[Steven Savile]

Silverberg not a legend?

Please...

He's won more awards than most writers can dream of,

# [Sk] (Skylark Award): [1984]
# [Rh] (Retro Hugo Award): [2001]
# [Ne] (Nebula Award): [1971] [1969] [1985] [1974] [1971]
# [Lc] (Locus Poll Award): [1971] [2000] [1999] [1976] [1999] [1993] [1988] [1975] [1981]
# [Hu] (Hugo Award): [1956] [1990] [1987] [1969]
# [Sc] (SF Chronicle Award): [1988]
# [Ca] (John W. Campbell Award): [1973]
# [Ap] (Apollo Award): [1976]

He also was award 3 Grandmasters awards from different organisations last year... marking the 50th Anniversary of his first publication.

Lifted from Locus - the complete list of his novels, collections and anthologies he has edited:

Series

* Roma Eterna
o Via Roma (1994) [SF] [Ar1995 x] [Hu1995 x] [Lc1995 n]
o Waiting for the End (1998) [SF] [Ar1999 n] [Lc1999 n] [Sw1998 x]
* Majipoor
o Lord Valentine's Castle (1980) [Bl1981 x] [Hu1981 n] [Lc1981] [Lc1987 n] [Reviews]
+ Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
+ Lord Valentine's Castle (Part 1 of 4) (1979)
+ Lord Valentine's Castle (Part 2 of 4) (1979)
+ Lord Valentine's Castle (Part 3 of 4) (1980)
+ Lord Valentine's Castle (Part 4 of 4) (1980)
o Majipoor Chronicles (1982)
o Valentine Pontifex (1983) [Lc1984 n]
o The Mountains of Majipoor (1995) [Reviews]
o Sorcerers of Majipoor (1997) [Reviews]
* Collected Stories
o 4 The Road to Nightfall (1996) [C]
o 5 Ringing the Changes (1997) [C]
o 6 Lion Time at Timbuktu (2000) [C]
* Millennium
o 4 Project Pendulum (1987) [jvn]
* Fire in Winter
o 1 The Mutant Season (1989) with Karen Haber - Exp of Silverberg's "The Mutant Season"
* Nidorian
o 1 The Shrouded Planet (1957) [as Robert Randall] with Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett [Synopsis] - Expansion of "The Chosen People", "The Promised Land", and "False Prophet".
o 2 The Dawning Light (1959) [as Robert Randall] with Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett [Synopsis]
+ Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
+ The Dawning Light (Part 1 of 3) (1957) [as Robert Randall] with Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett
+ The Dawning Light (Part 2 of 3) (1957) [as Robert Randall] with Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett
+ The Dawning Light (Part 3 of 3) (1957) [as Robert Randall] with Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett
o The Promised Land (1956) [SF] [as Robert Randall] with Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett
o False Prophet (1956) [SF] [as Robert Randall] with Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett
o The Chosen People (1956) [SF] [as Robert Randall] with Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett
o All the King's Horses (1958) [SF] [as Robert Randall] with Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett

