Sorcerers of Majipoor (Prestimion Trilogy) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Robert Silverberg (Author) "THERE HAD BEEN OMENS all year, a rain of blood over Nimoya and sleek hailstones shaped like tears falling on three of the cities of..." (more)
Key Phrases: starburst crown, starburst sign, grand processional, Septach Melayn, Dantirya Sambail, Lord Korsibar (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
This prequel to the Majipoor novels explores the conflict in Lord Valentine's Castle and Valentine Pontifex. Award winner Silverberg is at his best in continuing the saga of this fantasy world. Highly recommended for fantasy collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
In his new novel, Silverberg returns to his most successful creation, the gigantic, metal-poor world of Majipoor. Nearly twice as long as The Mountains of Majipoor (1995), its immediate series predecessor, Sorcerers retreats to 1,000 years before the time of Lord Valentine--hence, a full 2,000 years before Mountains. In the Fifty Cities of Castle Mount, the aged Pontifex Prankipin, a renowned statesman, is dying. He will be a hard act to follow, but Coronal Lord Confalume, next in line to be pontifex, is less than happy over the fact that his successor as coronal is Prince Prestimion, who is better known as a hunter than as a courtier. There is, however, more to the prince than meets the eye, and indeed, an oracle has called him to follow in Prankipin's footsteps as a mover and shaker, and he rises splendidly to the prophecy. This novel has more sorcery and court intrigue than action, but it is not slow paced. Moreover, Silverberg uses the length of this yarn to develop both major and minor characters. As for the setting, Majipoor is already so well developed that Silverberg can drop almost any sort of story into it. The horde of readers who know and love it will swarm library shelves for this book. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Eos (July 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061057800
• ISBN-13: 978-0061057809
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #436,364 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You've read it before..., September 5, 2001

By	tj2k (Issaquah, wa United States) - See all my reviews

An oddly uninspired rehashing of every throne usurping novel you've ever read. Silverberg even manages to plagerize himself, reusing the premise behind "Lord Valentines Castle", but without the interesting parts.
In one of the most puzzling coups in the history of monarchial fiction, the books villian steals the throne from it's rightful ruler, by simply picking up the crown and placing it on his own head. Majipoor has always had a fascinating juxtaposition of high-tech and feudalism, but common sense never seemed to be a rare comodity before.
The book then becomes a listless repetition of: raise and army, fight and win, fight and lose, raise a new army, fight and win. The book culminates in one of the most anticlimatic methods possible, a character who has barely put in an appearance kills the villain and the fight is over. Except for the one token good guy who has to die to toss some credibility into the mix.
Had this been a first time authors submission, no way would it have ever seen paper.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars majipoor--silverberg's terrarium, August 25, 2005

By	J. Austin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

beware--one of the richest worlds in scifi is really only the hobby terrarium of an old pro--its all about the scenery, the sex, and the thokka (liquor-filled berries).

its a great venue for short pieces (majipoor chronicles) but the novels are shameless blather--

the old "fantasy-series-retirement-plan", i suspect.

read jack vance's dying earth books instead.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars if you liked valentine's castle, then you'll like this one., January 24, 2000

By	Michael Rice "[e-mail]" (blue ridge, georgia.) - See all my reviews

This book was truely great, despite somewhat popular opinion. I cared about the characters as conflict for the crown ensued, every character was developed thoroughly as to make you like them or hate them. If you liked Valentine's castle then you'll definitely like this one as well(and all the others after it).