Lord Valentine's Castle

Robert Silverberg
Lord Valentine's Castle Cover

Science fictional world, fantasy tropes

Triseult
12/10/2012
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This one is a strange but otherwise pleasant beast. It's a great little adventure romp in the hybrid realm known as science fantasy, which is to say it borrows both from the science fiction and fantasy genres. Although mostly formulaic despite the genre breeding, its protagonist is nevertheless engaging enough to keep the storytelling fresh throughout.

The mix of science fiction and fantasy is more mongrel than clever crossbreed. Although the world-building lies firmly within the purview of science, the story structure and tropes belong heart and soul to epic fantasy. There's a reluctant hero, and he travels all over the map as he discovers his own past and gathers allies of various races around him. All this happens to take place on a world colonized by aliens and powered by ancient technology, but these details belong more to the background than to the action and tone.

Fortunately, Valentine is an engaging hero, especially at first. His amnesia initially feels like a tired cliché, but as things progress it matters less and less. Valentine is compassionate, happy, gentle, and abhors violence. This creates a very different narrative from the usual orc-slaying extravaganza of fantasy, although there are a few bouts of violence and warfare before all is said and done. It's refreshing to see a hero who avoids violence at all costs, though, and who influences the course of events through compassion instead of brute strength.

The world of Majipoor is definitely original, though I didn't find it all that compelling nor compellingly told. There are bouts of exposition here and there, during which we're repeatedly told how vast the world is. That the characters born on this world would find it so vast felt jarring, as you'd expect them to take their own world for granted. Gene Wolfe did this magnificently in The Shadow of the Torturer, but here we're mostly being told rather than shown.

Although overall the book was enjoyable, ultimately it mostly consists of a bunch of characters touring a magnificent imaginary world. A lot of it feels like extemporization for the ultimate plot resolution. There's even an odd pastiche or homage to Moby-Dick in there, and I swear some lines were lifted verbatim from Melville's work. But once in a while Valentine breaks out a juggling act, and all is right in Majipoor.