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Poilar Crookleg is a member of a village at the foot of the Wall, the large mountain atop which the gods reside. Since time immemorial, his village, and other villages like it, each year sends forty individuals to climb the Wall. Successful climbers will reach the top and learn the wisdom of the gods for their villages' benefit. No one in the villages knows what happens to unsuccessful climbers, except that very, very few climbers are successful.

As a descendant of the First Climber, and the son and grandson of climbers, Poilar has always known his destiny as a climber. When the winnowing comes, Poilar is indeed one of the year's forty climbers. The novel tells the story of that climb: what Poilar and the others see along the way, the titular kingdoms they encounter, and the ultimate wisdom they gain during their climb. The story is in Poilar's own words, presenting his successes and failures during the journey.

The story has many of the trappings of Big Ideas to it. Possibly the most readily apparent is its discussions and approaches to sexuality. (Without getting into too much detail best learned through the book's revelations, Poilar's culture's treatment of sexuality has no real-world parallel I'm aware of.) The story also regularly presents situations testing the climbers' resolve and indomitability, offering lessons in perseverance. In the background hover questions of faith, religion, and the nature of the gods themselves. The story thus provides much fodder for reflection, as resonant stories do.

But I can't rate this story very highly for one reason: its near-relentless depression. The climbers, in continuously diminishing numbers, prevail against all manner of adversity encountered along the way. Yet each obstacle stands as monument not just to the shortcomings of prior climbers, but to their abject failures and and abandonment of their vows to prevail over the mountain. Each failure questions why previous climbers failed in that manner, almost always leaving that question unresolved, with too little information for the reader even to hypothesize. The climbers (and the reader) leave each successive challenge not invigorated for future conflict, but simply further wearied. The ultimate resolution is largely consistent with this prior trend.

I don't demand steady optimism from all stories. Lack of true conflict makes for shallowness and predictability. It's great that, for example, George R.R. Martin's excellent A Song of Ice and Fire novels buck the trend toward relentlessly-successful protagonists encased in Plot Armor.

But I do require occasional hints of optimism, of the importance and worthiness of the characters' strivings (even those that in hindsight are misguided). I need moments that make me cheer. In the words of a review of a much more recent fantasy novel, I need "something to love." A Song of Ice and Fire regularly gives me that, even with (or perhaps because of) its brutal treatment of characters (and readers). This book didn't.

This story begins optimistic and steadily declines into apprehension, melancholy, dashed hopes, and despair. There are a few moments of light in a few instances of character development. (Even still, I think Poilar remains a bit flat.) But they are few and far between. And I can't remember a single moment in the story where I wanted to cheer.

It's not necessarily a bad book; I fully expect many readers will love it. But for the reasons stated, it doesn't appeal to me. And worse than simple absence of appeal: if I knew then what I know now, I would not have read this book the first time. I can almost always appreciate the perspectives and experiences of stories I don't like, as fresh and unusual experiences, even when I simultaneously dislike the stories. Variety and treatment of material I wouldn't ordinarily seek out are valuable. But this book's persistent negativity overcomes even my appreciation for variety. That's very, very rare.

Three stars. (And if I weren't grading on a curve that partially corrects for my predilection for stories with uplifting moments, I could easily drop to two.)

This is my first Robert Silverberg novel so I have nothing with which to compare it. The blurbs for the novel sounded interesting but not a sure thing. I am glad I purchased this on a leap of faith, considering my misgivings. While the premise may sound dry and uninteresting, make no mistake Mr. Silverberg wholly creates a world revolving around the mountain known as Kosa Saag. He begins with the people like Poilar Crookleg who live at its feet, worship it and aspire to ascend it to reveal secrets known only to those who successfully complete the climb. After watching various groups sent forth over the years, eventually Poilar and his group are chosen to make their own ascent. Mr. Silverberg well chronicles this adventure from start to finish. Their are rivalries and jealousies and questions of leadership. Poilar and his friends are required to make tough choices about saving each other versus the completion of the mission. The many obstacles faced are well described, including what pass for societies based at different points on the mountain with their strange proclivities and seductive attractions. I think Mr. Silverberg intends these individual societies to be symbolic. I can say nothing more about the climb without giving away plot surprises and revelations. Let me just say that climbing along with Poilar and his group (their people have a sci-fi surprise of their own) is indeed a worthy endeavor and one that I am happy I took.

This book was fascinating. The subject matter, an impossible climb to the top of a mountain range that would dwarf Everest with a group of people you grew up with, by a young male (oh yeah, they're not humans.) who's father never returned from the trek years ago. Freaked me out in parts, but in a good way. Very different take on alien life, remarkably human but wildly different from us Homo sapiens in their approach to sex, anatomy, physiology, sociology, hauling off on a long danged ramble from which, only a handful ever return and they are not right in their minds if they ever do. Read this, you will not be disappointed.

Robert Silverberg is as fine a writer as the science fiction field has ever produced, and if Kingdoms of the Wall does not quite reach the literary heights of some of his earlier works, it is nonetheless a fine novel, with complex characters, a well-visualized alien world, and some profound insights into issues of faith and the search for meaning. Silverberg's characters undertake an arduous journey to climb a massive mountain, a journey that is both a literal and a spiritual quest. They ultimately find their religious faith in their planet's traditions shattered, but find a deeper purpose in life to replace it with.

This book lacks purpose and meanders about like one who is lost. The message it seems is that there is no God other than our own desire to find one to behold. I feel this message is already abundantly clear everywhere we look in today's world. God if there ever was one is dead and we are on our own. Not very heartening but the truth rarely gives satisfaction. Perhaps a more detailed story with more about the ascent would redeem it but with this ending a short story would have sufficed. I wonder if the art of writing is becoming lost and great works only in the past .

This is my second review, after reading this book for a second time - I read the paperback version about 15 years ago, this time I read the Kindle version. This version has some annoying editing errors, but nothing too serious. As for the story, I enjoyed it even more this time. Simply one of Silverberg's best. Forty pilgrims undertake a life-changing pilgrimage to a gigantic mountain peak in search of their gods, facing unimaginable hardships along the way. What they find may change the very course of their entire species.