I appreciate that the organizers for Worldcon are looking to fill five days with programming that needs to appeal to a wide variety of tastes, but I admit to being a little surprised to find out that cardboard tree construction was on the list. Still, it's all about inclusion - enjoy, tree builders!
- Sid
* "Who doesn't love glitter? Or tattoos?" Well said.
I'm trying to keep my Worldcon adventure as inexpensive as possible, but I do think that one of these will make its way into my luggage for the trip home.
- Sid
Without missing a beat, Valentine began to walk inland, over the smoothly rising dunes toward the dense jungle wall. The trees parted as he approached, bowing to left and right, clearing a track for him, a scarlet-paved way leading to the unknown interior of the island. He looked ahead and saw foothills before him, low gray hills that rose in slow ascent to become steeply rising granite flanks, beyond which lay jagged peaks, a formidable sharp-tipped cordillera stretching on and on and on to the heart of a continent. And on the highest peak of all, on a summit so lofty that the air about it shimmered with a pale luminous glow seen only in dreams, sprawled the buttressed walls of the Castle. Valentine marched toward it, juggling as he went. Figures passed him along the path, coming the other way, waving, smiling, bowing. Lord Voriax was one, and his mother the Lady another, and the tall solemn figure of the Pontifex Tyeveras, all greeting him cordially, and Valentine waved back to them without dropping a diadem, without breaking the smooth serene flow of his juggling. He was on the foothill trail now, and effortlessly moving upward, with a crowd growing about him, Carabella, and Sleet close at hand, Zalzan Kavol and the whole juggling band of Skandars, Lisamon Hultin the giantess and Khun of Kianimot, Shanamir, Vinorkis, Gorzval, Lorivade, Asenhart, hundreds of others, Hjorts and Ghayrogs and Liimen and Vroons, merchants, farmers, fishers, acrobats, musicians, Duke Nascimonte the bandit chieftain, Tisana the dream-speaker, Gitamorn Suul and Dondak-Sajamir arm in arm, a horde of dancing Metamorphs, a phalanx of dragon-captains merrily brandishing harpoons, a skittering cavorting troop of forest-brethren swinging hand over hand through the trees alongside the path, everyone singing, laughing, prancing, followed him toward the Castle, Lord Malibor’s Castle, Lord Spurifon’s Castle, Lord Confalume’s Castle, Lord Stiamot’s Castle, Lord Valentine’s Castle—”Robert Silverberg, Lord Valentine's Castle
Success - the first edition hardcover copy of Lord Valentine's Castle* that I ordered last week through AbeBooks arrived this morning at about eleven o'clock, and it's in absolutely beautiful condition, well worth the money - I'll be proud to have Robert Silverberg sign this. My heartfelt thanks to Jeff Coopman at The Usual Suspects in St. Catharine's, Ontario for all his help in making this happen before my departure for Seattle and Worldcon tomorrow morning.
- Sid
* Cover art by Ron Walotsky, op. cit.
In the process of filtering through the epic list of programming for the six days of Worldcon, I was surprised to see legendary science fiction author Robert Silverberg listed as being a member of the panel at the Authors We Are Starting to Forget event on the first day of the conference. (There's some mild irony here, it's entirely possibly that some of the younger attendees may not be familiar with Mr. Silverberg's work.)
A quick check on Google revealed that Silverberg is 90 years old, which probably makes him one of the few remaining authors from the Golden Age of science fiction, with his first stories being submitted for publication during his early teenage years. (It also mentioned that he has never missed a Worldcon.)
I'm generally not an autograph hunter, but when I realized that he would also be available for autographs the following day, I decided that it was an opportunity that couldn't be missed, and added the autograph session (and the Forgotten Authors event) to my schedule.
The selection of novel was easy - my favourite Silverberg story is his award-winning 1980 novel Lord Valentine's Castle, which marked his return to science fiction* after his announced retirement from writing in 1975. The book details the fall and rise of the titular Valentine, who is cast down from his throne as Coronal of the planet Majipoor after having his mind transferred to a different body, and who must traverse the planet as part of an itinerant troupe of jugglers to regain his position and defeat the usurper. It's an excellent, well-written novel, somewhat different from his earlier work: thoughtful, introspective, playful and dramatic, with a final line that delivers an unexpectedly bittersweet ending to the story.**
However, as is the case with many of my more treasured books, my well-read 45-year-old paperback copy of Lord Valentine's Castle was somewhat the worse for wear, so I decided to see if I could track down a hardover copy of the first edition.
My initial online search revealed several options, but shipping time was unpredictable, so I set off the following morning to tour the local used bookstores in hopes of a lucky discovery.
Pulp Fiction's Main Street location yielded nothing, nor did The Paper Hound, on Pender. I discovered a copy of the paperback edition in good condition at MacLeod's, just down the street from the Paper Hound, which was quite a surprise - MacLeod's is one of those bookstores which has lost the battle with its inventory, and as such browsing can be a challenging experience.
In the words of my ex-boss in Toronto, a good plan today is better than a great plan tomorrow, so I bought the paperback edition as a backup (my existing copy also being in need of replacement) and headed off to the Seabus for a trip to North Vancouver and Book Lovers, a store which I hadn't previously visited.
Sadly, Book Lovers also came up empty for Lord Valentine, and I headed home with just a paperback copy to show from my five hour bookstore tour.
I returned to the web, and eventually found a first edition hardcover copy in Fine Condition at an Ontario bookseller for $35.00 CAD on AbeBooks, and decided to take a chance on having it delivered before I left. I paid extra for expedited 2-7 day shipping, but so far the provided Canada Post tracking number hasn't shown any progress since I placed my order last Friday, and I leave next Tuesday at 7:15 AM.
And now we wait - fingers crossed.
- Sid
* Or fantasy - there seems to be some variation in how the Majipoor Cycle, made up of Lord Valentine's Castle and a number of longer and shorter related works, is classified.
**It's also possible that a studious reader could learn how to juggle over the course of the story.
