Author: Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg has been a
professional writer since 1955, widely known for his science fiction and
fantasy stories. He is a many-time winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards, was
named to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2004 was designated
as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. His books and
stories have been translated into forty languages.
Awards:
None
Nebula Award nominee, 1970; Hugo
and Locus SF nominee, 1971
Dust Jacket Summary:
Simeon Krug’s wish to communicate
with the stars. His major goal is to
communicate with aliens living in an uninhabitable world, sending a mysterious
signal. A self-made man having built a
megacommercial empire on the backs of his products: androids, genetically
engineered human slaves.
The colossal tower he's
constructing for this purpose soars above the Arctic tundra and the seemingly
perfect androids building it view Krug as their god. The androids want civil
equality with humans, but are divided on the best means to the goal—political
agitation or religious devotion to Krug, their creator. But, Krug is only flesh-and-blood, and when
his androids discover the truth, their anger knows no bounds and it threatens
much more than the tower.
What I liked:
This is a very well told story
with some great character development.
In fact, I would say that the strength of this novel lies in its characters
as the plot really is pushed into the background for much of the novel. The two main protagonists, Simeon Krug and
Thor Watchman, are so well drawn and remain true to their core beliefs even to
the point of no return. Thor Watchman
became one of my all-time favorite characters in a novel. It was fascinating to watch him grow as his principles
are under constant challenge.
Mr. Silverberg’s conception of androids
is completely unique and brings a fresh prospective into this arena. Basically, there are three different classes
of androids, Alpha, Beta and Gamma. Each
one is more advanced than the other with the Alphas being the closest to
humans. The androids have developed
their own social hierarchy and religion that totally fleshes them out as
potential equals to the human race.
What I didn’t like:
The ending. Most reviewers really dislike how the novel
concludes without the resolution of a major story arc. While this did bug me, it was not my biggest
complaint. There is a certain huge event
that happens towards the end of the novel.
For that point forward, the consequences of this event are written like
a Wikipedia summary entry. Instead of the
rushed ending, I would have enjoyed a further exploration the new society that
was created.
It also seems that Mr. Silverberg started writing one
story and then about half way through he decides to totally change the
direction of the novel. Basically, it
starts out as an Alien contact tale then quickly shifts to an Android
revolution yarn.
Last word:
A novel worth reading for its
character development and different view on androids but the conclusion to the
story leaves a lot to be desired.
My Rating
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