Customer Reviews
Sublime - By: Piper Dawn, 10 Jul 2006 
I started reading this book on a whim- I'd never read anything by Robert Silverberg before, & I was at a loose end one day. I was used to reading science fiction & fantasy, & thought I had seen most of the standard plots/styles by now. This was something quite fresh; the basic plot is very simple, which gives the author more space to create the world in which the characters live. But the way in which the tale progesses is somehow more involving & interesting than I had expected. Robert Silverberg's style reallly lends itself to the subject matter (understanding your place in the world,and striving towards a distant goal).
I find long, stodgy, expositions terribly irritating, & thankfully Mr Silverberg has mostly spared us this; instead the world is just described as the characters see it, as if everything is both strange (the main character has lost his memory at the start of the book) & entirely ordinary.
The characters themselves are pleasingly realistic (although, looking through the eyes of a 21st century culture, there is distinct evidence of racial stereotyping). They don't make arbitrary decisions to further the plot; nor are they 'good' or 'evil'. The dialogue is clean & colloquial.
The world is, weirdly, somewhere that you can reallly imagine yourself living. It seems somehow more real than most fantasy realms; maybe I was just in a particularly credulous mood when I first read it, but I could almost see the landscapes as they were described. If this were a real place being described, I'd want to visit; as it is, I find myself feeling almost homesick for an imaginary land!
I'd suggest that anyone who wants to read this book give themselves a good two hours to get stuck into the story; breaking off early on is likely to leave you confused when you come back to it. All in alll, I would highly recommend Lord Valentine's Castle to anyone who has the stamina for a book of this length.
As exciting as a bowl of porridge - By: , 07 Nov 2004 
Silverberg attempts to create a huge & diverse world in the vein of Jack Vance. The protagonist starts as a vagabond & embarks on a quest to fulfill his destiny, helped by a motley band of humans & aliens. They travel through several continents, find themselves in various strange & dangerous situations & eventuallly, of course, overcome alll obstacles for a happy ending. So far so good.
Unfortunately, the book disappoints in the details. Most of the characters are flat, one-dimensional & uninteresting. Each new character receives some 'screen time' upon first introduction, but after that seldomly becomes more than just a name. After a while I even gave up trying to remember what character was behind many of the names, they alll blend together through lack of individuality.
There is also not much in the way of suspense. The heroes do find themselves in dangerous situations from time to time, but usuallly manage to escape without any real difficulty, often even without needing much in the way of skill or cleverness. Eventuallly it becomes alll very predictable & uninteresting.
Worst of alll, though, is the total lack of inventivity, wit & humour. This is where Silverberg ranks so far below Vance. Read a Vance novel & be guaranteed continuous surprises, frequent laughs & even the occasional deep shock. Read Silverberg & be prepared to be bored to death. The choice is yours.
As exciting as a bowl of porridge - By: , 07 Nov 2004 Silverberg attempts to create a huge & diverse world in the vein of Jack Vance. The protagonist starts as a vagabond & embarks on a quest to fulfill his destiny, helped by a motley band of humans & aliens. They travel through several continents, find themselves in various strange & dangerous situations & eventuallly, of course, overcome alll obstacles for a happy ending. So far so good.
Unfortunately, the book disappoints in the details. Most of the characters are flat, one-dimensional & uninteresting. Each new character receives some 'screen time' upon first introduction, but after that seldomly becomes more than just a name. After a while I even gave up trying to remember what character was behind many of the names, they alll blend together through lack of individuality.
There is also not much in the way of suspense. The heroes do find themselves in dangerous situations from time to time, but usuallly manage to escape without any real difficulty, often even without needing much in the way of skill or cleverness. Eventuallly it becomes alll very predictable & uninteresting.
Worst of alll, though, is the total lack of inventivity, wit & humour. This is where Silverberg ranks so far below Vance. Read a Vance novel & be guaranteed many surprises, frequent laughs & even the occasional deep shock. Read Silverberg & be prepared to be bored to death. The choice is yours.
A real pleasure to read - By: , 04 May 2002 A real delight to read. Imaginative, rich, complex & epic. A rare breed of sci-fi/fantasy crossover set against a beautifully realised world full of contrasts & with a real narrative drive. Unlike most fantasy this book is also very well written, avoiding cliches & tired set pieces. This book should be rated alongside Dune.
Huge world, great story - By: , 05 Jul 2001 
The book opens with the main character, Valentine, remembering nothing of his past & so learning, along with the reader, about the world he is on (Majipoor) & who he reallly is. Majipoor the planet is an intriguing mix: vast size, many different intelligent species, deep history, strange methods of government & a 30-mile high mountain. It forms the background against which Valentine's 'human' story unfolds.
