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Early Days: More Tales from the Pulp Era
In 2006, Robert Silverberg published In the Beginning, a generous selection of stories from the early, developmental stages of his distinguished sixty-year career. Fast-paced, energetic, and unabashedly pulp-like in their origins and ambitions, those stories proved to be an unexpected gift to Silverberg’s many readers. That gift continues with Early Days, a second volume of apprentice fiction as wide-ranging and enjoyable as the first.
Early Days collects seventeen impossible to find stories from the years 1956 to 1958, supplemented by a fascinating introduction and extensive notes on the creation and publication history of each story. Together, these non-fiction pieces constitute both an episodic memoir and an affectionate history of an era when pulp magazines still dominated the SF marketplace.
Without exception, each of the stories in Early Days offers honest, unpretentious entertainment. The astonishingly prolific Silverberg may have had a bit to learn back then, but he had an innate understanding of narrative that shines through every one of these tales. The stories range in tone from the grimly dystopian future of “The Inquisitor” to the playful “Space Is the Place,” in which a maintenance technician from Crawford IX experiences comic culture shock during a mandatory vacation on Earth. “Rescue Mission” revolves around the telepathic connection between two interplanetary intelligence agents. “Housemaid No. 103” provides a humorous glimpse into the romantic difficulties of a far future matinee idol. “Harwood’s Vortex” combines a mad scientist, alien invaders, and the possible end of life as we know it into a single colorful narrative.
Silverberg, of course, would evolve into one of the genuine masters of the genre, and this retrospective collection of early work offers invaluable insights into his development. Silverberg himself calls Early Days “an affectionate tribute to my hardworking self of more than half a century ago.” It is all of that and more. Anyone with an interest in Silverberg’s career, or in the history and evolution of modern science fiction, needs to read this book. They may not write ‘em like this anymore, but once upon a time they did. And looking back has never been so much fun.
Early Days collects seventeen impossible to find stories from the years 1956 to 1958, supplemented by a fascinating introduction and extensive notes on the creation and publication history of each story. Together, these non-fiction pieces constitute both an episodic memoir and an affectionate history of an era when pulp magazines still dominated the SF marketplace.
Without exception, each of the stories in Early Days offers honest, unpretentious entertainment. The astonishingly prolific Silverberg may have had a bit to learn back then, but he had an innate understanding of narrative that shines through every one of these tales. The stories range in tone from the grimly dystopian future of “The Inquisitor” to the playful “Space Is the Place,” in which a maintenance technician from Crawford IX experiences comic culture shock during a mandatory vacation on Earth. “Rescue Mission” revolves around the telepathic connection between two interplanetary intelligence agents. “Housemaid No. 103” provides a humorous glimpse into the romantic difficulties of a far future matinee idol. “Harwood’s Vortex” combines a mad scientist, alien invaders, and the possible end of life as we know it into a single colorful narrative.
Silverberg, of course, would evolve into one of the genuine masters of the genre, and this retrospective collection of early work offers invaluable insights into his development. Silverberg himself calls Early Days “an affectionate tribute to my hardworking self of more than half a century ago.” It is all of that and more. Anyone with an interest in Silverberg’s career, or in the history and evolution of modern science fiction, needs to read this book. They may not write ‘em like this anymore, but once upon a time they did. And looking back has never been so much fun.
344 pages, Hardcover
Published August 31, 2016
9 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Robert Silverberg
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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.
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 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 6, 2017
9 • Introduction (Early Days: More Tales from the Pulp Era) • essay
Great intro, definitely not one to skip. Silverberg gives a vivid glimpse into his youth and what it was like writing for the legendary pulp magazines of the 1950s.
The introductory/biographical notes for each story are also great - chatty and fascinating, really opening a window into this little bit of history. This volume is worthwhile just for that!
17 • The Inquisitor • (1956)
Kafkaesque. In the future, enemies of the state are brutally interrogated with the assistance of robotics. But they are still overseen by a human agent. But one dissident's final words open a chink in the state employee's surety in his righteousness. And sometimes, a chink is all it takes...
Superb irony, in this one. I think I may have read it before, long ago - but it might've been something similar.
31 • The Ultimate Weapon • (1957)
Delivers on the promise of the collection's title: this is pure pulp fiction. It bears quite a few similarities to an original Star Trek episode. Earth is under threat by the vicious Starlords. One bold young man, a spy, is captured and spirited off to a planet where an advanced civilization (including an attractive young woman) lives in peace, having harnessed the powerful energy of the stars. Could this planet hold the key to saving humanity?
