Lord Valentine's Castle
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Narrated by:
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Stefan Rudnicki
About this listen
The Majipoor Cycle begins as young Valentine, a man with no memory, is hired as an apprentice juggler by a group of eccentric performers. While the traveling troupe takes to the road, Valentine's sleep is disturbed by nightmare visions of warring brothers and difficulties on faraway Castle Mount. In a quest to discover who Valentine really is, his wise and peculiar companions resolve to help him claim the rewards of his birth. But another trial awaits Valentine that will test his belief, resolve, and strength of character.
©1980 Robert Silverberg (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Editorial reviews
Some authors write prose that speaks so distinctly that it needs no embellishment from a narrator. Silverberg is such an author, and so Rudnicki, being one of those no-frills narrators who basically acts as a conduit for the listener, is an ideal choice for narrator. His performance is understated but compelling and it is that understated nature of his reading that is largely responsible for his appeal. Rudnicki is not going to dazzle you with his range of voices or other vocal trickery; instead, he keeps things basic, and for the most part just conveys the author's text and keeps out of the way, making listening to an audiobook read by him akin to reading the book yourself.
Some folks just know how to tell a story. And when you get two natural-born storytellers like Silverberg and Rudnicki together on the same project, the result is quite an unforgettable journey. John Joseph Adams
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Walter of Gurnie, bastard son of an English peer, is forced to flee from Oxford for his part in the university riots of 1273. Inspired by Friar Bacon, he determines to travel to China. With his friend Tristam, he fights his way to the heart of the fabulous Mongol Empire and returns famous, to find that he must choose between the first love he thought lost and the exotic flower that he found in the East.
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Great Book
- By Jean on 03-09-13
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Worldship: Udo the Digger
- Worldship, Book 1
- By: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Udo's biggest problem isn't being a digger (that's low class), or staying drunk (that's damn expensive), or avoiding the Dwergaz (they're monsters), or even pissing off the supposed Gods. It's that his reality...well, it isn't what he thought. And now, he can't even afford to drink because his so-called friend Nicz is cutting into his business, digging up tin, iron, and copper. So Udo forms a new plan: clay. After all, clay jars are used to store everything: meat, herbs, and, his personal favorite, ale.
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I am confused.
- By Ahkia on 06-02-20
By: Joshua Gayou
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Unfettered
- Tales By Masters of Fantasy
- By: Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss, Robert Jordan, and others
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Marc Vietor, Bronson Pinchot, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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You define life or it defines you. In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story that Shawn could sell to help alleviate those bills—and suggested he ask the same of his other writer friends. Unfettered is the result: An anthology built in order to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.
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A TRULY BAD COLLECTION OF DOGS
- By Randall on 12-21-18
By: Terry Brooks, and others
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A Shadow on the Glass
- By: Ian Irvine
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Once there were three worlds, each with their own human species. Then, fleeing out of the void came a fourth species, the Charon. Desperate, on the edge of extinction, they changed the balance between the worlds forever. Karan, a sensitive with a troubled heritage, is forced to steal an ancient relic in repayment of a debt. It turns out to be the Mirror of Aachan, a twisted, deceitful thing that remembers everything it has ever seen.
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Not quite good enough.
- By Scott S. on 03-13-12
By: Ian Irvine
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The Dagger of Trust
- By: Chris Willrich
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Gideon Gull leads a double life: one as a talented young bard at the Rhapsodic College, the other as a student of the Shadow School, where Taldor's infamous lion blades are trained to be master spies and assassins. When a magical fog starts turning ordinary people into murderous mobs along the border between Taldor and Gideon's home nation of Andoran, it's up to him and a crew of daring performers to solve the mystery before both nations fall to madness and slaughter.
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Bard Team 6
- By Kojo on 06-12-24
By: Chris Willrich
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The First Book of Swords
- By: Fred Saberhagen
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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For a game, the gods have given the world 12 Swords of Power so that they might be amused as the nations battle for their possession. But Vulcan the Smith has had his own little joke: the Swords can kill the gods themselves. What started out as Divine Jest has become all too serious as the gods fight to recover the Swords, and mortals discover that the mantle of power is more delicious and more terrible than anything they could have imagined.
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One Of My Very Highest Recommendations!
