Saturday, January 22, 2022



 

Robert Silverberg  (1935-    )


After a war lasting one hundred years, a radioactive holocaust left much of planet Earth in chaos.  The next five hundred years saw the establishment of feudal kingdoms in almost all countries, with "Dukes" the rulers of each of the twelve enclaves encompassing the globe.  These leaders had acquired immortality perhaps due to lingering radioactive influences, and they reigned autocratically in the major cities.  The cities were also based on the feudal idea of security, with a central castle surrounded by business and residential districts.  Employment in the rural areas were principally related to agriculture and whatever mechanical or mining interests seemed appropriate in each vicinity.

Dale Kesley had been a farmer for five years that he knew of, as he had no memory of his life before that period.  He was rather tired of the unceasing grind, so when a stranger named Dryle Van Alen arrived at his farm and informed him that he had been brain-washed and that a brilliant future awaited him, he readily acceded to his proposed plan of abandoning his livelihood and accompanying him to Antarctica, where a 13th dukedom had been established.  Traveling by six-legged horse (mutations were common in this era), the pair journeyed to Galveston where they caught a freighter to Argentina.  South of Buenos Aires, they were captured by bandits after an exchange of gun fire and Dale was taken back to the capital to see Duke Miguel.  Van Alen had managed to escape.  The Duke, a smiling exemplar of cheerful autocracy, gave Dale a choice:  he could either be imprisoned or he could go back to America and assassinate Duke Winslow, the Duke of Chicago and then marry Narella, his adopted daughter.  Narella's father was Daveen the blind singer, known for his talent and psychic abilities;  his location was unknown but Dale thought he might be able to aid in recalling his past if he could locate him.

So Dale goes to Chicago and is captured while trying to kill the obese Duke.  The same night, however, he's rescued by a seven foot tall mutant named Lomark Dawnspear, a master of psychic manipulation who put all the guards to sleep.  Escaping on another six-legged horse, he leads the Duke's minions a merry chase through Illinois and Indiana but finally receives refuge in a "mutie city" (an enclave of mutant humans who have been isolated by "normal" humanity) situated in Kentucky.  Here he sees Dawnspear again and through the agency of a local teleport is transported in a flash to Antarctica.  The Antarctic capital city is wildly different than what he's used to, with large edifices in brilliant colors and designed in a plethora of varying styles.  He's taken to see the local Duke, who explains things to him.  (spoilers ahead)  In the first place, the Duke has psychic abilities also, and is a shape-shifter:  his alternate physiques are Daveen the blind singer, Van Alen, Dale's guide, and Lomark Dawnspear.  Dale remains confused about the purposeless of all that he's been through until Van Alen (his real identity) informs him that he is the successor to the throne for one reason:  he's not sterile, as all the other Dukes are, and that Van Alen is his real father.  He had hypnotized Dale five years before and made a farmer out of him to protect him from the other Dukes who were envious and fearful of how he might  jeopardize their powers.  Anyway, after a struggle, Dale agrees to accept the Dukeship and looks forward to revising the world.

This wasn't a great novel by any means, but it had interesting action scenes including gunfights, daring escapes, oddly shaped humans and horses and devious plotting.  I found it kept my interest, but i probably wouldn't read it again.  Of course Silverberg became a well-known sci fi figure in his later life (this was his first major novel) with a unique style and perspective.  The Majipoor Cycle including Lord Valentine's Castle have thus far been his most popular efforts, i believe...

12 comments:

  1. This sounds pretty entertaining, if a little extravagant. I should try to read something for classic sci-fi month...

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    1. it was that, all right... how do you feel re Terry Pratchett? i guess that's more fantasy, tho... Olaf Stapledon's The Star Maker had a large influence on me at one time...

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    2. I'm pretty fond of Terry Pratchett. Is he old enough to be classic? Maybe so! But I've been in a mood to read some more Philip K. Dick, so it could be something by him.

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    3. i went thru a PKD phase and read many of his books... a truly inventive mind, but not all there, all of the time...

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  2. One has to admit that the man has a vivid imagination.

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    1. he did! i gather he's not usually rated among the top notch sci fi authors, although i think he should be, based on some of his other works which are tellingly inventive...

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  3. Lord Valentine's Castle is the only Silverberg book I've ever read. And I did enjoy it. But I think I'll pass on this one.

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    1. i started it once but dnf got in the way... i'll get back to it one of these years i hope... i get distracted too easily...

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  4. Uh, this sounds a little too over-the-top for me and it sounds like the writing wasn't good enough to carry it off. Great to read your review though!! And I'm happy to see you're having fun with this challenge!

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    1. i did it last year also and it was a great beginning to a terrible year... i hope that doesn't mean that... this year can't possibly be as horrible as '21... can it?

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  5. I don't know if these books are as good as you make them sound or you just have an amazing ability to sum up plot lines. You should be writing for a newspaper. Have you ever done that?

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  6. tx, Sharon... but i'm just an old hack is all. but some of the works i post on are pretty good in spite of my summations... i'd be afraid to work on a newspaper, i think...

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