Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg
Luna
science fiction, I was a bit reluctant to read this, especially after the
first page of flowery "fantasy speak." You know, "golden haze of humid
warmth" "the sun hung high to the southwest beyond Pidruid, out over the
Great Sea." Man, stuff like that makes me gag. But I have nothing else
new to read, so I kept going, and so far the juggling scenes are keeping me
interested, since I know how to juggle. The cheese ass dialog is getting
on my nerves, but I think I'll make it to the end.
--
-Michelle Levin (Luna)
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick
http://www.mindspring.com/~designbyluna
Niall McAuley
> The cheese ass dialog is getting on my nerves, but I think I'll
> make it to the end.
My money says you won't be happy.
Luna
"Niall McAuley" <Niall....@ericsson.moc.invalid> wrote:
At least it will give me something to do at work. I work at a movie
theater, a little art house with just one screen, and we're only getting
2-5 people per show currently. Nothing to do for hours at a time . . .
*sigh*
Mike Schilling
"Luna" <luna...@NOSPAMmindspring.com> wrote in message
news:lunachick-A412B...@news05.east.earthlink.net...
> science fiction, I was a bit reluctant to read this, especially after the
> first page of flowery "fantasy speak." You know, "golden haze of humid
> warmth" "the sun hung high to the southwest beyond Pidruid, out over the
> Great Sea." Man, stuff like that makes me gag. But I have nothing else
> new to read, so I kept going, and so far the juggling scenes are keeping
me
> interested, since I know how to juggle. The cheese ass dialog is getting
> on my nerves, but I think I'll make it to the end.
I found it bloated and boring. My guess is you'll have no desire to pick
up any of the sequels. ("The Majipoor Chronicles", the first sequel, is a
collection of stories set on Majiopor, some of which are quite good. I'd
almost recommend it. Skip the rest.)
Geoduck
(snip)
> At least it will give me something to do at work. I work at a movie
> theater, a little art house with just one screen, and we're only getting
> 2-5 people per show currently. Nothing to do for hours at a time . . .
> *sigh*
Sounds like you should be using the time to update your resume. :-)
--
Geoduck
http://www.olywa.net/cook
http://mansionofe.keenspace.com
Luna
Geoduck <geo...@webave.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 16:12:15 GMT, Luna typed:
>
> (snip)
> > At least it will give me something to do at work. I work at a movie
> > theater, a little art house with just one screen, and we're only getting
> > 2-5 people per show currently. Nothing to do for hours at a time . . .
> > *sigh*
>
> Sounds like you should be using the time to update your resume. :-)
Lol! My new job starts sometime in October, much better pay, hours, etc.
Terry Lago
Luna wrote:
> Someone lent me this, and even though I've enjoyed some of Silverberg's
> science fiction, I was a bit reluctant to read this, especially after the
> first page of flowery "fantasy speak." You know, "golden haze of humid
> warmth" "the sun hung high to the southwest beyond Pidruid, out over the
> Great Sea." Man, stuff like that makes me gag. But I have nothing else
> new to read, so I kept going, and so far the juggling scenes are keeping me
> interested, since I know how to juggle. The cheese ass dialog is getting
> on my nerves, but I think I'll make it to the end.
Odd. I thought the first part of _LVC_ was the best part. I don't see anything
particularly bad with the quotes you mention and recall thinking that the first
page was, I think, a great set up of both Valentine the character and Majipoor
the world. I think Silverberg did a great job with his prose. This is a book I
really, really wanted to like...so far I've tried reading it about three times,
but I always bounce off of it, and usually at the same place.
The only problem I eventually had with Silverberg's prose here was that he
could have cut large sections of description and had the story moving a lot
faster (which it needed as things got going), but I didn't feel that much, if
any, of it was cheezy.
I'm curious to see if you actually finish it though.
T.
