| SF Reviews by Aaron M. Renn | By Author - By Title - By Date Reviewed |
Conclusion: Worth Reading, but non-Majipoor fans should wait for the paperback
[ Warning: Major SPOILERS for "Sorcerers of Majipoor", the previous book in this series ]
Silverberg does an amazing thing in this book. He manages to keep me interested for over 400 pages in which remarkably little actually happens. I read the Lord Valentine books many years ago, but basically forgot everything about them except that I thought they were ok. Other than that I'd never read any Silverberg works, but I had heard many people complain that his recent books were basically junk. But I decided I'd take a chance on Lord Prestimion anyway.
This is volume two of a trilogy, but functions well as a standalone. All of the events from the previous Sorcerers of Majipoor (which I haven't read) are reviewed in sufficient detail to fill you in on the background. Prestimion was destinted to be Coronal of Majipoor. But when the old Lord Confalume was elevated to Pontifex on the death of the emperor Prankipin, Confalume's son Korsibar usurped the throne. After a bloody civil war, Prestimion finally triumphed. To heal the scars of war, he had his mages invoke a spell of forgetfulness that obliterated the war from the minds of the populace.
This volume basically covers the aftermath of that conflict. Pretimion has to deal with an outbreak of madness among the people that appears to be a result of the forgetfulness spell. He also has to deal with a couple of troublesome leftover villians from the war. But that's about it. There is remarkably little action.
Nevertheless, I found myself drawn in. Silverberg uses this book to show off many of the wonders of Majipoor. Perhaps a bit too many of the wonders in some places. Occasionally his prose sounds like one of those lists of ancestors from the Old Testament. But there's no denying that Majipoor is a fascinating place. I can't even begin to describe it here, so I won't even try. I'll just say that I think it is one of the better SF worlds out there. There's so much I want to learn about it - particularly the exact types of technology they possess, a topic on which Silverberg is deliberately vague. I think that's one reason I keep reading. I'm waiting for Silverberg to whip out a spaceport on me or something.
Those who enjoy exploring vast, grand, imaginary worlds will definitely enjoy this book. People who are looking for lots of action will probably want to take a pass. Also, Silverberg writes in a somewhat stiff, formal manner that echos the way a great king like Prestimion might speak. If that is not to your liking, you should also take a pass. In any case, except for hard core Silverberg or Majipoor fans, I recommend waiting for the paperback as this one isn't really up the hardcover price tag in my opinion.
%A Silverberg, Robert %T Lord Prestimion %S The Prestimion Trilogy %V Book Two %I HarperPrism %D 1999-08 %G ISBN 0-06-105028-8 %P 416 pp. %0 hardcover, US$25.00
Reviewed on 1999-08-25
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