Author | Robert Silverberg |
---|---|
Cover artist | Frank Frazetta |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publisher | Doubleday |
Publication date | 1970 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
Pages | 180 |
ISBN | 978-0-451-04497-6 |
Downward to the Earth is a 1970 science fiction novel by American writer Robert Silverberg. It is a tale of the quest for transcendence (a frequent Silverberg theme) set on another planet, and includes references to Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad's classic tale of colonialism,[1] including the name of Kurtz. Its title references Ecclesiastes 3:21 in the Bible ("Who knows if the spirit of people rises upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth?").
Downward to the Earth was originally published as a four-part serial publication, starting in the November 1969 edition of Galaxy Science Fiction. It was nominated for a Locus Award in 1971.[2]