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The Longest Way Home
1st edition Gollancz 2003 paperback, new In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
262 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2002
About the author
Robert Silverberg
2,337 books1,630 followersThere are many authors in the database with this name.
Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.
Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
March 21, 2019
As others have noted, this 2002 book feels like a YA but I can't find any evidence that it was meant to be one.
It's a simple story, but there are a lot of ideas packed into it. Silverberg's writing is so smooth that you could just take all the content for granted - as he does. Of course there are strange humanoid tribes, and wildly different levels of technology, and all that. Places and things that need to be described are described, neatly and efficiently.
Joseph is a believable character. His adventures take him close to the edge a few times, and he is saved by luck, but I guess we have to give the authors that or they'll be constrained too much. The stories of the guys who didn't make it don't get told.
The start is right out of SF101, plot #27, young man must flee castle unexpectedly, is helped against all odds by a servant who remains loyal. But gee, we have to get started somehow. What did you want, that he's mysteriously the only survivor of an accident with fireworks? Or 27B, he's the only survivor as barbarians on horseback sweep through the city? Ah, let the author get on with the story.
Anyway, as noted, Silverberg decided to tell a story of a young noble discovering that the world isn't as it seemed, and just tells it, no fuss, no muss, and no authorial interference.
It's so not Alistair Reynolds/Neal Asher complex megatech far future that it's quite refreshing.
It's a simple story, but there are a lot of ideas packed into it. Silverberg's writing is so smooth that you could just take all the content for granted - as he does. Of course there are strange humanoid tribes, and wildly different levels of technology, and all that. Places and things that need to be described are described, neatly and efficiently.
Joseph is a believable character. His adventures take him close to the edge a few times, and he is saved by luck, but I guess we have to give the authors that or they'll be constrained too much. The stories of the guys who didn't make it don't get told.
The start is right out of SF101, plot #27, young man must flee castle unexpectedly, is helped against all odds by a servant who remains loyal. But gee, we have to get started somehow. What did you want, that he's mysteriously the only survivor of an accident with fireworks? Or 27B, he's the only survivor as barbarians on horseback sweep through the city? Ah, let the author get on with the story.
Anyway, as noted, Silverberg decided to tell a story of a young noble discovering that the world isn't as it seemed, and just tells it, no fuss, no muss, and no authorial interference.
It's so not Alistair Reynolds/Neal Asher complex megatech far future that it's quite refreshing.
May 4, 2023
“You must never deceive yourself about the difficulties you face, but neither should you let yourself be taken prisoner by fear.”
Robinson Crusoe with a twenty-first century conscience. Coming of age. Entitled youth goes from being master to slave. To property. To starvation. And back. Almost. Good internal dialogue and angst.
‘I am becoming a terrible hypocrite, Joseph thought. And then he thought, No, I am simply growing up.’
Published in 2002. Though clearly a young adult book it includes soft pornography. World building is simplest; expected much better from Silverberg. Almost as if he dashed off a rough draft and stuck with it.
‘He was not who he had been before, and he was not certain of exactly what he had become, and he was not at all sure who he was going to be.’
Robinson Crusoe with a twenty-first century conscience. Coming of age. Entitled youth goes from being master to slave. To property. To starvation. And back. Almost. Good internal dialogue and angst.
‘I am becoming a terrible hypocrite, Joseph thought. And then he thought, No, I am simply growing up.’
Published in 2002. Though clearly a young adult book it includes soft pornography. World building is simplest; expected much better from Silverberg. Almost as if he dashed off a rough draft and stuck with it.
‘He was not who he had been before, and he was not certain of exactly what he had become, and he was not at all sure who he was going to be.’
November 3, 2021
A thought provoking coming-of-age science fiction novel told mostly through narrative.
Background and World Building:
The setting is Mother World, once 'Old' Earth. Three distinct intelligent human and humanoid races currently exist: the Indigenes, the Folk and the Masters, as well as numerous unidentifiable sentient and wild creatures. Technology as we know it today is still in use: vehicles, airplanes, satellites, computers, tablets and cell phones, though these are reserved for use mainly by the Masters. There are no race divisions save for the three: no People of Color, no LGBTQRXYZ, etc., though they have differing spiritual and religious beliefs.
