Lord Valentine's Castle (Majipoor Cycle) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author), (none) (Author) "AND THEN, AFTER WALKING all day through a golden haze of humid warmth that gathered about him like fine wet fleece, Valentine came to a..." (more)
Key Phrases: birdnet vine, fireshower wine, starburst crown, Zalzan Kavol, Lord Valentine, Castle Mount (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The national bestselling saga from the stunning imagination of Robert Silverberg continues in the first new hardcover Majipoor novel in nearly a decade. As a prequel to Silverberg's earlier Majipoor novels. Sorcerers of Majipoor provides a deep, dark vision for the background of the conflict inLord Valentine's Castle and Valentine Pontifex.

Treachery and wizardry run rampant under the reign of the mighty Pontifex, as both the rightful and the unworthy heirs to the throne anxiously await his demise. Korsibar, son of the current Coronal, plots with his twin sister and ambitious companions to seize the power of the Coronal when his father ascends to the throne of the Pontifex.

But the burdens of the crown and scepter exact a higher price than Korsibar is prepared to pay. His rival fights to take his appointed place as keeper of his beloved Majipoor... and to restore order to the utter chaos that has befallen their world.

"Silverberg has created a big planet, chock-a-block with life and potential...." -- The Washington Post

About the Author

Robert Silverberg has won five Nebula Awards, four Hugo Awards, and the prestigious Prix Apollo. He is the author of more than one hundred science fiction and fantasy novels -- including the best-selling Lord Valentine trilogy and the classics Dying Inside and A Time of Changes -- and more than sixty nonfiction works. Among the sixty-plus anthologies he has edited are Legends and Far Horizons, which contain original short stories set in the most popular universe of Robert Jordan, Stephen King, Ursula K. Le Guin, Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, Orson Scott Card, and virtually every other bestselling fantasy and SF writer today. Mr. Silverberg's Majipoor Cycle, set on perhaps the grandest and greatest world ever imagined, is considered one of the jewels in the crown of speculative fiction.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Eos (May 24, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061054879
• ISBN-13: 978-0061054877
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #423,693 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic science fiction with the flavor of fantasy, October 19, 2001

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

I first read Robert Silverberg's amazing novel "Lord Valentine's Castle" many, many years ago, but his superbly drawn world has remained with me. Re-reading the book reminded me why I initially fell in love with it. LVC is an interesting, almost hybrid sort of novel: it is a work of science fiction that has the feel of an epic fantasy novel.

LVC takes place thousands of years in the future on the distant world of Majipoor, a gigantic world with a population of 20 billion people of many different species: humans; the three-eyed Liimans; the four-armed, "Bigfoot"-like Skandars; the planet's shapeshifting aboriginal folk; and more. Silverberg brilliantly evokes the history, geography, zoology, botany, politics, and architecture of Majipoor, a world of great strangeness and great beauty. The plot takes Silverberg's hero on an epic quest across this richly imagined world.

Along the way are some amazing sensations: a view of the crystalline Ghayrog city of Dulorn, a taste of sea-dragon milk, and more. Silverberg addresses many relevant issues: memory, bigotry, responsibility, leadership, and the terrible burdens of history. The art of juggling is a fascinating motif that distinguishes the book. And the whole story is enlivened by Silverberg's superb writing style: accessible and contemporary, yet with a timeless, classic feel. "Lord Valentine's Castle" is a triumph by a master of the fantastic.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique Fantasy Masterpiece, October 28, 2003

By	Ryk E. Spoor "Author, Gamer, Geek God" (Troy, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Capsule Description: An unusual epic fantasy with some science-fictional overtones and a unique protagonist. A fantasy quest, but not really like any other fantasy book I've read. Extremely highly recommended.

Review: I find Silverberg to be erratic in terms of whether what he writes appeals to me. Some of it is interesting but, in my opinion, flawed (Up the Line) while others just don't grab me (several of the later Majipoor books). But Lord Valentine's Castle ranks up at the very top of the SF/Fantasy heap, one of the books I would call a true classic.

