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Beyond Control
Includes short stories, Child's Play by William Tenn, Autofac by Philip Dick, Adam and No Eve by Alfred Bester, City of Yesterday by Terry Carr, The Iron Chancellor by Robert Silverberg, The Box by James Blish and The Dead Past by Isaac Asimov.
236 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
62 people want to read
About the author
Robert Silverberg
2,343 books1,601 followersThere are many authors in the database with this name.
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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 25, 2023
One of the few times I’ve read a collection of short stories, especially sci-fi short stories, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Child’s Play by William Tenn, The Iron Chancellor by Robert Silverberg, and The Dead Past by Isaac Asimov stand out to me as the stories that I enjoyed more in this book. Would definitely read more volumes by Silverberg.
June 16, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. The seven stories were all entertaining and offered their own spins on the dangers of technology. I think the weak link was #6.
August 18, 2025
Chilling in its prescience. I am always delighted to stumble on an Asimov short I hadn’t read yet.
September 28, 2014
A collection of seven short stories called Beyond Control Edited by Robert Silverberg, who also wrote the introduction and contributes the tale The Iron Chancellor about a family who upgrades their house robot which puts them on a diet that starves them eventually traps them in their own home. A great technology run amok story which is basically the theme of the book.
The better stories IMO are Isaac Asimov's The Dead Past (which appears in another anthology I own) and Autofac by Philip K. Dick. Asimov's story is about the government suppression of an invention that allows the user to view events in the past similar to how we watch television today. P.K.D.'s story is about automated factories that continue to supply mankind with everything they need long after they are wanted. A group of humans must stop the factories before the use up the last of Earth's resources. It is similar to his short story Second Variety (which is not included in this book) for those of you who have read it or watched the movie Screamers, both of which I also enjoy.
The better stories IMO are Isaac Asimov's The Dead Past (which appears in another anthology I own) and Autofac by Philip K. Dick. Asimov's story is about the government suppression of an invention that allows the user to view events in the past similar to how we watch television today. P.K.D.'s story is about automated factories that continue to supply mankind with everything they need long after they are wanted. A group of humans must stop the factories before the use up the last of Earth's resources. It is similar to his short story Second Variety (which is not included in this book) for those of you who have read it or watched the movie Screamers, both of which I also enjoy.
April 21, 2013
I loved this. I read it twice and would read it again!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews