The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Vol. 5: The Palace at Midnight, 1980–1982

This superb volume collects nearly two dozen of SFWA Grand Master Silverberg's best short stories, many published in venues such as Omni, Playboy, and Twilight Zone that drew Silverberg out of self-imposed retirement with the promise of high pay. Most notable are three Nebula nominees: "Our Lady of the Sauropods," in which a scientist is trapped on a space habitat with possibly intelligent dinosaurs; "The Pope of the Chimps," in which scientists study a chimpanzee colony whose inhabitants are beginning to show evidence of religion; and "Homefaring," in which yet another scientist sends his mind far into the future and winds up sharing a body with a doomsaying sentient lobster. With exquisite takes on common themes like time travel and transcendent experiences, these stories represent some of the best and most sophisticated science fiction of the early 1980s. (Oct.)