"Born with the Dead" is a science fiction novella by Robert Silverberg. It describes a near-future world in which the recently dead can be "rekindled" to a new life, but one in which their personalities and attitudes are radically changed; although they possess their memories from their previous lives, their former concerns no longer appear important to them. The story parallels that of Eurydice and Orpheus in the underworld.
Originally published in 1974 in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, "Born with the Dead" won both the 1975 Nebula Award for Best Novella and the 1975 Locus Award for Best Novella. The story has subsequently been republished many times in collections.
Silverberg described writing it as one of his most difficult challenges.
With Silverberg's permission, Damien Broderick wrote a 30,000 word sequel, "Quicken," which was published with the original as a composite novel, Beyond the Doors of Death and included by editor Gardner Dozois in his The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-First Annual Collection, 2014.
References
- Broderick, Damien (2009). Unleashing the Strange: Twenty-First Century Science Fiction Literature. Borgo Press. p. 198. ISBN 9781434457233.
- "Sfadb: Locus Awards 1975".
- Chapman, Edgar L. (1999). The Road to Castle Mount: The Science Fiction of Robert Silverberg. Greenwood Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0313261459.
- Introduction by Robert Silverberg, Beyond the Doors of Death, ArcManor, 2013, p. 13, ISBN 978-1-61242-112-4
External links
- Born with the Dead title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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