The King of Dreams

Lord Prestimion #3

by Robert Silverberg

A new novel in the magnificent Majipoor series and a sequel to Lord Prestimion. At last Prestimion prepares to take his place in the subterranean Labyrinth where the Pontifex must dwell. He has named Prince Dekkeret to succeed him as Coronal. Once a commoner, Dekkeret brings new blood to the aristocratic Starburst Throne, and a popular wisdom. Another prosperous joint reign should begin. But the diabolical Mandralisca is the éminence grise behind a declaration of independence from distant Zimroel. Coolly proclaiming the five debauched nephews of the treacherous Dantirya Sambail to be the Five Lords of Zimroel, Mandralisca is preparing to destroy the unity and peace of Majipoor. The soothsayer Su-Suheris predicts that a new power is loose in the world, a power equal to any other, but Dekkeret has no faith in omens. Only when Mandralisca avails himself of a sinister device that destroys the mind of Dekkeret’s own High Counsellor does the new Coronal begin to see a threat.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy

514 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2001

About the author

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Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.

Reviews

[Ben Lund · Rating 1 out of 5]

Colour me unimpressed. All three of these books were less enjoyable than the "Lord Valentine" series. My biggest beefs? Predictability, monotony, followed by the actual story being wrapped up in the last 20 pages. I seriously thought that there were several characters that we weren't going to hear about because they wasn't enough time. Thank goodness for the jump cut and excessive exposition.

Do you enjoy 400 pages of nothing happening, followed by 4 pages of resolution, because that is basically what is happening here. I am wondering if Silverberg got roped into another 3 book deal after the "Lord Valentine" series did well, and by the time he got to this one he just wanted to move onto something else and capped it off.

I mean it is nice to get some of the backstory of Majipoor and you find out about how the "King of Dreams" was created, which you know exists if you read "Lord Valentine" first (which is the order in which it was published). But nothing that really deepened your appreciation of the world that he has created. Set you eyes to skim as he, at several points, lists off multiple lines of people and places with unpronounceable names to let you know that "hey, this world is really big, and look at all the work I did to make up a bunch of stuff that sounds foreign." Ohhh, lets get on my bilimbuk and ride down to the plains of stilfunport. Really?

Also how is it that both Prestimion and Dekkert dislike magic so much, when it is literally saving their collective asses every time they turn around. I would have a healthy respect for the art if I've relied on it getting me out of trouble several times in a single year. Also what the hell is up with Prestimion, the past 2 books he is level-headed, methodical in getting things achieved, and this book he is pissed off in every other scene. Is he bi-polar? Is this some plot twist that Silverberg never got around to explaining.

Finally though my biggest gripe, you have a entire governmental system that is based on leadership NOT being passed down within a family, part of your entire problem that you are dealing with is because of a group of people that think that power SHOULD BE passed down from generation to generation, so obviously the only solution is to create a power who can GO INTO ANYONE'S MIND AT ANY TIME AND TORTURE THEM. And that power should only stay within one family for the REST OF TIME. Because Dinitak is so good, that all his kids will be good as well, it only makes sense, I mean Dinitak's uncle and father were such good, upstanding---oh wait! Yeah, I don't see that ever biting you in the butt.

Basically, even though I really wanted to enjoy this book and these series as a whole, this book strikes me either as lazy writing or a poor editor, but there was not enough in it for me to recommend it to someone else as a great point for getting into a new author. I guess it's time for me to leave Majipoor behind as well.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Majopoor has been colonised by humans for 13 000 years. The descriptions of the plants, alien beings, foods and cities are comprehensive and detailed and take up many pages. The plot is simple - good against evil - and it seems there will be a war to resolve it. In the end, the resolution is simple and swift and a bit disappointing.

[James Traxler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final book in the Majipoor series.
Quite good, 3.5 stars.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

The action was less intense than the earlier stories. Th resolution less credible. At least some of the characters developed as humans.

[Yev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yesterday I read all this book. The paperback came out in 2002, which is also when I bought it. I had already read all the previous books. It's a mystery how so much time can pass by before getting around to something that one buys.

