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The Saliva Tree / Born with the Dead
Contains the two Nebula-winning novellas, The Saliva Tree by Brian W. Aldiss and Born with the Dead by Robert Silverberg.
183 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 28, 1988
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About the author
Brian W. Aldiss
831 books669 followersPseudonyms: Jael Cracken, Peter Pica, John Runciman, C.C. Shackleton, Arch Mendicant, & "Doc" Peristyle.
Brian Wilson Aldiss was one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his innovative literary techniques, evocative plots and irresistible characters, he became a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1999.
Brian Aldiss died on August 19, 2017, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday with his family and closest friends.
Brian W. Aldiss Group on Good Reads
Brian Wilson Aldiss was one of the most important voices in science fiction writing today. He wrote his first novel while working as a bookseller in Oxford. Shortly afterwards he wrote his first work of science fiction and soon gained international recognition. Adored for his innovative literary techniques, evocative plots and irresistible characters, he became a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 1999.
Brian Aldiss died on August 19, 2017, just after celebrating his 92nd birthday with his family and closest friends.
Brian W. Aldiss Group on Good Reads
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 28, 2011
Being a fan of the novella length story (especially in the SF genre), I thought the Tor Doubles were a eureka-sweet idea. Two award-winning novellas too small to be released by themselves would suddenly see print as a nifty twofor. Sounds great. Unfortunately, while one of the stories, Born with the Dead, is a bowl stuffed with fantastic, the other one, The Saliva Tree, is a bowel clogged with CRAPtastic.
Let’s start with the poo poo platter first.
THE SALIVA TREE by Brian Aldiss.......1.5 Stars
Brian Aldiss wrote this story to mark the centenary of the birth of H.G. Wells. Having now read it, I can only reason that Aldiss, who I am normally a fan of, must have secretly despised Mr. Wells for associating the man’s birthday with this literary air biscuit.
Set in 19th century England during the life of Mr. Wells (who plays a small part), the story concerns an unusual alien invasion centered on a rural English farm. Now Aldiss is a smart individual who has written some amazing science fiction, but this story had almost nothing going for it beyond a pretty cool “alien” concept. The writing was so dry and flakey that it made my skin itch and all the characters combined couldn’t manage to be even two dimensional. This includes the main character who I was hoping against hope would spontaneously choke on his own lameness and "go gently in that good night."
Overall, a complete waste of time. Oh, and this won the 1965 Nebula for best short story so I can only image the superb grocery lists and tax returns this thing must have been up against for its mediocrity to achieve supremacy.
BORN WITH THE DEAD by Robert Silverberg.......4.0 Stars
Now on the other side of Quality Avenue, we have a terrific novella from Robert "I can't seem to write a bad story" Silverberg that takes a very unique and thoughtful approach to the issue of the “living dead” (I hesitate to call them zombies because it gives the wrong impression). In the future, science has come up with a technique that allows the newly dead to be “rekindled.” These rekindled people, known as deads, live separately in “cold towns” away from the living. While the deads retain all of their memories from their past life, they are emotionally detached from it and have an entirely new and alien outlook.
The plot concerns a man whose wife has been rekindled and he doesn’t know how to let her go. Societal taboos make contact with her unacceptable but he is obsessed with finding her and speaking to her because he can’t find closure. This is a well written, interesting story that is deeply moving and has a typical Silverberg ending that I thought was terrific. Definitely a story that you should seek out, especially if you are a fan of Silverberg’s work.
So even though my math tells me that the overall rating doesn’t reach 3 stars, I am going to weigh Silverberg’s story more heavily because I wouldn't feel right giving it only two stars. Brian will just get to ride on Robert’s coat tails on this one.
March 1, 2020
This book is one of the Tor double series, with the two stories printed back-to-back and opposite in orientation and each having its own "front" cover. Both stories won the Nebula Award for best novella of the preceding year. Both originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The Saliva Tree by Brian W.Aldiss won the very first year the award existed, tying with Zelazny's He Who Shapes for 1965. It's a nice homage to H.G. Wells (with perhaps a touch of Lovecraft thrown in); an interesting alien invasion story. I believe I must have read it years ago, but didn't remember it at all. (I preferred the Zelazny, which was expanded a little and appeared as The Dream Master.) Robert Silverberg's Born With the Dead won for best of 1974. It's not really what I would call a science fiction story, being something of a post-modern/magic-realism piece in which the only change to the current world was that people can be brought back to life after they die, if they so choose. It's a very well written and moving literary piece, a bit on the depressing side but well worth seeking out. I remember getting the magazine in which it first appeared, a special Silverberg issue with a lovely painting featuring the author. The Tor edition of the two is a fine pairing of two very different winners.