I can't say the story is actually any good: it has logical holes you could blast a starship through - but it's decent fun.
73 • Harwood's Vortex • (1957)
Bit of a silly story, with a classic 1950's feel to it (almost to the point of feeling like a modern satire). At the center of the story is a young woman. Her fiance is a brilliant engineer; her father, an amateur scientist who's always been dismissed as a crackpot. However, when her father achieves the unlikely, and somehow opens a vortex to another dimension, it becomes clear that he's not just an eccentric, but a raving megalomaniac who's opened the Earth to destructive Invaders. It's up to our hero to see if he and his invention can save his fiance from her evil father - and preserve Life on Earth while he's at it!
87 • Quick Freeze • (1957)
Inspired by a sci-fi illustration, as explained in Silverberg's very entertaining notes to the story.
On a time-sensitive rescue mission, a jet-powered rocket lands on a cold planet with the aim of picking up survivors - and gets ignominiously stuck in ice when the material their jets melted re-freezes around them. Are the people aboard both ships now doomed? Or will ingenuity save the day?
103 • Six Frightened Men • (1957)
A scientific team on an unexplored planet are plagued by a terrifying monster that appears and disappears without warning. How can it be manifesting, when all their instruments show no sign of its presence?
117 • Puppets Without Strings • (variant of Call Me Zombie! 1957)
The Twilight-Zone style of this one was right up my alley.
Released from his military service a couple of days early, a young man rushes home to surprise his wife. But when he glimpses her - for just a moment - staring blankly, standing there like a decommissioned robot, that odd moment combines in his head with a peculiar statement his Army buddy made. What if everyone around him is artificial, and only he is 'real'?
131 • A Time for Revenge • (1957)
After receiving a call informing him that his estranged brother has been murdered, a man journeys to the hot and dusty planet of Vordil IX in search of vengeance. However, soon he finds himself swept out of his (rather shallow) depth by the customs and taboos of an alien culture. For one thing, his brother was actually legally executed for his transgressions. And it's hard to avoid running afoul of rules that you neither understand nor respect.
I liked this one- some good stuff running under the surface.
147 • Housemaid No. 103 • (1957)
Silverberg pretty much admits in his introductory notes to the story that this one hasn't aged well - and it's sadly true. A futuristic movie star has no interest in the legions of female fans and colleagues who are constantly flinging themselves at him in attempts at seduction. When even the domestic staff get in on the act, he thinks he has the solution: a robot housemaid.
155 • Rescue Mission • (1957)
Very short, very by-the-numbers, with no extra frills. It meets the minimum standards for a science fiction story. As the title implies, one expedition has to rescue another on an alien planet.
167 • Planet of Parasites • (1958)
Quite good! When a relief team arrives to switch off with the one who's been on a research base for a couple of years, they do notice that the scientists they're replacing are acting a little odd. Maybe they're just stir-crazy after their isolation. Or MAYBE they're pod people infected by something alien and bizarre! Is the new team doomed? Can they save humanity from the alien threat?
(PS, YAY lady space scientists, even in 1958! [In this one, married teams are considered to be the most efficient for long-term missions, and the wives are equal partners, with equal education and training as the men.])
197 • Slaves of the Tree • (1958)
Interesting, and more complex than one might expect from a pulp publication. A team has been sent to check in on a far-flung colony planet. After 200 years, are they successful enough to begin to open to trade and tourism? What they find is unexpected, and unprecedented: the human colonists have apparently interbred with an intelligent native species, and even adopted a native religion.
Our POV character, a member of the survey team, although one who is apparently not generally liked by his co-workers, finds this miscegenation disgusting. However, he's the only member of the team who seems to have a problem with it.
Silverberg manages to pull off this story with a delicate ambiguity about where the reader's sympathies should lie.
225 • Frontier Planet • (1958)
Silverberg states in the introduction that this was a standard pulp Western transposed into space. And indeed, it is. The colonists are homesteading on an alien planet, and hostile aliens attack. Stereotypes abound.
As a modern reader, it's fairly mind-boggling to think that anyone could ever read the presented scenario, whether the natives are "Indians" or extra-terrestrials, without considering that maybe the local residents are at least somewhat justified in their attempt to repel invaders.
