The Longest Way Home

Rating:
Summary: Good solid story from a scifi master
Review: Personally, I thought this was a wonderful book, and I had a terrible time trying to put it down...I read anything I can find by Silverberg (with the exception of any of the Majipoor novels, which I think any fantasy hack could have spit out) because I think his character development is a notch or two above most other scifi writers. The main character in this one wasn't as richly drawn as in other novels though, and I got the impression at some points that Silverberg wasn't sure himself where the story was going. But those moments are few, and the story picks up quickly. This is definetly worth reading, it's a story that stays with you.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Young Adult SF on an alien planet
Review: Robert Silverberg's new novel, "The Longest Way Home", is more or less a Young Adult novel, featuring anyway a 15 year old boy as protagonist, and a fairly clear cut moral issue for him to ponder as he quite explicitly Comes Of Age. I found it quite fun to read as well, very fast moving, not particularly complex but interesting. As with much later Silverberg, the furniture of the novel seems heavily influenced by Jack Vance, though of course the prose is pure Silverberg, no trace of Vance at all.

Joseph Master Keilloran, the 15 year old eldest son of Martin Master Keilloran, is caught up in a rebellion by the oppressed Folk, who are slaughtering the ruling Masters. Joseph, visiting his cousins on the Northern continent, thousands of miles from his home, escapes with the help of a sympathetic Folk retainer.

We learn that the planet Homeworld was colonized from Earth millennia previously by the ancestors of the Folk. Centuries later, they were conquered in turn by another wave of Earth colonists, the ancestors of the current Masters, who established a higher tech system, quasi-Feudal, with the Masters ruling, and the Folk basically serfs. The planet is also inhabited by a variety of intelligent species, most notably the so called Indigenes, who have approximately human intelligence. The other "higher" species have somewhat lesser intelligence, but are clearly sentient and sapient, with spoken languages at least. Probably in part due to a habit of coexistence with other intelligent species, and in part due to a somewhat contemplative and fatalistic philosophy, the Indigenes tolerate the presence of both the Folk and the Masters -- and after all, as far as we are allowed to see, humans of both waves of colonization seem to have been quite careful and non-exploitative in their interactions with the Indigenes and other intelligent native species of this world.

Joseph decides to find his way home. He has no idea of how widely spread is the Folk rebellion against the Masters; and he has to travel several thousand miles to the southern continent to boot. On foot, with nothing but a backpack and a few implements. The basic theme that emerges is that he will have no chance without help and cooperation, from some of the alien races, and even from some of the Folk.

The story, then, is really very simple. But it's an engaging enough read, and Joseph is a nice enough character to spend time with. The aliens Silverberg imagines are fairly neat. The central moral learning that Joseph must undergo is obvious enough -- more or less that the Folk are real people and don't deserve to be enslaved, no matter how benignly, but still this message is presented well. And we can hope that he might be able to help guide the southern continent into a more just political and social change than the Rebellion in the north, which is clearly accompanied by atrocities on the level of say the Rwandan genocide. Though Silverberg doesn't really suggest what Joseph may do to accomplish this. In the end, this is decent contempoary Young Adult SF, by no means a classic-to-be but fun.

Rating:
Summary: Not one of Silverberg¿s best, but a good read all the same.
Review: Silverberg's forte is science fiction and Longest Way Home (LWH) is classified as such. In essence however, it is a story of a youth coming of age, albeit on a very different planet, peopled with exotic species. The setting is somewhat of a benevolent feudal system, where the native species (several of whom possess sentience in varying degree, yet are all technologically backward) were first subjugated by colonial settlers from Earth, who in turn as they settled into pastoral somnolence (Folk), have been subjugated by a second wave of better educated and technologically superior settlers (Masters), again from Earth. The end result is a rather feudal system with large agri-business estates owned by quasi-aristocratic families of Masters and overseen by others of the same Master class, while the labor is performed by the Folk who reside in separate quarters on the estate. Inevitably, no matter that the feudalism is relatively benign, the Folk chafe under the yoke of the Masters, yearning for their lost days of freedom. In a well planned revolt on a continent of the planet, the Folk of various estates rise up, destroying their overlords. In the midst of the uprising is trapped Joseph, an adolescent Master visiting an Estate far from his own family. Saved from the carnage by a retainer of his dead hosts, Joseph's only way out is to make the long trek back to his own family's estate, dodging as he goes the Folk who are on the alert for any survivors. On one level, following Joseph's trek, this book is a fascinating tour of the planet, encompassing creatures exotic in form and culture. On a deeper level, it is Joseph's own awakening and realization that his privileged position which he has never before questioned, is built on the foundation of near slavery. Silverberg relates excellently how each new experience changes Joseph; sadly he ends just with Joseph returned home resolved to implement his learning, but with little indication of what exactly he will do. Not one of Silverberg's best, but a good read all the same.

Rating:
Summary: a bad read..
Review: The book was built around a good idea, a young man growing up.

Some creative ideas, But this book is a waste if time.
I felt sad i even spent the time to read it.
The ideas were undeveloped.
I guess we all have a bad book sometime.

Rating:
Summary: One Main Character, Many Extras, No supporting Actors
Review: The Story: On another planet, in the future, human descendents inhabit a planet along with several other sentient species. Humans have become the dominant race, call themselves "Masters", own the land, and run the place in a feudal or plantation system. A teenage son from one family visits his cousins on another continent. During the visit, one of the subjugated races, who had always been docile and appeared comfortable with their servitude, revolts and massacres most of the Masters/humans. Joseph, the teen, escapes, and must travel, mostly afoot, a distance which seems comparable to going from my native Michigan to Venezuela. Along the way, he grows up as he encounters other races and other cultures, and fits different roles in different places (e.g., honored, ignored, enslaved, used).

Commentary: The book is well-written, and one can easily tell that the author knows his craft. The development of Joseph's character is well detailed. The different races and cultures he encounters are the most interesting aspect of the novel. However, just as most movies and television shows cannot make it with just one main character, this novel also seems inadequate and underpopulated. The noctambulo (a sentient creature that changes personality day versus night) should have been more present and more developed, giving the story an added dimension and helping Joseph learn cultural diversity other than by trial-and-error.

I read this in serialized form in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and it worked fairly well there. However, the paucity of characters would be more of an issue if the story were to be read in its entirety. Mr. Silverberg, this one needs enrichment classes. You know what you're doing, but you didn't do enough of it here.