Novels

* Revolt on Alpha C (1955)
* Master of Life and Death (1957)
* The 13th Immortal (1957)
* Stepsons of Terra (1958) - Expansion of "Shadow on the Stars" published in the magazine Science Fiction Adventures, April 1958.
* Starman's Quest (1958)
* The Silent Invaders (1958) - Published as a novella in the October 1958 issue of Infinity under the name of Calvin M. Knox. Reprinted by Ace in 1973 and again in 1977.
* Invaders from Earth (1958)
* Starhaven (1958) [as Ivar Jorgensen]
* Aliens From Space (1958) [as David Osborne]
* The Planet Killers (1959)
* The Plot Against Earth (1959) [as Calvin M. Knox]
* Lost Race of Mars (1960)
* Collision Course (1961)
* The Seed of Earth (1962)
* Recalled to Life (1962)
* Regan's Planet (1964) [Reviews]
* One of Our Asteroids is Missing (1964) [as Calvin M. Knox]
* Conquerors from the Darkness (1965) [jvn]
* The Time-Hoppers (1967)
* Those Who Watch (1967)
* Thorns (1967) [Hu1968 x] [Ne1967 x]
* Hawksbill Station [vt The Anvil of Time (UK 1969) ] (1967) - Expansion of the novelette "Hawksbill Station".
* The Gate of Worlds (1967) [Synopsis]
* The Masks of Time (1968) [Ne1968 n]
* Up the Line (1969) [Hu1970 n] [Ne1969 x]
o Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
o Up the Line (Part 1 of 2) (1969)
o Up the Line (Part 2 of 2) (1969)
* To Live Again (1969)
* Nightwings (1969) [Ap1976]
* Across a Billion Years (1969)
* Tower of Glass (1970) [Dt1971 x] [Hu1971 n] [Lc1971 n] [Ne1970 n]
o Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
o The Tower of Glass (Part 1 of 3) (1970)
o The Tower of Glass (Part 2 of 3) (1970)
o The Tower of Glass (Part 3 of 3) (1970)
* Hawksbill Station (1970)
* Downward to the Earth (1970) [Lc1971 n] [Ne1970 x]
o Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
o Downward to the Earth (Part 1 of 4) (1969)
o Downward to the Earth (Part 2 of 4) (1970)
o Downward to the Earth (Part 3 of 4) (1970)
o Downward to the Earth (Part 4 of 4) (1970)
* The World Inside (1971) [Hu1972 x] [Lc1972 n] - This novel consists of a number of shorter works linked together.
* A Time of Changes (1971) [Dt1972 x] [Hu1972 n] [Lc1972 n] [Ne1971] [Pr1983 x] [Pr1984 x] [Pr1985 x] [Pr1986 x] [Pr1987 x] [Pr1989 x] [Pr1990 x] [Pr1991 x] [Pr1994 x] [Pr1995 x]
o Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
o A Time of Changes (Part 1 of 3) (1971)
o A Time of Changes (Part 2 of 3) (1971)
o A Time of Changes (Part 3 of 3) (1971)
* Son of Man (1971) [Lc1972 x]
* The Second Trip (1972) [Lc1972 n]
o Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
o The Second Trip (Part 1 of 2) (1971)
o The Second Trip (Part 2 of 2) (1971)
* Dying Inside (1972) [Dt1973 x] [Hu1973 x] [Lc1975 n] [Lc1987 n] [Lc1973 n] [Ne1972 n] [Ca1973] [Lc1998 n] [Reviews]
o Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
o Dying Inside (Part 1 of 2) (1972)
o Dying Inside (Part 2 of 2) (1972)
* The Book of Skulls (1972) [Hu1973 x] [Lc1973 n] [Ne1972 n]
* les Ailes de la nuit [vt Nightwings ] (1975) [Ap1976]
* The Stochastic Man (1975) [Ca1976 n] [Hu1976 n] [Lc1976 n] [Ne1975 x]
o Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
o The Stochastic Man (Part 1 of 3) (1975)
o The Stochastic Man (Part 2 of 3) (1975)
o The Stochastic Man (Part 3 of 3) (1975)
* Shadrach in the Furnace (1976) [Hu1977 x] [Lc1977 n] [Ne1976 n]
o Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
o Shadrach in the Furnace (Part 1 of 3) (1976)
o Shadrach in the Furnace (Part 2 of 3) (1976)
o Shadrach in the Furnace (Part 3 of 3) (1976)
* Next Stop, the Stars (1977)
* Masks of Time (1978)
* A Robert Silverberg Omnibus (1981)
* The Desert of Stolen Dreams (1981)
* World's Fair, 1992 (1982)
* The Time Hoppers (1982)
* Lord of Darkness (1983)
* Gilgamesh the King (1984) [Lc1985 n]
* Tom O'Bedlam (1985) [Lc1986 n]
* Needle in a Timestack (1985)
* After the Flames (Allied Stars, Vol 11) (1985) with Norman Spinrad and Michael P. Kube-McDowell
* Star of Gypsies (1986) [Lc1987 n]
* Next Stop the Stars (1986)
* The Best of Robert Silverberg (1986)
* Time of the Great Freeze (1988)
* The Secret Sharer (1988)
* Hot Sky at Midnight (1988)
* At Winter's End (1988) [Lc1989 n]
* To the Land of the Living (1989) [Synopsis]
* The New Springtime [vt The Queen of Springtime (UK) ] (1989) [Lc1990 n]
* Nightfall (1990) with Isaac Asimov
* Lion Time in Timbuctoo (1990)
* Letters from Atlantis (1990)
* The Face of the Waters (1991) [Reviews]
* Child of Time (1991) with Isaac Asimov
* Thebes of the Hundred Gates (1992)
* The Positronic Man (1992) with Isaac Asimov
* Kingdoms of the Wall (1992) [Reviews]
* The Ultimate Dinosaur: Past, Present, Future (1993) with Byron Preiss and Peter Dodson and Bantam Doubleday Dell
* Beyond the Gates of World's (1993)
* Starborne (1996) [Reviews]
* Legends- Limited Edition (1998) with Stephen King and Robert Jordan
* The Alien Years (1998) [Lc1999 n] [Reviews]
* Lord Prestimion (1999) [Reviews]
* The Avram Davidson Treasury: A Tribute Collection (1999) with Avram Davidson and Grania Davis
* Far Horizons : All New Tales From The Greatest Worlds Of Science Fiction (2000)
* King of Dreams (2001)
* Cronos (2001)
* The Longest Way Home (2002) [Reviews]
o Magazine/Anthology Appearances:
o The Longest Way Home (Part 1 of 3) (2001)
o The Longest Way Home (Part 2 of 3) (2001)
o The Longest Way Home (Part 3 of 3) (2002)
* The King Of Dreams (2002)
* Dying Inside (2002) with John Clute [Reviews]
* Roma Eterna (2003) [Reviews]
* The Sentinel and Other Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories: And Other Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories (2004) with Ben Bova and Arthur C. Clarke and Orson Scott Card and Greg Bear and Roddy McDowall
* Phases of the Moon (2004)
* Tom O Bedlam (forthcoming Dec04)
* Seventh Shrine (forthcoming Sep04) with Andres Finer
* The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One : The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time Chosen by the Members of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SF Hall of Fame) (forthcoming Feb05)
* Phases of the Moon: Stories of Six Decades (forthcoming Oct04)
* The Disappearance (forthcoming Oct04) with Philip Wylie

