, what could they possibly bring to the party? Why would anyone want to spend decades living with one? Personally, I think a future like that would involve ultra realistic VR and drugs, with everyone living in a virtual fantasy world of their own devising, and no human ever seeing another real person. But hey, what do I know. I do know I felt this story was just...nothing.

[Adam Meek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd read all of these before in other collections and anthologies. I love the sentient lobsters of Homefaring, the spacefaring cults of We Are For The Dark and the segregated zombies of Born With The Dead, primo scifi sensawunda. The title story is a Silverberg travelogue with time travel elements, The Secret Sharer is an homage to the Conrad story it is named for; these stories were less exciting, but still decent. Thomas the Proclaimer, a tale of a hippie messiah in the year 1999, is still a big snoozefest.

[Halecki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy can write!

I had never read a Silverberg book before.
That's a pity. He's a very entertaining writer. I now have become obsessed h with reading some of his other material.
This book has 6 novellas in it. 3 were great, the other 3 pretty good.
If someone had given me a brief description of each of the stories, I probably would have passed on at least 4 of them.
But as I.reading them, I got drawn into them. He captivated me.
He is a VERY good writer.
Highly recommended

[Barbara Sherrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Sailing to Byzantium. It was a really nice and unique love story. Had a few unexpected twists and turns.
I liked Born with the Dead and Homefaring. Both had some very different ideas that are very typical SIlverberg.
The rest were not to my taste. Thomas the Proclaimed I liked least. It was long and drawn out and didn't really go anywhere.

[Olga Werby · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novella is the perfect medium for Robert Silverberg’s imagination.

I have read many books by Robert Silverberg; some I loved, some left me cold. This was by far the best collection. These six novellas were thought-provoking and very lyrical, just long enough for depth with a brevity that sticks to the main point of a story. A very strong recommendation.

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I normally love stories by the classic masters of sci-fi, I really struggled to get into the keystone title story of this collection. I did thoroughly enjoy "Homefaring" for its atypical characters and unique perspective, which stood out as the clear highlight of the book for me. The remaining four stories were largely forgettable.

[Charl · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 great ones, 3 good ones, 1 meh. But I'll leave it to you to decide which ones are which, or if you even agree with me.

A nice selection of Silverberg's works, giving a wide sample of his writing. None of them felt aged or dated.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silverberg Doesn’t Disappoint

There’s a reason this writer has five Hugos and five Nebulas to his name. His imagination is vast, yet his characters are grounded in very human qualities.

[Jason Bergman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The six novellas contained in this book don't necessarily represent Silverberg at his very best (well, maybe the first one) but they're still quite good.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Sci Fi

Had overlooked the novellas and as Mr Silverberg points out, they are a good length for story telling and one in which the master is very comfortable.

[Shy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece

One of the best science fiction book I've ever read, and they're a legion.
Inspiring, gripping and rich in both language and ideas.

[Bobby Keeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has several short Novellas that I had not previously read. Some were a bit strange, but still good to read. I recommend reading all of the short stories in this book.

[Rob Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

6 novelles. Nicely written, but of varying quality.

[Stephen Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, I had only this novella not the other 5

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six classic SciFi stories written by a master. The stories are well written, the characters engaging. The first story, "Sailing to Byzantium," is my favorite.