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The Cube Root of Uncertainty
Wonder, terror, chaos, and diabolical humor:
Human bodies are borrowed and ridden by discorporate forces for unknown reasons—PASSENGERS
". . . a great story of a new breed of paranoia we may be into already." —Cleveland Plain-Dealer
Move into a universe molded by a new ethic, a new mythology, a new religion.
A universe full of pitfalls and trapdoors.
A universe where
Brotherhood becomes an interplanetary pledge given in horror and loathing—THE SHADOW OF WINGS
The dragon of old, now perpetrator of a new legend, guards a fabulous treasure and punishes all logical answers to his questions by death—THE SIXTH PALACE
An inflexible magistrate makes a loop in time and becomes both judge and jury to the man he must condemn—himself—ABSOLUTELY INFLEXIBLE
A resolute Roboservitor takes his job of programming a family's diet just a little too seriously—THE IRON CHANCELLOR
MU-4 . . . Murray Hill 4—a simple, ordinary telephone exchange—becomes the nightmarish key to a conspiracy planning the overthrow of humanity—MUGWUMP FOUR
and where TO THE DARK STAR ★ DOUBLE DARE ★ TRANSLATION ERROR ★ NEIGHBOR ★ HALFWAY HOUSE and SUNDANCE also await you
Human bodies are borrowed and ridden by discorporate forces for unknown reasons—PASSENGERS
". . . a great story of a new breed of paranoia we may be into already." —Cleveland Plain-Dealer
Move into a universe molded by a new ethic, a new mythology, a new religion.
A universe full of pitfalls and trapdoors.
A universe where
Brotherhood becomes an interplanetary pledge given in horror and loathing—THE SHADOW OF WINGS
The dragon of old, now perpetrator of a new legend, guards a fabulous treasure and punishes all logical answers to his questions by death—THE SIXTH PALACE
An inflexible magistrate makes a loop in time and becomes both judge and jury to the man he must condemn—himself—ABSOLUTELY INFLEXIBLE
A resolute Roboservitor takes his job of programming a family's diet just a little too seriously—THE IRON CHANCELLOR
MU-4 . . . Murray Hill 4—a simple, ordinary telephone exchange—becomes the nightmarish key to a conspiracy planning the overthrow of humanity—MUGWUMP FOUR
and where TO THE DARK STAR ★ DOUBLE DARE ★ TRANSLATION ERROR ★ NEIGHBOR ★ HALFWAY HOUSE and SUNDANCE also await you
239 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
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 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 17, 2025
This is a good collection of Silverberg stories that range from 1956 to 1969, which seems like a relatively short span in hindsight, but remarkable changes in style and craft show from the earlier stories to the latter ones. Silverberg was remarkably prolific, and his writing changed a lot as time passed. Most of the stories were first printed in the genre digest magazines of the time (five from Galaxy, a pair from If, one each from F&SF, Astounding, and Fantastic Universe), but two of the newer ones are from original anthologies: To the Dark Star is from Farthest Reaches, and Passengers appeared in Orbit 4. The latter won the Nebula Award in 1970 for the best short story of the year. My other favorites are Sundance, Translation Error, The Iron Chancellor (best weight loss story ever!), and the very funny MUgwump 4... though you've probably got to be older than dirt to understand the title. Passengers and Sundance stand out as very cerebral, character-driven works of literature, and it's amazing that the same person wrote some of the adventure stories little more a decade earlier.
July 13, 2020
When I was younger, Robert Silverberg was among my favorite science fiction authors. While an extraordinarily prolific author of novels, I appreciated him most for his short stories, which remain some of my all-time favorite reads. Every summer when the latest edition of the Year’s Best Science Fiction came out, his would be the first name I would look for in the table of contents, and if one of his stories were included it would invariably prove to be among the best in the collection.
This was why, when I saw a copy of this collection of his short stories in a used bookstore I eagerly snapped them up. The dozen stories inside are all from the first decade and a half of his writing career, and represent some of the best from his output during the era. Some of them I had read before, while others were new to me. The stories are:
“Passengers” – This was one of the stories I had read before. In it, a man living in a world where non-corporeal beings possess humans tries to connect with the woman he had spent the night with during his last possession. It’s one of Silverberg’s most famous stories, and it still holds up pretty well so long as you don’t think too hard about the premise
“Double Dare” – Two engineers participating in a contest with an alien species find out that there is a price to winning. This was the oldest story in the collection and one of Silverberg’s earliest works; while a fun tale it felt insubstantial compared to some of its weightier counterparts.
