A Time of Changes - Definition and Overview

A Time of Changes is a 1971 science fiction novel by Robert Silverberg.

The Nebula-winning A Time of Changes is set in a culture where the first person singular is forbidden. This could be seen as similar to Ayn Rand's earlier Anthem, except that in Rand's book the idea of individuality is simply unknown, whereas Silverberg makes the more plausible suggestion of a world where I and me are treated as obscenities or social errors. A powerful new drug enables protagonist Kinall Darrival to attain telepathic contact with others, and this sharing brings him the courage to lead a revolution against his repressive culture. A backlash to the Sixties culture in which the book was written leads some critics to see it as merely a psychedelic drug fantasy, but the book still repays reading.