First-Person Singularities

by Robert Silverberg, John Scalzi (Introduction)

Overview

First-Person Singularities, stories by science fiction Grand Master Robert Silverberg, features eighteen tales written over the course of his forty-year career, all told in the first-person singular. Inspired by W. Somerset Maugham’s Six Stories Written in the First Person Singular, a fiercely realist collection from the 1930s, Silverberg takes on the challenge, offering up his own unique sci-fi twist and “running the gambit of singularity.”
Every story in First-Person Singularities offers a one-of-a-kind narrator: a dolphin feeling the pangs of love for a human being; a computer eager to convince us of its sanity; a Greek god who has surreptitiously survived into modern times; an alien visitor living in disguise in a New York City hotel. Even a pudgy, timid Henry James gets the Silverberg treatment as the witness/narrator of H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds! Each story features a special introduction by Silverberg himself, providing the inside scoop on his experience writing for and publishing with the greatest science fiction magazines of the past and present.
First-Person Singularities includes an introduction by Hugo-award winning sci-fi author John Scalzi (Redshirts).
Robert Silverberg is one of the giants of the sci-fi genre, with four Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards to his name. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999 and named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2005.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941110638
Publisher:	Three Rooms Press
Publication date:	10/31/2017
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Robert Silverberg,, author, is one of science fiction’s most beloved writers, and the author of such contemporary classics as Dying Inside, Downward to the Earth and Lord Valentine’s Castle, as well as At Winter’s End. He is a past president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the winner of five Nebula Awards and five Hugo Awards. In 2004 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America presented him with the Grand Master Award. Silverberg is one of twenty-nine writers to have received that distinction.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
THE “I”S OF ROBERT SILVERBERG: An Introduction by John Scalzi
FOREWORD by Robert Silverberg
ISHMAEL IN LOVE
GOING DOWN SMOOTH
THE REALITY TRIP
THE SONGS OF SUMMER
THE MARTIAN INVASION JOURNALS OF HENRY JAMES
PUSH NO MORE
HOUSE OF BONES
CALL ME TITAN
OUR LADY OF THE SAUROPODS
THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN
THE DYBBUK OF MAZEL TOV IV
CALIBAN
PASSENGERS
NOW PLUS N, NOW MINUS N
THE IRON STAR
THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME
TO SEE THE INVISIBLE MAN
THE SECRET SHARER

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/21/2017
Genre legend Silverberg’s ambition, imagination, versatility, and skill are all in evidence in this superior collection of 18 thought-provoking first-person short stories, which were written over five decades. Time and again, Silverberg sets the bar high for himself and then clears it, as in a tale told from the perspective of an English-speaking dolphin who has developed feelings for a human woman (“Ishmael in Love”) and another in which an alien crablike creature, disguised as a human, is dismayed to find that he’s an object of attraction for a persistent neighbor (“The Reality Trip”). He riffs on Joseph Conrad in “The Secret Sharer,” which features a very different kind of stowaway. He also cleverly anticipated Jurassic Park in “Our Lady of the Sauropods,” an 1980 story in which DNA has been used to bring dinosaurs back to life, with very different consequences from those that Michael Crichton imagined. Silverberg’s creative story premises are matched by a remarkable ability to make his characters sympathetic, whether human or not. This fine retrospective collection is worth any SF reader’s time. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Genre legend Silverberg's ambition, imagination, versatility, and skill are all in evidence in this superior collection of 18 thought-provoking first-person short stories, which were written over five decades. Time and again, Silverberg sets the bar high for himself and then clears it. . . . This fine retrospective collection is worth any SF reader’s time.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"One of the finest writers science fiction has ever produced, Robert Silverberg's boundless imagination is on exquisite display in this career-spanning collection. I can say without hyperbole that this book contains some of the best works I have ever read." —John Joseph Adams, series editor, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy

"Silverberg’s science fiction stands head and shoulders above other works in the genre. The short stories in First-Person Singularities are inventive, sublime, and endlessly entertaining. . . . By any measure, First-Person Singularities is grade-A reading fodder.” —Foreword Reviews (starred review)

“Encompassing the bulk of his career from the mid-1950s to the late 1990s, these tales reveal Silverberg experimenting with different writing styles and perspectives. Combine this with changes in American culture over that period and the result is a compelling volume that reflects the evolution of a writer, a country, and a genre. ... If you’re a fan of sf stories, or if you’re interested in introducing a friend to the genre, this title is an excellent choice.” —Library Journal

“The perfect gift for the sci-fi reader.” —Geeks of Doom

“A wonderfully written collection of many favorite stories that showcases Silverberg's enormous talent over five decades.” —She Treads Softly

"First-Person Singularities belongs on the reading table of every science fiction fan. If you somehow never experienced Silverberg’s work, or are only familiar with his novels, such as the Lord Valentine's Castle/Majipoor cycle, this is a perfect introduction to Silverberg’s shorter fiction.” —Bookgasm

“Robert Silverberg is not just a legend in science fiction circles, he is storytelling royalty at this point. He has been publishing sci-fi for over four decades. His name belongs in the upper echelons with Clarke, Asimov, Bradbury, Tiptree, and others.” —San Francisco Book Review

“Es una lectura muy recomendable tanto para los conocedores de la obra de este autor como para aquellos que quieran empezar a descubrirla.” —Cuentos para Algernon

“The sheer diversity of storylines is nothing short of extraordinary . . . A singularly unique collection.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Each story is told from a unique point of view, including from a dolphin in love with a human being, a computer trying to convince the world of its sanity, and an alien in a New York City hotel in disguise. It offers a lot of fun ideas, and it’s definitely a sci-fi book worth checking out.” —NerdMuch?

"An intimate collection not only because first-person centers the reader in a character’s head but because we see growth and mastery, pulp and art, enthusiasm and cynicism, all in their time, all showing us Robert Silverberg in his time." —from the Introduction by John Scalzi

“A fascinating book. . . I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Robert Silverberg, fantasy or science fiction. You will not be disappointed.” —Casey’s Book Reviews

“If you’re a fan of Robert Silverberg’s work, this is a must-buy. If you’re a fan of science fiction, here are some great stories by one of SF’s masters. John Scalzi provides an entertaining Introduction.” —George Kelley

From the Publisher

2017-08-06
The unifying theme of this collection of stories from science-fiction grandmaster Silverberg—spanning five decades, from 1956 to 1997—is that they're all told in the first person singular.The sheer diversity of storylines is nothing short of extraordinary. In "House of Bones," a time traveler is marooned more than 20,000 years in the past and is forced to assimilate into a tribe of nomadic cavemen. "Ishmael in Love" chronicles a bottle-nosed dolphin's attempt to woo a human researcher with whom he's fallen in love. The Nebula Award-winning "Passengers" tells the tale of a man living in a future where aliens have invaded Earth and can temporarily take possession of human minds and hijack their bodies. "Going Down Smooth" is told from the perspective of a computer, designed to help psychoanalyze troubled human patients, that finds itself slowly losing its sanity. "Caliban" chronicles a normal man's plight in a world where everyone looks like a model. But arguably the most memorable story is "The Reality Trip," about an alien spy—a beetle-ish creature living inside a humanlike body made of synthetic flesh—who must deal with an amorous woman who lives, as he does, in Manhattan's Chelsea Hotel and is bent on seeking an intimate relationship with him. While the first-person theme might not add much to the book for science-fiction aficionados, the high quality of the stories makes this book a master class in first-person narrative for aspiring writers. Additionally, each story is preceded by a short introduction by Silverberg that offers invaluable insight into the cultural landscape, the publishing industry, and the author's personal life at the time of writing. Decades after being originally published, most of these stories are still just as entertaining and powerful as they were when first released. A singularly unique collection.

Kirkus Reviews