“A ribald, Byzantine tale of time-tourism” from the multiple Nebula and Hugo Award–winning author (Tor.com). It’s 2059, and former law clerk Jud Elliott finds himself at loose ends—until a chance meeting with a Time Courier gives him the inspiration to become one himself. The job—as a time-traveling guide—gives him the opportunity to indulge his love of Byzantine history, in between shuttling tourists to such monumental events as the crucifixion and the assassination of JFK. But there are strict rules to follow as a Time Courier, put in place to guard against paradoxes and preserve the sanctity of “now-time.” Jud isn’t used to following the rules—especially when faced with temptation. All it takes is one tiny slip here, one misplaced step there, and Jud could destroy his own timeline and cease to exist in the blink of an eye . . . a practicality that’s hard for Jud to grasp when he crosses paths with an eleventh-century Byzantium beauty he can’t resist. “A hugely ambitious, enormously fun, sly, paradox-peppered piece that chronicles the time-tourist trade and all its perils—specializing in Byzantine history.” —Strange Horizons “This novel is a comedy, and it is funny, but it is one of those black comedies where things go wrong, and then the more the protagonist tries to fix things, the more wrong they become, until the ending is at one and the same time an O. Henry punchline and a deep existential truth, neat as a pin and just as sharp.” —Kim Stanley Robinson
“A ribald, Byzantine tale of time-tourism” from the multiple Nebula and Hugo Award–winning author (Tor.com). It’s 2059, and former law clerk Jud Elliott finds himself at loose ends—until a chance meeting with a Time Courier gives him the inspiration to become one himself. The job—as a time-traveling guide—gives him the opportunity to indulge his love of Byzantine history, in between shuttling tourists to such monumental events as the crucifixion and the assassination of JFK. But there are strict rules to follow as a Time Courier, put in place to guard against paradoxes and preserve the sanctity of “now-time.” Jud isn’t used to following the rules—especially when faced with temptation. All it takes is one tiny slip here, one misplaced step there, and Jud could destroy his own timeline and cease to exist in the blink of an eye . . . a practicality that’s hard for Jud to grasp when he crosses paths with an eleventh-century Byzantium beauty he can’t resist. “A hugely ambitious, enormously fun, sly, paradox-peppered piece that chronicles the time-tourist trade and all its perils—specializing in Byzantine history.” —Strange Horizons “This novel is a comedy, and it is funny, but it is one of those black comedies where things go wrong, and then the more the protagonist tries to fix things, the more wrong they become, until the ending is at one and the same time an O. Henry punchline and a deep existential truth, neat as a pin and just as sharp.” —Kim Stanley Robinson
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Find Up the Line Robert Silverberg in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
Find Up the Line Robert Silverberg in PDF, EPUB, ebook, audiobook, print, or library editions.
12 books in catalog
Science fiction literature gained one of its most prolific creators through speculative novels and expansive planetary fiction, most famously realized in the planetary romance Lord Valentine's Castle and the broader Majipoor Cycle. Robert Silverberg began submitting stories to speculative magazines as a teenager before establishing a career that spanned over five hundred books as an author and editor. His fiction ranges from intense psychological character studies to far-future planetary epics translated into forty languages.
Across six decades of writing, Silverberg earned multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards for his novels and novellas, alongside designation as a Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inductee and SFWA Grand Master. His work introduced complex emotional themes, mature characterizations, and detailed world-building to mid-twentieth-century science fiction.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1935, Silverberg began submitting stories to science fiction magazines at age thirteen. While studying at Columbia University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts, he published his early genre story Gorgon Planet in 1954 and his debut novel Revolt on Alpha C in 1955. In 1956, he received the Hugo Award for Most Promising New Author. During the late 1950s and 1960s, he produced a vast volume of fiction across science fiction, non-fiction subjects such as history and geography, and works under various pen names including Don Elliott.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, Silverberg shifted toward more ambitious speculative novels, creating acclaimed works such as Thorns, Downward to the Earth, Tower of Glass, A Time of Changes, The Book of Skulls, and Dying Inside. He also explored time travel in Up the Line and political speculation in The Stochastic Man and Shadrach in the Furnace. Beyond his individual novels, he edited or co-edited more than seventy anthologies, including collections such as Foundation's Friends and Legends II: Shadows, Gods and Demons, while gaining recognition with a Science Fiction Hall of Fame induction in 1999 and the SFWA Grand Master designation in 2004.
