Del Rey / Ballantine, 1978. Mass market paperback, 1st of two printings. This is the third in a trilogy of novels; it follows Master of the Stars (1976) To Control the Stars (1977) This trilogy describes, over a period of aeons, a cluster of galactic civilizations connected by a system of ancient Stargates.
Their Civilization Was Founded On The Stargates But Now No Man Knew How To Operate Them!
Surrounded by armed, watchful soldiers, Shan and Luvici followed the priests down the low-ceilinged corridor. The smell of damp was everywhere. As they turned the corner, the two men had their first glimpse of the room where they would be offered as human sacrifices in some ancient, savage ritual. "Look!" Shan cried. "The shrine -- it's a gate!" The Stargate itself was unlike any construction he had ever seen; it was framed by twisting pillars of translucence. What was a Stargate doing here in this primitive place? How could these barbarians have one of the gates...the very gates which enabled Shan's civilization to move instantly from any one of their 3000 worlds to any other? How could a Stargate possibly be in this dungeon which reeked of human blood and superstition? Shan followed the steps down, down, down...his eyes riveted on the gate. Would the gate still function? That was his only hope...
This anthology The Stalin in the Soul by Ursula K. Le Guin; All the Troubles of the World by Isaac Asimov; Home by Poul Anderson; Silent in Gehenna by Harlan Ellison; Shark by Edward Bryant; Flowering Season by Virginia Kidd; A Season for Freedom by Dean R. Koontz; Final War by Barry N. Malzberg; The Mountain by Robert Hoskins; Our Times by Bill Pronzini; The Wind and the Rain by Robert Silverberg; and The Merchants of Venus by Frederik Pohl.
13 • The Bump • Fritz Leiber17 • What We Learned from This Morning's Newspaper • Robert Silverberg36 • Starblood • William F. Nolan49 • The Tempolluters • G.C. Edmondson66 • Ollie's Hands• Dean R. Koontz85 • Merlin Street • W. Macfarlane106 • Audition: Soon to Be a Major Production • Edward Bryant123 • Day Dark, Night Bright • Fritz Leiber126 • By the Time I Get to Phoenix • Thomas N. Scortia135 • Not That Shaggy... • Ron Goulart152 • The Ballad of Slick Sid • Barry N. Malzberg161 • Ding Dong, the Witch Is Well... • Tom Pickens176 • The Foreigner • E. Michael Blake184 • Fountain of Force • George Zebrowski and Grant Carrington193 • Stranger With Roses • John Jakes252 • Fortune Hunter • Poul Anderson266 • Another Cask of Wine • Fritz Leiber