Scan barcode
inks's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
christopherc's review against another edition
2.0
When science-fiction author Robert Silverberg returned from a brief retirement in the 1970s, he did it with this novel that introduced the fictional planet of Majipoor. Silverberg was now working in a science-fantasy mode as was in vogue in this decade: Majipoor is a far-future setting, inhabited by human beings and seven alien species that settled there at some point, but the planet is a backwater, technology is rather primitive and most inhabitants live peasant, agrarian lives.
Silverberg has come up with a rather creative government for this world. A Coronal serves as the public-facing, quasi-monarchial ruler of Majipoor, while the last Coronal retires to become the Pontifex, head of the planet’s bureaucracy. (There are also two other Powers, the Lady of the Isle of Sleep and the King of Dreams, who send Majipoor’s inhabitants good dreams and nightmares, respectively.) Thus as the book opens the new Coronal, Lord Valentine, is visiting a town as part of his big inauguration tour of his realm. But the protagonist we are introduced to, a humble vagabond, is himself named Valentine, and he has no memory of his past. It really spoils nothing to say that this vagabond Valentine is the real ruler of the planet, and the supposed Coronal parading by is an impostor who has usurped the thone from the amnesiac protagonist; this is just already so obvious by page 10.
I read Lord Valentine’s Castle as a teenager and cannot remember any grumbling about it, so it might be all right as Young Adult fare. Trying to reread it decades later, I found it impossible to finish. First of all, with no suspense on the plot front, it is clear that Silverberg’s real interest is just in giving readers a tour of the world he has created, with all its exotic flora and fauna and alien races. However, in this Silverberg just ends up being an epigone of earlier science-fiction authors, for talking about how characters wear colourful jerkins, eat exotic spiced meat or drink unusual wine must have already been a trope by this point.
Worse yet, Valentine is such a Mary Sue character. He’s a taciturn homeless guy who would probably creep us out in real life, but immediately he shows such excellent skills in juggling that he is acclaimed by a wandering troupe of jugglers, and naturally the woman in that troupe (never actually fleshed out as a real human being) immediately wants to have sex with him. Valentine too is a two-dimensional piece of cardboard with no inspiring qualities at all, but the other characters (themselves flimsy) act in total awe of his grace and power.
As far as the science-fantasy trend that I mentioned above goes, this book is far below something like Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun; that work had better characterization and a quality of prose equal to any great 20th century literature. Instead, Lord Valentine’s Castle is more similar to Jack Vance’s Planet of Adventure, an early example of this genre, in its pulpish writing and the way its protagonist, though unfamiliar with the world he travels, manages to overcome any obstacle effortlessly and bed beauties along the way.
Silverberg has come up with a rather creative government for this world. A Coronal serves as the public-facing, quasi-monarchial ruler of Majipoor, while the last Coronal retires to become the Pontifex, head of the planet’s bureaucracy. (There are also two other Powers, the Lady of the Isle of Sleep and the King of Dreams, who send Majipoor’s inhabitants good dreams and nightmares, respectively.) Thus as the book opens the new Coronal, Lord Valentine, is visiting a town as part of his big inauguration tour of his realm. But the protagonist we are introduced to, a humble vagabond, is himself named Valentine, and he has no memory of his past. It really spoils nothing to say that this vagabond Valentine is the real ruler of the planet, and the supposed Coronal parading by is an impostor who has usurped the thone from the amnesiac protagonist; this is just already so obvious by page 10.
I read Lord Valentine’s Castle as a teenager and cannot remember any grumbling about it, so it might be all right as Young Adult fare. Trying to reread it decades later, I found it impossible to finish. First of all, with no suspense on the plot front, it is clear that Silverberg’s real interest is just in giving readers a tour of the world he has created, with all its exotic flora and fauna and alien races. However, in this Silverberg just ends up being an epigone of earlier science-fiction authors, for talking about how characters wear colourful jerkins, eat exotic spiced meat or drink unusual wine must have already been a trope by this point.
Worse yet, Valentine is such a Mary Sue character. He’s a taciturn homeless guy who would probably creep us out in real life, but immediately he shows such excellent skills in juggling that he is acclaimed by a wandering troupe of jugglers, and naturally the woman in that troupe (never actually fleshed out as a real human being) immediately wants to have sex with him. Valentine too is a two-dimensional piece of cardboard with no inspiring qualities at all, but the other characters (themselves flimsy) act in total awe of his grace and power.
As far as the science-fantasy trend that I mentioned above goes, this book is far below something like Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun; that work had better characterization and a quality of prose equal to any great 20th century literature. Instead, Lord Valentine’s Castle is more similar to Jack Vance’s Planet of Adventure, an early example of this genre, in its pulpish writing and the way its protagonist, though unfamiliar with the world he travels, manages to overcome any obstacle effortlessly and bed beauties along the way.
cellardoor10's review against another edition
4.0
Okay I didn't see the twist ending coming, very nice.
Drags a little, in the way that long quest stories to establish a new series' world-building often do, but it did a pretty good job of giving us a bit of a tour of the people, social makeup, and religion of the region, leaving most of the high society/legal stuff for later books.
Valentine is a little bit of a blank protagonist + juggling, but not the most egregious.
Drags a little, in the way that long quest stories to establish a new series' world-building often do, but it did a pretty good job of giving us a bit of a tour of the people, social makeup, and religion of the region, leaving most of the high society/legal stuff for later books.