January 22, 2019
This is Tor Double #3, of a series of 36 double books published from 1988 to 1991 by Tor Books. It contains two novellas, bound together tête-bêche in mass market paperback – back-to-back, inverted, with two front covers and both titles on the spine. The novellas are listed here alphabetically by author; neither should be considered “primary.”
The Saliva Tree, by Brian W. Aldiss (1965)
This was originally published in the September 1965 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and won the 1966 Nebula Award in the novella category. Brian Aldiss is best known as one of the pioneers of the 1960s New Wave SF writers, but this work is more of an homage to H.G. Wells, and imitative of that much older style. In the late nineteenth century, a modern-thinking young man and friend of H.G. Wells's resides in the old-fashioned town of Cottersall. When a meteor lands in a pond in the neighboring farming district, the man decides to investigate the odd occurrences in the area, where the farmer family of his beloved comes into danger courtesy of the stranded alien(s). I appreciate what Aldiss is doing here, but unfortunately, the story fell flat for me.
Born with the Dead, by Robert Silverberg (1974)
This was originally published in the April 1974 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and won the 1975 Nebula Award in the novella category. I have somewhere previously read this story, so this Tor Double was half a re-read for me. It describes a near-future world in which the recently dead can be "rekindled" to a new life, but one in which their personalities and attitudes are radically changed; although they possess their memories from their previous lives, their former concerns no longer appear important to them. The story parallels that of Eurydice and Orpheus in the underworld. While not purely science fiction, I found it philosophically fascinating this time.
The Saliva Tree, by Brian W. Aldiss (1965)
This was originally published in the September 1965 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and won the 1966 Nebula Award in the novella category. Brian Aldiss is best known as one of the pioneers of the 1960s New Wave SF writers, but this work is more of an homage to H.G. Wells, and imitative of that much older style. In the late nineteenth century, a modern-thinking young man and friend of H.G. Wells's resides in the old-fashioned town of Cottersall. When a meteor lands in a pond in the neighboring farming district, the man decides to investigate the odd occurrences in the area, where the farmer family of his beloved comes into danger courtesy of the stranded alien(s). I appreciate what Aldiss is doing here, but unfortunately, the story fell flat for me.
Born with the Dead, by Robert Silverberg (1974)
This was originally published in the April 1974 issue of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and won the 1975 Nebula Award in the novella category. I have somewhere previously read this story, so this Tor Double was half a re-read for me. It describes a near-future world in which the recently dead can be "rekindled" to a new life, but one in which their personalities and attitudes are radically changed; although they possess their memories from their previous lives, their former concerns no longer appear important to them. The story parallels that of Eurydice and Orpheus in the underworld. While not purely science fiction, I found it philosophically fascinating this time.
July 21, 2024
My first Aldiss read...what a joy....can't wait for the next one..
February 1, 2014
I only read the novella The Saliva Tree so my review is only of that. I’ve read
Born with the Dead
at least twice before and it’s easily worth four stars, maybe even five.
The problem with a pastiche is if you’re unfamiliar with the original material then you don’t know how good a job the author’s done. I’ve never read any Wells. An omission on my part no doubt but there you go. Assuming Aldiss has done (as has been suggested) a decent job here all I can imagine is that I wouldn’t be that impressed with Wells. I’m not saying that his ideas weren’t great—seriously how much great science fiction wouldn’t have been written without him to guide the way?—but his style is dated, perhaps outdated. I did think the idea of the novella’s protagonist sending postal updates to his friend Wells a nice touch but I would’ve expected him to be on the next train on hearing news of an alien invasion, even on such a small scale as it is.
My trouble is that I’m approaching this after reading (and viewing) far more dynamic storytelling—I haven’t read an Aldiss before I didn’t like—but this drags. Why weren’t the neighbouring villagers out with torches and pitchforks as in Frankenstein? Everything was a bit too laid back. Even the protagonist’s friend seemed far from excited at the prospect of aliens having arrived on Earth. “Oh, jolly good. Do let me know how you all get on.” That’s me being facetious; it’s not a direct quote.
