Teaser

Majipoor is a vast world, where fortunes are made and broken every day. Into this world walks Valentine, who shares his name with a Lord, but has ambitions all of his own . . .

Review

Robert Silverberg is one of the elder statesmen of science fiction, and the Hugo-nominated Lord Valentine’s Castle is perhaps his best-known science fiction novel. That fame is a little odd, given that it reads more as fantasy than science fiction.

Science fiction and fantasy have walked hand-in-hand since their very beginnings, but the two genres have largely established their own corners of literature, even if labels such as speculative fiction or SFF are regularly applied to encompass them both. Everyone will have their own personal lines in the sand regarding where one genre becomes another. I am content to call Lord Valentine’s Castle science fiction, but ultimately it has the feel of fantasy that happens to be set on another planet, in the very far future.

To give Silverberg his due, this a unique novel. For much of the novel, the story is largely inconsequential, instead taking the form of a lengthy travelogue. In form, it’s reminiscent (or rather prescient, given the relative publication dates) of Patrick Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind. Valentine’s goal develops over time, but for hours and hours of the audiobook, he is content to meander through life. His companions are not hardened mercenaries or rogue scientists, but jugglers. This is an incredibly gentle novel, at times almost soporifically so, but this allows Silverberg to show the world through the eyes of one who lives it.

The science fiction elements creep in slowly. Yes, this is an alien world, some fourteen thousand years in our future. Yet the alien inhabitants of Majipoor could be swapped out with elves and orcs with very little impact. The bio-engineered creatures roaming the land could just as easily be monsters. Everything is remarkably mundane, and never elaborated upon. This is a world that simply is. Even something as miraculous as communication through dreams and swapping bodies is accepted without question, never labelled as magic, but never given any technological detail.

It is only once we get to the climax of the novel that the science fiction side of things truly rears its head. Here we are suddenly thrown into a world of terraforming and weather control machines. Here, at the very end of things, is the only moment where Majipoor feels alien rather than fantastic.

The audiobook I listened to is narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, and I must unfortunately say that he’s not a narrator I get along with. He’s a gravelly American in the same vein as Michael Kramer, but I found it a chore, especially with such a long book. It’s doubly unfortunate in that Rudnicki is the narrator for Ben Bova’s Grand Tour series, so my hunt for those will remain in physical bookshops. What I will say for Rudnicki is that he performs the musical parts of Lord Valentine’s Castle very well. In keeping with traditional fantasy, there are a fair few songs and poems in this book, and Rudnicki’s singing is a delightful way of getting them across.

All things considered, Lord Valentine’s Castle is more interesting than it is good. It feels like a throwback to the early days of Vance or Burroughs. You could shelve this in fantasy, and I’d allow it. Because as science fiction, it’s oddly lacking in substance.

Audio Stats

• Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki
• Majipoor (#1)
• First Published 1980
• 19hrs 31mins