Some unexplained cataclysmic event occurred eons ago that changed the course of history on Old Earth – literally decimating the planet and wiping higher lifeforms from its face. A few survived, the Indigenes. Think indigenous. They survived by physically mutating into an alien seeming lifeform with elongated heads similar to ancient Egyptians and glowing bodies with androgynous features. Emotionless. Understanding everything yet seeming to not care about anything. Been there, done that.. over millennia ago. They are few and far between, purposefully avoiding contact with the other races.
The Folk came next as beings from somewhere in Space: refugees and simple plowers of the fields for a good harvest to sustain their families. Gatherings for holidays and their sacred events centered around the sun. Blonde, short and squat with wide noses but with the powerful physical builds necessary for the endurance of farming by hand. They have access to and use dated motor vehicles but otherwise live primitively (no mention of fuel needed for their or anyone's vehicles). Millennia ago, the Folk were not aware of proper farming techniques thereby wasting the soil so here come the Masters...
The Masters beamed down from somewhere not mentioned (just as the Folk did), seemingly to assist the Folk. Their relations originally appeared to the Folk as conducive: the Masters provided organization, higher hands-on knowledge regarding land, farm maintenance and viability while creating infrastructure to sustain everyone in a comfortable lifestyle. Or so it seems: the collective Masters' lifestyles were extravagant and depended solely upon the Folk to maintain it. Education and basic reading skills were only reserved for the Masters, as well as communication technology; essentially a feudal system. The Masters' physical appearances were tall and thin, patrician features with dark hair, narrow noses and soft hands (they don't do any manual labor).
Enter Joseph: Eldest of his siblings and trained from birth to inherit his family's estate, naive virginal fifteen-year old Master Joseph Keilloran is on a required educational prearranged months-long visit to learn the ways of other Masters.
Unexpected and unforeseen conflict arises on the estate he's visiting causing him to flee for his life. This is where the real adventure begins!
I won't go into further detail but needless to say, he is harshly forced to deal with the realities of his world, the environment and creatures that exist within it and the other cultures whose ways of life, beliefs and practices have never been taken into account by the Masters before but are of vital importance. Needless to say, at the conclusion of his ordeal, young Master Joseph Keilloran will no doubt become the most humane Master there ever was in the existence of his planet. ~Just my opinion.
I cannot recommend this book enough. It's a sleeper, underrated. Should be required reading for all high school students fifteen and up AND politicians AND CEOs that exist in their isolated bubbles.
Gotta add: Many reviewers state “not recommended for YA”. This novel is actually perfect for teens! The controversial part most folks have issue with: The kid's coming into his hormones waking up and there's an episode where he acts on it, actually it's acted upon him, never mind, whatever, but it goes into detail. And so what? He's not a celibate monk! Was going to happen sooner or later.. just as it happens to all of us (unless you live on Mars.. wait. ~John Carter lived on Mars! But that's another story...)
Note: I'd give it Five Stars if there was a sequel!! ...Is there a sequel?
Background and World Building:
The setting is Mother World, once 'Old' Earth. Three distinct intelligent human and humanoid races currently exist: the Indigenes, the Folk and the Masters, as well as numerous unidentifiable sentient and wild creatures. Technology as we know it today is still in use: vehicles, airplanes, satellites, computers, tablets and cell phones, though these are reserved for use mainly by the Masters. There are no race divisions save for the three: no People of Color, no LGBTQRXYZ, etc., though they have differing spiritual and religious beliefs.
Some unexplained cataclysmic event occurred eons ago that changed the course of history on Old Earth – literally decimating the planet and wiping higher lifeforms from its face. A few survived, the Indigenes. Think indigenous. They survived by physically mutating into an alien seeming lifeform with elongated heads similar to ancient Egyptians and glowing bodies with androgynous features. Emotionless. Understanding everything yet seeming to not care about anything. Been there, done that.. over millennia ago. They are few and far between, purposefully avoiding contact with the other races.
The Folk came next as beings from somewhere in Space: refugees and simple plowers of the fields for a good harvest to sustain their families. Gatherings for holidays and their sacred events centered around the sun. Blonde, short and squat with wide noses but with the powerful physical builds necessary for the endurance of farming by hand. They have access to and use dated motor vehicles but otherwise live primitively (no mention of fuel needed for their or anyone's vehicles). Millennia ago, the Folk were not aware of proper farming techniques thereby wasting the soil so here come the Masters...