- By Michael on 02-25-13
By: Fred Saberhagen
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The Complete Chronicles of Corin An Fol
- Legends of Ansu
- By: J.W. Webb
- Narrated by: Andrew McDermott
- Length: 68 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Six volumes together in one collection! Follow the adventures of Corin an Fol as he avenges his family, learns the way of the sword, and battles evil across the world of Ansu. Includes: Gray Wolf, Legends of the Longsword, Wolves and Assassins, The Shattered Crown, The Lost Prince, and The Glass Throne.
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Deep, Celtic, Epic Fantasy
- By Armour Bearer on 04-19-21
By: J.W. Webb
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Child of a Mad God
- The Coven, Book 1
- By: R. A. Salvatore
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 18 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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From R. A. Salvatore, the legendary creator of Drizzt Do'Urden, comes the start of a brand new epic journey. When Aoleyn loses her parents, she is left to fend for herself among a tribe of vicious barbarians. Bound by rigid traditions, she dreams of escaping to the world beyond her mountain home. The only hope for achieving the kind of freedom she searches for is to learn how to wield the mysterious power used by the tribe's coven known as the Song of Usgar. Thankfully, Aoleyn may be the strongest witch to have ever lived, but magic comes at price.
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A lot of nothing happening over a long time
- By steven brachna on 02-08-18
By: R. A. Salvatore
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A Shadow of All Night Falling
- Dread Empire, Book 1
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Across the mountains called the Dragon's Teeth, beyond the chill reach of the Werewind and the fires of the world's beginning, above the walls of the castle Fangdred, stands Windtower. From this lonely keep the Star Rider calls forth the war that even wizards dread, fought for a woman's hundred-lifetime love. A woman called Nepanthe, princess to the Stormkings…
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Nothimg like Black Company-good in a different way
- By Zap Rowsdower on 10-02-21
By: Glen Cook
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Path of a Novice
- Silvan Series, Book 1
- By: R.K. Lander
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Fel'annár is a gifted immortal warrior embarking on his first patrol into the Deep Forest. Half-Silvan, half-Alpine, he battles the enemy from without, and the prejudice from within. But he learns more than just warfare when an arcane power begins to emerge, one he cannot control. While friendships are forged, a destiny unfolds, one that is tied to a past he knows nothing about. For others, though, it is only a matter of time before the truth is revealed, and the danger becomes real.
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ONE OF THE BEST!!!
- By ashley on 01-23-20
By: R.K. Lander
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Savage Legion
- Savage Rebellion
- By: Matt Wallace
- Narrated by: Lameece Issaq
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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They call them Savages. Brutal. Efficient. Expendable. The empire relies on them. The Savages are the greatest weapon they ever developed. Culled from the streets of their cities, they take the ones no one will miss and throw them, by the thousands, at the empire’s enemies. Evie is not a Savage. She’s a warrior with a mission: to find the man she once loved, the man who holds the key to exposing the secret of the Savage Legion and ending the mass conscription of the empire’s poor and wretched. But to find him, she must become one of them....
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It could have been good, but wasn't
- By M. Wightman on 09-20-21
By: Matt Wallace
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The Mercenary Code
- The Shattering of Kingdoms, Book 1
- By: Emmet Moss
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Centuries ago, the murder of a beloved king tore apart the Kingdom of Caledun. The land was plunged into chaos and thousands perished. A new order was established in an attempt to return Caledun to its former glory. It failed, but in its place rose the beginnings of the Code. During this same period, the mystical caretakers of the Great Wood retreated from the world of Kal Maran, their disappearance an ominous harbinger of the suffering that was to follow. The Great Wood now grows out of control. Cities, towns, and villages have fallen before the relentless march of the forest.
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Quite Impressed
- By Maclane on 07-27-20
By: Emmet Moss
What listeners say about Lord Valentine's Castle
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- C. Paget
- 07-29-08
Superb
I read this book shortly after it's first publication so it's a great pleasure hearing it in audio form. I only need to comment on it's superb, expert narration. Flawless.
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12 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 05-03-13
Help! I'm Drowning In Poorly Written Mysticism!
I HATE reading good scifi or fantasy writing saddled by a smothering theme.
It's like having sheet cake...The WHOLE sheet cake. It's cloying at the end of the day.
