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Robert Silverberg
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Dying Inside Paperback – January 1, 2002

by Robert Silverberg (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 344 ratings
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Born with the extraordinary power to look deep within the human heart, David Selig recklessly misuses his gift in the pursuit of pleasure, until his power begins to die and he must come to terms with what it means to be truly human. Reprint.
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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Ibooks
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0743435087
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0743435086
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ibooks (January 1, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0743435087
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0743435086
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 344 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Robert Silverberg

    Robert Silverberg

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    Robert Silverberg has been a professional writer since 1955, widely known for his science fiction and fantasy stories. He is a many-time winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards, was named to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2004 was designated as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. His books and stories have been translated into forty languages. Among his best known titles are NIGHTWINGS, DYING INSIDE, THE BOOK OF SKULLS, and the three volumes of the Majipoor Cycle: LORD VALENTINE'S CASTLE, MAJIPOOR CHRONICLES, VALENTINE PONTIFEX. His collected short stories, covering nearly sixty years of work, have been published in nine volumes by Subterranean Press. His most recent book is TALES OF MAJIPOOR (2013), a new collection of stories set on the giant world made famous in LORD VALENTINE'S CASTLE.

    He and his wife, writer Karen Haber, and an assorted population of cats live in the San Francisco Bay Area in a sprawling house surrounded by exotic plants.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Robert Silverberg

    Robert Silverberg

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
344 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the story compelling and original. They praise the writing style as articulate and powerful. However, some readers found the pacing slow and boring, with forgettable characters. Opinions differ on the philosophical content, with some finding it intellectual and interesting, while others felt it was a weird mix of philosophical rants and melodramatic metaphors.

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Story qualityWriting stylePhilosophic contentPacing
12 customers mention "Story quality"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the story compelling and fascinating. They describe it as an original, interesting journey with a deep human condition. While some find the book great, others feel there is too much filler. Overall, readers praise the book for its engaging story and thought-provoking concept.

"...Spooky and uplifting at the same time." Read more

"...This is a unique novel, and it is incredibly well constructed and written...." Read more

"...certain parts, and the writing itself and concept (idea) behind the book was fascinating...." Read more

"This is one of my favorite novels of all time...." Read more

4 customers mention "Writing style"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the author's writing style. They find it articulate and well-written, with powerful expressions of how close we can be to each other.

"...This is a unique novel, and it is incredibly well constructed and written...." Read more

"...Are you relieved? Saddened? Off-kilter? Silverberg writes beautifully, and the book is unique." Read more

"...I must say, Silverberg is an articulate writer, and clearly he has a message. However, it's apparently not a message I am attuned to hearing...." Read more

"...- but when David speaks his experience most directly - his words are powerful expressions of how close we can be to each other and still be alone...." Read more

6 customers mention "Philosophic content"3 positive3 negative

Customers have different views on the philosophical content. Some find it intellectual and erudite, with interesting concepts. Others describe it as an odd mix of philosophical rants and melodramatic metaphors. Overall, opinions are mixed on the overall philosophy and its impact on the story.

"...David Selig, the protagonist, is intellectual and erudite, a quintessential Jewish New Yorker who shares many of Robert Silverberg's cultural..." Read more

"...In this way, the novel has a weird mixture of philosophical rants with this aimless, drifting superficial narrative of David’s life...." Read more

"...interesting insights into the human condition, or some gems of philosophical musings...." Read more

"...is exactly what this story is, a dying cluster of dripping, melodramatic metaphors...." Read more

8 customers mention "Pacing"0 positive8 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book slow and boring. They describe the 20th century as lethargic and forgettable. The characters are described as weak, shallow, and unremarkable. Many readers felt the book dragged on and did not invoke any sympathy.

