Majipoor series
The Majipoor series is a series of novels and shorter works by American writer Robert Silverberg, set on the planet Majipoor. The setting is a mixture of science fiction and fantasy elements.
The series
Books in the series:- Lord Valentine Cycle:
- # Lord Valentine's Castle , novel, Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel winner, 1981; Hugo Award nominee, 1981
- # Majipoor Chronicles , collection of 5 short stories and 5 novelettes/novellas:
- #: "Thesme and the Ghayrog", "The Time of the Burning", "In the Fifth Year of the Voyage", "Calintane Explains", "The Desert of Stolen Dreams", "The Soul Painter and the Shapeshifter", "Crime and Punishment", "Among the Dream-Speakers", "A Thief in Ni-Moya", "Voriax and Valentine"
- # Valentine Pontifex , novel
- The Mountains of Majipoor , novel
- Lord Prestimion Cycle :
- # Sorcerers of Majipoor , novel
- # Lord Prestimion , novel
- # The King of Dreams , novel
- Tales of Majipoor , collection of 7 novelettes/novellas:
- : "The End of the Line", "The Book of Changes", "The Tomb of the Pontifex Dvorn", "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", "Dark Times at the Midnight Market", "The Way They Wove the Spells in Sippulgar", "The Seventh Shrine"
| Title | Published | Type | Series | Collection |
| "Thesme and the Ghayrog" | 1982 | Novelette | Majipoor Chronicles | |
| "The End of the Line" | 2011 | Novelette | Tales of Majipoor | |
| "The Time of the Burning" | 1982 | Short story | Majipoor Chronicles | |
| "The Book of Changes" | 2003 | Novella | Tales of Majipoor | |
| "In the Fifth Year of the Voyage" | 1981 | Novelette | Majipoor Chronicles | |
| "Calintane Explains" | 1982 | Short story | Majipoor Chronicles | |
| "The Tomb of the Pontifex Dvorn" | 2011 | Novelette | Tales of Majipoor | |
| "The Way They Wove the Spells in Sippulgar" | 2009 | Novelette | Tales of Majipoor | |
| Sorcerers of Majipoor | 1997 | Novel | Lord Prestimion Cycle #1 | |
| Lord Prestimion | 1999 | Novel | Lord Prestimion Cycle #2 | |
| "The Desert of Stolen Dreams" | 1981 | Novella | Majipoor Chronicles | |
| The King of Dreams | 2001 | Novel | Lord Prestimion Cycle #3 | |
| "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" | 2004 | Novelette | Tales of Majipoor | |
| "The Soul Painter and the Shapeshifter" | 1981 | Novelette | Majipoor Chronicles | |
| "Crime and Punishment" | 1982 | Short story | Majipoor Chronicles | |
| "Dark Times at the Midnight Market" | 2010 | Novelette | Tales of Majipoor | |
| "Among the Dream-Speakers" | 1982 | Short story | Majipoor Chronicles | |
| "A Thief in Ni-Moya" | 1981 | Novella | Majipoor Chronicles | |
| "Voriax and Valentine" | 1982 | Short story | Majipoor Chronicles | |
| Lord Valentine's Castle | 1980 | Novel | Lord Valentine Cycle #1 | |
| Majipoor Chronicles | 1982 | Short stories collection | Lord Valentine Cycle #2 | |
| Valentine Pontifex | 1983 | Novel | Lord Valentine Cycle #3 | |
| "The Seventh Shrine" | 1998 | Novella | Tales of Majipoor | |
| The Mountains of Majipoor | 1995 | Novel | ||
| Tales of Majipoor | 2013 | Short stories collection |
Planet Majipoor
Majipoor is a planet much larger than Earth, though far less dense, so that its surface gravity is almost the same as on Earth. It has been settled by humans, Ghayrogs, Skandars, Vroons, Liimen, Hjorts and other alien races for many thousands of years. The aboriginal inhabitants of the planet, the Piurivar, were conquered by humans many thousands of years ago and are now confined to a reservation. The planet is ruled by an unusual tetrarchy of Powers: an adoptive Coronal rules in a highly visible and symbolic manner from his palace atop Castle Mount; the previous Coronal retires to become the Pontifex, the head of the bureaucracy in an underground Labyrinth; the Coronal's mother becomes the Lady of the Isle of Sleep, promoting the morals of Majipoor by sending dreams to its inhabitants; while a hereditary King of Dreams on the distant continent of Suvrael punishes wrongdoers by visiting them with nightmares. The post of King of Dreams is created at the end of King of Dreams, while Valentine Pontifex ends with the creation of a fifth Power, representing the Piurivar.Majipoor receives the occasional starship, but is generally considered a backwater planet. Metals of all sorts are scarce, since the planet has a very light crust. Technology is pervasive but often of ancient origin and no longer fully understood. For example, draft animals called "mounts" are used for farming and transport, but the animals were artificially created in the distant past by genetic manipulation, and the technologies involved have been forgotten. Many great engineering works are described, but these were also usually created long ago. Many modern technologies, such as TV and radio, seem to be nonexistent or in very limited use. The average Majipooran lives a peasant lifestyle, and agriculture is a common occupation.
Races
There are several races which inhabit Majipoor in the millions, along with various aliens visiting from off-world. Ancient laws dictate that no race may exclusively occupy a given district, so most races can be found in some numbers virtually anywhere. On the village level, there are monocultures, however. Some areas also have a small number of other intelligent beings visiting from off-world. There are also indigenous sea dragons, discovered to be highly intelligent.;Humans
;Vroons
;Hjorts
;Skandars
;Liimen
;Su-Suheris
;Ghayrogs
;Piurivar
Geography
The characters of any given book often travel vast distances across the face of Majipoor. The planet itself has three main continents, a major island, several smaller islands of note, and one hemisphere which is the Great Sea.;Alhanroel
;Castle Mount
;Labyrinth
;Zimroel
;Isle of Sleep
;Suvrael