Gateway Essentials
2 total works
Three thousand years after Earth's colonisation of the planet Borthan, stories of self-serving hypocrisy that occured among the first arrivals have bred a culture that forbids emotional sharing and denies the naturally human concept of 'self'. The result is a lasting peace, but at a terrible price. For it is a peace without love, without self, where even the mention of the word 'I' is taboo.
Spurred on by the arrival of an Earthman with a self-baring drug, Kinnall Darival breaks the strict code of the Covenant to record the sordid details of his rebelious life from the days of his royal youth to self-appointed prophet of love. He begins his account with the greatest of heresies:
'I am Kinnall Darival and I mean to tell you all about myself.'
Winner of the Nebula Award for best novel.
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.