Solitary by Robert Silverberg - All the logical answers to Charcot's escape and disappearances had come up... but why should an escaped convict be logical?

Robert Silverberg was born on January 15, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York. A voracious reader from an early age, he developed an interest in science fiction as a child, devouring pulp magazines and writing his own stories while still in high school. He attended Columbia University, where he studied English Literature and honed his writing craft.

Silverberg made his professional debut in 1954 with the short story Gorgon Planet, published in Nebula Science Fiction. Soon after, he became one of the most prolific writers in the field, churning out countless stories for science fiction magazines under his own name and various pseudonyms. His first novel, Revolt on Alpha C, was published in 1955.

By the late 1950s, Silverberg was recognized as a skilled but conventional writer of adventure-oriented science fiction.