KINGDOMS OF THE WALL

Rating:
Summary: Great Story about courage,love,and adventure
Review: Great Story about courage,love,and adventur

Rating:
Summary: Well written, a worthwhile read
Review: I'm generally not the type to read fiction, but I picked this up used from a street vendor and I'm very glad to have stumbled upon it.

Silverberg creates believable and interesting characters from the very beginning, and always keeps the reader guessing as to what strange and interesting experiences the pilgrims are going to endure next. Silverberg is a master of metaphor, and his talent for concise description vividly recreates the surrealistic scenes without ever interfering with the action.

If you're looking for an easy, dirt cheap (check out the used prices!), and meaningful fantasy/fiction read, I highly recommend Kingdoms of the Wall.

Rating:
Summary: A great work by a great author.
Review: Like an ancient palimpsest, this is a book with layers of meaning. Picture a planet whose physical features are dominated by a single tremendously massive mountain peak with attendant foot-hills. At the foot of the mountain are clustered numerous villages, each with defined strata of clans and guild-like rankings. The people of the villages revere an ancient ancestor who is believed to have scaled the mountain and at its peak met with and received gifts from the Gods that enabled him to kick-start "human" civilization. Every year in commemoration, each village sends a team of chosen Pilgrims to replicate his climb. Few have returned from this pilgrimage and none of those few returnees has retained his or her sanity.

To be selected as one of the Pilgrims is a sought-after honor that most of the village children aspire to. The story follows one team of Pilgrims through the words of Poilar Crookleg, its leader. Silverberg takes us through the culling of the Pilgrims from the pool of applicants (a process that first causes Poilar to begin questioning some of his beliefs) and on to the actual climb. On its trek, the team of Pilgrims must surmount numerous hazards ranging from the violent to the beguiling. Many are the temptations to turn aside and leave the Pilgrimage; the growing hardships, the lure of sirens, the seductive hypnosis of the Kavnalla, the bliss of eternal youth. These are well described indeed, in their allure and their horror, and I initially thought Silverberg was spinning an allegorical rite of passage.

The culmination of the Pilgrimage however shatters the Pilgrims (through the reader sees it coming well beforehand). I do not wish to spoil the pleasure of readers so I will only say that Silverberg makes us feel the loss of moorings and direction experienced by the Pilgrims when they learn that their entire life has been given to a fable. A great work by a great author.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond mythic
Review: Robert Silverberg has written the definitive coming of age (sci fi/ fantasy) novel. Yes, the ending has a dark twist, but the disillusion experienced by the survivors represents a growth of personal awareness. They loose their innocence and find themselves able to face a reality far greater than the myth they had followed up the mountain.

I have read this book twice using library copies, but finding the book no longer available, I must purchase my own copy. So it goes. I have no regrets. I learn something new everytime I read it.

Read and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Overdone version of a simple theme, but a fun read...
Review: Silverberg is a fine author. He narrates his tales with finesse and precision. But what we've got here (..is a failure to communicate) is a simple, predictable storyline hyped up in a fantasy setting with The Changes. It's a good read, but deja vu may set in

Rating:
Summary: great writer bad story
Review: The story is well writen but just down right borring i could not read 2 pages with out falling asleep and the ending was a big let down

Rating:
Summary: Great just great
Review: This book ios one of the best books that I've ever read. This is the only book that'll I'll read more then once and still be excited. He is by far one the best sci-fi writers of our times!

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Silverberg book
Review: This is his best, in my opinion. The theme of the book is fairly simple (almost cliched when you get to the surprise near the end) yet it is still an engrossing read. However, the biggest surprise (unless you're smarter than me - not too hard!) is when you find out the nature of the main characters in the book, which happens not too far into it. All in all, a great book.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite Silverberg book
Review: This is his best, in my opinion. The theme of the book is fairly simple (almost cliched when you get to the surprise near the end) yet it is still an engrossing read. However, the biggest surprise (unless you're smarter than me - not too hard!) is when you find out the nature of the main characters in the book, which happens not too far into it. All in all, a great book.