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Needle in a timestack - Robert Silverberg

Posted 2026-07-01 3:51 AM (#35332)
Subject: Needle in a timestack - Robert Silverberg

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Posts: 6

I just bought Robert Silverberg's Needle in a Timestack (Gollancz UK version 2021, part of the SF Masterworks collection) and realised that it is not the same short story collection as detailed on the WWE page under that title, although the WWE entry uses the cover art of the Gollancz SF Masterworks version (https://www.worldswithoutend.com/novel.asp?id=21280).

In fact the Robert Silverberg's Introduction to this book states that there are three completely different short story collections (with only a few double entries) of his that bear the name "Needle in a Timestack" and also a short story (which only appears in the 3rd version of the collection). His introduction states that the first collection came out in 1966 (in the US, 1967 in the UK), the 2nd in 1979 and the 3rd (being the one I bought) in 2021. Therefore, the one currently listed on WWE is presumably the first one, albeit under the wrong cover art.

The contents page of the Gollancz UK version 2021 has:
Needle In A Timestack [being it's own story, and now a film, may deserve it's own WWE entry?]
There Was An Old Woman
The Pain Peddlers
The Sixth Palace
In Entropy's Jaws
Absolutely Inflexible
This Is The Road
The Pope Of The Chimps
The Dead Man's Eyes
Road To Nightfall
Multiples
Many Mansions
(Now + N, Now - N)
Enter A Soldier. Later: Enter Another
The Reality Trip
Chip Runner
Call Me Titan
Defenders Of The Frontier
Ishmael In Love
The Secret Sharer

Thanks for all your hard work on the website. It is an excellent resource.

Edited by Lon1_1 2026-07-01 4:18 AM

Administrator

Posted 2026-07-12 10:48 AM (#35344 - in reply to #35332)
Subject: RE: Needle in a timestack - Robert Silverberg

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Location: Dallas, Texas

Lon1_1 - 2026-07-01 3:51 AM I just bought Robert Silverberg's Needle in a Timestack (Gollancz UK version 2021, part of the SF Masterworks collection) and realised that it is not the same short story collection as detailed on the WWE page under that title...

Thanks for pointing out the discrepancy. Typically we try to use the very first edition of a book as our base entry as that is the version that usually gets the award nomination or gets referenced the most. Sometimes, more often that you would think, subsequent versions diverge from the original. Unfortunately we don't have a ready way to distinguish between versions. At some point in the future we will probably create a base entry and treat all subsequent publications as different "flavors" of the same book but that is a ways off.

For right now, I have updated the entry for Needle in a Timestack to show the latest version of the table of content that matches the Gollancz SFM cover as that is the most accessible version and the least confusing way to proceed. I also took part of your entry here and added it as a note to the synopsis so other folks can see why our table of contents doesn't match with their older publication. Please take a look at the entry and let me know if you see any necessary edits.

Thanks again for helping us clean up these weird little issues! We rely on our members to help us root these and improve our content for everyone.

Lon1_1

Posted 2026-07-13 2:55 AM (#35345 - in reply to #35344)
Subject: RE: Needle in a timestack - Robert Silverberg

Member

Posts: 6

Thanks Admin. I can see why diverging book versions would be a pain, and agree what you have done is probably best.

There's one minor error on the page - "Many Mansions" and "(Now + N, Now - N)" are two separate stories; the brackets which fully surround the second one are part of that title.

There are some good stories in this collection, if you ever get the chance (so many great books out there, but so little time...).

Cheers!