Majipoor Cycle

4 primary works • 5 total works

Lord Valentine's Castle

by Robert Silverberg

Published 1 January 1980

The first volume in Silverberg's most memorable and ambitious fantasy series, the Majipoor Cycle.

Lord Valentine's Castle is the first book in the legendary Majipoor cycle, revealing the vast and teeming fantasy world of Silverberg's bestselling series. From the heart of the labyrinth, the Pontifex rules Majipoor by telepathic command and by the terror sent by the King of Dreams. High above on Castle Mount, his adopted son the Coronal lives in state, holder of the Starburst Crown. When a conspiracy overthrows the legitimate Coronal and replaces him with an imposter, the treason is concealed by sorcery... until a dream reveals it to Valentine, a travelling juggler.

Valentine cares nothing for princes. A free man and a happy one, he pities his namesake Lord Valentine the Coronal, second most luminous of the Powers of Majipoor. He hates the sorcery of imperial might and the worship of the Starburst Crown. But when the time comes for the guardians of the dream to rise up, Valentine must answer to them.

Majipoor Chronicles

by Robert Silverberg

Published 1 January 1982

Science fiction-roman.

Valentine Pontifex

by Robert Silverberg

Published 1 January 1983

The second book in the magnificent Majipoor Cycle, the bestselling saga conceived on a truly epic scale.

The extraordinary story continues in this volume of the bestselling Majipoor Cycle that began with Lord Valentine's Castle.

By night he dreams of imminent dangers that threaten peaceful Majipoor. By day Lord Valentine rules a world fragile in its diversity, and his deep, dark vision of treachery and wizardry make the burdens of the crown and sceptre heavy. Then he learns that the evil Shapeshifters are planning to recapture their lost world, forcing Valentine to act. He must surrender to his enemies or plunge his people into war.

The scope of its society and the detailed history Silverberg has created for this world is breathtaking. Against this, his deep, dark vision of treachery and wizardry make the burdens of the crown and sceptre heavy for Valentine and exciting for the reader.

Tales of Majipoor

by Robert Silverberg

Published 21 February 2013

From one of the masters of SF comes this new collection of stories, all set on his most famous creation - the world of Majipoor. A massive world of adventure, romance and danger. A place where dreams can soothe the restless or flay the minds of the guilty. Where humans, aliens and natives live in a shifting, uneasy alliance and where two great men rule over all. No matter who bears the title, there is always a Coronal and a Pontifex, forever miles apart, forever striving to maintain the balance of their far-flung civilisation. Here, collected for the first time, are the final tales of Majipoor. From the earliest legends of the Shapeshifters to an untold mystery late in the reign of Valentine Pontifex, the seven stories in this collection expand upon and flesh out the remarkable world that Robert Silverberg has created. Spanning a decade of writing from one of the masters of science-fiction, this collection is both a fantastic introduction for those new to Majipoor and a welcome return for those who have visited before.

The King of Dreams

by Robert Silverberg

Published 19 February 2001

The reader of earlier Majipoor books will thrill to this title: the Prestimion trilogy is set many years before the Valentine books, and the King of Dreams is an established, terrifying figure in those. Now eponymous, this is the story of his origins. Fifteen years have elapsed since the events recounted in Lord Prestimion. Prestimion has become Pontifex, and named Prince Dekkeret to succeed him as Coronal. As he prepares to take his place in the subterranean Laybyrinth where the Pontifex must dwell, the diabolical Mandralisca manipulates a declaration of independence for Zimroel from the five nephews of the treacherous Dantirya Sambail (see Majipoor Chronicles). Out of Zimroel comes a devastating mental broadcast that strikes randomly all over the world, inflicting terrible psychological pain. Prestimion's brother Teotas commits suicide. His wife Varail and their daughter are damaged. The complex, intriguing transformation of that sinister power in to a feature of a unified Majipoor involves bitter conflict between Pontifex and Coronel, and the unveiling to the world at large of Prestimion's secret hold over the memories of the everyone alive.
We know from the Valentine books that Prestimion's reign will initiate a Golden Age of prosperity and peace, but until the end of THE KING OF DREAMS, it is difficult to see how this comes about. Good storytelling, a magnificent setting, grand political vision.