Helpful Score: 2
Just finished rereading this superb novel by Silverberg. I read this originally in the 70s and thought it was great and it still holds up! It's basically a character study of David Selig who was born with the gift of telepathy and is able to read anyone's mind. Alas, poor David is losing his power and hence the title "Dying Inside." This "dying" could also be a metaphor for anyone approaching middle to old age whose mind and body are not as sharp as they used to be. This book is intelligent and provides some great insights into the psyche of the protagonist including some very creative writing about how it would feel to be a telepath. I consider this one of the great modern sci-fi novels although the story isn't really hard core science fiction. The book is a little dated (written in 1972) and includes a lot of the color of the times including the literature, movies, and politics of the time as well as a great section where David "tags" onto his girlfriend's mind as she does an LSD trip. Great stuff!! I read a lot of science fiction in the 60s and 70s and always considered Silverberg as one of the best along with Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Dick, Phil Farmer, and Arthur C. Clarke. This book along with "The Book of Skulls" are two of my favorite Silverberg's and rank up there with classics such as "Strange in a Strange Land" by Heinlein and "Childhood's End" by Clarke. All highly recommended.
