Ishmael in Love

A lonely dolphin narrates this touching tale of interspecies love from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of Needle in a Timestack.

Meet Ishmael. He’s a bottle-nosed dolphin employed at a seawater recovery station on St. Croix. He’s the foreman of the Intake Maintenance Squad, which means he and his team clear the intake valves of obstructions like starfish or algae. He works hard for his wages of fish and is highly educated. He’s also in love—with a human. 

Lisabeth Calkins is a twenty-seven-year-old specialist in human-cetacean relations. Though immune to the charms of her human anatomy, Ishmael believes he has found his soulmate. She gave him his name, when he was only a number among many others. Sure, there are obstacles to their being together, just like in every other epic romance. Ishmael can see a way forward—through human interference, through biology, and even acts of sabotage. But can Lisabeth?

“Time and again, Silverberg sets the bar high for himself and then clears it, as in a tale told from the perspective of an English-speaking dolphin who has developed feelings for a human woman.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for Robert Silverberg and his short stories

“When Silverberg is at the top of his form, no one is better.” —George R. R. Martin, #1 New York Times–bestselling author

“The short stories in Robert Silverberg’s First-Person Singularities are inventive, sublime, and endlessly entertaining.” —Foreword Reviews

“Decades after being originally published, most of these stories are still just as entertaining and powerful as they were when first released. A singularly unique collection.” —Kirkus Reviews