This Is the Road

by Robert Silverberg

 
 
Form
Novella
Year
1973

Publication history

Blurb

(None on file)

Comments

This is one of Silverberg's best stories of the 70s. It's a far-future tale (not unlike Nightwings) with a morphologically diverse human race. The cast od characters includes Leaf, a Pure Stream (apparently an unmodified human), Shadow (a delicate, sensitive furry woman), Sting (a small, nervous man with the ability to get places fast), and Crown (a large, strong man from Dark Lake). These four characters are travelling in Crown's palatial floating wagon, drawn by four nightmares (intelligent horse-like creatures controlled telepathically), fleeing the invasion of the Teeth (a cannibalistic barbarian tribe). On their way they meet various other denizens of this strange Earth (including Invisibles, Tree Companions, and Snow Warriors) and a combination of advanced and primitive technology.

In the Introduction to The Feast of St Dionysus, Silverberg calls it a slice of a view into a strange and colorful world, which I probably should have explored at greater length in a sequel or an expansion, now never to be written. I for one would not object if he broke his word on this...

Other resources

(None on file)