The actual problem is intriguing enough although one I’ve seen tackled before (albeit after Aldiss wrote this) in the television series Quatermass where aliens use humans as (we suspect) a food source. In this case an alien couple have come to Earth, taken over a farm, increased the birth rate of everything from humans to apple trees and sat back and enjoyed the food. The suggestion is that they’re on holiday and why not? The big problem is that they’re invisible but that shouldn’t have posed any great problem to people used to working on the lands. Traps could easily have been set. Of course having the farmer lose his mind does help scupper any organised revolt. I just struggled to buy into the fact that weeks went by and everyone basically shrugged and worked around what was going on. Even if these were ghosts I would’ve expected all the farm workers to pack their bags and be out of there. It just didn’t ring true.
As I’ve said I suspect the problem here is that Aldiss has gone out of his way to emulate Wells and his story has suffered accordingly. All the stuff about Socialism felt forced too. Thankfully it’s not long. I thought the resolution was believable enough even if it wasn’t very exciting.
The problem with a pastiche is if you’re unfamiliar with the original material then you don’t know how good a job the author’s done. I’ve never read any Wells. An omission on my part no doubt but there you go. Assuming Aldiss has done (as has been suggested) a decent job here all I can imagine is that I wouldn’t be that impressed with Wells. I’m not saying that his ideas weren’t great—seriously how much great science fiction wouldn’t have been written without him to guide the way?—but his style is dated, perhaps outdated. I did think the idea of the novella’s protagonist sending postal updates to his friend Wells a nice touch but I would’ve expected him to be on the next train on hearing news of an alien invasion, even on such a small scale as it is.
My trouble is that I’m approaching this after reading (and viewing) far more dynamic storytelling—I haven’t read an Aldiss before I didn’t like—but this drags. Why weren’t the neighbouring villagers out with torches and pitchforks as in Frankenstein? Everything was a bit too laid back. Even the protagonist’s friend seemed far from excited at the prospect of aliens having arrived on Earth. “Oh, jolly good. Do let me know how you all get on.” That’s me being facetious; it’s not a direct quote.
The actual problem is intriguing enough although one I’ve seen tackled before (albeit after Aldiss wrote this) in the television series Quatermass where aliens use humans as (we suspect) a food source. In this case an alien couple have come to Earth, taken over a farm, increased the birth rate of everything from humans to apple trees and sat back and enjoyed the food. The suggestion is that they’re on holiday and why not? The big problem is that they’re invisible but that shouldn’t have posed any great problem to people used to working on the lands. Traps could easily have been set. Of course having the farmer lose his mind does help scupper any organised revolt. I just struggled to buy into the fact that weeks went by and everyone basically shrugged and worked around what was going on. Even if these were ghosts I would’ve expected all the farm workers to pack their bags and be out of there. It just didn’t ring true.
As I’ve said I suspect the problem here is that Aldiss has gone out of his way to emulate Wells and his story has suffered accordingly. All the stuff about Socialism felt forced too. Thankfully it’s not long. I thought the resolution was believable enough even if it wasn’t very exciting.
April 4, 2012
Contrary to the only other review of this book, I found The Saliva Tree to be the better story, an uncannily accurate pastiche of the 40s era alien invasion stories written with a tongue in cheek humor, while the Silverberg story seemed bogged down by its self important tone.
September 16, 2015
The Saliva Tree, didn't like
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June 21, 2023This is “Tor Double Novel No. 3” – one of the last double-sided books. I hate to be a chronological determinist, but these stories seem wholly a product of their era: 1974 (Silverberg), 1968 (Aldiss). (One imagines science fiction writers knocking out a novella in about six weeks. Or maybe three weeks?)
Both stories are quite Oedipal. Maybe when a guy sits down to write a fable, he begins to dream about sleeping with his mother.
And both have elements of the grotesque. Does SF require this? Lovely, graceful beings from another planet — sounds more like scripture than fiction.
