In a grim authoritarian future, Interrogator Conway Kroll performs his duty with cold certainty, greeting three accused traitors and defending torture as a necessary function of the State. Florence Horniman refuses to confess and is subjected to the merciless Inquisitor, while Chester Wengrove eventually breaks, is declared "exonerated," and then sent to quarantine in a cruel parody of mercy. The machinery of punishment is orderly, bureaucratic, and absolute, turning pain into policy. But ...

On the bleak, wind-scoured surface of Mars, Ron and Val trudge across the desert after their sandcat breaks down, searching for uranium to keep Earth's industries alive. Exhausted and increasingly bitter, Val begins to question their mission, their pay, and even the choice that brought them to this hostile world. Yet beneath the hardship and resentment lies something steadier: a married team driven not by glory, but by loyalty, stubborn love, and the small comforts they have built together...

On the desert world of Carthule, First Priest Marik wrestles with a faith shaken by the revelation that humanity is not alone in the universe. When he spots a lone Earthman wandering the sands, he sends his young acolyte Kenra Sarg to bring the stranger under the protection of the sacred Guest Rite, a law of hospitality so absolute it overrides all other obligations. The rescued visitor is small, talkative, and eager to depart, but Marik senses unease beneath his gratitude. That unease bec...

The Grand Master details his development as a writer and shares thirteen favorite sci-fi stories from his youth and what they taught him about writing.Every writer must start somewhere. Robert Silverberg was once simply a young man learning the art and craft of writing before he found success. But how did he get from there to winning four Hugo Awards, three Locus Awards, and six Nebula Awards, as well as being named a Grand Master of science fiction?In ...

From multiple Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Robert Silverberg, Roma Eterna takes an in-depth look at an alternative history in which the Roman Empire survives into the twenty-first century and beyond.What would happen if Imperial Rome never fell? Roma Eterna, spanning fifteen hundred years of global history, follows the reign of the Roman Empire from its inception to the present day. Empire continues to expand, creeping across the globe and...

The epic sci-fi fantasy Majipoor Cycle continues with the saga of Lord Prestimion, whose rise to power is beset by war and madness.Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Robert Silverberg returns to the richly imagined world of Majipoor. Collected here in one volume is the complete Prestimion Trilogy, set hundreds of years before the events of the first three novels.In Sorcerers of Majipoor, a peaceful transfer of power is threatened by a cunning riv...

UFO2 is the second annual collection of humorous science fiction and fantasy short stories. Inside you'll find:- A golem on an interstellar cruise ship- Dragon-taunting for fun and profit- Time travel gone really wrong- Cubicle farm wizardry- Alien behemoths in Central ParkAnd much, much more!

Robert Silverberg needs little introduction to anyone at all familiar with the history of the science fiction field. Fan. Author. Editor. Creative force. He has been an integral part of the field for longer than most of his readers have been alive. Earlier this year, he kindly agreed to put together a MEGAPACK® of his short stories, so here, then, is a selection of early works by one of the all-time greats. Included are:ALAREEBIRDS OF A FEATHERBLAZE OF GLORYDELI...

By the 23rd century Earth's population had reached seven billion. Mankind was in danger of perishing for lack of elbow room - unless prompt measures were taken. Roy Walton had the power to enforce those measures. But though his job was in the service of humanity, he soon found himself the most hated man in the world.

On his seventeenth birthday, Larry faces the most important choice of his life: remain in the drugged comfort of childhood or step into the uncertain demands of adulthood. In a future society where children are raised on an "unworry" drug that erases fear and responsibility, his robonurse presents three capsules that will decide whether he stays in blissful dependence or begins the irreversible path to maturity. As his father welcomes him into the "Age of Anxiety," Larry is thrust toward a...

What will it mean to be human in the future? How will we evolve in order to reach the stars?Fifteen short stories collected in this book examine how interstellar flight might change humanity itself. Will we choose to upload our minds into a singularity? Enhance ourselves with alien DNA? Will our bodies remain the same, but our culture and societal norms adapt to accommodate for effects of time dilation, or become subsumed by advanced alien cultures?Hugo and Nebula award win...

In this novel, the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning Grand Master of Science Fiction explores how far four friends will go to achieve immortality."Robert Silverberg at his very best." —George R. R. MartinAfter Eli, a scholarly college student, finds and translates an ancient manuscript called The Book of Skulls, he and his friends embark on a cross-country trip to Arizona in search of a legendary monastery where they hope to find the secret of ...