I had considerable trepidation before I started reading it. I had quite enjoyed the previous books that I had read all those years ago and I was concerned that I wouldn't enjoy this now and that it would ruin my memories. I don't like rewatching or rereading anything because past experience has shown me that I almost always enjoy it a lot less the second time and that causes me question why I liked it in the first place and whether it would be the same for everything else.

Fortunately, I enjoyed this well enough, despite its various flaws. I don't remember there being so much unnecessarily detailed exposition along with unneeded side stories all throughout, but it's been closer to 20 years than not. A lot is unclear in general about my reading then.

Majipoor is the planet's name and it was settled by humans and various other aliens about 14,000 years ago. For reasons that are never really addressed, aside from saying the crust is metal poor, it's still mostly medieval technology with random advanced technologies here and there and a functional spaceport that is rarely visited.

I don't know whether this novel is a subversion of expectations or a result of unfortunate circumstances. I'll believe the former despite more evidence for the latter. Plot spoilers follow.
For most of the novel, it seems like it's setting up for a massive war campaign with both sides strongly agitating for war, especially the more powerful side. However, none of that ever happens. The antagonist turns out to be a megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur who is unable to back up anything he does with actual action and has to continually reduce the scope of his ambitions as others withdraw their support from him as they realize he's simply a psychopathic narcissist without self-awareness who wants them to do everything for him.

The antagonist also being driven insane by his plot device weapon. The novel ends with the antagonist proposing an in-person parley with the protagonist where the antagonist tries to kill the protagonist thinking that will solve all of the his problems, but they just kill him. The End.

Despite that the book was originally published about 7 months before 9/11, it could be read as a response to that and the ensuing consequences of the following years. A story of a superpower wanting a disproportionate and misguided response to a terrorist attack, but cooler heads prevail. The protagonist's solution to prevent further rebellion is to have a global surveillance state.

Rating: 3.5/5

[Chip Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, like most of the other Majipoor books, was disappointing at best. Although I do enjoy the detailed world that Silverberg has created, I just have a hard time really getting excited about a story line that even the characters in the book don't seem too concerned over! Way too much time is spent on insignificant little sideplots and wearisome detailed descriptions of everything from the food thats eaten to the color of the leaves of a tree. I want more action, more conflict, and more excitment! I know part of that is just Silverberg's style, but most of these Majipoor books just havn't done it for me.

This book in particular really should have been much better. The basic plot had great potential, with Mandralisca using the Barjazid helmet to mess with peoples minds and the possibility of a inter-continental war. Also, the way the book ended was weak. You take 400-something pages to gradually (very gradually) build up to a climax and then have it end in a completely predictable and insanely quick way. Nothing in this entire book was a surprise (except maybe that Septach Melyn appears to be gay??) and although some of it was quite interesting, it didn't really do much to add to the overall story or to keep the reader interested.

I think Silverberg was just tired of writing about Majipoor and just decided to F-it and cap it off with this second rate work.

[Bryan Thomas Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great ending to the Majipoor cycle. So good, it makes me sad to see it end. I read the previous two in the Prestimion series almost a year ago and kept putting this one off to read other things. I had found "Lord Prestimion" less satisfying than "Sorcerers of Majipoor" much as "Majipoor Chronicles" was not as good as "Lord Valentine's Castle." Unlike "Valentine Pontifex," however, "King Of Dreams" was as good as "Sorcerers" and a great read. Truly a delight. Silverberg is purely amazing. No one writes and worldbuilds like this.

[Jenny Clifford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is sort of a classic fantasy series, but set on an alien world filled with lots of different and original species. It reads almost like a space opera, and there are certainly a lot of sci-fi elements in it, as well as magic. It is a lot of fun, with lots of quirky and well written characters, and the plot is very suspenseful. The whole series is very unique, and very well worth a read.

[Lynn Calvin]

ereader ebook

[Deedee]

IL: UG - BL: 7.6 - AR Pts: 30.0

[Alex]

False