pacavegano@bookwyrm.social reviewed Majipoor chronicles by Robert Silverberg (Priam books)
Short stories impersonating a novel
4 stars
I have mixed feelings about this book. As a general statement, I can say that I prefer novels to short stories. And more often than not when I encounter a book in which the author has tried to cobble a collection of short stories into a novel, I am just annoyed by the conceit. Here I must grant, however, that Silverberg did probably the best work of such a job that I have encountered. I still felt, unmistakably, that I was reading a collection of stories, not a novel, but I would have to say that the short story which insinuates itself in the cracks between the others, and bookends them, is one of my two favorite stories in the book.
Most of the stories I found to be good, but not great. For me, the other highlight, besides the stitching story, was “Calintane Explains”. I in no way …
I have mixed feelings about this book. As a general statement, I can say that I prefer novels to short stories. And more often than not when I encounter a book in which the author has tried to cobble a collection of short stories into a novel, I am just annoyed by the conceit. Here I must grant, however, that Silverberg did probably the best work of such a job that I have encountered. I still felt, unmistakably, that I was reading a collection of stories, not a novel, but I would have to say that the short story which insinuates itself in the cracks between the others, and bookends them, is one of my two favorite stories in the book.
Most of the stories I found to be good, but not great. For me, the other highlight, besides the stitching story, was “Calintane Explains”. I in no way regret having read this book (twice now, though I had no specific memories from having read it some forty years ago), but I am glad that the next book in the series is an actual novel!