The Mystery of Deneb IV by Robert Silverberg Episode #233
Robert Silverberg | July 6, 2024-
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The Mystery of Deneb IV by Robert Silverberg Episode #233
Robert Silverberg
THE MYSTERY OF DENEB IV
Episode #233 · Written by Robert Silverberg · Narrated by Scott Miller
A routine rescue turns quietly hostile on Deneb IV, where a missing survey crew appears safe, organized, and disturbingly unconcerned by the distress signal that summoned help. Dave Carter quickly senses that something fundamental is wrong—not with the planet, but with the people waiting for him.
The tension deepens as Carter discovers that obedience comes easily to everyone but him. Conversations feel rehearsed. Violence arrives without emotion. Orders travel without voices. Somewhere beneath the expedition’s headquarters, an intelligence listens, measures resistance, and decides who is useful.
This story builds pressure through containment rather than chaos. Carter’s danger comes from standing out in a place where individuality has already been erased. Every choice he makes risks exposing the one advantage he doesn’t fully understand.
The Mystery of Deneb IV delivers a sharp, suspense-driven confrontation between human ingenuity and absolute mental authority, forcing its protagonist to gamble on deception while the clock quietly runs out.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Silverberg began publishing science fiction professionally in the early 1950s and quickly became one of the most visible contributors to American genre magazines. His stories appeared frequently in Amazing Stories, Fantastic, Galaxy, and Astounding, often blending fast pacing with unsettling speculative ideas.
The Mystery of Deneb IV comes from Silverberg’s early adventure period, when he was producing dozens of stories a year while refining themes of control, autonomy, and hidden power. These foundations later supported his acclaimed novels and short fiction, but even here his precision and narrative confidence are already unmistakable.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to The Mystery of Deneb IV by Robert Silverberg — a vintage science fiction thriller where a rescue mission reveals a hidden intelligence and a dangerous resistance.
ROBERT SILVERBERG SHORT STORIES
Robert Silverberg is one of the most prolific and influential figures in twentieth-century science fiction. Beginning his career in the 1950s pulp magazines, he quickly became known for his remarkable productivity and range, writing adventure-driven space tales as well as thoughtful, character-centered stories.
Over the decades, Silverberg's work evolved from fast-paced planetary adventures to more introspective fiction that explored psychology, memory, identity, and cultural change. His ability to move between large-scale speculative ideas and intimate human conflicts made him a defining voice of vintage science fiction.
These stories from his early and mid-career years showcase the energy, imagination, and narrative control that helped establish him as a central figure in the field.
- The Day The Monsters Broke Loose by Robert Silverberg
- Postmark Ganymede by Robert Silverberg
- Planet of the Angry Giants by Robert Silverberg
- Hero From Yesterday by Robert Silverberg
- The Mystery of Deneb IV by Robert Silverberg
- Monsters That Once Were Men by Robert Silverberg
- The Alien Dies at Dawn by Robert Silverberg
- Bleekman's Planet by Randall Garrett and Robert Silverberg
- Six Frightened Men by Robert Silverberg
- Never Trust A Thief! by Robert Silverberg
- Rescue Mission by Robert Silverberg
- The Guest Rites by Robert Silverberg
- The Inquisitor by Robert Silverberg
- The Monsters Came by Night by Robert Silverberg
- The Thing Behind Hell's Door by Robert Silverberg
- An Enemy of Peace by Robert Silverberg
- Solitary by Robert Silverberg
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The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in 34 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 3.7 million listens.
Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.
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