241 • The Aliens Were Haters • (1958)
Well, the aliens might be haters. The reader doesn't really get to find out what their motivations might be. But the real hater here is the super-misogynist main character. The sole survivor of a commercial expedition, he accidentally discovers a downed alien ship at the same time as a rival Brazilian team, headed by a forceful military woman. Maybe if the main character was more concerned about the situation at hand, rather than her personal appearance and perceived lack of femininity, everything would've worked out better. Or maybe not. But he doesn't learn his lesson here.
257 • The Traders • (1958) • (variant of The Unique and Terrible Compulsion)
Rapidly rising through the corporate hierarchy of Earth's galaxy-spanning trading network, a young man's career plans are thrown for a loop when he's given a new assignment: he's to become a company spy in the guise of an assistant. It's suspected that an employee who's been running a one-man outpost for the past few decades has violated one of the prime rules by supplying native aliens with addictive narcotics. But before they can fire him, they need evidence of the crime.
But once our young man arrives for his new assignment, the complex reality of the situation makes things appear in more shades of gray than they did from a safe distance.
The core of this story is actually really good. With a more balanced view of the native culture and a bit more development of its ideas, it could've been great.
285 • Waters of Forgetfulness • (1959)
Responding to an SOS after a ritzy space liner disaster, a one-man rescue ship expects to be greeted with gratitude and relief by the millionaire survivors. However, what greets him is the opposite situation. The survivors have actually killed the crewman who sent out the SOS and insist that they don't want to leave the planet. As a matter of fact, they just might kill their rescuer, too. Something about this planet has turned them into lotus-eaters, and they'll brook no interference with their path to blissful self-destruction.
Good space adventure!
313 • You Do Something to Me • (1959)
A couple of humorous pieces round off this collection. In this one, a talent scout is proud as can be of the Miss Universe he manages - and delighted at the prospects of the income her lucrative contracts will surely be bringing in. But when he decides to show her off to aliens as an example of the beauties of Earth, the end result is not quite what anyone expected - because, of course, alien standards of loveliness are not quite the same...
331 • There's No Place Like Space! • (1959)
A civil servant loves his job on a quiet, idyllic and relaxing planet. But when it comes to his superiors' attention that he hasn't taken a vacation in years, the bat comes down. He MUST take his vacation days, and he MUST take them on Earth. Rules are rules. Never mind that he has no interest in the hustle and bustle and the crazy urban hijinks of Earth. Vacation is duly taken - and the bureaucrats kind of get what they had coming.
Many thanks to Subterranean and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are solely my own.
Great intro, definitely not one to skip. Silverberg gives a vivid glimpse into his youth and what it was like writing for the legendary pulp magazines of the 1950s.
The introductory/biographical notes for each story are also great - chatty and fascinating, really opening a window into this little bit of history. This volume is worthwhile just for that!
17 • The Inquisitor • (1956)
Kafkaesque. In the future, enemies of the state are brutally interrogated with the assistance of robotics. But they are still overseen by a human agent. But one dissident's final words open a chink in the state employee's surety in his righteousness. And sometimes, a chink is all it takes...
Superb irony, in this one. I think I may have read it before, long ago - but it might've been something similar.
31 • The Ultimate Weapon • (1957)
Delivers on the promise of the collection's title: this is pure pulp fiction. It bears quite a few similarities to an original Star Trek episode. Earth is under threat by the vicious Starlords. One bold young man, a spy, is captured and spirited off to a planet where an advanced civilization (including an attractive young woman) lives in peace, having harnessed the powerful energy of the stars. Could this planet hold the key to saving humanity?
I can't say the story is actually any good: it has logical holes you could blast a starship through - but it's decent fun.
73 • Harwood's Vortex • (1957)
Bit of a silly story, with a classic 1950's feel to it (almost to the point of feeling like a modern satire). At the center of the story is a young woman. Her fiance is a brilliant engineer; her father, an amateur scientist who's always been dismissed as a crackpot. However, when her father achieves the unlikely, and somehow opens a vortex to another dimension, it becomes clear that he's not just an eccentric, but a raving megalomaniac who's opened the Earth to destructive Invaders. It's up to our hero to see if he and his invention can save his fiance from her evil father - and preserve Life on Earth while he's at it!
87 • Quick Freeze • (1957)
Inspired by a sci-fi illustration, as explained in Silverberg's very entertaining notes to the story.
On a time-sensitive rescue mission, a jet-powered rocket lands on a cold planet with the aim of picking up survivors - and gets ignominiously stuck in ice when the material their jets melted re-freezes around them. Are the people aboard both ships now doomed? Or will ingenuity save the day?
