The Last Song of Orpheus

SFWA Grand Master Silverberg (Roma Eterna) makes an all too rare appearance with his longest tale in a decade, a powerful retelling of the myth of Orpheus. Born to the muse Calliope, dedicated to Apollo, and destined to be king of Thrace, Orpheus was the greatest musician of the ancient world. The story of his epic journey to the underworld takes up only the first part of Silverberg's novella. The rest recounts his time in Egypt studying the pharaohs, his voyage with Jason and the Argonauts to bring back the Golden Fleece, and his eventual return to Thrace to meet his foretold death. Silverberg hews closely to the source material, with language elevated in the manner of a good translation of Homer. Though it's not the literary SF that has won Silverberg much of his fame, readers who love ancient myths will find much to admire. (Oct.)