The Longest Way Home

By Robert Silverberg

Book Overview

Caught in the midst of a rebellion while visiting a friend thousands of miles from home, Joseph, the young heir to the great House Keilloran, one of the Masters who colonized the planet long ago,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 038097858X
• ISBN13: 9780380978588
• Release Date: July 2002
• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Very readable

I just finished this book, and really liked it. No, it's not as interesting as the "Lord Valentine" book I read a few months ago, but it's still very well written. Silverberg is a great writer - he really made me feel for the main character. His near starvation, loneliness, and sexual and political awakening are beautifully handled. Is it the best book he ever wrote? No. But it definitely is worth a read. Very enjoyable.

One of Silverberg's best.

I'm puzzled by the mixed reaction to this novel. Perhaps some readers were expecting more of the "epic" Silverberg of the new Majipoor trilogy and Alien Years. However, many long-time Silverberg fans feel that his very best novels, published between 1967 and 1976, were-like this one-short, tight, and intense. This book is an enjoyable and entertaining read, yes, but it also feels more personal and philosophical than those vast volumes that the market seems to pressure Silverberg to produce. I for one hope he skips the sequels and epics from now on out, and produces more novels of this length and excellence.

Good solid story from a scifi master

Personally, I thought this was a wonderful book, and I had a terrible time trying to put it down...I read anything I can find by Silverberg (with the exception of any of the Majipoor novels, which I think any fantasy hack could have spit out) because I think his character development is a notch or two above most other scifi writers. The main character in this one wasn't as richly drawn as in other novels though, and I got the impression at some points that Silverberg wasn't sure himself where the story was going. But those moments are few, and the story picks up quickly. This is definetly worth reading, it's a story that stays with you.

The Longest Way Home -- a new series??

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learning about the world Silverberg has created along with the protagonist Joseph. Now that Joseph's childish assumptions have been challenged, how will he change within himself and how will the world around him change? What happens between the Folk and Masters next? How will the events in the northern continent effect the south? I'm hoping this isn't a lone book, for there is so much more to expand. Silverberg has made his world live and makes the reader want to see it go on living.

exciting coming of age SF adventure

Fifteen years old Joseph Keilloran has lived a life of privilege with his destiny of one-day becoming the Master of House Keilloran. Currently Joseph is ten thousand miles from home visiting relatives at Getfen House when a massive civil uprising occurs against the local Masters. Bewildered by the uprising of the Folk, Joseph feels foolishly safe since he belongs to another House far distant from the revolution led by estate Foreman Jakirrod. Chambermaid Thustin persuades Joseph to flee if he wants to live because Jakirrod's followers are killing all the Masters and anyone loyal to them.Joseph treks through a wilderness that is as alien to him as anything he has encountered, but he knows that if Jakirrod's troops find him he is dead. The youth struggles to find food and shelter in the wilds after spending his life always being pampered and served. He meets strange beings, traveling THE LONGEST WAY HOME in order to survive.Though he offers nothing radically new, Robert Silverberg provides science fiction fans with an exciting coming of age adventure with a teen hero who must adapt 180 degrees if he is to survive his quest home. The story line is action-packed and provides just enough description and references to support the alien life forms that Joseph will encounter on his journey. This epic trek will please the myriad of Mr. Silverberg's fans while sending new readers on a trek to find other novels by one of the genre's Masters.Harriet Klausner