The Monsters Came by Night by Robert Silverberg
The Monsters Came by Night
by Robert Silverberg
A classic tale of Martian diamonds, guilty secrets, and consequences that won’t stay buried.
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In our latest episode, we travel from the red sands of Mars to the restless nights of Earth with Robert Silverberg’s nerve-pricking tale, The Monsters Came by Night. What begins as a triumphant return becomes a reckoning no distance can outrun.
A Martian diamond and a debt that follows
Meet Emil Gustafson, a trader who strikes it rich on Mars—then crosses a line he can’t uncross. In a moment of ruthless ambition, he kills a Martian to steal a towering diamond. Back on Earth, he expects comfort and acclaim. Instead, midnight brings visions that feel far too real, as if the Martians can reach across the void and tug at the frayed edges of his sanity.
Gustafson’s dreams curdle into waking dread: grotesque visages, shifting shapes, and a whispering certainty that the past is not finished with him. Is this simple guilt made manifest—or something far older and more implacable answering the crime?
Why This Story Works
- Ambition with a price: A stark portrait of desire unmoored from conscience.
- Psychological unease: Nightmares that feel tactile, invasive, and inescapable.
- SF meets dread: A deft blend of off-world adventure and creeping moral consequence.
Actions echo—sometimes all the way from Mars.
Tune In for Tense, Atmospheric Sci-Fi
With vivid imagery, taut pacing, and a mounting sense of consequence, The Monsters Came by Night is ideal for fans who love classic science fiction threaded with psychological suspense. Press play to experience a story that lingers after the final line.
About Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is one of the towering figures of twentieth-century science fiction, celebrated for prolific range, literary craft, and the ability to fuse speculative ideas with human complexity. Across short stories and novels alike, his work probes moral risk, identity, and the costs of power.
Whether he’s charting far-future empires or intimate crises of conscience, Silverberg’s hallmark is a cool, incisive voice that makes the extraordinary feel immediate. This tale is a sharp example—a planetary treasure hunt that ends up revealing something far more valuable, and far more dangerous, than a diamond.
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