103 • Six Frightened Men • (1957)
A scientific team on an unexplored planet are plagued by a terrifying monster that appears and disappears without warning. How can it be manifesting, when all their instruments show no sign of its presence?
117 • Puppets Without Strings • (variant of Call Me Zombie! 1957)
The Twilight-Zone style of this one was right up my alley.
Released from his military service a couple of days early, a young man rushes home to surprise his wife. But when he glimpses her - for just a moment - staring blankly, standing there like a decommissioned robot, that odd moment combines in his head with a peculiar statement his Army buddy made. What if everyone around him is artificial, and only he is 'real'?
131 • A Time for Revenge • (1957)
After receiving a call informing him that his estranged brother has been murdered, a man journeys to the hot and dusty planet of Vordil IX in search of vengeance. However, soon he finds himself swept out of his (rather shallow) depth by the customs and taboos of an alien culture. For one thing, his brother was actually legally executed for his transgressions. And it's hard to avoid running afoul of rules that you neither understand nor respect.
I liked this one- some good stuff running under the surface.
147 • Housemaid No. 103 • (1957)
Silverberg pretty much admits in his introductory notes to the story that this one hasn't aged well - and it's sadly true. A futuristic movie star has no interest in the legions of female fans and colleagues who are constantly flinging themselves at him in attempts at seduction. When even the domestic staff get in on the act, he thinks he has the solution: a robot housemaid.
155 • Rescue Mission • (1957)
Very short, very by-the-numbers, with no extra frills. It meets the minimum standards for a science fiction story. As the title implies, one expedition has to rescue another on an alien planet.
167 • Planet of Parasites • (1958)
Quite good! When a relief team arrives to switch off with the one who's been on a research base for a couple of years, they do notice that the scientists they're replacing are acting a little odd. Maybe they're just stir-crazy after their isolation. Or MAYBE they're pod people infected by something alien and bizarre! Is the new team doomed? Can they save humanity from the alien threat?
(PS, YAY lady space scientists, even in 1958! [In this one, married teams are considered to be the most efficient for long-term missions, and the wives are equal partners, with equal education and training as the men.])
197 • Slaves of the Tree • (1958)
Interesting, and more complex than one might expect from a pulp publication. A team has been sent to check in on a far-flung colony planet. After 200 years, are they successful enough to begin to open to trade and tourism? What they find is unexpected, and unprecedented: the human colonists have apparently interbred with an intelligent native species, and even adopted a native religion.
Our POV character, a member of the survey team, although one who is apparently not generally liked by his co-workers, finds this miscegenation disgusting. However, he's the only member of the team who seems to have a problem with it.
Silverberg manages to pull off this story with a delicate ambiguity about where the reader's sympathies should lie.
225 • Frontier Planet • (1958)
Silverberg states in the introduction that this was a standard pulp Western transposed into space. And indeed, it is. The colonists are homesteading on an alien planet, and hostile aliens attack. Stereotypes abound.
As a modern reader, it's fairly mind-boggling to think that anyone could ever read the presented scenario, whether the natives are "Indians" or extra-terrestrials, without considering that maybe the local residents are at least somewhat justified in their attempt to repel invaders.
241 • The Aliens Were Haters • (1958)
Well, the aliens might be haters. The reader doesn't really get to find out what their motivations might be. But the real hater here is the super-misogynist main character. The sole survivor of a commercial expedition, he accidentally discovers a downed alien ship at the same time as a rival Brazilian team, headed by a forceful military woman. Maybe if the main character was more concerned about the situation at hand, rather than her personal appearance and perceived lack of femininity, everything would've worked out better. Or maybe not. But he doesn't learn his lesson here.
257 • The Traders • (1958) • (variant of The Unique and Terrible Compulsion)
Rapidly rising through the corporate hierarchy of Earth's galaxy-spanning trading network, a young man's career plans are thrown for a loop when he's given a new assignment: he's to become a company spy in the guise of an assistant. It's suspected that an employee who's been running a one-man outpost for the past few decades has violated one of the prime rules by supplying native aliens with addictive narcotics. But before they can fire him, they need evidence of the crime.
But once our young man arrives for his new assignment, the complex reality of the situation makes things appear in more shades of gray than they did from a safe distance.
The core of this story is actually really good. With a more balanced view of the native culture and a bit more development of its ideas, it could've been great.
285 • Waters of Forgetfulness • (1959)
Responding to an SOS after a ritzy space liner disaster, a one-man rescue ship expects to be greeted with gratitude and relief by the millionaire survivors. However, what greets him is the opposite situation. The survivors have actually killed the crewman who sent out the SOS and insist that they don't want to leave the planet. As a matter of fact, they just might kill their rescuer, too. Something about this planet has turned them into lotus-eaters, and they'll brook no interference with their path to blissful self-destruction.