“The Sixth Palace” – Two men submit to the tests of a mysterious robot guarding an incalculable treasure. One of the stories that was new to me, I enjoyed it enormously for both its premise and its resolution.
“Translation Error” – An alien agent sent to hold back humanity’s development finds himself in his worst nightmare. It was only when I was part-way through this that I realized that I had read this story before, which gave me a rare opportunity to appreciate something anew which I had enjoyed before.
“The Shadow of Wings” – A xenolinguist is forced to overcome his fears when confronted with a unique opportunity. This was another story which I had read before that proved an enjoyable revisit for me, even if it doesn’t rank among Silverberg’s finest.
“Absolutely Inflexible” – Tasked with dealing with the threat posed by time travelers, a government bureaucrat finds himself caught in a unique trap. One of those paradox tales that seem to have been a staple of the short stories about time travel during that era, it was fun if perhaps a little predictable.
“The Iron Chancellor” – The robot chef programmed to help a family lose weight takes his task to extremes. This is perhaps the most famous of the stories in the collection, and it’s one of my all-time favorites of his.
“Mugwump Four” – A wrong number leads an ordinary man on an extraordinary adventure. I had read this story ages ago and did so again when I reread it. It’s impressive how much Silverberg can compact into a single tale.
“To the Dark Star” – Three very different scientists – a human, a modified human, and an alien – cope with interpersonal tensions while observing an astronomical phenomenon. Tense and disturbing, this was one of the stories from later in Silverberg’s career, and its differences make for a contrast with the older stories in this collection.
“Neighbor” – A powerful landowner receives an unusual request from his despised neighbor. There is something in this story that I just find so incredibly true about human nature, even if it isn’t something about which we should be proud.
“Halfway House” – Suffering from cancer, an industrialist seeks a cure from a unique place. Though the premise in this story is interesting, it doesn’t prove as effective as the other tales in this collection.
“Sundance” – A member of a team of humans on an alien world questions his mission to eradicate a native species. This was the story I liked the least, both because of Silverberg’s often abrupt shifts within it and for the cultural expropriation in which he engages with his central character.
While the book offers a set of stories as mixed in quality as other collection of its type, in this one the average quality is much higher than the norm. Together they offer a great representative sampling of Silverberg’s earlier work, and make for highly enjoyable reading for any fan of the genre.
This was why, when I saw a copy of this collection of his short stories in a used bookstore I eagerly snapped them up. The dozen stories inside are all from the first decade and a half of his writing career, and represent some of the best from his output during the era. Some of them I had read before, while others were new to me. The stories are:
“Passengers” – This was one of the stories I had read before. In it, a man living in a world where non-corporeal beings possess humans tries to connect with the woman he had spent the night with during his last possession. It’s one of Silverberg’s most famous stories, and it still holds up pretty well so long as you don’t think too hard about the premise
“Double Dare” – Two engineers participating in a contest with an alien species find out that there is a price to winning. This was the oldest story in the collection and one of Silverberg’s earliest works; while a fun tale it felt insubstantial compared to some of its weightier counterparts.
“The Sixth Palace” – Two men submit to the tests of a mysterious robot guarding an incalculable treasure. One of the stories that was new to me, I enjoyed it enormously for both its premise and its resolution.
“Translation Error” – An alien agent sent to hold back humanity’s development finds himself in his worst nightmare. It was only when I was part-way through this that I realized that I had read this story before, which gave me a rare opportunity to appreciate something anew which I had enjoyed before.
“The Shadow of Wings” – A xenolinguist is forced to overcome his fears when confronted with a unique opportunity. This was another story which I had read before that proved an enjoyable revisit for me, even if it doesn’t rank among Silverberg’s finest.
“Absolutely Inflexible” – Tasked with dealing with the threat posed by time travelers, a government bureaucrat finds himself caught in a unique trap. One of those paradox tales that seem to have been a staple of the short stories about time travel during that era, it was fun if perhaps a little predictable.
“The Iron Chancellor” – The robot chef programmed to help a family lose weight takes his task to extremes. This is perhaps the most famous of the stories in the collection, and it’s one of my all-time favorites of his.
