Books like The Face of the Waters

the world is an ocean; humanity has come and cannot go. humanity lives on a chain of artificial islands and is perhaps now doomed, due to typical human stupidity & cupidity. where to flee? to an uncharted place on this uncharted planet, to The Face of the Waters. to find death or transcendence, or both?our hero is a doctor, alienated from his tiny society and alienated from himself. he yearns for something, something more, something else... Earth? connection to his fellows? a deeper meaning for his life or something to explain the meaning of the life he has lived so far? he yearns and breaks himself upon the wheel of that yearning. broken and then remade? he is a classic Silverberg protagonist.this is less of a science fantasy adventure and more of an extended & dreamlike existential crisis. mournful and hopeful in equal measures. with, truth be told, some monotony thrown in. but much melancholic beauty as well. the central character is multi-faceted and drawn with depth and clarity... the author's self-portrait? some good monsters.this review is a part of a longer article on Robert Silverberg posted on Shelf Inflicted.