Good space adventure!
313 • You Do Something to Me • (1959)
A couple of humorous pieces round off this collection. In this one, a talent scout is proud as can be of the Miss Universe he manages - and delighted at the prospects of the income her lucrative contracts will surely be bringing in. But when he decides to show her off to aliens as an example of the beauties of Earth, the end result is not quite what anyone expected - because, of course, alien standards of loveliness are not quite the same...
331 • There's No Place Like Space! • (1959)
A civil servant loves his job on a quiet, idyllic and relaxing planet. But when it comes to his superiors' attention that he hasn't taken a vacation in years, the bat comes down. He MUST take his vacation days, and he MUST take them on Earth. Rules are rules. Never mind that he has no interest in the hustle and bustle and the crazy urban hijinks of Earth. Vacation is duly taken - and the bureaucrats kind of get what they had coming.
Many thanks to Subterranean and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are solely my own.
Want to read
November 1, 2016This copy is marked PC of 1000 copies signed by Robert Silverberg.
October 16, 2020
My quest to read all of Robert Silverberg's novels, short story collections, and anthologies in the order written has provided several months of enjoyment. I have completed 20 books, but I am still not finished with his "space-adventure" phase which lasted from 1954-59. I actually love this period of science fiction, when adventure stories flourished in magazines side-by-side with more serious hard sci-fi stories from Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein.
My favorite stories were "Quick Freeze", "A Time for Revenge", "Planet of Parasites", and "You Do Something to Me." Silverberg also provides introductions for each story which are often as good as the stories themselves.
Here are my individual story reviews:
"The Inquisitor" (1956) -- A interrogator for the State may use whatever methods necessary to obtain information from detainees suspected of disloyalty. Kroll has never doubted the morality of this system, until he finds himself falsely accused of treason. Never previously collected.
"The Ultimate Weapon" (1956) -- Laird Hammill is a spy for the Earth Federation, which is at war against the nefarious conquest-minded Spacelords of Shanador. He makes contact with an ancient race of telepaths who harness the power of the stars and can swing the outcome of the war. This is a fast-paced novella full of space battles and telepathic gimmickry. I found it generally forgettable. Silverberg notes in his introduction, "In its portrayal of a race of intelligence beings that dwell in the hearts of stars I touch on a theme that would return to, decades later, in my novel Starborne." Never previously collected.
"Harwood's Vortex" (1956) -- Harwood opens a portal into another dimension, unleashing a horde of murderous aliens composed of pure energy into New York City. Silverberg refashions a popular story formula from the 1930's into a slick 1950's narrative, including a mad scientist, his beautiful daughter and the "fearless hero who demonstrates superior coping abilities." Never previously collected.
"Quick Freeze" (1956) -- A old, slow atomic powered freighter must rescue a crashed hyperliner on a frozen planet. The situation deteriorates when the freighter gets trapped below the ice, and the rescuers must be saved by the liner passengers. A taut, suspense adventure. Also collected in The Shores of Tomorrow.
"Six Frightened Men" (1956) -- Archaeologists on a supposedly lifeless planet are terrorized by a protoplasmic alien being. A rather lackadaisical story all around. Never previously collected.
"Puppets Without Strings" (1957) -- Phil Marsh discovers he is the only living person on the planet; everyone else are just robots intended for his entertainment. This story is a change in tone for the author; it reads like a very entertaining Twilight Zone episode. Silverberg acknowledges he was influenced by Robert Heinlein's "They" and Fritz Leiber's "You're All Alone". Never previously collected.
"A Time for Revenge" (1957) -- Fenton arrives on the backwater world Vordil IX to avenge the death of his brother. The Vordillians have a complex religious system that governs how, when and where a man should die. Fenton never quite grasps its rules, and he pays dearly for his ignorance. Silverberg had begun writing short crime fiction by this point in his career, and the noir influence is strong in this story. The alien culture is intriguing enough that I wish this had been developed at greater length; it would have made an excellent Ace Double. Never previously collected.
"Housemaid No. 103" (1957) -- Brad Crayshaw is a hunky leading man in the movies. Despite his utter disdain for women, they are constantly throwing themselves at him--even the robotic ones! This story is interesting for two reasons--the early idea of a virtual reality movie (an idea the author would revisit again in 1963's "The Pain Peddler") and the obvious gay-but-not-gay character (a modern trope the author says was entirely unintentional in this story). Never previously collected.
