Lord Valentine's Castle [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Silverberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1984

Joining a motley band of jugglers on their tour across the world, Valentine, a young man with no memory of his past, searches for his identity in the city of the Shapeshifter, on the Isle of Sleep, and at the Castle Mount. Reissue. NYT.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''A surefire page-turner . . . a brilliant concept of the imagination.'' -- Chicago Sun-Times

''[A] heady blend of rigorous SF worldbuilding and the poetic sensibility of fantasy fiction . . . casts light on a variety of pertinent social concerns.'' --Sci Fi Weekly

''Robert Silverberg's writing and imagination soar with nary a false step. It is truly a extraordinary tale, well told. The story is enhanced by Stefan Rudnicki's nuanced reading. For a narrator with such a deep voice, Rudnicki is able to tweak his reading to provide a wide range of characters, from the dour Skandars to more delicate female characters . . . Highly recommended.'' -- SFFAudio.com

''[A] wonderful science-fiction tale . . . Rudnicki's excellent semi-voiced reading adds a great deal to the enjoyment of this tale. He has won numerous audiobook awards as a reader and as a producer, including a Grammy. He uses his sonorous voice effectively to capture the various personalities of Valentine and his multicultural friends.'' -- SoundCommentary.com

''A grand, picaresque tale . . . by one of the great storytellers of the century. Lord Valentine's Castle has everything.'' --Roger Zelazny

''The first installment of Silverberg's celebrated Majipoor Cycle makes for relaxing listening. In an unhurried bass voice, Stefan Rudnicki calmly escorts the listener through the expansively descriptive world of Majipoor . . . Rudnicki ably performs a myriad of characters, most notably the whimsical Lord Valentine.'' --AudioFile

''Robert Silverberg's writing and imagination soar with nary a false step. It is truly a extraordinary tale, well told. The story is enhanced by Stefan Rudnicki's nuanced reading. For a narrator with such a deep voice, Rudnicki is able to tweak his reading to provide a wide range of characters, from the dour Skandars to more delicate female characters . . . Highly recommended.'' -- SFFAudio.com

''[A] wonderful science-fiction tale . . . Rudnicki's excellent semi-voiced reading adds a great deal to the enjoyment of this tale. He has won numerous audiobook awards as a reader and as a producer, including a Grammy. He uses his sonorous voice effectively to capture the various personalities of Valentine and his multicultural friends.'' -- SoundCommentary.com

''A grand, picaresque tale . . . by one of the great storytellers of the century. Lord Valentine's Castle has everything.'' --Roger Zelazny

''The first installment of Silverberg's celebrated Majipoor Cycle makes for relaxing listening. In an unhurried bass voice, Stefan Rudnicki calmly escorts the listener through the expansively descriptive world of Majipoor . . . Rudnicki ably performs a myriad of characters, most notably the whimsical Lord Valentine.'' --AudioFile --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 447 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (December 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553274368
• ISBN-13: 978-0553274363
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 3.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,486,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 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 - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lord Valentine's Castle (Majipoor Cycle) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

18 of 20 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
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lord Valentine's Castle (Majipoor Cycle) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent science fiction/fantasy novel, September 15, 2005

By 

bleuceruleum "watercolor" (Fredericksburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lord Valentine's Castle (Majipoor Cycle) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you're into fast action and shock, this isn't the book for you. Lord Valentine's Castle is filled with rich description and detail, and is a character-driven story.

Valentine, a gentle man with no memory, who takes up juggling, is actually Lord Valentine whom the Shapeshifters- the despised original natives of Majipoor - have misplaced within a different body, while inhabiting his real body in order to rule their world again. Valentine's eventual realization of this truth- and his quest to regain his own body, and throne, takes us through a marvelous journey over vast portions of Majipoor - and what a world! Ten times the size of Earth, with an incredible assortment of creatures and plant life.

I found Silverberg's descriptions and details of the planet and the flora fascinating and a lot of fun. The characters who accompany Valentine on his journey are herioc, likable, and easy to root for. The political structure of the planet, with the Coronal high on Castle Mount, the Pontifex miles deep beneath the planet, and the Lady Of Dreams, was laid out in a visually beautiful manner, easy to understand and visualize.