HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Masters of Solitude by Marvin Kaye
Loading...

The Masters of Solitude (original 1978; edition 1978)

by Marvin Kaye

Series: City/Coven (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
298887,556 (3.76)7
Member:sheherazahde
Title:The Masters of Solitude
Authors:Marvin Kaye
Info:DoubleDay (1978), Hardcover, 397 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:*****
Tags:science fiction, telepathy, wicca

Work Information

The Masters of Solitude by Marvin Kaye (1978)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 7 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
future fantasy of covens and kriss on outside vs. atheistic intellectuals in city
  ritaer | Mar 11, 2020 |
geef dit boek 3 sterren, omdat het me toch wel een beetje vermaakt heeft. niet dat het nou echt een superboek was, maar echt slecht was het ook niet. ( )
  EdwinKort | Oct 18, 2019 |
Posted on my blog:

The Masters of Solitude by Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin is a classic science fiction with a bit of fantasy that isn’t very well known; it explores a post-apocalyptic world of magic users and a city of technology that has turned its back on them

There are books everyone knows about, and there are books no one has heard about. The Masters of Solitude is definitely in the latter category, but it really doesn’t deserve that category! It’s a hybrid of sci-fi and fantasy and set in the future. The story follows some of the people that live in tribe structures, who have religious beliefs that seem to be rooted in the pre-Christian religions, and I have to say it was interesting the way the authors portrayed them running into the Judeo-Christian rooted religion for the first time. I read it a while ago and the thing that stands out the most is that it was an amazing read, so the details might be scarce, but you really should read it if the setting doesn’t bother you.


Title: The Masters of Solitude
Authors: Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin
Length: 397 pages (hardcover)
Genre-ish: Classic Sci-Fi with a bit of magic
Rating: ★★★★☆ - if you’re tempted to try some classic sci-fi, read this!
Setting: Set in a post-apocalyptic far future where the cities have force field type stuff around them and are generally completely removed from the tribal people living outside of them, who have several interesting psychic abilities.
Premise: As I said above, the story follows several of the tribal people as they are forced to explore further around them and run into plague lands and an isolated group with beliefs obviously based on the Judeo-Christian belief system of today.

Strengths:

Very skilled writing and plot work
Makes you think, because they don’t tell you more than what is relevant to the characters
Interesting philosophical thoughts on rural vs city and pagan vs Judeo-Christian and good practice at understanding a completely alien perspective
Interesting and complex world and magic system (in the form of some psychic abilities)

Weaknesses:

Not an easy read, you really do need to be able to concentrate and get entranced to catch on to what the characters already know
A bit alien at times (purposeful of the authors I’m sure) making it hard to identify with the characters
Not that happy of an ending (mostly because there isn’t really an ending, there is a second book apparently)

Summary: I went through a fair number of online reviews to remind myself of the plot and one of the most common things I read was that people couldn’t really remember all that happened in the book but they remember that they really liked it, and that is exactly my feeling as well (though I did read it at least three years ago now). If you like books that make you think and make your brain feel bigger when you read them, then this is an excellent book to read. It’s not that long, but the authors do an amazing job of putting the reader in a very alien perspective.

More reviews at http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings.com/ ( )
3 vote anyaejo | Apr 2, 2013 |
Probably one of the better science fiction books that nobody's ever heard of. I'd strongly suggest reading it if you can find a copy of it.

The only thing keeping me from giving it a full score is the rather...sudden way the big reveal happens at the end. It doesn't end in a way that's entirely satisfying, but there's supposedly a sequel. ( )
1 vote cyafer | Mar 30, 2013 |
More reviews at: http://www.onstarshipsanddragonwings.com/2011/03/21/masterofsolitude/

The Masters of Solitude by Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin is a classic science fiction with a bit of fantasy that isn’t very well known; it explores a post-apocalyptic world of magic users and a city of technology that has turned its back on them
There are books everyone knows about, and there are books no one has heard about. The Masters of Solitude is definitely in the latter category, but it really doesn’t deserve that category! It’s a hybrid of sci-fi and fantasy and set in the. The story follows some of the people from these tribe structures, who have religious beliefs that seem to be rooted in the pre-Christian religions, and I have to say it was interesting the way the authors portrayed them running into the Judeo-Christian rooted religion for the first time. I read it a while ago and the thing that stands out the most is that it was an amazing read, so the details might be scarce, but you really should read it if the setting doesn’t bother you.

Title: The Masters of Solitude
Authors: Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin
Length: 397 pages (hardcover)
Genre-ish: Classic Sci-Fi with a bit of magic
Rating: ★★★★☆ - if you’re tempted to try some classic sci-fi, read this!
Setting: Set in a post-apocalyptic far future where the cities have force field type stuff around them and are generally completely removed from the tribal people living outside of them, who have several interesting psychic abilities.
Premise: As I said above, the story follows several of the tribal people as they are forced to explore further around them and run into plague lands and an isolated group with beliefs obviously based on the Judeo-Christian belief system of today.
Strengths:
Very skilled writing and plot work
Makes you think, because they don’t tell you more than what is relevant to the characters
Interesting philosophical thoughts on rural vs city and pagan vs Judeo-Christian and good practice at understanding a completely alien perspective
Interesting and complex world and magic system (in the form of some psychic abilities)
Weaknesses:
Not an easy read, you really do need to be able to concentrate and get entranced to catch on to what the characters already know
A bit alien at times (purposeful of the authors I’m sure) making it hard to identify with the characters
Not that happy of an ending (mostly because there isn’t really an ending, there is a second book apparently)
Summary: I went through a fair number of online reviews to remind myself of the plot and one of the most common things I read was that people couldn’t really remember all that happened in the book but they remember that they really liked it, and that is exactly my feeling as well (though I did read it at least three years ago now). If you like books that make you think and make your brain feel bigger when you read them, then this is an excellent book to read. It’s not that long, but the authors do an amazing job of putting the reader in a very alien perspective. ( )
  anyaejo | Feb 16, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors (17 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Marvin Kayeprimary authorall editionscalculated
Godwin, Parkemain authorall editionsconfirmed
D'Achille, GinoCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Maillet, FrançoiseTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Straßl, LoreTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vallejo, BorisCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Sorrow is knowledge: they who know the most must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth, the Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life. - Manfred, Lord Byron.

For here we no continuing City, but we seek one to come. - Hebrews 13:14
Sorrow is knowledge: they who know the most must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth, the Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life. - Manfred, Lord Byron.

For here we no continuing City, but we seek one to come. - Hebrews 13:14
Dedication
To Sharon Jarvis, who saw that it could be born; To Pat LoBrutto, who delivered it.
First words
In the silence of the forest, someone thought of him, and he stirred, surprised and disturbed.
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Information from the German Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Blurbers
Original language
Information from the German Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.76)
0.5 1
1
1.5
2 1
2.5
3 8
3.5 2
4 9
4.5 1
5 7

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,186,033 books! | Top bar: Always visible