more...

[Steven Savile]

Serials

* Cosmic Kill (Part 2 of 2) (1957) [as Robert Arnette]
* Cosmic Kill (Part 1 of 2) (1957) [as Robert Arnette]
* The Man in the Maze (Part 2 of 2) (1968)
* The Man in the Maze (Part 1 of 2) (1968)

Collections

* Lest We Forget Thee, Earth (1958) [as Calvin M. Knox]
* Next Stop the Stars (1962)
* Godling, Go Home! (1964)
* To Worlds Beyond (1965) [Reviews]
* Needle in a Timestack (1966)
* To Open the Sky (1967)
* Nightwings (1969)
* The Man in the Maze (1969)
* Dimension Thirteen (1969)
* The Calibrated Alligator (1969)
* The Calibrated Alligator and Other Science Fiction Stories (1969)
* A Robert Silverberg Omnibus (1970)
* Parsecs and Parables (1970)
* The Cube Root of Uncertainty (1970)
* Son of Man (1971)
* Moonferns and Starsongs (1971) [Lc1972 n]
* The Reality Trip and Other Implausibilities (1972)
* Valley Beyond Time (1973)
* Unfamiliar Territory (1973)
* Earth's Other Shadow (1973)
* Sundance and Other Science Fiction Stories (1974)
* Born With the Dead (1974) [Lc1975 x]
* Sunrise on Mercury and Other Science Fiction Stories (1975)
* The Feast of St. Dionysus (1975) [Lc1976 n]
* The Shores of Tomorrow (1976)
* Capricorn Games (1976) [Lc1977 n]
* The Best of Robert Silverberg (1976) [Lc1977 n]
* The Best of Robert Silverberg Volume 2 (1978)
* The Songs of Summer (1979)
* Invaders from Earth and To Worlds Beyond (1980)
* World of a Thousand Colors (1982)
* Majipoor Chronicles (1982) [Lc1983 n]
* Sunrise on Mercury (1983)
* The Conglomeroid Cocktail Party (1984) [Lc1985 n]
* Sailing to Byzantium (1985) [Lc2001 n]
* Beyond the Safe Zone (1986) [Lc1987 n]
* Beyond the Gate of Worlds (1991)
* The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg (1992)
* The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg: Secret Sharers (1992)
* The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume 1: Secret Sharers (1992) [Lc1993]
* The Avram Davidson Treasury (1998) with Grania Davis [Bf1999 x] [Lc1999]

Omnibus

* A Robert Silverberg Omnibus (1970)
* Majipoor Omnibus (1999)

