Robert Silverberg is one of my favorite science fiction authors. I've read several of his books dating back to the 70s and always enjoy them. Those Who Watch is a short novel published in 1967. The novel is about three aliens who are part of a larger group of aliens who watch over the earth to see how humankind has been progressing. These aliens, the Dirnans, have been monitoring the Earth for thousands of years along with a competing alien group called the Kranazoi. The Dirnans are surgically altered to appear human. When their space craft malfunctions and explodes, the trio of aliens bale to Earth but are separated and injured. Luckily, they each are taken in and nursed back to health by kind human beings. The first is rescued by an 11-year old Indian boy who learns a lot from the Dirnan. The other two, one female and one male, are rescued by two lonely people of the opposite sex who end up falling in love with the aliens! This short novel draws to a close rather quickly but ends with a feeling of hope for those affected.
I did rather enjoy this novel from the 60s, written during the heyday of science fiction. I think this is the earliest novel I have read by Silverberg but I know he was writing science fiction as early as the 1950s. Some of his other novels I have read were a bit more substantive such as DYING INSIDE and THE BOOK OF SKULLS but this one was still worth reading.
I did rather enjoy this novel from the 60s, written during the heyday of science fiction. I think this is the earliest novel I have read by Silverberg but I know he was writing science fiction as early as the 1950s. Some of his other novels I have read were a bit more substantive such as DYING INSIDE and THE BOOK OF SKULLS but this one was still worth reading.