"Rescue Mission" (1957) -- Two telepathically-linked spies working for Solar System Intelligence infiltrate the home world of the Mordargans, a gregarious alien race that will kill a man for no reason other than he turned down an invitation to drink with them. Never previously collected.
"Planet of Parasites" (1958) -- Dr. Neale is a medic assigned to study the bacteria on Gamma Crucis VII. He quickly realizes a deadly predator is infecting his team and threatening the future of the whole universe. A quite absorbing story even if the entire plot is basically telegraphed by its title. Never previously collected.
"Slaves of the Tree" (1958) -- An examination team arrives on a faraway planet to evaluate how its human colony has fared over the last 200 years. They are shocked to find that humans have interbred with an amphibious alien race, creating a bizarre new hybrid species. This tale touches on some interesting topics, including racial purity and the strange compulsions of sexual desire, but it never rises above its simple pulp formula. Never previously collected.
"Frontier Planet" (1958) -- A wife must protect her homestead from war party of savage aliens. Silverberg refers to this as a "shameless" Western with only the window dressing of sci-fi. Never previously collected.
"The Aliens Were Haters" (1958) -- An American explorer finds the wreckage of an alien spacecraft on a far-flung jungle planet. It is the greatest discovery in human history, but a rival group of Brazilian settlers want to take it away from him. Soon, he is battling deadly jungle creatures, two very nasty froglike aliens, and one angry Brazilian woman. Also collected in Robert Silverberg's Super-Science Fiction.
"The Traders" (1958) -- Garth is sent to a trading post on a jungle planet to investigate whether the company man who has been there three decades is illegally distributing narcotics to the natives. This is a skillful homage to Somerset Maugham's Maylasia stories, but it is marred by an illogical ending. Never previously collected.
"Waters of Forgetfulness" (1958) -- A search-and-rescue specialist tracks the survivors of a space liner explosion, but they have landed on a planet with a water supply that has strange effects on the human brain. Never previously collected
"You Do Something to Me" (1958) --An opportunistic talent agent coaches the beautiful May Loreen to stardom, but to aliens on the other side of the galaxy she becomes known as The White-Skinned Hideous Horror From a Distant World. This is an excellent, breezy story that works like a good joke. The author first convinces you of May's extraordinary beauty, then pulls the rug out from under you in the final scenes. Never previously collected.
"There's No Place Like Space" (1958) -- Ed Reese returns to earth after a 12-year absence, only to be confounded by the changes that have taken place. The best thing about this comedic story is its abundance of classic futuristic technology -- teleporters, self-driving cars, robots, and fully immersive adult "sensie" movies. Also collected in Godling, Go Home!
My favorite stories were "Quick Freeze", "A Time for Revenge", "Planet of Parasites", and "You Do Something to Me." Silverberg also provides introductions for each story which are often as good as the stories themselves.
Here are my individual story reviews:
"The Inquisitor" (1956) -- A interrogator for the State may use whatever methods necessary to obtain information from detainees suspected of disloyalty. Kroll has never doubted the morality of this system, until he finds himself falsely accused of treason. Never previously collected.
"The Ultimate Weapon" (1956) -- Laird Hammill is a spy for the Earth Federation, which is at war against the nefarious conquest-minded Spacelords of Shanador. He makes contact with an ancient race of telepaths who harness the power of the stars and can swing the outcome of the war. This is a fast-paced novella full of space battles and telepathic gimmickry. I found it generally forgettable. Silverberg notes in his introduction, "In its portrayal of a race of intelligence beings that dwell in the hearts of stars I touch on a theme that would return to, decades later, in my novel Starborne." Never previously collected.
"Harwood's Vortex" (1956) -- Harwood opens a portal into another dimension, unleashing a horde of murderous aliens composed of pure energy into New York City. Silverberg refashions a popular story formula from the 1930's into a slick 1950's narrative, including a mad scientist, his beautiful daughter and the "fearless hero who demonstrates superior coping abilities." Never previously collected.
"Quick Freeze" (1956) -- A old, slow atomic powered freighter must rescue a crashed hyperliner on a frozen planet. The situation deteriorates when the freighter gets trapped below the ice, and the rescuers must be saved by the liner passengers. A taut, suspense adventure. Also collected in The Shores of Tomorrow.