Anthology Series

* Universe [2]
o 1 Universe 1 (1990) with Karen Haber [Lc1991 n] [Reviews]
o 2 Universe 2 (1992) with Karen Haber [Lc1993 n] [Reviews]
o 3 Universe 3 (1994) with Karen Haber [Lc1995 x]
* The Science Fiction Hall of Fame
o 1 The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume I (1970) [Lc1972 n] [Lc1971]
* New Dimensions
o 1 New Dimensions 1 (1971) [Lc1972 n]
o 2 New Dimensions 2 (1972) [Lc1973 n]
o 3 New Dimensions 3 (1974) [Lc1974 n]
o 4 New Dimensions IV (1974) [Lc1975 n]
o 5 New Dimensions 5 (1975) [Lc1976 n]
o 6 New Dimensions 6 (1976) [Lc1977 n]
o 7 New Dimensions 7 (1977)
o 8 New Dimensions 8 (1978) [Lc1979 n]
o 9 New Dimensions 9 (1979)
o 10 New Dimensions 10 (1980)
o 11 New Dimensions 11 (1980) with Marta Randall [Lc1981 x]
o 12 New Dimensions 12 (1981) with Marta Randall [Lc1982 n]
* Nebula Awards
o 18 Nebula Awards 18 (1983) [Lc1984 n]
o 35 Nebula Awards Showcase 2001 (2001) [Lc2002 n] [Reviews]
* Legends
o 1 Legends [vt Legends: Stories by the Masters of Modern Fantasy ] (1998) [Bf1999 x] [Lc1999] [Wf1999 x]
o 2 Legends 2 (1999)
o 3 Legends, Volume 3 (2000)
* Time Gate
o 2 Dangerous Interfaces (1990)
* Alpha
o 1 Alpha One (1970) [Lc1971 n]
o 2 Alpha Two (1971) [Lc1972 n]
o 3 Alpha Three (1972) [Lc1973 n]
o 4 Alpha 4 (1973) [Lc1974 x]
o 5 Alpha 5 (1974) [Lc1975 n] [Reviews]
o 6 Alpha 6 (1975)
o 7 Alpha 7 (1976)
o 8 Alpha 8 (1977)
o 9 Alpha 9 (1978) [Lc1979 n]