The Masters beamed down from somewhere not mentioned (just as the Folk did), seemingly to assist the Folk. Their relations originally appeared to the Folk as conducive: the Masters provided organization, higher hands-on knowledge regarding land, farm maintenance and viability while creating infrastructure to sustain everyone in a comfortable lifestyle. Or so it seems: the collective Masters' lifestyles were extravagant and depended solely upon the Folk to maintain it. Education and basic reading skills were only reserved for the Masters, as well as communication technology; essentially a feudal system. The Masters' physical appearances were tall and thin, patrician features with dark hair, narrow noses and soft hands (they don't do any manual labor).
Enter Joseph: Eldest of his siblings and trained from birth to inherit his family's estate, naive virginal fifteen-year old Master Joseph Keilloran is on a required educational prearranged months-long visit to learn the ways of other Masters.
Unexpected and unforeseen conflict arises on the estate he's visiting causing him to flee for his life. This is where the real adventure begins!
I won't go into further detail but needless to say, he is harshly forced to deal with the realities of his world, the environment and creatures that exist within it and the other cultures whose ways of life, beliefs and practices have never been taken into account by the Masters before but are of vital importance. Needless to say, at the conclusion of his ordeal, young Master Joseph Keilloran will no doubt become the most humane Master there ever was in the existence of his planet. ~Just my opinion.
I cannot recommend this book enough. It's a sleeper, underrated. Should be required reading for all high school students fifteen and up AND politicians AND CEOs that exist in their isolated bubbles.
Gotta add: Many reviewers state “not recommended for YA”. This novel is actually perfect for teens! The controversial part most folks have issue with: The kid's coming into his hormones waking up and there's an episode where he acts on it, actually it's acted upon him, never mind, whatever, but it goes into detail. And so what? He's not a celibate monk! Was going to happen sooner or later.. just as it happens to all of us (unless you live on Mars.. wait. ~John Carter lived on Mars! But that's another story...)
Note: I'd give it Five Stars if there was a sequel!! ...Is there a sequel?
November 2, 2009
Robert Silverberg confuses me. I'd read some of his works, of course, and respected his status as a solid Golden Age writer (a highly prolific and skilled one, to boot). But most of his work never really grabbed me.
Then he wrote Lord Valentine's Castle and blew me away. I still didn't find his other works enjoyable, but LVC captured my imagination and amazed me. It was, to my mind, the closest thing to Rudyard Kipling's Kim in the science fiction genre that I had ever seen. A dense, lively, incredibly deep world filled with fascinating and truly different cultures and species, all co-existing - for the most part.
The two sequels were nearly as good. After another book or two, Silverberg disappointed me badly with a dull and flat Majipoor book; the series never really recovered after that, as far as I was concerned. There were a few more bright spots, but somehow the magic was gone.
Which is a very long lead-up to this: The Longest Way Home is not a Majipoor novel. But it has a definite Majipoor flavor. The world in question seems simpler and smaller, but has a similar multiplicity of races and cultures - although not as complex or impressive as Majipoor.
Instead of the elegant unfolding of riddles within and without the protagonist's mind, we are treated to a coming-of-age story. It's not bad, but...somehow, the plot was much simpler than I expected. It wasn't bad, just...somehow, it left me a bit flat. "Is that it?" I found myself thinking. Lord Valentine's Castle taught lessons, of sorts, and was profoundly thought-provoking. The Longest Way Home has a tinge of that same mysticism, but here it merely seems a little stale and shallow.
But I will say this: there's enough here to retain my interest. If Silverberg writes a sequel (he hasn't yet), I will read it. The Longest Way Home might have made a good, though slow, beginning to a very long novel or a series. There are certainly...well, I wouldn't say that there are unanswered questions at the end, as much as openings for more answers. The world that Silverberg has presented definitely has issues that cry out for resolution, as does the hero, and a sequel would be welcome.
Then he wrote Lord Valentine's Castle and blew me away. I still didn't find his other works enjoyable, but LVC captured my imagination and amazed me. It was, to my mind, the closest thing to Rudyard Kipling's Kim in the science fiction genre that I had ever seen. A dense, lively, incredibly deep world filled with fascinating and truly different cultures and species, all co-existing - for the most part.
The two sequels were nearly as good. After another book or two, Silverberg disappointed me badly with a dull and flat Majipoor book; the series never really recovered after that, as far as I was concerned. There were a few more bright spots, but somehow the magic was gone.
