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Alpha 6
The sixth in a series of superb science fiction.
The Alpha series of anthologies center on no particular theme except that of literary quality.
More of the same, the mixture as before--so Silverberg is tempted to describe this sixth Alpha collection. Not unfair phrases, either, for, like its five predecessors, Alpha Six is a volume of science-fiction stories that have no thematic links, that are held together only by their literary excellence and stimulating science-fictional content. As before, Alpha owes no allegiance to any single literary "school" within the faction-ridden science-fiction it hews to a solidly middle-of-the-road line, seeking strong narrative drive and avoiding the excesses of the zap-zap ray-gun school on the one hand and the evanescently precious avant-garde on the other. As always, Silverberg's selection of stories represent the best across a four-dimensional slice of science-fiction publishing.
The Alpha series of anthologies center on no particular theme except that of literary quality.
More of the same, the mixture as before--so Silverberg is tempted to describe this sixth Alpha collection. Not unfair phrases, either, for, like its five predecessors, Alpha Six is a volume of science-fiction stories that have no thematic links, that are held together only by their literary excellence and stimulating science-fictional content. As before, Alpha owes no allegiance to any single literary "school" within the faction-ridden science-fiction it hews to a solidly middle-of-the-road line, seeking strong narrative drive and avoiding the excesses of the zap-zap ray-gun school on the one hand and the evanescently precious avant-garde on the other. As always, Silverberg's selection of stories represent the best across a four-dimensional slice of science-fiction publishing.
266 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1976
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 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 7, 2020
Silverberg's Alpha books were a series of reprint anthologies containing stories that he felt were of good literary quality that had been overlooked in the years since their original appearance in the genre magazines. The first five volumes appeared from Ballantine Books (before they became Del Rey), but this sixth one came from Berkley. This one has a good novella from Norman Spinrad and fine pieces by Kit Reed, C.M. Kornbluth, William Tenn, Horace L. Gold (better known as an editor, but also a talented writer), Idris Seabright, and others. My favorite is one of Bob Shaw's fine "slow glass" stories.
March 3, 2021
I'm continuing my reading of Robert Silverberg's Alpha series with Alpha 6. Alpha 6, though still a good anthology, is a step down from the first five volumes. That's not to say there aren't some great stories in it, but there are also a few mediocre ones. But first, I'll mention a few of the best:
"Light of Other Days" by Bob Shaw is the first of the slow glass stories, and is one of the great SF stories of the 1960s. Slow glass is glass through which light moves much more slowly than usual, so that what you see on one side may well be what happened on the other a few years before. It's a much desired commodity, as people want windows that, for example, can look out over parkland rather than rundown city blocks. But the real heart of the story is a tragedy involving a seller of slow glass.
"The Lost Continent" by Norman Spinrad is a timely story about racism, set in a future where America has declined greatly due to pollution. American cities are all but unlivable, but African tourists visiting want tours of old New York. It's effective and unsettling.
"Down Among the Dead Men" by William Tenn involves a future interstellar war, though none of the story actually describes combat. Humanity is barely holding its own, and the only way to continue to have the manpower to continue fighting is by "recycling" the dead -- manufacturing soldiers out of the remains of dead soldiers. It looks at not only what it means to be human but also, like "The Lost Continent," explores some aspects of racism.
"An Honorable Death" by Gordon Dickson involves a future colonization and the problems with the ways advanced and less advanced civilizations interact. C. M. Kornbluth's "With These Hands" deals with a future in which true art is being pushed aside by cheap, mass produced works (and as I look at the latest book covers when I visit a bookstore, I'll think of this.
Also included are good stories by James Tiptree, Horace Gold, and John Sladek (though the Sladek one is quite strange).
On the other hand, we have several weak stories. "Brown Robert" by Terry Carr has an interesting time travel idea at is base, but the story itself isn't particularly good. Likewise, "Short in the Chest" by Idris Seabright and "The Food Farm" by Kit Reed just fell flat for me.
