Comments on: REVIEW: Thebes of the Hundred Gates by Robert Silverberg

By: Jayne

Jayne — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:17:33 +0000

BS, thanks for the plot synopsis. That was an awful lot of typing for you!

This novella seems to have slipped under the radar of a lot of his fans. I’m glad to bring it to everyone’s attention.

By: Karen W.

Karen W. — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 01:32:13 +0000

I love Silverberg’s work; he’s one of my all-time favorite SF writers. I didn’t know about this novella, so thanks for the review!

By: Baked Scrod

Baked Scrod — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:57:33 +0000

Silverberg has an amazing backlist – some of his books are nearly horrifying but all inspire strong emotion. LORD VALENTINE’S CASTLE is an amazing work, something that exploded out of his usual work and made his second reputation. It takes place on a world a hundred times the size of Earth but with the same gravity, a world so huge humans couldn’t hold it alone but called for alien colonists to share it, a world so vivid and weird and true that it survives being the background of the story of a man born and raised a king, whose nature cannot be concealed no matter what changes come. Majipoor is so huge that ordinary police and laws are often ineffective, but each night The King of Dreams and Lady of the Island prowl the sleeping minds of millions, searching for criminals in need of punishment or suffering souls in need of balm. The old king, the Pontifex, runs the government from his underground Labyrinth while the young Coronal rules the world from his incredibly exalted throne.

By: Jayne

Jayne — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:35:15 +0000

LOL, well you can tell I don’t read much science fiction, can’t you? Thanks for all the recs. I’m always more willing to venture into the deep end of the pool if I have a few specific book titles to keep me afloat.

By: DS

DS — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 10:44:21 +0000

The Majipoor books are very good. The novel series begins with Lord Valentine.

By: KS Augustin

KS Augustin — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 10:41:37 +0000

I snorted whisky-on-ice out my nose (ouch!) when I read your review because–did you know?–Silverberg has been writing since the mid-1950s. As much as I like his science-fiction, to me, Silverberg’s crowning glory is a far-future fantasy called “Lord Valentine’s Castle”. Give that one a whirl. If you like that, then please please give M John Harrison a shot. The man must be one of the most underrated fantasy writers around. His works include “The Pastel City”, “Viriconium” and “A Storm of Wings”. Highly recommended for thought-provoking fantasy that goes way beyond the usual “coupon quests”. Ahem. In my opinion.

By: Charlene Teglia

Charlene Teglia — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:26:42 +0000

Thank you. Because my e-reader card wasn’t already too full…

There’s the classic Nightfall. Might take you a while to get into it, but interesting. And At Winter’s End. Y’know, I think both of those have the same theme, now that I think about it. Anyway, if you get into Silverberg, his backlist will keep you busy for a good long time!

By: Jayne

Jayne — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:13:35 +0000

Yes, I bought it a Fictionwise. I’d been contemplating it for a while and took the plunge when they had their mega sale a few months ago. Have you read many of his books and can you make recs? I see they have a ton of his books for sale. And I’m always glad to feed someone’s lusts!

By: Charlene Teglia

Charlene Teglia — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:08:40 +0000

Did you find this on Fictionwise? This is a Silverberg I’ve never heard of. And Egypt! Cool! You are feeding my booklust for unconventional historical settings again…