r/printSF • u/user_number_666 • 4d ago

Robert Silverberg

I just discovered I have the chance to get Robert Silverberg's autograph at a convention next week. Unfortunately I've already reached the weight limit on my baggage, so i am going to have to bring just one or two books.

Which of Silverberg's books should I bring?

9 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

17

u/Bergmaniac 4d ago

Dying Inside is his best novel IMO. 

5

u/Internal_Wheel_89 4d ago

I read Book of Skulls and Dying Inside back to back one summer in my early 20s and they both blew my mind.

9

u/Bergmaniac 4d ago

He was in incredible form in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Thorns, Nightwings, Tower of Glass, Downward to the Earth, The World Inside, A Time for Changes, Dying Inside and The Book of Skulls all came out within a 5 year period. And that's just the novels, he also published so many really good short stories and novellas within this timeframe.

2

u/ThatIsAmorte 3d ago

Book of Skulls has stayed with me over the years. Amazing book.

7

u/jerseyoutwest 4d ago

Buy books and if it fits it ships them back home!

5

u/user_number_666 4d ago

Duh, I should have thought of that.

2

u/jerseyoutwest 4d ago

The obvious answers evade me all the time lol. I asked in a coin sub why 2008 mintages were so low and smacked my forehead within milliseconds of hitting post 😹😹😹

7

u/jarrett_regina 4d ago

Majipoor Chronicles FTW :)

7

u/Frost-Folk 4d ago

Nightwings!

7

u/Insomnia_Memoria 3d ago

Downward to Earth

1

u/SacredandBound_ 2d ago

Came here to say this.

4

u/woogwhy 4d ago

Tower of Glass

4

u/StevenJOwens 3d ago

Whatever you do, please relay compliments from all of us. I just finished re-reading "Up The Line" 3 days ago!

4

u/Wetness__Pensive 3d ago

It's awesome that you get to meet him. Do us a favor, and tell him everyone on this sub thinks he's the bees knees, and that "Downward to Earth" is still awesome.

2

u/riverrabbit1116 3d ago

What are your favorite Silverberg books. I had him sign The World Inside as one my 3 picks at a convention, and told him it gave me nightmares. He laughed.

1

u/remedialknitter 4d ago

The Calibrated Alligator

1

u/IWantTheLastSlice 3d ago

The Face of the Waters and Kingdoms of the Wall

1

u/Delicious_Iron7977 2d ago

Time of the Great Freeze, one of the very first science fiction books I read.

1

u/LordCouchCat 1d ago

Apart from the obvious issue of which you like best, I would if possible get one with a good binding. Traditionally hardbacks had tge good bindings but these days I see hard covered books with poor quality glue binding - which will go faster than a paperback which is held properly. A well produced book will last indefinitely and an author's dedication makes it a treasure, beyond your lifetime.

1

u/Appdownyourthroat 1d ago

The only one I’ve read is his collaboration with Isaac Asimov, Nightfall, which I liked and is worth reading

1

u/1ch1p1 1d ago

I would just pick either my favorite or one that I have a nicer copy of. Or, maybe given your dilemma, one that was small and easy to add to your luggage without changing too much.