The main setting conceit of the Berserkers immediately reminded me of the Borg in Star Trek, which I have to believe were at least in part inspired by Berserkers. The Borg are a little different, in that they are effectively a 'race' (in RPG sense) and they have a mission of 'assimilation' rather than 'destruction'. But are these fundamentally different? What's compelling, or not compelling, about either one. Were the berserkers well conceived and drawn? Which one would you use in games, and why? What else would you crib from this novel for games?

The eleven stories are:
1. Without a thought
2. Goodlife
3. Patron of the Arts
4. The Peacemaker
5. Stone Place
6. What T and I Did
7. Mr Jester
8. Masque of the Red Shift
9. Sign of the Wolf
10. In the Temple of Mars
11. The Face of the Deep

The first story sets up the situation between Earth and the Berserkers. The rest build on this.
Goodlife, Patron of the Arts, The Peacemaker, Stone Place, Mr. Jester, and Sign of the Wolf all feature different kinds of people and how the Berserkers shape their lives

Stone Place, What T and I Did, Masque of the Red shift, In the Temple of Mars, and The Face of the Deep all follow one another and share characters – principally Johann Karlsen, Mitchell Spain, and Filipe Nogara. These, more than the other batch, explore how humanity shapes the conflict with the Berserkers.

Did you prefer one type of story over another? Which stories did you like best? Which ones not so much?

Scanning through Saberhagen's oeuvre on Goodreads – The Book of Swords, The Lost Swords, The Empire of the East, and the Berserker series, one thing strikes me – almost all his books score the same rating of between 3.5 and 3.9 out of 5, which suggests to me that he's very consistent. What did you think of the writing? Would you read more by this author?

Between the lines of the story, there's quite a lot of world-building. We learn a little of the Carmpan Race, which seems to be both telepathic and prophetic. We learn of the Aiyan, a semi-intelligent primate like species. We learn that humans have spread across the galaxy. We learn that machines can have minds, and there are mind-control beams. Was there enough world-building? Was it satisfying? What stood out?

Has this book withstood the passage of time? Which aspect of the book would be totally different if these stories were written today? What might remain the same?

Some of the stories, especially those which focus on Johann Karlsen, deal with faith. Did you feel this aspect was explored successfully? How do these chapters (The Stone Place and The Face of the Deep) contrast with the cult developments we see in In The Temple of Mars?

The book is made of 11 short stories, with some additional text to tie it together in the form of a 3 page introduction at the beginning, and a short half-page introduction to each chapter. These are in the voice of the Third Historian of the Carmpan Race, who are largely positioned as passivist observers and beneficiaries of Earth's war effort. From your perspective, did the stories translate well into a novel?

Long ago, in a distant part of the galaxy, two alien races met—and fought a war of mutual extinction. The sole legacy of that war was the weapon that ended it: the death machines, the BERSERKERS. Guided by self-aware computers more intelligent than any human, these world-sized battle craft carved a swath of death through the galaxy—until they arrived at the outskirts of the fledgling Empire of Man.
These are the stories of the frail creatures who must meet this monstrous and implacable enemy—and who, by fighting it to a standstill, become the saviors of all living things.
This is Saberhagen’s classic book length collection of the first eleven Berserker stories. Meet Berserker hunter extraordinaire Johann Karlsen, his evil brother Felipe Nogara, The Third Historian of the Carmpan Race, gallant fighters of the killer machines and the deranged killer machine, Mr. Jester.