Valentine is a little bit of a blank protagonist + juggling, but not the most egregious.
yevolem's review against another edition
5.0
This was possibly my favorite series during my teenage years, but I don't know how well it'd hold up for me now. It's rated 5 stars for that and no other reason.
bergsteiger's review against another edition
4.0
Oh man. I love me some Silverberg. Look, there are some details always missing in the world building and the magic/science is very very soft, but the plot, ideas, and, most importantly, the character development, is top notch. Which could be a review of any Silverberg novel.
That isn't to say that he writes in formula. He always has new settings, with new characters that explore new ideas. In this particular case, and rather uncharacteristically I might add, Silverberg explores the concept of a just ruler, a philosopher king, if you will. This benevolent autocrat, Lord Valentine, is made into a commoner and tries to avoid his fate, but his companions argue for him to restore "order" to a ruling system that has been circumvented.
There is also a twist at the end, that while not completely unforeseen once you had reached a certain scene in the book, provided a nuanced element to the philosophical musings of the book. And don't get me wrong, this wasn't a story poorly crafted around an idea, but actually had a fast moving and imaginative plot that held my interest throughout. I still think A Time of Changes is my favorite Silverberg book, but this isn't a horrible place to start, if you've never read him before.
Solid 4.5 stars. Pick it up off the shelf if you get the chance.
That isn't to say that he writes in formula. He always has new settings, with new characters that explore new ideas. In this particular case, and rather uncharacteristically I might add, Silverberg explores the concept of a just ruler, a philosopher king, if you will. This benevolent autocrat, Lord Valentine, is made into a commoner and tries to avoid his fate, but his companions argue for him to restore "order" to a ruling system that has been circumvented.
There is also a twist at the end, that while not completely unforeseen once you had reached a certain scene in the book, provided a nuanced element to the philosophical musings of the book. And don't get me wrong, this wasn't a story poorly crafted around an idea, but actually had a fast moving and imaginative plot that held my interest throughout. I still think A Time of Changes is my favorite Silverberg book, but this isn't a horrible place to start, if you've never read him before.
Solid 4.5 stars. Pick it up off the shelf if you get the chance.
outcolder's review against another edition
3.0
Majipoor is a big, weird place, and an excellent setting for high fantasy with creatures very different from the typical Tolkein schtick.
I had read this back in the early 80s when it was new and all I could remember about it was that I had liked it. I decided to read it again because whenever [a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg] in interviews is asked about his influences, he lists a bunch of authors he considers "obvious" (like [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] and [a:H. P. Lovecraft|7278105|H. P. Lovecraft|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]) and one of them is [a:Robert Silverberg|4338|Robert Silverberg|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1366300348p2/4338.jpg]. I figured he had to mean these Majipoor stories, but maybe I'm wrong.
Anyway, I was kind of disappointed, it wasn't as good as I remembered it. Ordinary guy finds out he is the true king... a lot is ripped off or riffed off from King Arthur and then there are little side trips into [b:Heart of Darkness|4900|Heart of Darkness |Joseph Conrad|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375061721s/4900.jpg|2877220] and [b:Moby-Dick; or, The Whale|153747|Moby-Dick; or, The Whale|Herman Melville|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327940656s/153747.jpg|2409320]. So he sticks all this imagination into this world and its inhabitants but he delivers a derivative plot. Another minus: no one we care about ever gets really hurt. About half-way through the book, we are sure that everything is going to turn out okay, and then after a while, it seems like that is the message of the book... find inner peace, everything is going to be fine, trust those born to power to sort it all out... don't tell me that's apolitical. It's downright anti-democratic.
So I liked it a lot when I was a kid. It is kid's stuff.
I had read this back in the early 80s when it was new and all I could remember about it was that I had liked it. I decided to read it again because whenever [a:China Miéville|33918|China Miéville|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg] in interviews is asked about his influences, he lists a bunch of authors he considers "obvious" (like [a:Ursula K. Le Guin|874602|Ursula K. Le Guin|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1244291425p2/874602.jpg] and [a:H. P. Lovecraft|7278105|H. P. Lovecraft|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]) and one of them is [a:Robert Silverberg|4338|Robert Silverberg|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1366300348p2/4338.jpg]. I figured he had to mean these Majipoor stories, but maybe I'm wrong.
Anyway, I was kind of disappointed, it wasn't as good as I remembered it. Ordinary guy finds out he is the true king... a lot is ripped off or riffed off from King Arthur and then there are little side trips into [b:Heart of Darkness|4900|Heart of Darkness |Joseph Conrad|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375061721s/4900.jpg|2877220] and [b:Moby-Dick; or, The Whale|153747|Moby-Dick; or, The Whale|Herman Melville|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327940656s/153747.jpg|2409320]. So he sticks all this imagination into this world and its inhabitants but he delivers a derivative plot. Another minus: no one we care about ever gets really hurt. About half-way through the book, we are sure that everything is going to turn out okay, and then after a while, it seems like that is the message of the book... find inner peace, everything is going to be fine, trust those born to power to sort it all out... don't tell me that's apolitical. It's downright anti-democratic.
So I liked it a lot when I was a kid. It is kid's stuff.
ahzarkie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
katieinca's review against another edition
2.0
This has been the oldest thing on my To Read list here for a long time (13 years!). Apparently it won awards. What was up with you, 1981? The style is odd - it sometimes felt more like a retelling of an old fable or myth than a novel. “X happened, and then y, and then they all went to z”, not a ton of dialog, and an eventual triumph that we march towards inevitably. It spends a lot of time describing the world at the expense of developing anything else, especially characters. The chapters are short and when I was reading I’d often want to read just one more, but once I put it down I was never in a hurry to pick it up again. It was okay, but I won’t be continuing with the series.