Anthologies

* Earthmen and Strangers (1966)
* Voyagers in Time (1967)
* Men and Machines (1968)
* Tomorrow's Worlds (1969)
* Three for Tomorrow (1969)
* Dark Stars (1969)
* Worlds of Maybe (1970)
* The Mirror of Infinity (1970)
* Great Short Novels of Science Fiction (1970) [Lc1971 n]
* The Ends of Time (1970)
* To the Stars (1971)
* The Science Fiction Bestiary (1971)
* Mind to Mind (1971)
* Four Futures (1971)
* New Dimensions II (1972)
* Invaders from Space (1972)
* The Day the Sun Stood Still (1972) [Lc1973 x]
* Beyond Control (1972)
* Three Trips in Time and Space (1973)
* Other Dimensions (1973)
* No Mind of Man (1973)
* Deep Space (1973) [Reviews]
* Chains of the Sea (1973) [Lc1974 n]
* Windows into Tomorrow (1974)
* Threads of Time (1974) [Lc1975 n] [Reviews]
* Mutants (1974) [Reviews]
* Infinite Jests (1974) [Reviews]
* Strange Gifts (1975)
* The New Atlantis and Other Novellas of S.F. (1975)
* Explorers of Space (1975)
* Epoch (1975) with Roger Elwood [Lc1976]
* The New Atlantis (1976) [Lc1976 n]
* The Crystal Ship (1976) [Lc1977 x]
* The Aliens (1976)
* Trips in Time (1977)
* Triax (1977)
* The Infinite Web (1977)
* Galactic Dreamers (1977)
* Earth Is the Strangest Planet (1977)
* Lost Worlds, Unknown Horizons (1978)
* The Edge of Space (1979) [Lc1980 n]
* Dawn of Time (1979) with Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander
* Dawn of Time (1979) with Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander
* Car Sinister (1979) with Martin H. Greenberg and Joseph D. Olander
* The Best of New Dimensions (1979) [Lc1980 n]
* The Androids Are Coming (1979)
* Arbor House Treasury of Modern Science Fiction (1980) with Martin H. Greenberg [Lc1981 n]
* Arbor House Treasury of Great Science Fiction Short Novels (1980) with Martin H. Greenberg [Lc1981 n]
* The Science Fictional Dinosaur (1982) with Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh
* The Best of Randall Garrett (1982) with Randall Garrett
* The Nebula Awards #18 (1983)
* The Fantasy Hall of Fame (1983) with Martin H. Greenberg [Lc1984 n] [Lc1999 n] [Reviews]
* The Arbor House Treasury of Science Fiction Masterpieces (1983) with Martin H. Greenberg [Lc1984 n]
* The Time Travellers -- A Science Fiction Quartet (1985) with Martin H. Greenberg
* Robert Silverberg's Worlds of Wonder (1987) [Lc1988 n]
* Neanderthals: Isaac Asimov's Wonderful Worlds of Science Fiction (1987) with Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh
* Great Science Fiction of the 20th Century (1987) with Martin H. Greenberg
* The Mammoth Book of Fantasy All-Time Greats (1988) with Martin H. Greenberg
* Worlds Imagined (1989) with Martin H. Greenberg
* Time Gate (1989) with Bill Fawcett
* The Horror Hall of Fame (1991) with Martin H. Greenberg
* The Ultimate Dinosaur (1992) with Byron Preiss and Martin Harry Greenberg
* Murasaki (1992) with Martin H. Greenberg
* A Century of Science Fiction 1950--1959 (1997) [Lc1998 n]
* Far Horizons: The Great Worlds of Science Fiction (1999) [Lc2000]
* Science Fiction: 101 (2001) [Reviews]
* Legends: Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy (2001)
* The Great Science Fiction: 1964 (2001) with Martin H. Greenberg
* Science Fiction: The Best of 2001 (2002) with Karen Haber [Reviews]
* The Great SF Stories (1964) (2002) with Martin H. Greenberg [Lc2003 n]
* Fantasy: The Best of 2001 (2002) with Karen Haber
* Science Fiction: The Best of 2002 (2003) with Karen Haber
* Science Fiction: The Best of 2002 (2003) with Karen Haber
* Fantasy: The Best of 2002 (2003) with Karen Haber
* Legends II: New Short Novels by the Masters of Modern Fantasy (2004)
* Fantastic Imaginings: An Anthology of Visionary Literature (2004) with Stefan Rudnicki and Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova and John Crowley
* Legends II: Shadows, Gods, and Demons (forthcoming Oct04)
* Legends II: Dragon, Sword, and King (forthcoming Oct04)


If any writer has truly earned the title legend it is Silverberg. Legends could never have existed without someone of his stature pulling it together. The man is truly a giant of the Speculative Fiction field...

To compare someone like Tad Williams (who I adore by the way) or Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm to Silverberg is suggestion that contrary to your suggestion Mith, we aren't taking an overall picture... if we were you'd be questioning the right of Hobb among others to be there...they are a long way from being legendary.

[Rob B]

Regardless of how well-read I consider myself, at times like this Kane, I feel criminally under-read. And that's a good thing, more books out there for me to read can't be bad except for the potential damage to my wallet.

[Steven Savile]

Fitz, I won't claim they are all masterpieces, but I am a very big Silverberg fan and had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of years ago - it was an intimidating experience - he was picking up the Lifetime Achievement Award from the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Award people and cracking that as it was his third in as many months should he consider himself a Writer of the Past... the man was a wealth of information, humour and talent - I find myself wrapped up in the works of earlier times right now, returning to the great British SF of Bob Shaw, who died criminally young, Roger Zelazny, John Brunner, Silverberg, Harlan Ellison (mentioned elsewhere by Matt Stover I believe, Deathbird Stories and Troublemakers are incredible collections) and Fritz Leiber... I have long since resigned myself to the fact that I will die before I read every book I *want* to read because there are simply too many... it would take me a few years just to get through Silverberg's output... :)

[Mithfânion]

Kane,

We still disagree. Earlier I have already mentioned that Silverberg has a big name in SF. This is not disputed, certainly not by yours truly. He's just not a legend in Fantasyland. It seems that you, like Silverberg himself, are unable to distinguish between these two genres. Silverberg includes entries in his Fantasy anthologies which are neither Fantasy stories nor are they fitting for a "Legends" status. I said that Silverberg is not a legend in this field and he isn't. He's widely awarded for many of his Science fiction books. In fact, after having checked his list of awards over at fantasticfiction.co.uk and amazon, my hunch proved correct, all of the awards he's won are for science fiction books.