"Six Frightened Men" (1956) -- Archaeologists on a supposedly lifeless planet are terrorized by a protoplasmic alien being. A rather lackadaisical story all around. Never previously collected.
"Puppets Without Strings" (1957) -- Phil Marsh discovers he is the only living person on the planet; everyone else are just robots intended for his entertainment. This story is a change in tone for the author; it reads like a very entertaining Twilight Zone episode. Silverberg acknowledges he was influenced by Robert Heinlein's "They" and Fritz Leiber's "You're All Alone". Never previously collected.
"A Time for Revenge" (1957) -- Fenton arrives on the backwater world Vordil IX to avenge the death of his brother. The Vordillians have a complex religious system that governs how, when and where a man should die. Fenton never quite grasps its rules, and he pays dearly for his ignorance. Silverberg had begun writing short crime fiction by this point in his career, and the noir influence is strong in this story. The alien culture is intriguing enough that I wish this had been developed at greater length; it would have made an excellent Ace Double. Never previously collected.
"Housemaid No. 103" (1957) -- Brad Crayshaw is a hunky leading man in the movies. Despite his utter disdain for women, they are constantly throwing themselves at him--even the robotic ones! This story is interesting for two reasons--the early idea of a virtual reality movie (an idea the author would revisit again in 1963's "The Pain Peddler") and the obvious gay-but-not-gay character (a modern trope the author says was entirely unintentional in this story). Never previously collected.
"Rescue Mission" (1957) -- Two telepathically-linked spies working for Solar System Intelligence infiltrate the home world of the Mordargans, a gregarious alien race that will kill a man for no reason other than he turned down an invitation to drink with them. Never previously collected.
"Planet of Parasites" (1958) -- Dr. Neale is a medic assigned to study the bacteria on Gamma Crucis VII. He quickly realizes a deadly predator is infecting his team and threatening the future of the whole universe. A quite absorbing story even if the entire plot is basically telegraphed by its title. Never previously collected.
"Slaves of the Tree" (1958) -- An examination team arrives on a faraway planet to evaluate how its human colony has fared over the last 200 years. They are shocked to find that humans have interbred with an amphibious alien race, creating a bizarre new hybrid species. This tale touches on some interesting topics, including racial purity and the strange compulsions of sexual desire, but it never rises above its simple pulp formula. Never previously collected.
"Frontier Planet" (1958) -- A wife must protect her homestead from war party of savage aliens. Silverberg refers to this as a "shameless" Western with only the window dressing of sci-fi. Never previously collected.
"The Aliens Were Haters" (1958) -- An American explorer finds the wreckage of an alien spacecraft on a far-flung jungle planet. It is the greatest discovery in human history, but a rival group of Brazilian settlers want to take it away from him. Soon, he is battling deadly jungle creatures, two very nasty froglike aliens, and one angry Brazilian woman. Also collected in Robert Silverberg's Super-Science Fiction.
"The Traders" (1958) -- Garth is sent to a trading post on a jungle planet to investigate whether the company man who has been there three decades is illegally distributing narcotics to the natives. This is a skillful homage to Somerset Maugham's Maylasia stories, but it is marred by an illogical ending. Never previously collected.
"Waters of Forgetfulness" (1958) -- A search-and-rescue specialist tracks the survivors of a space liner explosion, but they have landed on a planet with a water supply that has strange effects on the human brain. Never previously collected
"You Do Something to Me" (1958) --An opportunistic talent agent coaches the beautiful May Loreen to stardom, but to aliens on the other side of the galaxy she becomes known as The White-Skinned Hideous Horror From a Distant World. This is an excellent, breezy story that works like a good joke. The author first convinces you of May's extraordinary beauty, then pulls the rug out from under you in the final scenes. Never previously collected.
"There's No Place Like Space" (1958) -- Ed Reese returns to earth after a 12-year absence, only to be confounded by the changes that have taken place. The best thing about this comedic story is its abundance of classic futuristic technology -- teleporters, self-driving cars, robots, and fully immersive adult "sensie" movies. Also collected in Godling, Go Home!
February 6, 2022
A wonderful collection of short stories, along with Silverbergs introductions to each story and how they came to be published in the various sci-fi magazine of the 1950’s.
Each story was spell binding and integrating. Sci-fi fans will love these short adventures, places and characters.
Each story was spell binding and integrating. Sci-fi fans will love these short adventures, places and characters.