Andrew Plotkin
>
>
> Luna wrote:
>
> > Someone lent me this, and even though I've enjoyed some of Silverberg's
> > science fiction, I was a bit reluctant to read this, especially after the
> > first page of flowery "fantasy speak." You know, "golden haze of humid
> > warmth" "the sun hung high to the southwest beyond Pidruid, out over the
> > Great Sea." Man, stuff like that makes me gag. But I have nothing else
> > new to read, so I kept going, and so far the juggling scenes are keeping me
> > interested, since I know how to juggle. The cheese ass dialog is getting
> > on my nerves, but I think I'll make it to the end.
>
> Odd. I thought the first part of _LVC_ was the best part. I don't
> see anything particularly bad with the quotes you mention and recall
> thinking that the first page was, I think, a great set up of both
> Valentine the character and Majipoor the world. I think Silverberg
> did a great job with his prose. This is a book I really, really
> wanted to like...so far I've tried reading it about three times, but
> I always bounce off of it, and usually at the same place.
I really *did* like it. It has a summery, picaresque air to it.
Unhurried. Nice people. Just because I like GRRM's doorstops
full of ice and death hurtling down upon manipulative and malevolent
bastards, doesn't mean I can't also enjoy a juggling wagon full of
basically nice people moving through a beautiful landscape!
The language is vivid and colorful, but I wouldn't call it "flowery";
it's certainly not purple or bloated or bombastic.
The sequels, well, they never did much of anything for me.
--Z
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
* Make your vote count. Get your vote counted.
Tina Hall
> You know, "golden haze of humid warmth" "the sun hung high to
> the southwest beyond Pidruid, out over the Great Sea." Man,
> stuff like that makes me gag.
What have you read that didn't make you gag?
Tina <clutching pencil and paper in preparation to add to to-read
list>
Eric Walker
[...]
>I really *did* like it. It has a summery, picaresque air to
>it. Unhurried. Nice people. Just because I like GRRM's
>doorstops full of ice and death hurtling down upon
>manipulative and malevolent bastards, doesn't mean I can't
>also enjoy a juggling wagon full of basically nice people
>moving through a beautiful landscape!
>
>The language is vivid and colorful, but I wouldn't call it
>"flowery"; it's certainly not purple or bloated or bombastic.
A fine description. If one is going to take a train ride, it
is pleasing to have attractive scenery to watch go by.
>The sequels, well, they never did much of anything for me.
They clearly fell off in quality, each more so than the
preceding one. I got through the first two sequels, but after
that, could not deal with it--it became, I think, a cottage
industry for him.
--
Cordially,
Eric Walker, webmaster
Great Science-Fiction & Fantasy Works
http://greatsfandf.com
Niall McAuley
news:fsnaqsbjypebsgpb...@news.individual.net...
> If one is going to take a train ride, it
> is pleasing to have attractive scenery to watch go by.
My memory of _Lord Valentine's Castle_ is actually very
like a train ride on a line you rode years before: after
a short while you know exactly where you're going, exactly
where you'll pass through, and while the scenery is somewhat
interesting, it is also all rather familiar, and the people
you meet are entirely unremarkable.
Oh, and there's no Dark Lord at the terminus, either, just
a few officials doing their jobs badly.
--
Niall [real address ends in net, not ten.invalid]
Nick Ryan
> Someone lent me this, and even though I've enjoyed some of Silverberg's
> science fiction, I was a bit reluctant to read this, especially after the
> first page of flowery "fantasy speak." You know, "golden haze of humid
> warmth" "the sun hung high to the southwest beyond Pidruid, out over the
> Great Sea." Man, stuff like that makes me gag. But I have nothing else
> new to read, so I kept going, and so far the juggling scenes are keeping me
> interested, since I know how to juggle. The cheese ass dialog is getting
> on my nerves, but I think I'll make it to the end.
>
This was one of the first 'adult' novels that I read when I was young,
and at the time I was completely blown away by it. A few years ago I
decided to give it a re-read, fully expecting that the story wouldn't
live up to my fond memories. To my surprise, I enjoyed it immensely!
Sure, the characters may be a little wooden and the dialogue a little
stilted, but this is a book you read for the scenery, and what
incredible scenery it is.