"...But Selig's life is full of suffering. His gift does not make possible a superhuman transcendence of human problems, quite the contrary...." Read more

"...with David associates aren’t much better: they are weak, shallow, unremarkable, mostly forgettable characters...." Read more

"...is virtually no "science" in this science fiction, and it is a slow paced story. I don't need pretty pictures, or things blowing up every 5 minutes...." Read more

"...that served RS and others well throughout the 20th century now seems lethargic... "revealed as a rocky shore, with trailing streamers of dirty brown..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Donna Cowart
    5.0 out of 5 stars A haunting book with an original story
    Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This book has haunted me for many years since I first read it over 20 years ago, so I recently reread it. A 40ish Jewish intellectual who writes college term papers for a living and can read people’s minds is the protagonist. The ability to read minds has been more of a curse than a blessing though. However, his powers are fading and soon he will lose the ability altogether. It really makes you think about the consequences of having this ability. Spooky and uplifting at the same time.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Autonomeus
    4.0 out of 5 stars Psychological study of an aging telepath
    Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2020
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    In his 2008 preface to a new edition, Robert Silverberg shares with us part of the letter he wrote to Betty Ballantine pitching the book on New Year's Eve 1969: "The working title is 'Dying Inside.' It is a story set in reasonably here-and-now times, of a telepath of early middle age who has begun to lose his telepathic gift, and who is suffering as his powers wane. Consider the whole book as an s-f metaphor for the aging process, if you like."

    He started writing in September 1971. Though it was not clear to him originally, as it turns out Silverberg started to lose his amazing ability to imagine and quickly write story after story, novel after novel, as the Sixties turned into the Seventies. So the loss of artistic ability is another possible metaphor.

    This is a unique novel, and it is incredibly well constructed and written. David Selig, the protagonist, is intellectual and erudite, a quintessential Jewish New Yorker who shares many of Robert Silverberg's cultural tastes as well as his Columbia University education.

    But Selig's life is full of suffering. His gift does not make possible a superhuman transcendence of human problems, quite the contrary. And while I was sympathetic to his plight to a degree, ultimately I did not find myself rooting for him. He is not a mensch, but rather the very archetype of the schlemiel, not in the sense of being stupid, but rather unlucky. He is unlucky at love, at sex, at making money -- pretty much everything. Reading the book is an anxiety-producing exercise -- what terrible thing will happen to him next?

    Silverberg masterfully weaves the mundane, quotidian details of this New York life with the extraordinary experiences of telepathy. But of the several of his novels I have either read or re-read recently, I enjoyed "Dying Inside" the least. I found it dispiriting and tragic without the tragic grandeur of Dostoevsky or Shostakovich.

    *** *** ***
    Silverberg was one of the many science fiction authors I read in my youth, in junior high and early high school, which for me was the late Sixties and early Seventies. This is not one that I read back in the day. It seems that I remember looking at it, and thinking "that looks depressing," and giving it a pass. How right I was!

    You may enjoy "Dying Inside" more than I, but I certainly recommend several of his other novels from that period when he was on fire with creativity -- Hawksbill Station (1968), and what I consider his Messianic Trilogy: Nightwings (1969), Downward to the Earth (1970), and A Time of Changes (1971). See my reviews of all four.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • fra7299
    3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating concept that doesn't deliver
    Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2020
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    On the surface, the premise of this novel seemed like a can’t miss: a man, born with an incredible power to see inside the mind, heart and soul of another human being, realizes this power is slowly fading away and dying.

    However, this really wasn’t the novel I imagined, and for many of the wrong reasons. Although Dying Inside is billed as a science fiction, it really didn’t seem much like this genre, but rather somewhat speculative fiction and philosophy. But, that’s not really the reason I felt a tad underwhelmed by this novel.

    Namely, David Selig, our protagonist, is what makes this a lukewarm reading experience. He takes an eternal “woe is me” attitude and perspective for the duration of the novel. Being that he is narrating, the tone of the novel becomes a belabored pity party throughout. (And yet, he is quite unsympathetic all the while). Instead of internalizing his new deficiency of his power, trying to overcome it in some manner, and make something of his superficial and unhappy existence, he merely wallows in his despair and cynicism for the most part. The people with David associates aren’t much better: they are weak, shallow, unremarkable, mostly forgettable characters.