Despite the wonderful alien races, simple strong writing, interesting characters, and a great plot. THEN...That crazy wacky King of Dreams. SO much planet-spanning messages to everyone in the night, so many blurry analogies, hidden godly wills, and a mishmash of mysticism and religion.
It just pulled me away from the core of a great novel.
Please understand, religion in fantasy is commonplace. Look at Jordan's Wheel Of Time series as an example of religion woven smoothly into fantasy writing. It works. It strengthens the entire story, and is one of the essential underpinnings of the entire series.
Here, not so much.
I hate that I love this work, and am equally frustrated by it's poorly driven religion. I finished the work, and hoped that this would end in the first novel. Nope. It got worse.
I'm VERY confident that some of you will disagree, and that's okay. This is MY opinion, and I have to be true to myself.
Sorry, Robert, I really tried.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Floyd
- 11-11-14
Superb!
Would you listen to Lord Valentine's Castle again? Why?
Absolutely! I have loved this story ever since I got my first hardback copy from the Science Fiction Book Club when I was a kid. Mr. Rudnicki really brings everything to life!
Who was your favorite character and why?
Valentine, of course.
Which character – as performed by Stefan Rudnicki – was your favorite?
The Hjort in Valentine's troop. Mr. Rudnicki did a great job giving him a gurgling voice you'd expect from a frog-like race.
Any additional comments?
All I can say is listen to this book! You'll love it!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Xine F.
- 02-19-19
A great rendition of a classic
This book was a delight when it was first published, and this reading of it is excellent. Good pacing, accurate pronunciation, and not over-acted as so many audiobooks are. Mr Rudnicki’s performance is great. Highly recommended.
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- RS
- 02-20-22
Fantastic wonderful story
This is not gritty realistic sci-fi but somewhere between fantasy and sci-fi that is hopeful engaging and bright.
No gore or violence.
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- Adayam mirsky
- 07-20-23
Slightly convoluted story.
Silverbergs insistence on details renders this book quite tiresome. The narrator is excellent and professional.
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- steve p.
- 07-11-21
fascinating world. Rudnicki has limitless range
As is true with every novel being read to me, I find myself dozing off but with this one I dozed less. not necessarily because of the action (although there is plenty of this) or the intrigue (plenty still). it is because of the richness of the characters being introduced who are included till the very end and the narrators ability to not only keep their voices true but also the depth of their charactor and attitude toward life and the others around them in the story. I found myself romping around with them on their quest.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Susan
- 09-24-12
An old friend revisited
What made the experience of listening to Lord Valentine's Castle the most enjoyable?
I read this book a number of years ago and was happy to find it on Audible. It didn't challenge my intellect or make me want to take up a political cause - it was just a fun futuristic/medieval romp. Sometimes those are the best books.
Would you be willing to try another book from Robert Silverberg? Why or why not?
Sure.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
I liked the narrator - his voice was smooth and he didn't overdo the drama in his voice. It was delightful.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It wanted me to dust off my juggling balls.
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- Jefferson
- 08-16-16
"And Can You Juggle as a Skandar Can?"
“And then, after walking all day through a golden haze of humid warmth that gathered about him like fine wet fleece, Valentine came to a great ridge of outcropping white stone overlooking the city of Pidruid. It was the provincial capital, sprawling and splendid, the biggest city he had come upon since--since?--the biggest in a long while of wandering at any rate.”
That's the charming, mysterious start to Robert Silverberg's sf-that-often-feels-like-fantasy novel Lord Valentine's Castle (1980). Valentine is a laid-back man unconcerned that just about all he can remember is his name. A 13-year-old herder called Shanamir takes him under his wing (thinking he might be simple), escorting him into Pidruid, where the boy plans to sell his "synthetic" mounts at market during a big festival to honor the once every 20 years visit of the Coronal, who rules this world of Majipoor. That the Coronal's name is Lord Valentine doesn't impress Valentine, who says that it’s a common name and that he sure wouldn’t want the burden of ruling “over billions upon billions of people, across territories so huge we can’t comprehend them.”