I truly can't think of an author that has more convincely portrayed the
SCALE of a large world than Silverberg - the gigantic seas, the hundreds
of cities with thirty millions each, and so on. I think if I had to pick
one fictional planet on which to spend the rest of my life, Majipoor
would win hands down. (When I'm in a particulary bad mood I'd pick China
Mieville's world - Bas Lag? - but don't listen to me then).
--
Nick Ryan (MVP for DDK)
Sea Wasp
> Someone lent me this, and even though I've enjoyed some of Silverberg's
> science fiction, I was a bit reluctant to read this, especially after the
> first page of flowery "fantasy speak." You know, "golden haze of humid
> warmth" "the sun hung high to the southwest beyond Pidruid, out over the
> Great Sea." Man, stuff like that makes me gag. But I have nothing else
> new to read, so I kept going, and so far the juggling scenes are keeping me
> interested, since I know how to juggle. The cheese ass dialog is getting
> on my nerves, but I think I'll make it to the end.
>
MDV. I found this book to be one of the few I could apply the word
"lyrical" to. Magical work. It fascinated me. I reread it often.
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
http://www.wizvax.net/seawasp/index.htm
Nick Ryan
Ah-hah! So we DO think alike after all, Mr. Wasp. :)
Sea Wasp
Damn you! Spying on me! (oh wait. I was musing out loud again. Darn.)
I found LVC, Majipoor Chronicles and Valentine Pontifex all very
good. The other Majipoor stuff fell flat, and I figured out why.
Valentine. He is a unique character in fiction -- a pacifist who
really DOES believe in his pacifism and practices it whenever
possible, but who avoids being smarmy, overbearing, or whingy about
it. Lord Valentine is one of the fictional heroes I would feel
entirely comfortable about both meeting and hanging out with, AND
trusting my country with.
Mike Schilling
"Sea Wasp" <sea...@wizvax.net> wrote in message
news:3F724044...@wizvax.net...
>
> I found LVC, Majipoor Chronicles and Valentine Pontifex all very
> good. The other Majipoor stuff fell flat, and I figured out why.
> Valentine. He is a unique character in fiction -- a pacifist who
> really DOES believe in his pacifism and practices it whenever
> possible, but who avoids being smarmy, overbearing, or whingy about
> it. Lord Valentine is one of the fictional heroes I would feel
> entirely comfortable about both meeting and hanging out with, AND
> trusting my country with.
Though Chronicles doesn't feature Valentine (at least most of it doesn't
IIRC.) I liked it because I felt Majipoor worked better in smaller doses.
Sea Wasp
Chronicles is affected by Valentine's presence, though. Hissune's
presence, and his concerns, are all due to Valentine.
how...@brazee.net
On 24-Sep-2003, "Niall McAuley" <Niall....@ericsson.moc.invalid> wrote:
> > The cheese ass dialog is getting on my nerves, but I think I'll
> > make it to the end.
>
> My money says you won't be happy.
Mine too.
Luna
T.H...@railroad.robin.de (Tina Hall) wrote:
Hmm. The authors I read and reread most often are Philip K. Dick, Frederik
Pohl, and Terry Pratchett.
Luna
how...@brazee.net wrote:
Yeah, it's starting to really remind me of Xanth books now. It's still
readable though, it's not going to hurt me to finish it.
Robert Carnegie
rthlink.net>, Luna <luna...@NOSPAMmindspring.com> writes
>Someone lent me this, and even though I've enjoyed some of Silverberg's
>science fiction, I was a bit reluctant to read this, especially after the
>first page of flowery "fantasy speak." You know, "golden haze of humid
>warmth" "the sun hung high to the southwest beyond Pidruid, out over
>the
>Great Sea." Man, stuff like that makes me gag. But I have nothing else
>new to read, so I kept going, and so far the juggling scenes are keeping
>me
>interested, since I know how to juggle. The cheese ass dialog is getting
>on my nerves, but I think I'll make it to the end.
