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Lord Prestimion is one of the middle books of a new Majipoor
story arc. For those unfamiliar with Mr. Silverberg's work, Majipoor is a
planet that is so poor in metals that the gravity is near Earth normal,
despite the fact that it has about ten times the surface area. Majipoor
has been settled by the various star-faring races as far back as anyone
can remember. For the past few thousand years, humans have controlled it.
Through a clever bureaucracy and through careful succession to the throne,
the planet has been ruled in peace for millennia - at least until Prestimion's
time. One of the keys to this peace has been the constitutional law that no
son may succeed his father as ruler.
As the story opens, Prestimion has just finished fighting a civil war for
the throne. The last ruler's son decided he should take his father's place.
After winning the war, Prestimion causes the populace to forget that the war
has happened. He reasons that there will be too much bitterness otherwise,
and that the peace cannot last without this forgetfullness.
Unfortunately, the "spell" he has caused to be cast has some unforseen
side effects. Not all the former conspirators are inclined to let Prestimion
peacefully take the throne, either. Because the schemers behind the civil
war have forgotten the hard lessons taught by it, they're plotting again.
Then, too, there seems to be a slowly spreading maddness as the people try
to make sense of the ravaged land and their half-remembered dead.
Prestimion has to deal with it all while falling in love.
A somewhat intricate book, this is a good read - even if you're not
entirely familiar with Majipoor yet. If you have read some of the
other books, such as The Majipoor Chronicles or Lord Valentine's
Castle, you'll enjoy it even more!
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