Opening at random:
“At first no one perceives anything unusual. But then, yes, Sybille hears it: a shrill barking neigh, very strange, a sound out of lost time, the cry of some beast she has never known. It is a song of the dead. Nerita hears it too, and Mortimer, and finally Zacharias. Gracchus nods toward the far side of the hollow.” (Silverberg)
“It was his battle cry that brought me back from my paralysis into action. I ran and seized Grubby’s pitchfork and also charged. That thing had arms for us all! It struck out, and I have no doubt now that several arms held poison needle teeth, for I saw one coming towards me gaping like a snake’s mouth. Need I stress the danger – particularly when you recall that the effect of the flour cloud was only partial, and there were still invisible arms flailing around us!” (Aldiss)
Both stories are quite Oedipal. Maybe when a guy sits down to write a fable, he begins to dream about sleeping with his mother.
And both have elements of the grotesque. Does SF require this? Lovely, graceful beings from another planet — sounds more like scripture than fiction.
Opening at random:
“At first no one perceives anything unusual. But then, yes, Sybille hears it: a shrill barking neigh, very strange, a sound out of lost time, the cry of some beast she has never known. It is a song of the dead. Nerita hears it too, and Mortimer, and finally Zacharias. Gracchus nods toward the far side of the hollow.” (Silverberg)
“It was his battle cry that brought me back from my paralysis into action. I ran and seized Grubby’s pitchfork and also charged. That thing had arms for us all! It struck out, and I have no doubt now that several arms held poison needle teeth, for I saw one coming towards me gaping like a snake’s mouth. Need I stress the danger – particularly when you recall that the effect of the flour cloud was only partial, and there were still invisible arms flailing around us!” (Aldiss)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2018
A short take:
* “The Saliva Tree” — it’s not often that I try to hide the cover of my book while reading on the subway, but this title made me think about doing so. Saliva Tree? The hell..?
The style of this story is old-fashioned and Aldiss makes the exercise mostly quaint and cozy, though when the story turns dark it does get gory. Reading about it afterwards, I learned some background that gave Aldiss’s approach some interesting context. I am glad that I went in blind, though. Altogether the story was entertaining enough.
* “Born with the Dead” — I quite enjoyed this story. Silverberg posits a neat idea and then dips into some of its consequences while leaving tantalizing notions for readers to play with on their own time. The story is sweet and grounded in relatable (at least, for me) experiences. The more I think about this one, the more it leaves a warm memory. I definitely want to read more of Silverberg’s work.
* “The Saliva Tree” — it’s not often that I try to hide the cover of my book while reading on the subway, but this title made me think about doing so. Saliva Tree? The hell..?
The style of this story is old-fashioned and Aldiss makes the exercise mostly quaint and cozy, though when the story turns dark it does get gory. Reading about it afterwards, I learned some background that gave Aldiss’s approach some interesting context. I am glad that I went in blind, though. Altogether the story was entertaining enough.
* “Born with the Dead” — I quite enjoyed this story. Silverberg posits a neat idea and then dips into some of its consequences while leaving tantalizing notions for readers to play with on their own time. The story is sweet and grounded in relatable (at least, for me) experiences. The more I think about this one, the more it leaves a warm memory. I definitely want to read more of Silverberg’s work.
December 2, 2020
Excellent novella from Aldiss and absolutely worthy of the Nebula Award. It's Lovecraft meets Welles meets Finney but in the original style of Aldiss. The interesting thing about this story is that, while there is a certain Victorian ambiance throughout, it gets so weird and grisly that it throws you off a bit, and that's a good thing. Why no one has attempted to adapt this into a feature film is anyone's guess.
July 13, 2024
I've read a couple of other Brian aldiss books and this one has the same strengths of just being full of really great ideas. You do have to put up with some less good bits along the way but it's worth kt.
July 1, 2021
A curious love letter to the lord of the old guard from a soldier of the new wave.
November 2, 2021
✔ "The Saliva Tree"
March 15, 2025
a Great double header for any sci Fi fan. one about an alien invasion or is it just a vacation for them, and one about a man who just cant let go of his dead wife.
May 26, 2025
This book is one of a series of Tor double books consisting of two novellas. Turn the book around and upside down, one sees the book cover for the other novella.
I bought the book mostly for the Brian W. Aldiss novella, "The Saliva Tree," and it indeed was the better story. An invisible alien spaceship has crash-landed, or maybe just landed, on to a rural farm in northeastern England in the 1890s. The aliens are invisible, but definitely have a physical presence, and they are not at all friendly or communicative. All of the creatures on the farm are viewed as a source of food by them, including the people. The novel is a realistic portrayal of a farm family and their neighborhood slowly coming to terms with and making plans to confront what is going on.