Overall, though, worth reading despite the weak bits.
"Light of Other Days" by Bob Shaw is the first of the slow glass stories, and is one of the great SF stories of the 1960s. Slow glass is glass through which light moves much more slowly than usual, so that what you see on one side may well be what happened on the other a few years before. It's a much desired commodity, as people want windows that, for example, can look out over parkland rather than rundown city blocks. But the real heart of the story is a tragedy involving a seller of slow glass.
"The Lost Continent" by Norman Spinrad is a timely story about racism, set in a future where America has declined greatly due to pollution. American cities are all but unlivable, but African tourists visiting want tours of old New York. It's effective and unsettling.
"Down Among the Dead Men" by William Tenn involves a future interstellar war, though none of the story actually describes combat. Humanity is barely holding its own, and the only way to continue to have the manpower to continue fighting is by "recycling" the dead -- manufacturing soldiers out of the remains of dead soldiers. It looks at not only what it means to be human but also, like "The Lost Continent," explores some aspects of racism.
"An Honorable Death" by Gordon Dickson involves a future colonization and the problems with the ways advanced and less advanced civilizations interact. C. M. Kornbluth's "With These Hands" deals with a future in which true art is being pushed aside by cheap, mass produced works (and as I look at the latest book covers when I visit a bookstore, I'll think of this.
Also included are good stories by James Tiptree, Horace Gold, and John Sladek (though the Sladek one is quite strange).
On the other hand, we have several weak stories. "Brown Robert" by Terry Carr has an interesting time travel idea at is base, but the story itself isn't particularly good. Likewise, "Short in the Chest" by Idris Seabright and "The Food Farm" by Kit Reed just fell flat for me.
Overall, though, worth reading despite the weak bits.
September 15, 2022
As with Alpha 1-5, some stories I read long long ago and was happy to read again, but as with some of the others, at least one story, the last one in this case, that just rambled and went on endlessly and which I finally just passed over. I don't know why Tiptree's "Painwise" was included, I thought it was terrible. But most of the others were very good.
September 21, 2025
Really good collection of stories. The best in my opinion were "Light of other days" By Bob Shaw, and "Painwise" By Tiptree
December 7, 2022
** The Lost Continent (1970) • Norman Spinrad
**** Light of Other Days (1966) • Bob Shaw
*** The Secret of the Old Custard (1966) • John Sladek
** Down Among the Dead Men (1954) • William Tenn
**** With These Hands • (1951) C. M. Kornbluth
** Short in the Chest • (1954) Margaret St. Clair
*** Brown Robert (1962) • Terry Carr
* The Food Farm (1967) • Kit Reed
**** An Honorable Death (1961) • Gordon R. Dickson
** Man of Parts (1954) • H. L. Gold
***** Painwise (1972) • James Tiptree, Jr.
**** Light of Other Days (1966) • Bob Shaw
*** The Secret of the Old Custard (1966) • John Sladek
** Down Among the Dead Men (1954) • William Tenn
**** With These Hands • (1951) C. M. Kornbluth
** Short in the Chest • (1954) Margaret St. Clair
*** Brown Robert (1962) • Terry Carr
* The Food Farm (1967) • Kit Reed
**** An Honorable Death (1961) • Gordon R. Dickson
** Man of Parts (1954) • H. L. Gold
***** Painwise (1972) • James Tiptree, Jr.
Want to Read
August 25, 2008I'm sure I can add Alpha 3 (which is the one I'm currently sort of reading)--but I find it funny that a few of the numbers in the series are missing from this round-up.
This looks like one of those things you can only find ina quality Used Books store.
This looks like one of those things you can only find ina quality Used Books store.
November 9, 2010
Despite containing a number of pieces that were truly painful to get through, Alpha 6 contains three works that have stuck with me. The Lost Continent, Light of Other Days, and Down Among the Dead Men are not only worthy of reprinting, but re reading as well.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews