“Where Silverberg goes today, the rest of science fiction will follow tomorrow!” —Isaac Asimov
“Silverberg is one of science fiction’s finest authors.” —San Francisco Examiner
“Silverberg is a master wordsmith and alchemist of the imagination.” —Philadelphia Inquirer
“Robert Silverberg’s versatile, skeptical intelligence controls a lavish and splendid imagination.” —Ursula K. Le Guin
“No matter if Silverberg is dealing with material that is practically straight fiction, or going way into the future…his is the hand of a master of his craft and imagination.” —Los Angeles Times
Biography
Robert Silverberg’s first published story appeared in 1954 when he was a sophomore at Columbia University. Since then, he has won the prestigious Nebula Award five times and the Hugo Award five times. He has been nominated for both awards more times than any other writer. In 1999 he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, and in 2004 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him their Grand Master Award for career achievement. He remains one of the most imaginative and versatile writers in science fiction.
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Praise for Books
“Robots through the Ages is pure science fiction gold. Classic and new stories filled with weird science, adventure, wild twists, and awesome fun! Silverberg and Schmidt have a winner here!” —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author
“Robert Silverberg and Bryan Thomas Schmidt’s anthology is an indispensable collection of stories about Robots through the Ages. The reader receives a terrific overview of the history of robot tales from such stories as Jack Williamson’s ‘With Folded Hands,’ which grows more chilling and prophetic by the day; Robert Silverberg’s masterful Nebula-Award winning tale of robots and ‘Good News from the Vatican’; and Connie Willis’s amusing mystery that presents an intriguing ‘Dilemma’ to Isaac Asimov and a coterie of robots. At the same time, this book offers the joy of discovering never-before-published gems by writers like Seanan McGuire and Ken Scholes. This is a delightful and informative book for anyone interested in robotics, AI, or science fiction.” —Sheila Williams, Hugo-winning editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
“Robots through the Ages ponders questions that arise in the face of evolving innovation, including how technology has changed over time.” —NPR’s Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson
“You might know the reveal, but how it all comes together is fascinating.” —The RetroRockets Podcast
“Sci-fi nerds and robotics geeks will find joy in this collection. The anthology includes a wide variety of robot tales. Silverberg and Schmidt do a great job of showing trends and attitudes toward the subject through history. They have selected stories about the fear of new technology as well as incorporating robots and AI into our daily lives.” —San Francisco Book Review
Formats: Retail CD Audiobook, MP3 CD, Digital Audiobook, Hardcover, eBook, Trade Paperback
A remarkable collection, Robots through the Ages includes stories from some of the best writers of science fiction, both old and new.
This anthology, with an introduction by Robert Silverberg, offers a sweeping survey of robots as depicted throughout literature. Since the Iliad—in which we are shown golden statues built by Hephaestus “with minds and wisdoms”—humans have been fascinated by the idea of artificial life. From the Argonautica to the medieval Jewish legend of the Golem and Ambrose Bierce’s tale of a chess-playing robot, the idea of what robots are—and who creates them—can be drastically different.
This book collects a broad selection of short stories from celebrated authors such as Philip K. Dick, Seanan McGuire, Roger Zelazny, Connie Willis, and many more. Robots through the Ages not only celebrates the history of robots and the genre of science fiction, but the dauntless nature of human ingenuity.