    Yet, there are moments (unfortunately, few and far between) where we do get glimpses of insightful wisdom or philosophy into the human soul and existence (especially in regard to David’s troubles), and there are moments where we feel like David might be turning the corner as a person. We get some glimpses into his failings with former girlfriends or loves (via back story) as well as his current conflicted relationship with his adopted sister. It seems that this power has been somewhat of a curse in these failed relationships, and he reflects on this and lets the reader into his soul a bit. However, as quick as these musings are started, they seem to evaporate, and we lapse back again into some shallow element of David’s life.

    In this way, the novel has a weird mixture of philosophical rants with this aimless, drifting superficial narrative of David’s life. I’m thinking this flow has something to do with paralleling David’s own aimless, drifting mental state, but it seriously gives the novel an uneven feel. Even the narrative itself is written alternately in third person (unless David is speaking of himself in the third person?). At any rate, it is distracting at points.

    I’ve heard from both fans that this novel “is the definitive one” by the author or the “signature” Silverberg book. I didn’t see that at all, but this is only my second read from him, and I’m thinking that Dying Inside is most likely atypical from Silverberg’s other books. So, that gives me hope that I will like some of the other ones more and I’ll still be interested in seeking out some of his other works.

    At any rate, this book was a hit and miss for me. I liked certain parts, and the writing itself and concept (idea) behind the book was fascinating. In my opinion, though, it just didn’t deliver like I had hoped.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Qsilver7850
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
    Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2015
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    This is one of my favorite novels of all time. It's got that weird tinge of the time in which it was written, which seems to add to the odd feeling conveyed by the narrator. This is a story about a telepath losing his ability. It's a man telling his story of his life and how he is settling into his age. I highly recommend it.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Kretch
    4.0 out of 5 stars The end of a blessing-curse
    Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    As someone struggling with a chronic disease, I found this book very compelling. What happens when what has been both your life's bane as well as your defining feature goes away? Are you relieved? Saddened? Off-kilter?
    Silverberg writes beautifully, and the book is unique.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Claus Skaanning
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Amazing book. I almost gave up on it but persevered. Very deep story about the human coNdition. Recommended for anyone, not just SF folks
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  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Author has a great story, yet creates too much filler with unnecessary internal book reviews. Could have been better with more life time stories of the main character.
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  • TM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good condition
    Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Arrived in good condition
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • philip cahill
    5.0 out of 5 stars A telepath in trouble
    Reviewed in France on March 3, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    This is a presentation of the dark side of an incredible gift. It’s the story of a man that can see into the minds of the the people around him. The dark side is the fact that the gift prevents the telepath from leading a normal life. We also watch this character as he struggles with the gradual loss of his gift. A bleak tale, expertly told.
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  • Ratwork
    5.0 out of 5 stars One big tantalising allegory
    Reviewed in the Netherlands on November 7, 2024
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    David Selig loses his superman power while getting older. During this process people find him easier to endure and finalise accepts his new life phase. A lot of back and forths make it understandable, and along the way the reader too gets to like David better...
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  • blah^^
    5.0 out of 5 stars Super Buch
    Reviewed in Germany on July 31, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Super Buch von Robert Silverberg. Es ist kein Scifi Buch sondern eher eine Charakter Studie.

    Die S.F Masterworks kindle Version ist sehr gut. Mir sind jedenfalls keine Fehler aufgefallen.
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  • Juniper James
    3.0 out of 5 stars An awful version of a fantastic book
    Reviewed in Japan on February 3, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    I loved this book, but I can’t recommend reading this version of it. It’s littered with formatting and spelling errors that’re explicable only by incompetence or neglect. One wonders if anyone bothered to read the thing before publishing it for Kindle; there’s just so many. They make a first reading pretty terrible, and in parts confusing. I expected more from this publisher.
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  • Ricardo Ballesteros de Mingo
    5.0 out of 5 stars el poder de la mente
    Reviewed in Spain on February 2, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Un increible viaje al interior de la mente y la manipulación de las personas y del entorno en aras delpoder
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