Gilgamesh the King

Gilgamesh the King is a 1984 historical novel by Robert Silverberg presenting the Epic of Gilgamesh as a novel. In the afterword the author say "at all times I have attempted to interpret the fanciful and fantastic events of these poems in a realistic way, that is, to tell the story of Gilgamesh as though he were writing his own memoirs, and to that end I have introduced many interpretations of my own devising which for better or for worse are in no way to be ascribed to the scholars".

Plot introduction

The novel is told from the point of view of Gilgamesh, and is primarily ambivalent about the supernatural elements of the epic. But the events are portrayed in a fairly realistic manner. Gilgamesh is a giant among men and an amazing warrior, even since he was very young. When the king of Uruk (his father) dies, Gilgamesh is exiled by the recently crowned Dumuzi, jealous of his skills and power. When in time Dumuzi dies, Gilgamesh comes back to the kingdom to be proclaimed.

Silverberg afterwards wrote a number of stories for the fantasy anthology series Heroes in Hell describing Gilgamesh's posthumous adventures in the underworld, including the award-winning novella "Gilgamesh in the Outback."

External links

• Gilgamesh the King title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Google Books

Bibliography of Robert Silverberg
Novels	Revolt on Alpha C The Shrouded Planet Starman's Quest The Dawning Light Collision Course The Seed of Earth Time of the Great Freeze Conquerors from the Darkness The Gate of Worlds Planet of Death Thorns Those Who Watch The Time Hoppers The Man in the Maze Hawksbill Station The Masks of Time Downward to the Earth Across a Billion Years Nightwings To Live Again Up the Line Tower of Glass Son of Man The Second Trip The World Inside A Time of Changes The Book of Skulls Dying Inside Shadrach in the Furnace Gilgamesh the King Gilgamesh in the Outback Nightfall The Face of the Waters Kingdoms of the Wall The Positronic Man Starborne Roma Eterna
Short story collections	Lest We Forget Thee Earth The Cube Root of Uncertainty
Anthologies edited	The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964 New Dimensions 1 The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two Epoch Strange Gifts Alpha 1 Alpha 2 Alpha 3 Alpha 4 Alpha 5 Alpha 6 Alpha 7 Alpha 8 Alpha 9 Dawn of Time The Best of Randall Garrett Legends Legends II Far Horizons Deep Space: Eight Stories of Science Fiction
Non-fiction	Lost Cities and Vanished Civilizations