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The 13th Immortal
Book by Silverberg, Robert
148 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
About the author
Robert Silverberg
2,337 books1,631 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 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 30, 2025
Conventional 50s sci-fi by Bob Silverberg, who became one of the science fiction greats of the 70s. Very short ( it would have worked better simply as a short story), so a fast and fun read!
June 17, 2022
This was _not_ Silverberg's first novel, but it might as well have been. It is clearly the work of a novice writer and it shows little promise of the major talent Silverberg was to become within the next decade. It is a horrendously awful postapocalyptic novel set mainly in North America some 500 years after a nuclear war that destroyed our civilization and, as a side-effect, produced a large population of people and animals with serious genetic mutations.
All of that is good enough and fairly straightforward elements typical of the genre and time/place of publication. Silverberg's central plot revolves around a young man who has no clear memories of his past. He discovers that he is not the simple Iowa farmer he thought he was and begins traveling around the world in search of some answers. The world has been split up into 12 duchies ruled by 12 "immortals," humans who are the product of a beneficial mutation that lengthens their lifespans. Well, obviously (Silverberg makes this obvious from nearly the first page, although it takes a LONG time for Dale to discover this about himself), our protagonist is the son of the "13th" immortal, the ruler of Antarctica, and is set to take the reins of power from his father, either by force or by persuasion (it matters little to Dale which one...which is one of the serious problems with this book).
All well and good. However, the plot is constructed of many, many different events, places, and occurrences that, ultimately, feel more like stage business (attempting to "wow" the reader into a sense of wonder and awe which never comes off) that has no plot purpose other than to sustain the length of the narrative and justify the pay that Silverberg acquired for the work (likely at a penny or two per word as was common in the SF market at the time). Literally none of the places Dale goes, nor the people he meets, has _any_ effect on him or on the plot as a whole. There is some attempt at giving him a "romantic" interest, but this is unconvincing: first Dale (the current iteration of this character, without any past memories) knows the young woman for all of 5 minutes before deciding he loves her, and, when it is revealed that they were lovers in the past, even this romantic history between them merely caused me to wonder _why_ they found each other interesting (certainly I can't fathom why _she_ would have taken a fancy to such an asshole as Dale is and evidently always has been...but maybe I don't understand male-female attraction as well as I'd like to think).
Despite the pointlessness (lack of stakes) in the plot, the other major weakness is Dale's character. He is selfish, whiny, annoyingly boring and lacking any sort of moral compass. So when he _does_ regain his memories at the end, he promptly threatens his father's life if he doesn't give control of Antarctica and its people over to him immediately. Dale has learned _nothing_ from his journeys and continues to show that he is a naive and arrogant person _who is entirely unfit_ for power. He certainly would spell disaster for the people he rules as well as the entire world civilization as a whole if he gets his desire.
I suppose it is possible that Silverberg intended some sort of commentary on power, elites, and their fatal flaws. But if so there is far too little evidence of this at either the level of literal meaning or of subtext.
Young authors are just like any other people entering into a profession: they make mistakes and take some time to learn the effective techniques that lead to their eventual assurance and professional success. We know Silverberg as a major writer of both SF and general fiction. This novel is unusual because it is _so_ awful compared to the level of work Silverberg would eventually produce.
All of that is good enough and fairly straightforward elements typical of the genre and time/place of publication. Silverberg's central plot revolves around a young man who has no clear memories of his past. He discovers that he is not the simple Iowa farmer he thought he was and begins traveling around the world in search of some answers. The world has been split up into 12 duchies ruled by 12 "immortals," humans who are the product of a beneficial mutation that lengthens their lifespans. Well, obviously (Silverberg makes this obvious from nearly the first page, although it takes a LONG time for Dale to discover this about himself), our protagonist is the son of the "13th" immortal, the ruler of Antarctica, and is set to take the reins of power from his father, either by force or by persuasion (it matters little to Dale which one...which is one of the serious problems with this book).