If at this point we match the title of the novel with the name of its protagonist, we might suspect that we're in a Special Protagonist with Amnesia story, if not an Unjustly Deposed Ruler out to Regain His Rightful Place story. We might even recall something like Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber (1970). Valentine, however, isn't driven to discover his identity and soon joins a troupe of wandering jugglers led by a Skandar (four-armed bear-like giant) because he's intrigued by the art and by Carabella, a young lady juggler. But wait! He learns to juggle suspiciously quickly and capably, and after the troupe performs before the Coronal, he feels soiled and drained and begins dreaming provocative dreams involving violence, the Coronal, the Pontifex (the ruler of the bureaucracy of Majipoor), and himself. And then he has a Dream-Speaker interpret the dreams, and--
Much of the early pleasure of reading Silverberg's novel comes from wondering when and how Valentine will learn his identity and what has happened to him. Indeed, when all that comes out in the first "Book" of the five that comprise the novel and Valentine gets a goal, things become more predictable and less interesting. But there is still much to enjoy because Majipoor is a world "full of wonders," because Silverberg's writing is pleasurable, because he explores duty, destiny, identity, memory, history, performance, love, dreams, the divine, self-control, social interaction, and cross-cultural understanding.
Majipoor is a giant, airy world poor in metals and fossil fuels, but rich in flora and fauna and geographical features. Although it's currently a backwater planet neglected by star-faring civilizations and doing little inter-planetary exploration or trade, 14,000 years ago humans from Old Earth settled there. And in the past non-human species ranging from tentacled Vroon to two-headed Su-Suheris immigrated to Majipoor. The 20 billion citizens of various races and environments live in culturally diverse and historically rich cities, each with its own architectural styles and urban layouts, from tree houses to "frozen poetry." Apart from remnants of ancient advanced technology (e.g., floater cars, vibro blades, and dream sending devices) and "magic" that seems mostly telepathy, the people of Majipoor seem to live in a pseudo-Medieval fantasy civilization.
Millennia ago the human settlers won a war against the indigenous Metamorphs and confined them to a reservation-like prefecture on one continent, since when there have been no armies or wars on Majipoor. The harmony derives from the balanced system by which the Pontifex rules the bureaucracy, the Coronal enforces the laws, the King of Dreams sends admonitory and punitive nightmares, and the Lady of the Isle sends dreams of love and calm. Nevertheless, unfinished business between the Metamorphs and their conquerors still festers.
Silverberg depicts Majipoor with affection, imagination, and fine prose. It's a beautiful place ("Cascades of dark leaves, tapering, drip-tipped, glistened as if polished by the rain") and an exotic one: "the [psychosensitive] plants had folded their intricate compound leaflets in the course of the quarrel and looked shriveled and blackened for ten feet on all sides of him. He touched one. It was crisp and lifeless, as though it had been torched. He felt abashed at being a party to such destruction." And just when I'd become numb to yet more descriptions of new places and plants, Silverberg introduced a great conception, the Labyrinth, a vast, multi-leveled subterranean city of bureaucrats, "Multitudes of toiling clerks in the kingdom of eternal night."
There is much humor in the novel, whether situation-driven (as in a satiric sequence where Valentine plays two feuding bureaucrats off against each other) or character-driven (as with Lisamon Hultin, a Conan-esque giantess bodyguard, or Deliamber, a diminutive Vroon wizard).
Juggling is a key motif in the novel. It is not, Valentine learns, merely an entertainment, but a way of life, a friend, a creed, a species of worship, a poetry, a mathematics, and a balance. When juggling he reaches a quiet place, a meditative, selfless ecstasy. And he can apply the art of juggling to life situations.
With his rich baritone, Stefan Rudneki reads the audiobook well. He does neat non-human characters and boldly sings various songs. Perhaps he should distinguish Valentine's accent, which his friends say differs from theirs.
Lord Valentine's Castle recalls Jack Vance and Gene Wolfe (vast history, various cultures, ancient tech, episodic travelogue plot, etc.), though Silverberg writes more appealing characters than Vance and a lighter story than Wolfe. People who like vintage sf/fantasy set on huge, culturally and environmentally diverse worlds would probably like it.
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- inna
- 09-03-12
just a good story
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
yes, because the story is a little different.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
It end about the way I expected.
Have you listened to any of Stefan Rudnicki’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I hear Stefan perform on other book and he is always give a good performance.
Could you see Lord Valentine's Castle being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
No.
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