Before George Lucas' Death Star and before Star Trek's Doomsday Machine came the Berserkers, intelligent, space-faring killing machines whose sole purpose is to destroy all life. The Berserkers have developed a new trick: Berserker units that can pass for human-created androids. They're gambling on the advantage this gives them and massing for an all-out attack on human-held space.
But the humans have developed a trick of their own. They've cracked the Berserkers' basic codes and know what their battle plans are. Both sides are betting everything they have. For one of them, it will be the beginning of the end.
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"Absolutly fabulous example of the joys of short stories. A great thing for summer reading or I've-just-finished-Vanity-Fair reading. Highly recommended. True Sci-Fi fun. "
— Ki (4 out of 5 stars)
“The Berserkers, in their single-minded pursuit of their preprogrammed course of destruction, attain a kind of perverse stature that makes them worthy stand-ins for the dark side of human nature.”
— New York Times“Saberhagen has given SF one of its most powerful images of future war in his Berserker series.”
— Publishers Weekly“The Berserker stories are war stories, but war stories in the tradition of The Red Badge of Courage or All Quiet on the Western Front.”
— Baltimore Evening Sun“Saberhagen’s Berserkers are not only a great literary invention, they also reflect our deep and real concerns about technology run amok.”
— Jack Williamson“One of the best writers in the business.”
— Stephen R. Donaldson“Fred Saberhagen has proven he is one of the best.”
— Lester del Rey“These homocidal robots manage to make Aliens look like wimps.”
— Science Fiction Age“One of the most interesting series in modern SF.”
— Science Fiction Chronicle“[A] battle royal to decide Earth’s fate is in prospect. Plenty of well-orchestrated maneuvers and action.”
— Kirkus Reviews“Full of action and intrigue.”
— Library Journal“The Berserker Saga continues to draw and deserve readers.”
— Booklist" It an Okay book. It STRONGLY resembles WWII's Battle of Midway. I'm more interested in the individual story of the two main protagonists. Enh I fizzled out half way though. I had too much in my life and wasn't a gripping tale enough. "
— Andy, 1/31/2011" It an Okay book. It STRONGLY resembles WWII's Battle of Midway. I'm more interested in the individual story of the two main protagonists. Enh I fizzled out half way though. I had too much in my life and wasn't a gripping tale enough. "
— Andy, 3/19/2008Fred Thomas Saberhagen (1930–2007), a native of Chicago, served with the US Air Force then worked as an electronics technician and as a science writer and editor for the Encyclopaedia Britannica. He began writing science fiction for Galaxy in 1961. His first novel, The Golden People, was published in 1964. He is most renowned for the Berserker series of stories and novels.
Richard Powers has published thirteen novels. He is a MacArthur Fellow and received the National Book Award. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Overstory, and Bewilderment was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.