Robert Silverberg (1935 - )Robert Silverberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1935, and is one of the most prolific authors of all time, writing not just SF & Fantasy, but extensive non-fiction and a large number of pseudonymously published erotica novels. In his first years as a professional writer, his output regularly exceeded a million words per year. He has won and been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards dozens of times as both writer and editor, and in 2004 received the SFWA Grand Master Award. Among his many acclaimed and bestselling novels are A Time of Changes, The Book of Skulls, Dying Inside and Lord Valentine's Castle.Robert Silverberg lives on the West Coast of the United States with his wife, author, editor and art critic, Karen Haber.
The prolific Silverberg (Starborne, etc.) offers a familiar odyssey spanning half a planet, two years and the gap between a child who knows everything about how his world works and a man who knows how to question it all. Destined to rule over an estate of Folk"a race he knew to be gentle, hardworking and not overly bright"15-year-old Joseph, one of the noble race of Masters, has left his home in the south to visit cousins in the north continent, High Manza, of a future Earth known as the Mother World. When the Folk of the north unexpectedly rebel, they kill all Masters and loyal servants they can find. Thrust out into the wilderness and forced to survive by his wits, Joseph tries to get home. Along the way he's loved, despised, held captive, educated and traded as a commodity. While neither the protagonist of this bildungsroman nor his transformation is remarkable, the land that our young hero journeys through and the exotic creatures that inhabit it testify to the author's rich imagination. The solid presence of the noctambulo, a being with different personalities by day and by night who leads Joseph for a time, establishes the otherness of the Mother World. As Joseph passes through many villages of the alien Indigenes, with their puzzling philosophy of indifference, their behavior toward him evolves, subtly demonstrating the distance Joseph has traveled toward maturity. Fans won't find much that's new or challenging, but they should enjoy the ride. (July 9) FYI: Silverberg's previous novel was the concluding volume of his Majipoor cycle, The King of Dreams: Book Three of the Prestimion Trilogy (Forecasts, Apr. 30, 2001). Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Caught in a rebel uprising while visiting his relatives in House Getfen, 15-year-old Joseph, heir to House Keilloran, flees a massacre and undertakes a journey across his world to reach his home. In danger from pursuing rebels, Joseph also finds himself exposed to the unfamiliar world of the Indigenes, a race of nonviolent sentient beings who coexist with the dominant human race. The latest novel by sf veteran and master raconteur Silverberg (The Majipoor Chronicles) relates the coming-of-age of a young man raised in luxury who learns resilience and compassion in the face of adversity. A good choice for most sf and YA collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Adult/High School-A coming-of-age story set on a distant planet. Joseph has been trained all his life to be the next Master of his House (a sort of feudal state). The indigenous species and the humans seem to have worked out a stable, amicable system for sharing the planet, but while Joseph is visiting relatives on a faraway continent, "the Folk," a human worker caste, suddenly rebel, killing all the Masters. Joseph flees to the forest, determined to find his way home. He is aided (and sometimes hindered) by the planet's sentient species, including free Folk who are concerned with neither Masters nor revolution. Most of what Joseph thought he knew is called into question, and he gains a new understanding of his world. From his training, he has the confidence and nobility to deal with a variety of situations. From his friends along the way, he receives metaphysical instruction, sexual initiation, and an introduction to political philosophy. In one memorable episode, a starving Joseph-once a spoiled princeling who thoughtlessly hunted-must club a friendly animal; here, Silverberg masterfully conveys the reality of death, and all of the emotional pain and ethical conflict that such a choice presents to a person of conscience. At the end of Joseph's journey, readers will be left wondering how he will deal with the dilemma of being in charge of a social system that he now understands cannot last. This engaging, entertaining book is a fast read with many thoughtful themes.-Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
