The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny

(pb; 1978: fifth novelette in The Chronicles of Amber quintology)

From the back cover

"Amber, the one real world of which all others – including our own Earth – are but Shadows...

"For untold millennia, the cosmic Pattern sustained order in Amber and all the known worlds. But now the forces of Chaos have succeeded in disrupting the Pattern, unleashing destructive forces beyond measure... forces meant to reshape the universe.

"To save Amber, Corwin, prince of the blood, champion of the perfect realm, must undertake the most perilous journey of his life. A journey that will take him through all the terrors of Shadows to the enemy's last stronghold. A journey beyond the very edge of existence... to the Courts of Chaos."


Review

Caveat: possible spoilers in this review.

After the revelations of The Hand of Oberon, the Trump card-holding siblings gradually join forces to defeat Brand, their Chaos-loving and Amber-wrecking brother. Keeping with the tone and structure of earlier books, this is a swiftly-plotted, lots-of-dialogue, twisty motives and happenings kind of urban fantasy. Its tone is more genial ─ well, as genial as Corwyn and his brothers and sisters can get ─ and its resolution is satisfying in its personal warmth. This is an excellent read, as are all the Amber books.

The Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny

(pb; 1976: fourth novelette in The Chronicles of Amber quintology)

From the back cover

"Across the mysterious Black Road, demons swarm into Shadow. The ancient, secret source of the royal family's power is revealed, & an unholy pact between a prince of the realm & the forces of Chaos threaten all the known worlds with absolute obliteration. The hour of battle is at hand. Now Corwin and the remaining princes of Amber must call upon all their superhuman powers to defeat their brother-turned-traitor before he can walk the magical Pattern that created Amber and remake the universe in his own image."


Review

Having glimpsed the Courts of Chaos, Corwin continues sorting through the tangled motives and actions of his royal treacherous siblings and discovering how to defeat the Black Road, a dangerous path of Chaos.  Like its prequels, Oberon has little lag time between it and its prequel, Sign of the Unicorn, features a lot of dialogue, as well as barebones, fast-moving action and occurrences. In short: it keeps with the plot-propellant tone of previous Chronicle novelettes, with enough character-based twists to further make this an above-average fantasy read. Followed by The Courts of Chaos.

Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny

(hb; 1975: third novelette in The Chronicles of Amber quintology)

From the back cover

"He who rules Amber rules the one true world. He who thwarts Amber invites the wrath of Amber betrayed.

"An unseen enemy of immense strength has seized a Prince of the Blood, and now threatens the perfect kingdom by striking at the very core of its power - the secret knowledge of Shadow.

"When Corwin summons forces to defend the throne, he finds himself challenged by royal conspirators, hideous demons, supernatural patterns and the ominous unknown that suddenly transcends all he ever suspected about the true nature of Amber.

"One of the most revered names in sf and fantasy, the incomparable Roger Zelazny was honored with numerous prizes—including six Hugo and three Nebula Awards—over the course of his legendary career. Among his more than fifty books, arguably Zelazny’s most popular literary creations were his extraordinary Amber novels."

Review

Sign, like its prequel, The Guns of Avalon, picks up shortly after the last book left off. Corwin’s unexpected, easy victory during the finale of Guns has translated into an uneasy reign. Scheming siblings still eye the throne upon which he sits, a situation worsened when Caine ─ one of said family members ─ is murdered. What follows is a chatty, fantasy-themed murder mystery where Corwin tries to suss out who the killer is, before more bodies, including his own, drop. Sign is a good read if you do not mind a lot of verbal interaction between many people, less action than usual for a fantasy novel, and an abrupt ending that births new mysteries as it resolves others. Followed by The Hand of Oberon.

The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny

(hb; 1972: second novelette in The Chronicles of Amber quintology)

From the inside

"Across the worlds of Shadow, Corwin, prince of blood royal, heir to the throne of Amber, gathers his forces for an assault that will yield up to him the crown that is rightfully his. But, a growing darkness of his own doing threatens his plans, an evil that stretches to the heart of the perfect kingdom itself where the demonic forces of Chaos mass to annihilate Amber and all who would rule there."


Review

The first follow-up to Nine Princes in Amber picks up shortly after the ending of the first book. Corwin seeks to consolidate his seizing of the throne held by his cruel brother (Eric), with help from Ganelon (an exiled traitor-turned-minor-monarch). Along the way, he encounters two of his friendlier siblings, Benedict (who gives him temporary shelter) and Gérard (who reluctantly places faith in Corwin’s word), as well as Dara, Benedict’s curious, mysterious and seductive niece.

Like Nine, Guns is a fast-moving, action-packed urban fantasy, with its blink-it-and-miss-it transitions and explanations. Readers used to detailed, spell-it-out writing may be confused by and put off by Zelazny’s lightning-swift editing and character shifts. For the rest of us, the Amber quintology is a breath of fresh air, one worth owning. Followed by Sign of the Unicorn.

Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny

(hb; 1970: first novelette in The Chronicles in Amber quintology)

From the inside flap

"Amber, the one real world, wherein all others, including our own Earth, are but Shadows. Amber burns in Corwin's blood. Exiled on Shadow Earth for centuries, the prince is about to return to Amber to make a mad and desperate rush upon the throne. From Arden to the blood-slippery Stairway into the Sea, the air is electrified with the powers of Eric, Random, Bleys, Caine, and all the princes of Amber whom Corwin must overcome. Yet, his savage path is blocked and guarded by eerie structures beyond imagining; impossible realities forged by demonic assassins and staggering horrors to challenge the might of Corwin's superhuman fury.' to 'Awakening in an Earth hospital unable to remember who he is or where he came from, Corwin is amazed to learn that he is one of the sons of Oberon, King of Amber, and is the rightful successor to the crown in a parallel world."


Review

Princes is a fun, barebones and plot-swift urban fantasy novelette that wastes zero words, with characters who deftly adapt to shifting dimensions and identities with an aplomb that may put off some readers, who are used to “epic” [read: often overlong] works within the same genre. This is an excellent, scene-vivid, and sometimes humorous read, one worth owning. When reading Princes, you might want to make sure you have its first sequel, The Guns of Avalon, on hand, because Princes ─ with its not-quite-cliffhanger ending ─ is an opening arc in a five-book storyline.

Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny

(pb; 1979)

From the back cover:

"The last exit to Babylon.

"The Road runs from an unimaginable past to the far future, and those who travel it have access to the turnoffs leading to all times and places - even to the alternate timestreams of histories that never happened.

"Why the Dragons of Bel'kwinith made the Road - or who they are - nobody knows.  But the Road has always been there, for those who know how to find it, and always will be!"


Review:

Roadmarks is a witty, quirky and entertaining novel about Red Dorakeen, a backroads rogue whose rough-and-tumble interactions with men, machines and creatures of myth make for a fast-moving, tightly-told and action-punctuated tale of past, present and future, as well as their variable versions. This is one of the more original science fiction novels I have read in a long while, one worth owning.