Alpha 8 (Robert Silverberg anthology)
Alpha 8 is a science fiction anthology edited by American writer Robert Silverberg, first published as a paperback original by Berkley Medallion in November 1977. No further editions have been issued. Contents. "The Man Who Lost the Sea" was nominated for the 1960 Hugo Award for Best Short Fiction. "When the Change-Winds Blow" is part of Leiber's "Change War" series. Reception. Writing in "The New York Times Book Review", Gerald Jonas praised the anthology, saying "One would think that the back files of the pulp magazines had been so thoroughly combed by earlier  anthologists that there is nothing of value left. One would be wrong. There are 11 stories in this collection. Seven seem first rate." Jonas singled out Blish's "A Dusk of Idols" as the best story in the anthology, describing it as a "brief excursion into nightmare, told with complete stylistic control by an author who knew what to put in and what to leave out".