I'd forgotten what a silly name Pidruid is. First you have Pi... I may
have read this novel first after encountering the old British home
computer game _Pimania_, a sort of text adventure in which you
were bedevilled by The Pi Man who would appear randomly and
steal the objects you had collected. There was rumoured to be a
hidden trophy which you could claim by following the clues and
being at a certain place on a certain date. Then the Pi Man
appeared in a long-running series of cartoons to advertise other
software from the same publisher... he was the Mario Brother of a
previous generation. Anyway, Pi is very silly, even before last
year's novel _The Life Of Pi_, which AIUI is not about the same Pi.
And then you have Druid. I grew up reading Asterix cartoon books.
Consequently I am not able to take druids seriously. _Asterix and
the Big Fight_, IIRC, is the one that has two of them feeding each
other magic potions which turn them alternate amusing colours.
With all that, a re-read of the book may not be possible for me. I've
grown a little allergic to <ROT13>vzcynhfvoyr</EBG> love interest
characters, too.
Robert Carnegie at home, rja.ca...@excite.com at large
--
Surely no-one has read down to here. (from author Warren Ellis)
Helgi Briem
>I think if I had to pick
>one fictional planet on which to spend the rest of my life, Majipoor
>would win hands down. (When I'm in a particulary bad mood I'd pick China
>Mieville's world - Bas Lag? - but don't listen to me then).
You'd want to LIVE on Bas-Lag? The mind boggles.
I love reading about it, but I'd hate to live there.
--
Helgi Briem hbriem AT simnet DOT is
Excuse the munged address. My last
e-mail address was killed by spammers.
Doom & Gloom Dave
I read it young also, and it still holds up for me too. I also
really liked the fact that Majipoor is obviously a galactic backwater,
without many spaceports, yet has not only the aboriginal
shape-shifters but seriously large communities of other aliens. Humans
seemingly rather insignificant were it not for the King of Dreams and
the Lady. Valentine was pretty likeable and I can understand his
wanting to just keep on with the life of a juggler rather than
politics.
Wesley Parish
seemed made out of badly fitted prefab for me, and don't get me started on
the rest.
The best book Silverberg has ever written, AFAIC, is Kingdoms of the Wall.
It's fitted together so beautifully ... ;)
Wesley Parish
Mike Schilling wrote:
--
First the wife, tone of awe. So much a condition. Kent in the labs, fast
forward. "So how was the worthlessful businessman?" But they hadn't
stopped meat for year ago, that arose hotel facade slowly moved apper.
- Don't let emacs meta-x dissociatedpress write your speeches!
Jesper Lauridsen
>I truly can't think of an author that has more convincely portrayed the
>SCALE of a large world than Silverberg - the gigantic seas, the hundreds
>of cities with thirty millions each, and so on.
Those cities would be hard to feed with the transportation tech
described in the book.
--
Don't be sorry to email me.
Damien Sullivan
don't remember much. Then I got Majipoor Chronicles in a box of books from my
sister and know I like that -- I've re-read it. I read LVC at some point; no
memory.
Then I bought Sorcerers of Majipoor, or maybe Mountains of Majipoor.
Maybe I've looked at both. I sure haven't read either one...
-xx- Damien X-)
Jesper Lauridsen
> I read it young also, and it still holds up for me too. I also
>really liked the fact that Majipoor is obviously a galactic backwater,
>without many spaceports, yet has not only the aboriginal
>shape-shifters but seriously large communities of other aliens. Humans
>seemingly rather insignificant were it not for the King of Dreams and
>the Lady.
And the two rulers...
Robert Carnegie
Parish <wes.p...@paradise.net.nz> writes
>Lord Valentines Castle
>seemed made out of badly fitted prefab for me
That's Majipoor for you - poor material resources are part of the
back-story :-)
Doom & Gloom Dave
I'm thinking that without the power of the dreams via the Lady and the
desert bound King of Dreams that the Coronal and Pontifex wouldn't be
meaningful. This is a big big world and without that power I don't see any
ruler being able to enforce their will on the populace.