Anyway, it was a serious effort to shift Silverberg's output from SF to big commercial fantasy, clearly drawing on older models, particularly Zelazny (amnesiac hero discovers that his crown has been usurped) and Vance (adventures across a world of varying magical creatures). We've had an awful lot more of that kind of thing since, and though some of it has been done better, most of it has been done worse. The setting of the multi-species travelling circus is nicely developed. The general thrust is uplifting - it's not just about divine right of kings, it's also about earning the right to rule through sufficient popular support (and, er, winning the battle at the end of the book). It was as much fun as I hoped it would be, but I don't feel any particular urge to track down and read the sequels.
Lord Valentine's Castle, by Robert Silverberg
Anyway, it was a serious effort to shift Silverberg's output from SF to big commercial fantasy, clearly drawing on older models, particularly Zelazny (amnesiac hero discovers that his crown has been usurped) and Vance (adventures across a world of varying magical creatures). We've had an awful lot more of that kind of thing since, and though some of it has been done better, most of it has been done worse. The setting of the multi-species travelling circus is nicely developed. The general thrust is uplifting - it's not just about divine right of kings, it's also about earning the right to rule through sufficient popular support (and, er, winning the battle at the end of the book). It was as much fun as I hoped it would be, but I don't feel any particular urge to track down and read the sequels.
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Pyramids of Mars, by Kate Orman (and Robert Holmes and Terrance Dicks)
I'm not sure if I saw Pyramids of Mars when it was first broadcast in 1975; I know I did catch the edited rebroadcast in November 1976, which…
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The Evil of the Daleks, by Simon Guerrier (and John Peel)
The eleventh of the generally excellent Black Archive series of short books on individual Doctor Who stories addresses The Evil of the Daleks, the…
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The Flaming Soldier, by Christopher Bryant; The Dreamer’s Lament, by Benjamin Burford-Jones
Moving up my queued Doctor Who reviews in honour of my presence at Gallifrey One this weekend, here are a novella and novel in the generally good…
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