In Lord Valentine's Castle, Valentine, the Coronal of Majipoor, faced a long, hard road to regain his usurped throne. In this sequel, Valentine now finds himself facing some unpleasant duties of his office. One is the threat of war with the native race of Shapeshifters. A Shapeshifter plot is causing havoc in the far reaches of Majipoor and threatening the well being of the realm. Must Valentine, a man of peace, shed blood to save his people? The other duty is that of tradition. It has always been that upon the death of the Pontifex, the Coronal of Majipoor would leave the Castle Mount and take his predecessor's place in the depths of Labyrinth. The Pontifex Tyeveras is ancient, kept alive by machines. With a word, Valentine can release Tyeveras and continue the cycle of things. But he is reluctant to so quickly abandon the world of light and take his role below. Like most sequels, Valentine Pontifex is not as good as the original, but it is a great read.
--J. ( )

I enjoyed this book, but maybe not quite as much as the first in the trilogy, Lord Valentine's Castle. I felt like it was a slow read at the beginning, but it definately picked up towards the middle. I enjoyed the chapters about other non-main characters throughout Majipoor, which really let you experience what they were going through. The only negative feeling I have about the book is I felt the end was very rushed and ended quite abruptly. But still worth a read. ( )

Valentine is still a nice guy, but not all that keen on the whole ruling thing, even those he has to. He has to try and deal with the shapeshifting metamorph plot to take over, their guerilla tactics, and other problems of government.

He has drifted from his friends, and the metamorphs are not the only strange beings he has to come to understand. Certainly not as good as the first book.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2006/12... ( )