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A review by outcolder
Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg
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.