A Time of Changes

By: Robert Silverberg

Narrated by: Pete Bradbury

As Kinnall Darival writes "I" in his journal, he knows this pronoun is forbidden by his people of Manneran because it is too personal. But through the use of a powerful, mind-altering drug, he has learned to understand what people are really feeling and to speak for himself. Now he is compelled to share his message of liberation, regardless of the risk. This science fiction classic is a cult favorite from a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author.

©1971 Robert Silverberg (P)2002 Recorded Books,LLC

Diary of a would be Messiah !

A stranger in an even stranger land , very finely read, with a transcendent premise , Mankind fulfilled.

One of the Better Silverberg Novels

A Time of Changes is told in first person in the form of an autobiography by Kinnall Darival, a prince of the province of Salla, who, when the novel opens, leaves his homeland of Salla to find his way after his brother becomes the leader. Salla is one of several nations on the planet Borthan which was settled by Earth people long ago and the civilization is familiar except that referring to oneself in the first person is forbidden and overall the culture is socially conservative.

In his travels Kinnall has a number of adventures and is ultimately meets a visiting Earthman who introduces him to a powerful but illegal drug which allows telepathic contact between two people if they take it simultaneously. Kinnall becomes a sort of drug pusher, persuading friends (some in high places) and acquaintances to try it and enter each others' minds. He knows this may ultimately get him in trouble in the lands he visits but believes in opening the minds of people in the socially restrictive society.

This novel was written in 1971 so it displays some of the tropes consistent in science fiction at the time which didn't age particularly well. Like most science fiction of the time, this novel felt like it was meant to appeal primarily to males.

Overall, I really liked this book. It did win the Nebula Award and was nominated for the Hugo. The world building wasn't great but the societal structure was intriguing and it was interesting navigating the various nations while in Kinnall's head. I was probably going to give this three stars up until the final few chapters but I really liked the ambiguous ending. At the end, Kinnall's writing stops so we have no idea what his future held or if he shaped society at all. I finished the audiobook on a long road-construction delayed commute home from work and batted the ending around in my head all the way home.

Actor Pete Bradbury narrated this one and made for a convincing Kinnall.