Son of Man

Rating:
Summary: It's beyond science, beyond time, and beyond imagination.
Review: This is not a "time travel" episode. One man ( Clay ) awakens so far into the future there are no similarities between now, and the Earth-time he finds himself in. The book holds the readers mind and feeds it with details of all the senses. Within the story are several mini adventures, each having it's own mind bending concepts. There is some sexual content, so the book is not for young kids. I've read it three times over the last ten years, and will read it again in a few more. This is the one that hooked me on Silverberg.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly imaginative!
Review: This is without a doubt my all-time favorite book, science-fiction or otherwise. I have read it about 10 times over the last 15 or so years. It is hard to describe. It's sci-fi, fantasy, allegory, philosopy, religion, all rolled into one. It's about a man named Clay who awakens in a strange Earth in a far, far distant future. In his travels through the land he encounters a wide variety of strange and remarkable versions of mankind throughout the ages. Some of these include fish- and goat-like beings, spheroid creatures enmeshed in wheeled cages, and saurian mud-dwellers - all evolutions of man! The best aspect of the story is Silverberg's incredible imagination, in his depiction of the ages of man, their daily lives and rituals, and the landscape of future Earth. I can't rave enough about this. PLEASE, PLEASE read it yourself and pass it on to someone else. If ever a book deserves to be awarded cult status, this is it!