Which is a very long lead-up to this: The Longest Way Home is not a Majipoor novel. But it has a definite Majipoor flavor. The world in question seems simpler and smaller, but has a similar multiplicity of races and cultures - although not as complex or impressive as Majipoor.
Instead of the elegant unfolding of riddles within and without the protagonist's mind, we are treated to a coming-of-age story. It's not bad, but...somehow, the plot was much simpler than I expected. It wasn't bad, just...somehow, it left me a bit flat. "Is that it?" I found myself thinking. Lord Valentine's Castle taught lessons, of sorts, and was profoundly thought-provoking. The Longest Way Home has a tinge of that same mysticism, but here it merely seems a little stale and shallow.
But I will say this: there's enough here to retain my interest. If Silverberg writes a sequel (he hasn't yet), I will read it. The Longest Way Home might have made a good, though slow, beginning to a very long novel or a series. There are certainly...well, I wouldn't say that there are unanswered questions at the end, as much as openings for more answers. The world that Silverberg has presented definitely has issues that cry out for resolution, as does the hero, and a sequel would be welcome.
September 28, 2020
An interesting book to read at a time of civil unrest in the US. We have the Folk -- standing in for the blacks brought to the US as slaves, a servant class that are viewed as "better off" when managed by the "master" class. And there are the Indigenes, well-versed in managing maladies using herbs and medicinal plants but unaccustomed to the practices brought by modern medicine. And the protagonist, tossed into an un-looked-for journey through a vast country populated by these people he has never in his life considered as individuals. An interesting book, worth the time to read.
December 10, 2015
Epic journeys are familiar grounds for fantasy/sci-fi stories, but somehow this one seems unique. Silverberg is great at making aliens seem alien (and not just humans with antennas), and his characters have honest reactions.
March 22, 2019
A very good tale of young teenager's journey home across a continent back to his home in the midst of a civil war..along the way he discovers blind spots in his cultural viewpoint he had not known before and grows as a person.
Silverberg is a master at describing the alien world with its various civilizations and inhabitants living together ( happily and unhappily)
I would have given it a 5th star..but it ends somewhat unfinished. The few books I have read by this author have all had somewhat unfinished endings. He likes to take the storyline up through to resolve one main plot...and then just hint at what is to come without actually ending it. I didn't need a whole sequel, but about 3 more chapters to wrap up loose ends would have good.
Some other reviewer referred to the ending as " purposely anti climactic".. While I don't mind the story being really about the journey and transformation along the way..I do care enough about the plot to know what happens after the journey.
Some other reviewers didn't like how the few female characters are portrayed..while this is a criticism I usually share, in this case it is unwarranted. The story is told from the viewpoint of a teenage male character from a slaveholding patriarchal society. The story really only involves interactions with 3 female characters..2 of them teenagers also..so not sure what the critics wanted here.
I will agree that a followup sequel from a female perspective would have been nice. Maybe Thayle or a Folkish woman viewpoint?..but alas unlikely to come from Mr. Silverberg at this point.m( opportunity for some fanfic.)
Silverberg is a master at describing the alien world with its various civilizations and inhabitants living together ( happily and unhappily)
I would have given it a 5th star..but it ends somewhat unfinished. The few books I have read by this author have all had somewhat unfinished endings. He likes to take the storyline up through to resolve one main plot...and then just hint at what is to come without actually ending it. I didn't need a whole sequel, but about 3 more chapters to wrap up loose ends would have good.
Some other reviewer referred to the ending as " purposely anti climactic".. While I don't mind the story being really about the journey and transformation along the way..I do care enough about the plot to know what happens after the journey.
Some other reviewers didn't like how the few female characters are portrayed..while this is a criticism I usually share, in this case it is unwarranted. The story is told from the viewpoint of a teenage male character from a slaveholding patriarchal society. The story really only involves interactions with 3 female characters..2 of them teenagers also..so not sure what the critics wanted here.
I will agree that a followup sequel from a female perspective would have been nice. Maybe Thayle or a Folkish woman viewpoint?..but alas unlikely to come from Mr. Silverberg at this point.m( opportunity for some fanfic.)
June 10, 2011
Has the feel and pacing of a YA title but is not. Young Joseph finds himself running for his life when the family he is visiting is slaughtered. On his journey to reach his home, he goes through a process of personal discovery. Credible Silverberg novel, but not his best.