"And then, after walking all day through a golden haze of humid warmth that gathered about him like fine wet fleece, Valentine came to a great ridge of outcropping white stone overlooking the city of Pidruid." This is one of my favorite opening sentences of all time -- "And then..."?? Why do we start out this way? Is this the way our viewpoint character sees it? Is this lush description going to continue, and should it?

The "Why" we have to wait for -- a large part of the book, in fact, will pass before we understand "why". But the other questions can all be answered "yes". This is a book with the Sense Of Wonder in full gear, one that will take us into the world that Silverberg has created and immerse us in it. A world where everyone takes Dreams seriously, and where there are two rulers, not one, yet only one who acts. A world of dozens of different races and a depth of description that lends conviction to the believe that not only does Majipoor, that impossibly huge world, exist, but that we have visited there and seen its incredible cities, ascended the unbelieveable Castle Mount, and touched the essence of the Divine.

Much of the book's appeal, and a great deal of its originality, comes from its protagonist, Valentine. I love a square-jawed, butt-kicking Hero as well as (or perhaps better than) just about anyone, yet even I will admit that there seem to be a bit TOO many of these around at times. On the other hand, though I will recognize the literary merit of the anti-hero, and a few such I can even enjoy reading about (such as Thomas Covenant, from the series by Stephen Donaldson), I really don't LIKE spending much time in the company of people who either make me want to kick them or shoot them. Valentine is neither; the protagonist of this book, the man who becomes the center of a struggle of mythic proportions, is a convincing man of peace, one who recognizes that violence perhaps is necessary at times, but whose very nature rebels against such things. It takes a great deal to convince me to believe in a man who can forgive things that I, personally, could not. Valentine convinces, effortlessly, because he seems so real that I could imagine meeting with him.

Try a visit to Lord Valentine's Castle; you won't regret it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better as Epic Fantasy than as Science Fiction, November 24, 2004

By	Dave Deubler (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

Robert Silverberg is deservedly one of the most revered names in the sci-fi pantheon, not so much for his ability to communicate the dry facts of hard science (à la Clarke and Asimov) as for his imaginative extrapolations and mythic themes. So one might reasonably expect great things from him in the realm of fantasy, which after all, seems to play to his strengths. And that's the main reason this book was rather disappointing.

Lord Valentine's Castle is the first in a series of books set on the planet Majipoor, a vast, metals-poor world, settled by humanity thousands of years ago, and now home to several other sentient species as well. The story has a naïve simplicity to it that will enable most readers to figure out the main plot points within the first few pages of this seemingly endless book, so this reviewer will refrain from giving too much away here. Suffice it to say that an amnesiac joins a troupe of itinerant jugglers and embarks on a solemn quest. As is typical of fantasy, there's no real point being made here; the work exists solely for its entertainment value, which unfortunately is not that great. This reviewer found the first enormous chapter intriguing enough, but the story slowly plodded downhill from there. Not only is the tale bone-dry humorless, but there isn't really that much action either.

Silverberg works hard to create a sense of awe at the beauty and size and variety and majesty of this world he's created, and to some extent he's successful, but at the same time it all seems to fall rather flat, perhaps because there're just too many pages to slog through between the interesting parts. Only the protagonist shows any sign of being more than a one-dimensional character; everyone else exists only to serve him in his quest, with little enough motivation of their own. And the conclusion would have been laughable if the readers hadn't already worn themselves out getting there. The ease with which the hero vanquishes his enemies seems more consistent with a short story than with a 500+ page novel.

Approaching it as a fantasy, this book probably rates four stars, being perhaps better than the run of the mill, but as science fiction, it deserves no more than two. While there are few obvious inconsistencies in the story, Silverberg's approach here is distinctly non-scientific. He shows us the marvels of Majipoor, but he doesn't explain the details of how it's done, except to say in passing that someone "has a device" that accomplishes this. But science fiction fans who want to know the theory behind it, and some details of its construction, may be forgiven for not bothering to finish this ponderous tome.

For devotees of the epic fantasy, this may be fairly good stuff, but hard science fiction fans will surely be disappointed, and the general reading public may find themselves regretting the 20 hours of their lives that they'll never get back.