H The Book of Silverberg

In this provocative collection, a dozen authors pay homage to Robert Silverberg, one of the giants of the science fiction field. Greg Bear and Barry Malzberg offer brief appreciative essays, and the other contributors deliver stories indirectly or directly inspired by some of Silverberg’s best-known works. Standouts include Mike Resnick’s “Bad News from the Vatican,” which follows up on the idea of a robot pope, and Elizabeth Bear’s “The Hand Is Quicker” which explores the nature of addiction and perception in a society obsessed with virtual reality. Connie Willis’s “Silverberg, Satan, and Me” is a clever, humorous, metatextual tale, in which she explores the root of Silverberg’s successes. The stories are uniformly strong and thoroughly entertaining. Kage Baker’s “In Old Pidruid” looks at an aspect of the Majipoor Chronicles, and Nancy Kress’s “Eaters” returns to the world of “Sundance,” but these stories stand on their own, with no prior knowledge of the source material required. This is a real treat for any science fiction reader, and especially for Silverberg’s many fans. (May)