December 15, 2011
Really a very good story with a very interesting main character. I liked the way he was slowly changed through his experiences, it was quite believable.
May 8, 2025
The planet Homeworld was settled thousands of years ago by human types now known as the Folk, and much later by more advanced human types which subjugated the Folk. These are the Masters. The indigenous sentient species, known simply as Indigenes, are less human-like, but bipedal and mostly bucolic and disinterested in the concerns of the Masters and their serf-like subjugated Folk. Fifteen year-old Joseph Master of Keilloran is heir to the seat of Keilloran and is spending a month away on another continent with the Master of Getfen when the Folk of that region revolt and kill all the Masters and their families, and their loyal Folk. Joseph escapes and must make his way some ten thousand kilometers back home to the possible destruction of his home. Robert Silverberg, despite protestations to the contrary in the afterword, has penned a YA style coming-of-age tale, where young Joseph must pass through a number of trials and awakenings (including sexual) until he comes to some epiphanies about the treatment of the Folk, and the hierarchical succession of the Masters through birth. Entertaining enough and reminiscent of the travelogue style he has employed variously and successfully since the Lord Valentine books.
June 19, 2025
"Sto semplicemente maturando".
Siamo sul pianeta Patria (un nome che provoca da subito una lieve orticaria) e qui convivono umani che vi si sono installati in due diverse ondate di colonizzazione, il Popolo e i Padroni, oltre ad alcune razze native senzienti. Questo fino al giorno della Liberazione, in cui il Popolo si solleva e stermina tutti i Padroni.
Naturalmente il protagonista, giovanissimo Padrone in visita ad altri Padroni, si salva e cerca di ritornare a casa, a mezzo pianeta di distanza e su un altro continente.
Venire a contatto col Popolo e coi nativi è un'esperienza che lo cambia e Joseph (nome tradizionale terrestre, da Padrone) apre gli occhi su quanto sia artificioso il mondo che ha sempre conosciuto, a partire dal nome e dalla storia che gli è sempre stata raccontata (sappiamo bene chi scriva la storia).
Sicuramente "Pianeta senza scampo" ("The Longest Way Home", 2002; Urania Mondadori, 2016; trad. di Fabio Feminò) non si può considerare tra le opere imperdibili di quel gigante della sf che porta il nome di Robert Silverberg: pur non essendo neanche troppo vecchio (ha "solo" quasi 25 anni), risulta essere un po' ingiallito e la lettura non si rivela particolarmente emozionante o sorprendente. Ma è pur sempre un lavoro di Silverberg.
Siamo sul pianeta Patria (un nome che provoca da subito una lieve orticaria) e qui convivono umani che vi si sono installati in due diverse ondate di colonizzazione, il Popolo e i Padroni, oltre ad alcune razze native senzienti. Questo fino al giorno della Liberazione, in cui il Popolo si solleva e stermina tutti i Padroni.
Naturalmente il protagonista, giovanissimo Padrone in visita ad altri Padroni, si salva e cerca di ritornare a casa, a mezzo pianeta di distanza e su un altro continente.
Venire a contatto col Popolo e coi nativi è un'esperienza che lo cambia e Joseph (nome tradizionale terrestre, da Padrone) apre gli occhi su quanto sia artificioso il mondo che ha sempre conosciuto, a partire dal nome e dalla storia che gli è sempre stata raccontata (sappiamo bene chi scriva la storia).
Sicuramente "Pianeta senza scampo" ("The Longest Way Home", 2002; Urania Mondadori, 2016; trad. di Fabio Feminò) non si può considerare tra le opere imperdibili di quel gigante della sf che porta il nome di Robert Silverberg: pur non essendo neanche troppo vecchio (ha "solo" quasi 25 anni), risulta essere un po' ingiallito e la lettura non si rivela particolarmente emozionante o sorprendente. Ma è pur sempre un lavoro di Silverberg.
May 4, 2018
Namaste and Warm Greetings from Himalayan Country Nepal!!!
Service. Communication. Connection. Working by these core values for fifteen years has led to meaningful adventures for hundreds of adventurers and a very fulfilling career for me. Providing fantastic service and clear communication are my strengths, and forging meaningful connections between us, and between you and my country, Nepal, is my aspiration. Some of the greatest compliments I have received are: “You go to him as a client, and you leave as a friend” and “Everything was taken care of to my utmost satisfaction”.