The novella is an enjoyable, suspenseful enough read. But something is missing. There's a layer of complexity that needs to be there to make this a great story that simply isn't. Perhaps we need to know more about the aliens and their motivations. Maybe we need to see the humans struggle more, see how this first contact impacts them better. It's odd omissions throughout the story that keep it from reaching its potential heights. Still, reading it is not a complete waste of time.
The other story, Robert Silverberg's "Born with the Dead," was slightly longer, 96 text pages as opposed to 87. It won a Nebula, apparently, but I wasn't impressed. The genre is not science fiction, unless one considers the completely unexplained technique of reanimating dead people soon after they die science. I don't call it fantasy because I don't believe any magic is involved. I think it fits best into the weird fiction genre because we are dealing with an alternate Earth of sorts. People all throughout the twentieth century can and have been getting reanimated from a death state in this novella, and doing so at their option. This is clearly not an event that happened any time in our twentieth century. The difference is not explained, just assumed, placing this story firmly in the weird genre.
The premise is that a woman has transitioned into a dead. That's the noun the story uses to label reanimated people who have died. Deads are very different people than their former selves. A loving husband who is still alive can't accept that his wife who is now a dead no longer has feelings for him. He can't live without her apparently and tries to demand answers from his now changed former wife. His former wife and the new community of deads she is a part of consider him to be a pest. This is the story of how that conflict gets resolved.
The story was okay, but seemed to lack point. What's the take-away, the theme? Why did the author feel anyone needed to read it, or what was one expected to get out of it? It feels like a chronicle of events that could never transpire related for no overall purpose or statement. At least, I couldn't find one. Recommended for people who really get into off-beat, original zombie stories. That's not me.
I bought the book mostly for the Brian W. Aldiss novella, "The Saliva Tree," and it indeed was the better story. An invisible alien spaceship has crash-landed, or maybe just landed, on to a rural farm in northeastern England in the 1890s. The aliens are invisible, but definitely have a physical presence, and they are not at all friendly or communicative. All of the creatures on the farm are viewed as a source of food by them, including the people. The novel is a realistic portrayal of a farm family and their neighborhood slowly coming to terms with and making plans to confront what is going on.
The novella is an enjoyable, suspenseful enough read. But something is missing. There's a layer of complexity that needs to be there to make this a great story that simply isn't. Perhaps we need to know more about the aliens and their motivations. Maybe we need to see the humans struggle more, see how this first contact impacts them better. It's odd omissions throughout the story that keep it from reaching its potential heights. Still, reading it is not a complete waste of time.
The other story, Robert Silverberg's "Born with the Dead," was slightly longer, 96 text pages as opposed to 87. It won a Nebula, apparently, but I wasn't impressed. The genre is not science fiction, unless one considers the completely unexplained technique of reanimating dead people soon after they die science. I don't call it fantasy because I don't believe any magic is involved. I think it fits best into the weird fiction genre because we are dealing with an alternate Earth of sorts. People all throughout the twentieth century can and have been getting reanimated from a death state in this novella, and doing so at their option. This is clearly not an event that happened any time in our twentieth century. The difference is not explained, just assumed, placing this story firmly in the weird genre.
The premise is that a woman has transitioned into a dead. That's the noun the story uses to label reanimated people who have died. Deads are very different people than their former selves. A loving husband who is still alive can't accept that his wife who is now a dead no longer has feelings for him. He can't live without her apparently and tries to demand answers from his now changed former wife. His former wife and the new community of deads she is a part of consider him to be a pest. This is the story of how that conflict gets resolved.
The story was okay, but seemed to lack point. What's the take-away, the theme? Why did the author feel anyone needed to read it, or what was one expected to get out of it? It feels like a chronicle of events that could never transpire related for no overall purpose or statement. At least, I couldn't find one. Recommended for people who really get into off-beat, original zombie stories. That's not me.
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February 19, 2017Brian W. Aldiss / Robert Silverberg
May 9, 2025
**** Born with the Dead (1974) • Robert Silverberg
*** The Saliva Tree (1965) • Brian W. Aldiss
*** The Saliva Tree (1965) • Brian W. Aldiss
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