Downward to the Earth

This is a novel I had not heard much about, aside from it being on David Pringle's list of 100 great sci-fi novels. It was a very enjoyable read for me and while it was a fairly short novel it packed a lot deep ideas into its 165 pages. I probably would have given this novel 4 and a half stars if it had not been modeled off of The Heart of Darkness. Transfering that story to an alien world worked very well and Silverberg did a great job of evoking the rich language of Conrad. The ending was also well done and had a nice uplifting feel to it that I was not expecting after some of the "darkness" earlier in the novel. A thought provoking novel with well crafted aliens, surprise twists, and written in a manner that is both accessible, but also has the feel of great literature. Highly recommended.