As a provider of 80 unique treks and expeditions in Nepal, the importance I place on your security cannot be understated. All the guides I hire are fully licensed and certified veterans. When you trek with me be prepared for the adventure of a lifetime. – Sanjib Adhikari
http://www.nepalguideinfo.com
http://www.nepalplanetreks.com
Email-:sanjib-adahikari@hotmail.com
Nepal Planet Treks & Expedition P. Ltd
Service. Communication. Connection. Working by these core values for fifteen years has led to meaningful adventures for hundreds of adventurers and a very fulfilling career for me. Providing fantastic service and clear communication are my strengths, and forging meaningful connections between us, and between you and my country, Nepal, is my aspiration. Some of the greatest compliments I have received are: “You go to him as a client, and you leave as a friend” and “Everything was taken care of to my utmost satisfaction”.
As a provider of 80 unique treks and expeditions in Nepal, the importance I place on your security cannot be understated. All the guides I hire are fully licensed and certified veterans. When you trek with me be prepared for the adventure of a lifetime. – Sanjib Adhikari
http://www.nepalguideinfo.com
http://www.nepalplanetreks.com
Email-:sanjib-adahikari@hotmail.com
Nepal Planet Treks & Expedition P. Ltd
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2025
An interesting, kind of old fashioned science fiction tale…. Both a coming of age story while building a world, the societies that developed on it and how they interact. A bit of a letdown in terms of of how it wraps up, the story could have used more insight into why things happened. Instead it focuses almost exclusively on the lead character who opens the story at the start of conflict, behind enemy lines. But well written and worth a read.
September 1, 2017
Didn't finish it. Whiny-sheltered-teeenaged-boy just didn't appeal to me as a protagonist, and from about page two the worldbuilding bothered me. You can't just keep two whole races in slavery without there being conflict, and creating a setting where there isn't any--or where a member of the ruling race can be completely oblivious to it--seemed absurd to me.
January 26, 2019
Romanzo di formazione, non è certo uno dei capolavori del grande autore americano. L'ho trovato interessante soprattutto per la presentazione del mondo alieno e delle interazioni tra il protagonista e gli altri elementi del racconto. La lettura comunque prosegue spedita ed la prosa dimostra le grandi doti del suo autore. Un romanzo di SF di altri tempi, quasi uno "juvenilia".
March 12, 2025
Silverberg does a great job on his aliens. They are successfully alien. But his humans, not quite so much. As a coming of age adventure/road-trip, the story is enjoyable but not particularly creative overall. Now, if the kid had had a hatchet... (ok, that would have been copying from Gary Paulsen, but with aliens).
March 21, 2019
Silverberg excels at thoughtful character studies set in strange worlds. I inhaled this one — if an audiobook can be said to be inhaled. Terrific performance by Stefan Rudnicki, and the story was compelling. I woke up at 3:00 in order to finish listening.
October 13, 2019
Enjoyable enough YA written in Silverberg's usual silky style. I had this on my to-read shelf for 15 years and I'm not feeling any regret. Worth seeking out if you're a Silverberg fan or you want undemanding YA, but not other than that.
July 25, 2017
complete waste of time.
December 26, 2018
VOTO: 3
Romanzo di formazione che si lascia leggere e che di fantascientifico presenta solo l'ambientazione.
Non mi ha trasmesso nulla di particolare.
Romanzo di formazione che si lascia leggere e che di fantascientifico presenta solo l'ambientazione.
Non mi ha trasmesso nulla di particolare.
June 15, 2020
Piacevole viaggio del.protagonista alla ricerca di ciò che diventerà. Fantascienza zero o quasi ma ottimo romanzo di maturazione.
July 9, 2023
"He was home, at any rate. He had come by the longest possible route, a journey that had taken him deep into the interior of himself and brought him out in some strange new place."
May 1, 2016
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School
A coming-of-age story set on a distant planet. Joseph has been trained all his life to be the next Master of his House (a sort of feudal state). The indigenous species and the humans seem to have worked out a stable, amicable system for sharing the planet, but while Joseph is visiting relatives on a faraway continent, "the Folk," a human worker caste, suddenly rebel, killing all the Masters. Joseph flees to the forest, determined to find his way home. He is aided (and sometimes hindered) by the planet's sentient species, including free Folk who are concerned with neither Masters nor revolution. Most of what Joseph thought he knew is called into question, and he gains a new understanding of his world.
