Valentine Pontifex (Majipoor Cycle) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "VALENTINE SWAYED, braced himself with his free hand against the table, struggled to keep himself from spilling his wine..." (more)
Key Phrases: niyk trees, high spokesman, starburst gesture, Lord Valentine, Castle Mount, Aximaan Threysz (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From The Washington Post

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

Review

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

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Eos (January 26, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061054860
• ISBN-13: 978-0061054860
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #488,432 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Weak end to an otherwise decent trilogy..., January 9, 2003

By	Steven Sammons (Auburn University, AL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I hate to say it, but this series ended with more of a whimper than a bang. The first novel was good, a little strangely paced (took forever to get to the Isle, then -zip! the book was over), but still a good read. The second book was also good, probably the best of the three. But then this book takes a big dip in quality. Valentine comes off looking like a naive, almost[...]bumpkin, who insists on dealing with every situation with love and peace, even as it becomes more and more obvious that his enemies are out to destroy him. The book starts with him fainting because he has a premonition that Majipoor is in trouble, and he never really rallies from that experience. From there he bumbles from place to place, never quite sure what to do but determined to do it without force. And this guy leads 50 billion people?!

As noted by other reviewers, many of the surrounding characters are not well drawn out and in many cases, hardly have any dialog. And the ending is almost preposterous.

OK, I've painted a pretty bleak picture here. But the saving of this novel is Hissune, the young protege of Valentine who's up on Castle Mount learning how to become a Coronal. Training that apparently Valetine missed. Anyway, Hissune is a great strong character, and it is always a delight when he is the subject of a chapter. In the end, Silverberg makes some good points about governments and the governing process, but never brings this book up to the standard of the other two books. If you have read the other two books, then go ahead and read this, it is still decent. If you have never read Majipoor, then run away as fast as you can and go read the other two first, or you'll never pick up another Majipoor novel again!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good end to a great trilogy, July 25, 1998

By A Customer

This book was very enjoyable, the first being Lord Valentines Castle (A masterpiece), the second Majipoor Chronicles (A dissapointing compilation of short stories), and finally Valentine Pontifex, which was more in the ilk of the first in the series. The book was well written and held my interest from start to finish. My only minor criticism being that some of the earlier characters, whilst present were not explored further or made much use of in this the final rendition. Still a great book and worth a read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disjointed and sorely lacking, August 6, 2004

By	Jeremy York "-beanish-" (Bothell, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I enjoy Silverberg's writing enormously, and loved the previous two books. However, I found this book to be a chore to read, and a big disappointment in so many ways.

The best things in the book, in my opinion, are the little side stories; some of them seem like they could have come straight out of Majipoor Chronicles.

The main storyline and characters are just pathetic, however. Valentine wanders aimlessly. Hissune seems to be the only person in the government paying attention to anything that's going on. Hissune's rival is a cardboard cutout. Sleet is reduced to an angry bitter man whose only lines call for war and genocide against the Metamorphs. Carabella is a decorative prop who occasionally pulls Valentine out of his funk, and nothing more. Other characters from the first book appear, but have so little involvement in the story that they only serve to distract.

Various plot elements fail to live up to their potential. The fainting spells of Valentine, the awesome mental powers of the sea dragons, the legends and prophecies of the metamorphs, the rivalries of the nobles, a visit to the king of dreams...all of these were plot elements that could have grown to be something interesting. Either they just fizzle into nothing, or they are resolved in boring, obvious ways. Really uninspired.

If you loved the earlier books, it might be worth your time: you'll see a few new aspects of the setting, and some of the embedded short stories are pretty good. But overall, it's pretty unsatisfying.