All well and good. However, the plot is constructed of many, many different events, places, and occurrences that, ultimately, feel more like stage business (attempting to "wow" the reader into a sense of wonder and awe which never comes off) that has no plot purpose other than to sustain the length of the narrative and justify the pay that Silverberg acquired for the work (likely at a penny or two per word as was common in the SF market at the time). Literally none of the places Dale goes, nor the people he meets, has _any_ effect on him or on the plot as a whole. There is some attempt at giving him a "romantic" interest, but this is unconvincing: first Dale (the current iteration of this character, without any past memories) knows the young woman for all of 5 minutes before deciding he loves her, and, when it is revealed that they were lovers in the past, even this romantic history between them merely caused me to wonder _why_ they found each other interesting (certainly I can't fathom why _she_ would have taken a fancy to such an asshole as Dale is and evidently always has been...but maybe I don't understand male-female attraction as well as I'd like to think).
Despite the pointlessness (lack of stakes) in the plot, the other major weakness is Dale's character. He is selfish, whiny, annoyingly boring and lacking any sort of moral compass. So when he _does_ regain his memories at the end, he promptly threatens his father's life if he doesn't give control of Antarctica and its people over to him immediately. Dale has learned _nothing_ from his journeys and continues to show that he is a naive and arrogant person _who is entirely unfit_ for power. He certainly would spell disaster for the people he rules as well as the entire world civilization as a whole if he gets his desire.
I suppose it is possible that Silverberg intended some sort of commentary on power, elites, and their fatal flaws. But if so there is far too little evidence of this at either the level of literal meaning or of subtext.
Young authors are just like any other people entering into a profession: they make mistakes and take some time to learn the effective techniques that lead to their eventual assurance and professional success. We know Silverberg as a major writer of both SF and general fiction. This novel is unusual because it is _so_ awful compared to the level of work Silverberg would eventually produce.
January 26, 2010
Dale Kesley was a simple farmer in the Iowa province of the North American empire when van Arlen found him. He'd been looking for the young man for four years and came to take him to Antarctica. Coincidentally, Dale couldn't remember much of his life before four years before.
Antarctica is the thirteenth empire set up after the world had nearly destroyed itself in a nuclear war. In order to recover and rebuild the world had agreed to a simpler life. Except Antarctica. It had erected a barrier around itself and been cut off for over four hundred years.
Each empire was ruled over by an immortal, mutants from the war.
In short order, trying to make his way south, Dale runs awry of both North and South American Dukes and now has a price on his head. Alone, van Arlen either dead or wounded, gone in any case, his only choice is to get to Antarctica somehow. The answers to who he is and why everyone wants him dead lie there.
Antarctica is the thirteenth empire set up after the world had nearly destroyed itself in a nuclear war. In order to recover and rebuild the world had agreed to a simpler life. Except Antarctica. It had erected a barrier around itself and been cut off for over four hundred years.
Each empire was ruled over by an immortal, mutants from the war.
In short order, trying to make his way south, Dale runs awry of both North and South American Dukes and now has a price on his head. Alone, van Arlen either dead or wounded, gone in any case, his only choice is to get to Antarctica somehow. The answers to who he is and why everyone wants him dead lie there.
November 27, 2013
400 years or so after a nuclear cataclysm, survivors live basic lives under the rule of 12 immortal dukes. THe world is divided up and technology is not allowed. Only the 13th immortal, the Duke of Antartica is sealed off from the rest of the world.
Dale is disatisfied with his life toiling in the soil and one day a stranger shows up to take him to Antarctica, only they don't make it and he is manipulated and hunted by two Dukes not understanding why. Of course, the why is that he threatens the status quo. In the end, he finds that he can change the entire world.
Dale is disatisfied with his life toiling in the soil and one day a stranger shows up to take him to Antarctica, only they don't make it and he is manipulated and hunted by two Dukes not understanding why. Of course, the why is that he threatens the status quo. In the end, he finds that he can change the entire world.
April 22, 2022
On the one hand: This was written to be part of an "Ace Doubles" volume, and it shows the flaws common to most of those "filler" novels: arbitrary worldbuilding, characterization by convenience, an obligatory de minimis love interest, and an unquestioned faith in the viability and desirability of a coercively realized utopia (that last one was common throughout the genre FAR beyond Ace Doubles).
On the other hand, this was apparently Silverberg's first novel, written as a business decision because he had already saturated the short fiction markets. Also, he was twenty-one years old.
On the other hand, this was apparently Silverberg's first novel, written as a business decision because he had already saturated the short fiction markets. Also, he was twenty-one years old.
June 3, 2023
A very short story from a pen of one of the most great Sci - fi writers of the golden Age of US Sci - Fi.