I trust this will explain why I find his entries in Fantasy Legends best of the best anthologies incorrect. To which I add that even if he had won no awards whatsoever, regardless of genre, but *had* written very good Fantasy books than I wouldn't have had any problem with his inclusion.

[Rob B]

semantic, semantics, semantics -- 'twill be the ruination of our forum one of these fine days, so do I swear it!

:D :D :D :rolleyes:

[Steven Savile]

Mith, unfortunately you rather miss one of the most important concepts of fantastic literature... it is the literature of speculation - indeed, many Science Fiction writers will argue that there is no such thing as science fiction, that in fact SF, Fantasy and Horror all fall under a single generic genre catagorisation, that of SPECULATIVE FICTION. The literature of the fantastic is a massive field - the true titans of it, I am willing to bet the majority of "fantasy" readers have never read, like for instance Italo Calvino, Isaac Bashavis Singer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, these are all writers who utilise the 'fantastic tropes' that you'd further classify and declassify the genre with. I get perfectly well what you are saying but like Silverberg refuse to ignore the very best of speculative fiction because it doesn't have dragons and elves and pointy swords (being deliberately facitious here to prove a point - and it isn't aimed as a personal attack of Mith...) writers write, writers speculate What If? It is the single biggest question occupying speculative fiction writers, be it What if the universe were bounded by a single all powerful force, and the followers of the old way are up against the evil mechanised Galactic Empire... or What if dragons roamed the earth... or What if the book I am working on is actually tied to the lives of real people, and by writing it influence their fates...?

These are all speculative stories - do we blame Hal Clement for pioneering 'hard sf'? or Tolkein for doing such a bang up job of developing a world that never was and never would be?

These confining definitions of Sf, F and H serve a single purpose - shelving in bookstores and product identification. The editors at the big houses run lists that contain all three sub-genres, why?

Just because Otherland involves VR does it immediately become 'sf?' well, it is speculating a pretty big what if? isn't it? Is it fantasy? Well, it isn't King of Elfland's Daughter... What about King's elegant Dark Tower? What about ... ah heck, the point is no one ever changes someone else's opinion in one of these forums - the posts are for the lurkers who don't get involved in discussions...

Silverberg is a legend in the field of speculative fiction, the umberella of the literature of the fantastic. If you want consider a relative neophyte like Robin Hobb or Tad Williams with only a handful of books to their name legends, go for it, to you they probably are... to me the legends of the field are: Fritz Leiber, Roger Zelazny, Poul Andersson, Gene Wolfe, Jack Vance, Robert E. Howard, M. John Harrisson, Mervin Peake, Ursula Le Guin, Andre Norton, Lord Dunsany, and heaven knows how many others - our definitions of legend differ...

Even playing on your field - look at the 27 Hugo nominations and the 24 nebula nominations - these all feature his more fantastical stories like Lord Valentines Castle...


----

Now, a moot point to consider amid all the moaning about the selections...

Is it financially viable for Goodkind, Jordan et al to actually write a novella for this series? The answer is a resounding no! Are they happy sharing the limelight with others? Well, just ask the person who mistakenly put Jordan's copyright info on Goodkind's Debt of Bones - Goodkind has taken it well... bit of a joke... Jordan... off the deep end... you are dealing with egos the size of houses... but they all co-exist under the banner of speculative fiction... flights of fantasy...

The billing is exactly right - it says by masters of modern fantasy - and every writer in the book has earned the right to be considered so...

[Rob B]

Kane, have you read Claude Lalumiere's recent essay about Silverberg?
http://www.locusmag.com/2004/Reviews/10_LalumiereOnSilverberg.html

BTW, glad to see you still around!

[Rob B]

I've just bumped this topic: http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5424 which seems relative to the discussion.

[Steven Savile]

Claude's article is excellent! Thanks for the link - I especially enjoyed the reference to 'fantasy masterwork' Gilgamesh the King :)

Heh, the thing is we all have different perspectives - I choose a broad based genre appeal of speculative fiction, Mith prefers it tighter... It's all pretty much the same stuff when stripped bare though :)

And yeah, I lurk a little .)