Monday, October 10, 2016

Traveler of Worlds: Conversations with Robert Silverberg - Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

I don’t recall when I read my first science fiction story by Robert Silverberg, but it was more than forty years ago, that’s for sure. And I’ve read and enjoyed plenty of them since then. So it’s no surprise that I enjoyed this book-length series of interviews with Silverberg conducted by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro. It’s a wide-ranging conversation, focusing as much on Silverberg’s views about art, music, travel, and philosophy as it does about his writing career and science fiction in general. Now, me personally, I would have been fine with a little more “And then I wrote” material, but that’s just me. All in all, this is a thoroughly entertaining volume, and if you’re a science fiction fan at all, I give it a high recommendation. I seem to recall a few years ago that some young SF writer asked dismissively why anybody should read Robert Silverberg. Well, here’s the answer, right here in this book.

2 comments:

Adventuresfantastic said...

I've noticed a lot of young SF writers have "why should I read" [insert famous, influential author here] syndrome. Which I think goes a long way to explaining the state of the field today. And why, as someone who lived and breathed SF growing up, I read so little of it now, especially the more recent works. I've heard the question asked about Asimov, Heinlein, Lovecraft, Howard, and Vance in recent years. Me, those are among the writers I want to reread.

Sean McLachlan said...

Sounds like a book I need to buy!
It's common for brash young authors to dismiss their elders/betters. I thankfully skipped that stage because I didn't get into writing until my 30s, after I left my immature 20s behind.