The Palace at Midnight: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg 5 (1980-82)

This volume covers the years from 1980 to 1982, when Silverberg returned to writing short fiction after a long gap. Fired up by his rediscovery of the form, Silverberg produced some of his masterpieces. Included here are such classic tales as 'Our Lady of the Sauropods' and 'Dancers in the Time-Flux', as well as 21 other stories. Somehow, for all my outward pretence of cold-eyed professionalism, all my insistence that writing is simply a job like any other, I've discovered to my surprise and chagrin that there's more than that going on around here, that I write as much out of karmic necessity and some inescapable inner need to rededicate my own skills constantly to my-what? My craft? My art? My profession? I wrote these stories because the only way of earning a living I have ever had has been by writing, but mainly, I have to admit, I wrote these stories because I couldn't not write them. Well, so be it. They involved me in a lot of hard work, but for me, at least, the results justify the toil. I'm glad I wrote them. Writing them, it turns out, was important for me, and even pleasurable, in a curiously complex after-the-fact kind of way. May they give you pleasure now too. -Robert Silverberg, from his Introduction Our Lady of the Sauropods -- Waiting for the earthquake -- The regulars -- The far side of the bell-shaped curve -- A thousand paces along the Via Dolorosa -- How they pass the time in Pelpel -- The palace at midnight -- The man who floated in time -- Gianni -- The pope of the chimps -- Thesme and the Ghayrog -- At the Conglomeroid cocktail party -- The trouble with Sempoanga -- Jennifer's lover -- Not our brother -- Gate of horn, gate of ivory -- Dancers in the time-flux -- Needle in a timestack -- Amanda and the alien -- Snake and ocean, ocean and snake -- The changeling -- Basileus -- Homefaring. Overview: Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is a prolific American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, a Grand Master of SF A collection of stories that includes "To See the Invisible Man," "Neighbor," "The Sixth Place," "Halfway House," "To the Dark Star," "Going Down Smooth," "Ringing the Changes," and "We Know Who We Are." Subterranean Press's definitive collection of Silverberg's short fiction, with stories produced during the years 1953 to 2009. The volumes include commentary by the author