Yes to me this story however with great potential lacks of greater depth and more detail.
Combination ( in my eyes ) of Rodgers Zelazny Amber saga ( about 12 books ) of stories of one dynasty that rules over many different realms and whose members are hostile to each other and Isac Asimov Foundation series foremost to his so called thematic realms / planets.
In the 13 Th Immortal substitute the cities such as for example the city of mutants or city of artists all the planets.
It is a shame that there is no more depth to the story. Because this way it almost seems like a comic book story line.
Yes to me this story however with great potential lacks of greater depth and more detail.
Combination ( in my eyes ) of Rodgers Zelazny Amber saga ( about 12 books ) of stories of one dynasty that rules over many different realms and whose members are hostile to each other and Isac Asimov Foundation series foremost to his so called thematic realms / planets.
In the 13 Th Immortal substitute the cities such as for example the city of mutants or city of artists all the planets.
It is a shame that there is no more depth to the story. Because this way it almost seems like a comic book story line.
January 22, 2019
Silverberg’s first adult novel. While not one of his greatest, it is the first of a long list of novels that contain many great ones.
September 10, 2019
Early Silverberg, quick read, entertaining
April 19, 2022
Um final previsível.
Uma pena, posto que julgava ser um clássico.
Não envelheceu bem, uma trama muito "light", ficam nós sem desatar.
Não leria novamente...
Uma pena, posto que julgava ser um clássico.
Não envelheceu bem, uma trama muito "light", ficam nós sem desatar.
Não leria novamente...
September 17, 2020
Five hundred years ago humanity was driven to the brink of extinction in the aftermath of nuclear war. Twelve men climbed from the rubble of civilization, gifted with mutations that gave them immortality; they divided the globe into kingdoms and ruled--vowing never to let mankind's reliance on technology threaten its existence again.
Dale Kelsey is a farmer in Iowa, vaguely loyal to Duke Winslow of North America, but when a mysterious stranger shows up one day telling him his destiny lies in the paradise of Antarctica, he begins to doubt everything he knows about the world he lives in…
This was Silverberg's third novel, his first written for adults. It seemed like he had enough ideas for an entire series of novels, but rather than focus deeply on one or two innovative story points, he tended to cram them all into a blurry sequence of adventures:
- Mutant enclaves
- Telepaths
- Teleportation
- A colony of debauched artists self-exiled from society
- A sentient machine-city
I am having a lot of fun reading through Robert Silverberg's 50,000-word Ace Double novels from the 1950's. They are fast-paced and exciting. Sure, the plots can be rough around the edges, they lack cultural diversity, and the prose is sometimes littered with prose info-dumps--but what they lack in polish, they more than make up for in imagination and scope. The truth is that science fiction has not changed all that much in the last seventy years. All the standard tropes that define SF&F--aliens, mutants, telepaths, time travel, alternate universes, intergalactic colonization, medieval landscapes, androids--they all grew out of the rich milieu of the speculative pulp stories of the Fifties.
Dale Kelsey is a farmer in Iowa, vaguely loyal to Duke Winslow of North America, but when a mysterious stranger shows up one day telling him his destiny lies in the paradise of Antarctica, he begins to doubt everything he knows about the world he lives in…
This was Silverberg's third novel, his first written for adults. It seemed like he had enough ideas for an entire series of novels, but rather than focus deeply on one or two innovative story points, he tended to cram them all into a blurry sequence of adventures:
- Mutant enclaves
- Telepaths
- Teleportation
- A colony of debauched artists self-exiled from society
- A sentient machine-city
I am having a lot of fun reading through Robert Silverberg's 50,000-word Ace Double novels from the 1950's. They are fast-paced and exciting. Sure, the plots can be rough around the edges, they lack cultural diversity, and the prose is sometimes littered with prose info-dumps--but what they lack in polish, they more than make up for in imagination and scope. The truth is that science fiction has not changed all that much in the last seventy years. All the standard tropes that define SF&F--aliens, mutants, telepaths, time travel, alternate universes, intergalactic colonization, medieval landscapes, androids--they all grew out of the rich milieu of the speculative pulp stories of the Fifties.
June 21, 2023
Silverberg is known for some amazing novels that he wrote later in his career. The opinions on his earlier works are, well, divided.
