This stunning and meaningful novel is an icon, a pinnacle of science fiction. Silverberg is rightly a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. The central figure is an Earthman, Gunderson, revisiting Holman's World after a decade or more away, where as a corporate administrator he oversaw the exploitation of the gentle, elephant-like native species known as the Nildoror. It is a journey of both apology and expiation wherein he finds transfiguration of his soul.