The King of Dreams

Prestimion is getting older, but he cannot go to his senior throne with the world safe. His long-time enemies are again looking to rebellion, this time attempting to split the planetary government of Majipoor. Can Prestimion, together with younger associate and now Coronal Dekkeret, overcome these enemies one more time--especially when they control the power to bring nightmares even to members of Prestimion's family?Robert Silverberg is a wonderful writer and his Majipoor world is beautifully created. Silverberg also obviously loves his characters. Even the evil Mandralisca is sympathetically drawn.I had two major problems with this novel. First, it spent too much time dealing with character introspection rather than moving the story forward. In limited amounts, this is great. We learn about the characters and empathize with their goals. In excess, we wallow in their wallowing as the plot stalls. Silverberg walked painfully close to this line. Second, the resolution of the novel included the creation of a new power in Majipoor. Prestimion had earlier objected to this, with an apparently legitimate concern for the potential for tyranny. This concern was not dealt with adequately and the assumption that a hereditary power could be created based on the moral virtue of a founding member is clearly inadequate.THE KING OF DREAMS is an enjoyable read. Silverberg loves his world and his characters and you can't help loving them to.

Far and away, THE KING OF DREAMS, is Silverberg's most complex, brilliant, and fascinating 'Majipoor' novel to date. And once again (Silverberg) staggers the readers imagination as the wonder, intrigue, and magic that is Majipoor abound... Gary S. Potter Author/Poet.

Thanks to the weak rule of the previous Coronals and Pontifexes that went before him, Prestimion had many internal battles and a war to fight before his kingdom Marjipor found peace. For the next two decades as the Coronal, he kept things calm, but when the Pontifex dies, an old enemy surfaces challenging Prestimion's ascension as the new Pontifex.Count Mandralisca has aligned himself with the Five Lords of Zimrod in order to gain independence for his nation. He controls machines that invade the minds of people, which force them to go mad and do terrible things to themselves or others. He has managed to have Prestimion's brother kill himself and send dreams infecting the ruler's wife and daughter. When the Pontifex and his new Coronal learn what Mandralisca plans, they hope to stop him and his allies without costing the lives of thousands of innocent people.Book three of the Prestimion trilogy concludes the powerful epic fantasy where magic and the mundane peacefully co-exist side by side. Robert Silverberg provides his usual interesting novel that paints a make believe world so real readers will believe he visited the place. Marjipoor may be his greatest creation in an illustrious career and hopefully Mr. Silverberg will return his audience there sometime soon.Harriet Klausner