“Mugwump Four” – A wrong number leads an ordinary man on an extraordinary adventure. I had read this story ages ago and did so again when I reread it. It’s impressive how much Silverberg can compact into a single tale.
“To the Dark Star” – Three very different scientists – a human, a modified human, and an alien – cope with interpersonal tensions while observing an astronomical phenomenon. Tense and disturbing, this was one of the stories from later in Silverberg’s career, and its differences make for a contrast with the older stories in this collection.
“Neighbor” – A powerful landowner receives an unusual request from his despised neighbor. There is something in this story that I just find so incredibly true about human nature, even if it isn’t something about which we should be proud.
“Halfway House” – Suffering from cancer, an industrialist seeks a cure from a unique place. Though the premise in this story is interesting, it doesn’t prove as effective as the other tales in this collection.
“Sundance” – A member of a team of humans on an alien world questions his mission to eradicate a native species. This was the story I liked the least, both because of Silverberg’s often abrupt shifts within it and for the cultural expropriation in which he engages with his central character.
While the book offers a set of stories as mixed in quality as other collection of its type, in this one the average quality is much higher than the norm. Together they offer a great representative sampling of Silverberg’s earlier work, and make for highly enjoyable reading for any fan of the genre.
February 15, 2026
Stories des Altmeisters von Ende 50er bis Ende 60er. Die Qualität ist durchwachsen. Bei ein paar Ideenstories sieht man die Pointe schon 1 km voraus. Manche Ideen sind in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten auch schon so oft recycelt worden, dass sie langweilen (der Haushaltsroboter, der die Familie unterjocht. Der Zeitreisende, der sich selbst trifft).
Es hat aber auch ein paar starke Stories. Das ware für mich die, die eine gewisse Tragik hatten.
Vom Original fehlen (natürlich) wieder ein paar: "Double Dare" (Galaxy 1956), "Mugwump Four" (Galaxy 1959), "Neighbor" (Galaxy 1964)
Es hat aber auch ein paar starke Stories. Das ware für mich die, die eine gewisse Tragik hatten.
Vom Original fehlen (natürlich) wieder ein paar: "Double Dare" (Galaxy 1956), "Mugwump Four" (Galaxy 1959), "Neighbor" (Galaxy 1964)
November 9, 2019
This compilation appears to have been demoted to second or third tier Silverberg, but I think it’s a gem of a collection. Each of the stories is comical, innovative, and simple and straightforward without sacrificing depth or creativity; not a single dud in the bunch, which is rare for short story compilations. Beware of Bismarck, the authoritarian nutrition robot!
February 28, 2026
This is a collection of short science fiction stories from the 1950s and 60s. It is an excellent representation of the age. The stories are engaging, varied, and insightful. Silverberg seems to understand humans and aliens equally. I read this 20 or 30 years ago, and a few came back to me while I was reading. All of them were fun.
January 11, 2025
I love this book, I picked it up at a thrift store not thinking much of it but it was an amazing read! Super easy to understand and really thought provoking, I think about the first story, “Passengers” all the time.
November 13, 2023
12 stories:
Passengers (1968)
Double Dare (1956)
The Sixth Palace (1965)
Translation Error (1959)
The Shadow of Wings (1963)
Absolutely Inflexible (1956)
The Iron Chancellor (1958)
MUgwump Four (1959)
To the Dark Star (1968)
Neighbor (1964)
Halfway House (1966)
Sundance (1969)
Passengers (1968)
Double Dare (1956)
The Sixth Palace (1965)
Translation Error (1959)
The Shadow of Wings (1963)
Absolutely Inflexible (1956)
The Iron Chancellor (1958)
MUgwump Four (1959)
To the Dark Star (1968)
Neighbor (1964)
Halfway House (1966)
Sundance (1969)
June 20, 2012
Reread this collection of wonderful short stories. I read them first about 25 years ago. Hard to pick a favorite story - they are all so good. But, as a constant dieter, I am particularly fond of the "Iron Chancellor." A family gets a new robot they name Bismarck. They program the new model to prepare food to allow each member of the family to lose weight. Things go awry when the folks tire of the diet and try to reprogram the Iron Chancellor. Quite funny.
October 18, 2009
Great shorts by a master of them.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews