At Winter's End [Hardcover]

Robert Silverberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1988

From the Five-Time Nebula Award-Winner""Seven thousand centuries ago, falling death stars unleashed fiery apocalyptic destruction on Earth and inaugurated the Long Winter. One small band of People took refuge in an underground cocoon where they and their descendants waited for the time of ice to end. Now their long winter is over. Prophecy and circumstance urge the tribe out into the half-forgotten world beyond their safe cocoon. Led by their chieftain Koshmar, the tribe journeys to the city of Vengiboneeza, where the prophecy of the gods says they are to rule. On their way the tribe discovers the dangers and wonders of life in the New Springtime. In the face of new temptations and peril, Koshmar and her lover, the priestess Torlyri, struggle to keep the People united and fulfill the prophecy. For soon they will be beset by other trials, as other beings seek to fulfill their own prophecies.Robert Silverberg provides an introduction exclusive to this Bison Books edition.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After a recurrence of the cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs and a resulting Long Winter of 700,000 years, the eventual New Springtime sees only two of the far future Earth's original Six Peoples emerge from their deep cocoons: the resilient, insect-like hjjk-folk and the simian tribes who regard themselves as heirs to humanity. Young Hresh-full-of-questions is a member of one of the latter, a small band that must radically change its ancient rituals and taboos to adapt to their new life. Taking up temporary residence in the shell of a once great city, the group fearfully meets another people, is itself torn in half by rivalry and, through Hresh, achieves a new realization of who they are. This solid, dramatic novel expands on a favorite motif of Silverberg's: the mixed terrors and pleasures of freedom, of going out into the wider world without guide, map or a sure sense of one's own capabilities.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

After 700 centuries, the Long Winter has ended, and Koshmar leads her small band of humans from their underground cocoon onto the surface of the earth to begin reclaiming their inheritance. Against a backdrop which contrasts tantalizing visions of a long-dead civilization with the harsh realities of a beautiful and dangerous new world, Silverberg relates the struggle of a new humanity at the dawn of an age. Highly recommended. JC
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 404 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books (April 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446513849
• ISBN-13: 978-0446513845
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,471,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somehow I wanted more from this, October 1, 2005

By 

Eric San Juan (Brick, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: At Winter's End (Mass Market Paperback)

I feel like this took me forever to get through, despite breezing through the first 200 pages within 24 hours of cracking the cover.

The last 150, on the other hand, took me five or six days to get through.

I slammed through the early portions of this thanks to the really interesting premise: The Earth is struck by comets and plunged into a long ice age. The story picks up at the end of that era. A small group of "people", sheltered for thousands of years, exit their shelter at the end of the ice age to create a new world.

Sounds great, but things really ground to a halt about 200 pages in. Is this a soap opera? A philosophical exploration? A "lost civilization" story? An adventure? The book is not sure. Had it chosen its course and stayed there, I would have loved the ride. Instead, I found myself wanting more from this book.

Silverberg's premise is good enough, but the story didn't feel as if it actually went anywhere. Excellent and well done characters, good world-building, but no sense of urgency or movement to the story. Silverberg plays with some philosophical concepts, but he just doesn't do it very well. And the end was very anti-climactic and unsatisfactory. After reading several good Silverberg's, he may have just handed me my first dud (or semi-dud; the writing was very strong) in a long streak of pretty enjoyable books.

I wanted to like this. I really did. The characters and concepts were simply brilliant; the world building fantastic. But in the end it was just, "eh."

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars At Winter's End, November 4, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: At Winter's End: The New Springtime, Volume 1 (Beyond Armageddon) (Paperback)

At Winter's End, by Robert Silverberg, is a science fiction story about a tribe of apelike, but intelligent beings, who call themselves humans. After seven hundred thousand years, they leave the cocoon that their ancestors built in the depths of a vast mountainside for shelter from the great death stars and freezing winter. Their leader, Koshmar, leads them on a dangerous journey to a city called Vengiboneeza. While they are there, they discover many objects and clues to the past. They eventually follow, when ten of their tribe, led by the warrior Harruel, decide it is their destiny to start their own city. This is the beginning of a new life in a new place.
The main characters of this book are Koshmar, the chief, Hresh, the young chronicler, Toryli, the offering woman, and the warriors, Harruel and Konya. Koshmar is a kind but stern leader who is adamant about leaving the cocoon when the time is correct. She leads them to Vengiboneeza. Hresh, a boy of nine years, becomes chronicler after the preceding old man, Thaggoran, died from a wolf attack. Toryli is the kind woman who gave the daily offering to the outside world back in the cocoon, and is like a mother to the growing tribe. She provides warmth and love to all who are in need. The warriors, Harruel and Konya aren't the only warriors, but they take part in most of the scenes. Harruel is a burly, massive, towering man who eventually turns away from the tribe with ten others to start his own city. His ferocious fighting spirt makes him the head of the warriors. Konya is Harruel's friend, and follows Harruel when he leads the tribe away. Unlike him, he has a lean, but strong figure, and has earned second rank in power.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure, and a little mystery and science fiction. It sets forth thought-provoking ideas, such as a second sight, gods, and contacting the spirit realm, to enhance the experience and make this book a must read for all adventure and science fiction lovers.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed it much more than I had initially expected., November 28, 2009

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: At Winter's End: The New Springtime, Volume 1 (Beyond Armageddon) (Paperback)

One my pet peeves (& yes, I am peevish) in a science fiction novel is when the book prefaces itself with a quotation from some kind of prophecy/historic text written from the future/news article which delivers the backstory that the reader is going to need to enjoy the book. It can be used well as a device-- mostly when it delivers atmosphere instead of information. But to my mind it generally represents sloppy plotting or an overly intrusive editor.

Anyhow. At Winter's End begins with just such a preface, and it put me in the mind to be irritated. Also, while Silverberg is one of my long-term favorite authors in the genre, I'm well aware that his work can often be uneven. There were also a couple of seemingly predictable elements in the first part of the book-- tribes, rules, long history, dream dreamers-- bla bla bla. So I was kind of expecting not to like the book very much.

But, you know, in the end I did. It grew on me by moments, until by the end I really had a difficult time to put it down. It starts off in one very typical way, and seems to end up as something else again. Silverberg doesn't give himself an easy way out-- no easy quests, no Great Lord of Darkness to slay. It becomes a little book about being human and about starting again. The world building is very good, and I liked it very much.

I noticed with amusement that many of the reviewers of this book had exactly the opposite journey. They were very happy with the beginning when they thought it would be a more typical book, but became annoyed when it started to meander and became more philosophical. Consider both points of view if weighing this as a purchase.