I read the 13th Immortal as part of my 'early' Silverberg reads. I started with Master of Life and Death, which is a bit chaotic, but a very fun and fast read. After that I read Starman's Quest, which was a mediocre and cheesy Young Adult novel. But it was a fast read so at least I finished it.
I DNF'ed The 13th Immortal at about 30ish% in, because I just could not take it anymore. This is an awful story about some guy, who is very obviously someone special, even though his companions/fellow travellers won't tell him that, because they are being super secretive about it. The book, and main character, try to make it seem like you are reading a very deep and serious story, but it is all so very obvious and bland it's kind of sickening actually.
In the 30% I read, the plot movement was basically absent, and the motivations of the main characters are... non-existent really. He just goes along with all sorts of people because "why not?".
The scene where he meets this attractive girl who was being 'offered' to him (out of nowhere, of course) was the last straw. The talk between those two is a great example of how horrendous the quality of the writing is. A shame.
I read the 13th Immortal as part of my 'early' Silverberg reads. I started with Master of Life and Death, which is a bit chaotic, but a very fun and fast read. After that I read Starman's Quest, which was a mediocre and cheesy Young Adult novel. But it was a fast read so at least I finished it.
I DNF'ed The 13th Immortal at about 30ish% in, because I just could not take it anymore. This is an awful story about some guy, who is very obviously someone special, even though his companions/fellow travellers won't tell him that, because they are being super secretive about it. The book, and main character, try to make it seem like you are reading a very deep and serious story, but it is all so very obvious and bland it's kind of sickening actually.
In the 30% I read, the plot movement was basically absent, and the motivations of the main characters are... non-existent really. He just goes along with all sorts of people because "why not?".
The scene where he meets this attractive girl who was being 'offered' to him (out of nowhere, of course) was the last straw. The talk between those two is a great example of how horrendous the quality of the writing is. A shame.
June 9, 2014
The 13th Immortal is one of Robert Silverberg's earliest novels, and though it's not considered one of his great works, I certainly enjoyed it thoroughly and recommend it to those who like short science fiction novels from the 1950s. It's a post-apocalyptic story about twelve immortals who have divided most of the world among themselves into separate Empires, leaving a few other places to whoever claims them. Those few key other spaces include a mutant city, a computerized city with no human inhabitants, and the larger space of Antarctica.
The main point Silverberg makes in this novel is that human beings are to blame for their own fall, and everyone in this new future realizes that the apocalypse was a "technology-born nightmare." Therefore, there is a general commitment to live as much as possible without being dependent on technology:
"The old ways returned to the world ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
The main point Silverberg makes in this novel is that human beings are to blame for their own fall, and everyone in this new future realizes that the apocalypse was a "technology-born nightmare." Therefore, there is a general commitment to live as much as possible without being dependent on technology:
"The old ways returned to the world ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
June 18, 2012
While I thought this novel was okay, I could see that it was the work of a young writer. The plot moves erratically at times, with glaring details missing, and characters created and then neglected.
Also, it might just have been in my edition, but, especially in the beginning, there were several typos present. The most glaring of which was the misspelling of the main character's last name (Kelsey vs Kesley).
I still think the premise and the world created are pretty good, I just wish the presentation had been a little more clean and developed. I think toward the end, the truth about who and what Kesley actually is was obvious to everyone but himself, which is kind of odd.
Also, it might just have been in my edition, but, especially in the beginning, there were several typos present. The most glaring of which was the misspelling of the main character's last name (Kelsey vs Kesley).
I still think the premise and the world created are pretty good, I just wish the presentation had been a little more clean and developed. I think toward the end, the truth about who and what Kesley actually is was obvious to everyone but himself, which is kind of odd.
September 18, 2018
It took quite some time for me to get through this one despite it being quite a short book. The concept behind the story was very intreguing. I really liked this history of the world that was laid out and the character's background. But the execution of the story didn't follow suit. I like reading older sci-fi and fantasy books, and I'm glad I read this one. However, I'm probably not going to be giving it a re-read and have donated my copy to the local library.
October 21, 2012
Grade B- 1984
Ace Double Novel D223
Ace Double Novel D223
August 17, 2013
It would be interesting to see what this book would read like if Dave Duncan, OSC, or Nancy Farmer delivered against the same plot line and characters .
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews