The Longest Way Home [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Silverberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 2003

A remarkable odyssey of survival and self-discovery in a perilous alien world in transition.

The privileged heir of a Great House ten thousand miles away, fifteen-year-old Joseph Master Keilloran awakens to the din of his world imploding. Frightened and alone, surrounded by enemies who would kill him without question, Joseph must now make his way across a strange, dangerous, and wondrous continent -- a desperate journey toward a home that may no longer exist.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-A coming-of-age story set on a distant planet. Joseph has been trained all his life to be the next Master of his House (a sort of feudal state). The indigenous species and the humans seem to have worked out a stable, amicable system for sharing the planet, but while Joseph is visiting relatives on a faraway continent, "the Folk," a human worker caste, suddenly rebel, killing all the Masters. Joseph flees to the forest, determined to find his way home. He is aided (and sometimes hindered) by the planet's sentient species, including free Folk who are concerned with neither Masters nor revolution. Most of what Joseph thought he knew is called into question, and he gains a new understanding of his world. From his training, he has the confidence and nobility to deal with a variety of situations. From his friends along the way, he receives metaphysical instruction, sexual initiation, and an introduction to political philosophy. In one memorable episode, a starving Joseph-once a spoiled princeling who thoughtlessly hunted-must club a friendly animal; here, Silverberg masterfully conveys the reality of death, and all of the emotional pain and ethical conflict that such a choice presents to a person of conscience. At the end of Joseph's journey, readers will be left wondering how he will deal with the dilemma of being in charge of a social system that he now understands cannot last. This engaging, entertaining book is a fast read with many thoughtful themes.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Caught in a rebel uprising while visiting his relatives in House Getfen, 15-year-old Joseph, heir to House Keilloran, flees a massacre and undertakes a journey across his world to reach his home. In danger from pursuing rebels, Joseph also finds himself exposed to the unfamiliar world of the Indigenes, a race of nonviolent sentient beings who coexist with the dominant human race. The latest novel by sf veteran and master raconteur Silverberg (The Majipoor Chronicles) relates the coming-of-age of a young man raised in luxury who learns resilience and compassion in the face of adversity. A good choice for most sf and YA collections.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager (February 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380814870
• ISBN-13: 978-0380814879
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,365,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Read, Though Minor Silverberg, August 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Longest Way Home (Mass Market Paperback)

Most of the reviews here pretty much describe this book's impact. It's exceedingly well-written, very well paced, and richly envisioned. It's also a bit underachieved for the Silverberg most of us know and love whose masterpieces of SF in the Sixties and Seventies still resonate in out minds.

On the other hand, as a stand-alone novel (and boy do we need more of these), this book is a very pleasant read and for readers new to Silverberg, THE LONGEST WAY HOME is a good place to start. (I gave this book only three stars because I know that Silverberg can do much better.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Silverberg's best., June 2, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Longest Way Home (Hardcover)

I'm puzzled by the mixed reaction to this novel. Perhaps some readers were expecting more of the "epic" Silverberg of the new Majipoor trilogy and Alien Years. However, many long-time Silverberg fans feel that his very best novels, published between 1967 and 1976, were-like this one-short, tight, and intense. This book is an enjoyable and entertaining read, yes, but it also feels more personal and philosophical than those vast volumes that the market seems to pressure Silverberg to produce. I for one hope he skips the sequels and epics from now on out, and produces more novels of this length and excellence.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars SIlverberg on Autopilot, August 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Longest Way Home (Hardcover)

Amiable but over simple SF novel of an young aristocrats enforced trek back to his ancestral home after a revolt overthrows the status quo on a distant semi-feudal planet, the author appears to become bored with his creation and terminates it very abruptly. Not too much of interest in any of the characters or indigenous fauna, save perhaps the Noctambulo. Way, way below Silverbergs epic best, but an easy, empty read.