Silverberg's writing is characterized by psychological depth, philosophical reflection, and rigorous exploration of human isolation, telepathy, and mortality. Works like Dying Inside examine the personal burden of extraordinary abilities in realistic contemporary settings, while novels such as Downward to the Earth combine alien environments with themes of spiritual redemption and colonialism. His prose frequently balances complex interior character voices with meticulous setting details, whether depicting urban futures in Tower of Glass or ancient alien landscapes.
In his major series and short fiction, Silverberg incorporates elements of myth, social satire, and cultural anthropology. The Majipoor stories, inaugurated by Lord Valentine's Castle, merge science fiction with high fantasy on a grand planetary scale, relying on rich world-building, elaborate social structures, and pageantry. As an editor, his anthology projects brought together leading voices in speculative fiction, demonstrating his breadth across hard science fiction, soft psychological drama, and epic fantasy.
12 books in catalog
Science fiction literature gained one of its most prolific creators through speculative novels and expansive planetary fiction, most famously realized in the planetary romance Lord Valentine's Castle and the broader Majipoor Cycle. Robert Silverberg began submitting stories to speculative magazines as a teenager before establishing a career that spanned over five hundred books as an author and editor. His fiction ranges from intense psychological character studies to far-future planetary epics translated into forty languages.
Across six decades of writing, Silverberg earned multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards for his novels and novellas, alongside designation as a Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inductee and SFWA Grand Master. His work introduced complex emotional themes, mature characterizations, and detailed world-building to mid-twentieth-century science fiction.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1935, Silverberg began submitting stories to science fiction magazines at age thirteen. While studying at Columbia University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts, he published his early genre story Gorgon Planet in 1954 and his debut novel Revolt on Alpha C in 1955. In 1956, he received the Hugo Award for Most Promising New Author. During the late 1950s and 1960s, he produced a vast volume of fiction across science fiction, non-fiction subjects such as history and geography, and works under various pen names including Don Elliott.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, Silverberg shifted toward more ambitious speculative novels, creating acclaimed works such as Thorns, Downward to the Earth, Tower of Glass, A Time of Changes, The Book of Skulls, and Dying Inside. He also explored time travel in Up the Line and political speculation in The Stochastic Man and Shadrach in the Furnace. Beyond his individual novels, he edited or co-edited more than seventy anthologies, including collections such as Foundation's Friends and Legends II: Shadows, Gods and Demons, while gaining recognition with a Science Fiction Hall of Fame induction in 1999 and the SFWA Grand Master designation in 2004.
Silverberg's writing is characterized by psychological depth, philosophical reflection, and rigorous exploration of human isolation, telepathy, and mortality. Works like Dying Inside examine the personal burden of extraordinary abilities in realistic contemporary settings, while novels such as Downward to the Earth combine alien environments with themes of spiritual redemption and colonialism. His prose frequently balances complex interior character voices with meticulous setting details, whether depicting urban futures in Tower of Glass or ancient alien landscapes.
In his major series and short fiction, Silverberg incorporates elements of myth, social satire, and cultural anthropology. The Majipoor stories, inaugurated by Lord Valentine's Castle, merge science fiction with high fantasy on a grand planetary scale, relying on rich world-building, elaborate social structures, and pageantry. As an editor, his anthology projects brought together leading voices in speculative fiction, demonstrating his breadth across hard science fiction, soft psychological drama, and epic fantasy.