A very good coming of age story, but not one of my favorites. I found it a bit dreary and long, but then I am no longer a young adult (I'm much older than that).
Silverberg as always writes a well-crafted story. I'd give it an additional star just for literary style, but ...
Adult/High School
A coming-of-age story set on a distant planet. Joseph has been trained all his life to be the next Master of his House (a sort of feudal state). The indigenous species and the humans seem to have worked out a stable, amicable system for sharing the planet, but while Joseph is visiting relatives on a faraway continent, "the Folk," a human worker caste, suddenly rebel, killing all the Masters. Joseph flees to the forest, determined to find his way home. He is aided (and sometimes hindered) by the planet's sentient species, including free Folk who are concerned with neither Masters nor revolution. Most of what Joseph thought he knew is called into question, and he gains a new understanding of his world.
A very good coming of age story, but not one of my favorites. I found it a bit dreary and long, but then I am no longer a young adult (I'm much older than that).
Silverberg as always writes a well-crafted story. I'd give it an additional star just for literary style, but ...
September 1, 2007
This book follows the highly-educated boy from the elite, Joseph, through the wilds and social groups of lower castes after a revolution destroys the life he's known. He needs to get home, but getting there means working with anyone who will help him, and often that means being used. His trials cause Joseph to mature in a way prep school and high society couldn't, forcing him to hunt for food, apply medicine practically, barter, and eventually deal with strong emotions for some of the people he meets. It's an interesting test that leads to a purposefully anticlimactic ending. I won't spoil it for you, but the book quickly becomes less a question of if Joseph will make it home, and more a question of what he will be like if he gets there.
August 8, 2010
This is a coming of age story - On the planet called "Home World," the son of a caste of nobles called "The Masters" is visiting a relative when the serfs, known as "The Folk" attack the estates of all the Masters. The boy who starts off at age 14, walks a good chunk of the 10,000 miles to get back home, and learns a lot about himself 'n life in the process.
I liked the change in Joseph's maturity and thoughts as the book moves along. Initially, he is so naive and doesn't question the owner-slave relationships between the Masters and Folk and the Masters' relationship with the indigenous groups - until he ends up depending on them for his survival. Silverberg's writing isn't very strong and is very repetitive.
I liked the change in Joseph's maturity and thoughts as the book moves along. Initially, he is so naive and doesn't question the owner-slave relationships between the Masters and Folk and the Masters' relationship with the indigenous groups - until he ends up depending on them for his survival. Silverberg's writing isn't very strong and is very repetitive.
February 9, 2017
Surviving
October 13, 2009
One of the authors listed on my library's science fiction list that I had never read, so I picked up this book. There was a slim selection of his works on our shelves, and the edition we do have has a laughably 70's looking cover.
Coming-of-age, epic journey story. Quick read, not much substance and reminded me of Robert Heinlein on his outlook towards women characters.
Coming-of-age, epic journey story. Quick read, not much substance and reminded me of Robert Heinlein on his outlook towards women characters.
January 3, 2010
Another solid but not all that remarkable Silverberg novel. As ever, the world-building is very good; the story is in many ways a trip through it, even if the stakes for the main character are pretty high. Silverberg does walk a good line in dealing with some pretty stark situations without being too morbid.
August 24, 2014
Uma espécie de filhote de Majipoor.
A história é muito centrada no crescimento como pessoa do protagonista, um garoto q não sabe muito da vida e tem de se virar pra aprender rápido.
O planeta onde ele vive é realmente uma sombra de Majipoor, mas os detalhes não são explorados em profundidade.
Achei um trabalho menor do autor, embora a leitura tenha sido agradável.
A história é muito centrada no crescimento como pessoa do protagonista, um garoto q não sabe muito da vida e tem de se virar pra aprender rápido.
O planeta onde ele vive é realmente uma sombra de Majipoor, mas os detalhes não são explorados em profundidade.
Achei um trabalho menor do autor, embora a leitura tenha sido agradável.
September 22, 2011
Sort of another version of "Lord Valentine"--young Joseph makes a very long journey across the continent in the midst of a rebellion. He meets several different peoples along the way, gaining insights to their societies and to himself.
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