May 12, 2016
Early Days by Robert Silverberg- Here Silverberg offers us 17 of his earliest published stories from the 50's pulp era at the beginning of his career. He wrote and published up to and sometimes beyond a hundred stories per year during this boom period for science fiction magazines, when several dozen markets were available. He would move on later to novels, such as Dying Inside, Nightwings, and Downward To The Earth, as the pulp magazine era slowly died. Most of the stories are very pulpy, that is lots of action and adventure in the style of Edmond Hamilton, or Henry Kuttner, or introspective like Isaac Asimov or Fred Pohl. I got a kick out of some of the adventure ones, remembering how science fiction grabbed me when I was very young. The stories are not bad if you'd like to see an example of pulp-era science fiction, but the most interesting part for me was the story introductions, where Silverberg tells us how it was, churning out story after story in his cramped apartment, meeting editors to promote his work, and sometimes filling up whole issues of different magazines with his work under different names. That part for me was well worth the admission.
February 15, 2022
A selection of stories from Silverberg's early days writing for the SF magazines of the 1950s. This was circa his college years and soon after, and by his own admission these works lack the maturity and complexity that comes with life experience; still, there's nothing amateurish about them, and there is a noticeable growth from the earliest piece to those even partway through this collection. In a "blind" test, I wouldn't have pegged most of these as the work of a beginner. Of course, these are what he considered the best of many, many stories he wrote during this period. He was prolific and turned out a large quantity of stories on a regular basis. (Individual issues typically contained multiple Silverberg submissions, disguised with pseudonymous bylines--every month!) It was his day job from the start. I enjoyed just about all of these.
Equally interesting are the introductions throughout. Silverberg has a remarkable memory and/or kept great records, and they are a fascinating insight to what it was like to work for the pulps at the time.
Equally interesting are the introductions throughout. Silverberg has a remarkable memory and/or kept great records, and they are a fascinating insight to what it was like to work for the pulps at the time.
July 11, 2016
I received a free Kindle copy of this book from Net Galley and Subterranean Press, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my book review site. I also posted the review to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.
I requested this book as I have read several by Robert Silverberg and I am a fan.
This book is a series of short stories from his early days before he became famous.Bearing that in mind, I enjoyed all of them. What I found distracting was the lengthy back stories about each one (although some were at least shorter) and Silverberg's excuses for them not being up to snuff with his later writing. That is why I only rated this book 3 stars. It would have been 4 without the other stuff.
I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of pulp science fiction and Robert Silverberg. I do recommend that you skip over the narrative portions before each story .
I requested this book as I have read several by Robert Silverberg and I am a fan.
This book is a series of short stories from his early days before he became famous.Bearing that in mind, I enjoyed all of them. What I found distracting was the lengthy back stories about each one (although some were at least shorter) and Silverberg's excuses for them not being up to snuff with his later writing. That is why I only rated this book 3 stars. It would have been 4 without the other stuff.
I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of pulp science fiction and Robert Silverberg. I do recommend that you skip over the narrative portions before each story .
Want to read
June 8, 202517 stories:
(2/17 read#)
The Inquisitor (1956)
The Ultimate Weapon (1957)
Harwood's Vortex (1957)
# Quick Freeze (1957)
Six Frightened Men (1957)
Puppets Without Strings (aka Call Me Zombie!) (1957)
A Time for Revenge (1957)
Housemaid No. 103 (1957)
Rescue Mission (1957)
Planet of Parasites (1958)
Slaves of the Tree (1958)
Frontier Planet (1958)
The Aliens Were Haters (1958)
The Traders (aka The Unique and Terrible Compulsion) (1958)
Waters of Forgetfulness (1959)
You Do Something to Me (1959)
# There's No Place Like Space! (1959)
(2/17 read#)
The Inquisitor (1956)
The Ultimate Weapon (1957)
Harwood's Vortex (1957)
# Quick Freeze (1957)
Six Frightened Men (1957)
Puppets Without Strings (aka Call Me Zombie!) (1957)
A Time for Revenge (1957)
Housemaid No. 103 (1957)
Rescue Mission (1957)
Planet of Parasites (1958)
Slaves of the Tree (1958)
Frontier Planet (1958)
The Aliens Were Haters (1958)
The Traders (aka The Unique and Terrible Compulsion) (1958)
Waters of Forgetfulness (1959)
You Do Something to Me (1959)
# There's No Place Like Space! (1959)
June 13, 2016
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
This is a great reminder of late 50's Science Fiction writing by one of the most prolific writers.
This is a great reminder of late 50's Science Fiction writing by one of the most prolific writers.
Want to read
October 9, 2017Subterranean Press 524/1000
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews