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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
What is the test of an SF writer? Who belongs in the highest echelons? Robert Silverberg has considerable claims to be one of the greatest practitioners in the fields of both fantasy and SF, having turned out more than 50 novels of vaunting imagination since the 1950s (as well as serious works of history and archaeology).
Silverberg has been nominated for more awards than any other science fiction writer, alive or dead. And where many of the surviving writers of that era are reduced to thin retreads of their glory days work, Silverberg's imagination is as sinewy as ever.
The first volume of his Majipoor cycle, Lord Valentine's Castle, inaugurated one of the most awe-inspiring epics in the world of fantasy fiction since Tolkien and Peake. Lord Valentine himself is a remarkable creation, ruler of the fantastic world of Majipoor, but ever fearful that the fragile peace his citizens enjoy will collapse in the face of massive evil and wizardry. Valentine is a complex and multi-faceted character, perfectly set off by a varied cast of allies and opponents.
In the second volume of the sequence, Valentine Pontifex, Silverberg extends and enriches the wonderfully detailed universe he has created for his labyrinthine tale. At night Lord Valentine is tortured by visions of the catastrophe that threatens Majipoor, and by day he attempts to negotiate the complex politics of a very diverse world. Then he learns that the sinister Shapeshifters have ambitions to recapture their lost world, and he is faced with an impossible situation: does he surrender his world to these creatures and consign his people to slavery and death, or risk a bloody war that may cost even more lives--and even risk the destruction of all of Majipoor?
Silverberg is a past master at creating the colours and wonders of his enormous planet, but his greatest achievement may be the massive humanity with which he imbues his central protagonist and those who surround him. The language is as imposing as ever:
A spasm of astonishing pain swept through him, there was a terrible droning buzz in his ears, and his breath was as hot as flame. He felt himself descending into night, a night so terrible that it obliterated all light and swept across his soul like a tide of black blood.. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘There are two things that abide: absolute awe at Silverberg’s capacity for creating images… he makes you see, believe, be there witnessing… and the overarching compassion that colours every word and all the souls in his enormous world’
Los Angeles Times
‘A grand tale by one of the great storytellers of the century’
Roger Zelazny
‘In terms of excellence he has few peers, if any’
Locus
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VALENTINE SWAYED, braced himself with his free hand against the table, struggled to keep himself from spilling his wine. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
VALENTINE SWAYED, braced himself with his free hand against the table, struggled to keep himself from spilling his wine. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Not only is Valentine Pontifex a worthy sequel to Lord Valentine's Castle, but also a better story that doesn't only entertains but educates you. I suspect this is a very different experience for readers who loved Lord Valentine's Castle. Here in this sequel, Robert Silverberg tells us a more intelligent, convincing and serious tale.
Unlike the magic used in Lord Valentine's Castle, the war waged by the Shapeshifters this time is more vicious and intelligent. Rather than attacking Lord Valentine directly, the Shapeshifters aimed for the Achilles' heel: the basic necessity for people to eat. The Shapeshifters spread highly contagious plant diseases to wipe out food crops in Zimroel. This causes widespread famine and the eventual collapse of regional economies. The Majipoor government is brought close to its knees, trying to control the spreading famine and social unrest. Very soon, cities form breakaway republics, and even people start declaring themselves as rulers. In all this chaos, Valentine Pontifex reveals something interesting: that the Majipoor government is actually a weak government, that Majipoor is held together more by people's goodwill for each other and their awe and respect for royalty rather than the government's show of strength or influence over the people. But make people hungry and desperate, even their goodwill for each other and respect for royalty would be found wanting.
The war's cascading effects as described in Valentine Pontifex are ominous because they mirror the kind of possibilities that could happen in our world today. One only has to look at Indonesia and the former Soviet Union. Collapse of their economies led to social unrest, breakaway republics, and states or regions fighting for independence. Though Majipoor series may be classified closer to the fantasy genre, I thought Robert Silverberg captured the mood and the unfolding consequences of collapsing economies in this story very realistically.
Valentine Pontifex is also a story of past sins. Typical of Silverberg's stories, the bad guys are rarely those purely evil. Though we may condemn the war waged by the Shapeshifters, we may find ourselves a little hesitant to condemn their reasons for it. The Majipoor natives Shapeshifters are waging a war to regain their world lost to the humans and other alien races. Discriminated, misunderstood and reduced to living in specially-allocated areas, the natives only want back their world that they believe was stolen from them. Even Lord Valentine agrees and wants to apologise to Danipur, the queen of Shapeshifters, which is akin to crawling on your hands and knees with your tail between your legs! Well, think again. Ironically, this is where Valentine Pontifex excels by showing us another dimension of Lord Valentine: his pacifism.
In Lord Valentine's Castle, we felt close to Lord Valentine because the story focuses exclusively on him, his thoughts, emotions and perceptions. But in Valentine Pontifex, Robert Silverberg reduces this intimacy. This story shares its focus not only on Lord Valentine but also on Hissune, Elidath, the Shapeshifters and others. By reducing this intimacy, it effectively highlighted the uniqueness of Lord Valentine's pacifism. And because we are less exposed to Lord Valentine's thoughts and perception, Robert Silverberg made us feel wickedly frustrated that Lord Valentine can be such a true pacifist, a Gandhi of Majipoor, until appearing many times as a weakling, rooted to the spot with inaction and uncertainty. And yet, it is Lord Valentine's pacifism that wins the day, that he counters a war with understanding and compassion. Without exaggeration, the world today would be a better place with more Lord Valentines as leaders.
Valentine Pontifex is a very good, intelligent and revealing story. Lord Valentine's Castle was good, but its sequel is even better.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Weak end to an otherwise decent trilogy...
9 Jan 2003
Format:Mass Market Paperback
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
A good end to a great trilogy
26 July 1998
Format:Mass Market Paperback
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.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Disjointed and sorely lacking
7 Aug 2004
Format:Mass Market Paperback
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.
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.
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