The Ultimate Dysfunctional Family; NINE PRINCES IN AMBER
Written: Nov 17 '08 (Updated Nov 24 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Brilliant, well written, action and intrigue in a tasty mix. Sci Fantasy Saga.
Cons: I really can't think of any.
The Bottom Line: Roger Zelazny's Amber Chronicles are some of the best books written in Fantasy. Check them out.
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| talyseon's Full Review: Nine Princes in Amber Books |
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
A man wakes up in a hospital with no memory, casts on both legs, and a certainty something in the state of Denmark is emitting a foul odor. He is told he was in a car accident two weeks ago. Either someone is lying or he heals really fast.
He leaves the hospital after refusing his daily overmedication and proving to the orderly that a fist in the groin beats a hypodermic hidden behind the back. With no memory he has to depend on instinct and a broad streak of low cunning and distrust that seems to go clear to the bone.
Records put him on to his sister, who is paying for his care and sedation, a stunner calling herself Evelyn Flaumel. When he confronts her she is wary, and by pretending he knows more than he actually does, he begins to pick up clues to his life. What she says begins to shake his memory loose. He pieces together the story; he has had amnesia for a very long time; centuries in fact. And he thinks dear sister Florimel, her real name, has been his jailer. In her desk he finds cards with familiar faces; her tarot deck works like the family album, and names and faces begin to fit together. His name is Corwin, and the eight men are his brothers. Seeing them opens glimpses into his past, together with one word, "Amber."
Still fuzzy on details, his information mining is interrupted by a phone call; his younger brother Random. He is in trouble, and needs help. Flora was closest, but finding Corwin there, he asks for sanctuary. Corwin agrees, running the same scam; never speaking in specifics, and letting Random jump to conclusions. A new mine of information has just opened up.
Random is in trouble; he is being pursued by not-quite-men with sharp spurs growing out of the backs of their hands. However, Corwin and his siblings seem to be much stronger than humanly possible, and they manage to thwart the attack. Against one, perhaps the grey skinned attackers would have succeeded. Against three...no.
Corwin and Random head out for Amber, Corwin letting Random lead the way. As they travel, he continues to pick up clues to his past.
And their journey is not across country, but across dimensions, which Random calls Shadows. Little things change as they drive, but the changes accumulate, and soon they are very far from the earth that had been Corwin's prison for so many years.
Among the obstacles they encounter is Julian, their brother. Mounted on a horse faster than a train, and about as strong, wearing bullet proof armour, and accompanied by storm hounds who begin tearing pieces off the car, Julian intends to see Corwin dead.
However, it is Corwin who ends up on top, and use Julian to win past his guards. Once past, they release him, something he obviously did not expect.
The next twist of fate puts them in position to rescue Deidre, Corwin's favorite sister. She was attempting to escape Amber, the city at the center of the multiverse, her plans being thwarted by Brother Eric's troopers.
Together, the three make their way toward Amber, only to finally be thwarted at the base of the mountain, Kolvir. To escape Eric's troops, they head into the water.
As Amber is the core of reality, and every other universe a Shadow it casts, in the waters of Kolvir's base hold the reflection of Amber, a city called Rebma. Beneath the waves, the city is perfectly reflected, with a few changes. Breathing is not a problem for visitors, a fact Corwin discovers when he can't hold his breath anymore. Ruled by Queen Moiré, they are separate from their terrestrial sister city. And there are problems there as well.
While friendly to Amber in theory, they hold a grudge against Random for a tragic affair between that youngest Prince of Amber and Morganthe; the only Princess of Rebma, which led to the birth of Random's bastard, Martin, and Morganthe's suicide. While Corwin and Deidre are given sanctuary, Random will have to pay a penalty. He will remain and marry a blind girl named Vialle. His status will improve her lot in life.
There are many delights in Rebma, including Corwin discovers, the Queen herself. But Rebma holds something more precious than pearls. It holds a Pattern.
The Pattern of Amber is a glowing line on the floor of a dungeon chamber in Amber. It is also an artifact that grants great power. Traversing it is the rite of passage for a Prince or Princess of Amber, for only the blood of Oberon can walk the line and live. Why would they do it? Because doing so gives them the power to walk in Shadow, the shifting travel that Random used to bring them to Amber in the first place. Further, there is good reason to believe that doing so will restore Corwin's missing memory.
So Corwin does this thing, and it works. As hard and draining as a triathlon, he traverses the Pattern of Rebma, and in doing so, he is torn down, and put back together again, restored.
Further, he is now at the center of the Pattern, a place of great power, and one that offers a unique ability. Corwin orders the Pattern of Rebma to transport him into Castle Amber.
From there he sneaks about, steals a deck of Trumps, the family Tarot which have very useful powers, and confronts Eric, who he now realizes dumped him on Earth in England during the Black Death, hoping he would die. Their battle proves several things to both brothers; one, Eric is no longer the superior swords man and two, there will never be peace between the two. Eric assumes a defensive posture and calls for help. Corwin then uses the Trumps for their ultimate purpose; he contacts his brother Bleys, and by the power of the Pattern, incorporated in the Trump, he transports himself through Shadow to where Bleys stands.
Together, the brothers raise an Army preparing to cast their usurper brother Eric from their father's throne.
Seem like a lot? That's just the first half of the book. At a mere 188 pages, every page is packed. Political intrigue, high fantasy, and liberal dashes of science fiction and psychological drama blend in a mélange of great writing. Zelazny was highly intuitive; his prose evocative, and threads that seemed to lead to nothing more than pretty imagery are later seen to be the warp and woof of the plot.
His writing sketches, drawing the reader along, a descriptive phrase, a line of dialogue, and you conjure the vista in your own mind. Zelazny does not paint the picture, he hints at it, and the reader, mesmerized, does the work. I think this property of his work is why he is so successful, and why his fans love his works so; though they may not realize it, they had a hand in creating them.
Also, with the entirety of the multiverse to draw on, it is not surprising that Zelazny's work comes across as varied and eclectic. There are elements of Lord of the Rings, Shogun, and Film Noir. Our hero, Corwin is so steeped in suspicion and distrust that he lied, finagled, and obfuscated like a member of the Bush Cabinet even when his memory was completely gone. He did it on instinct. That tells you something about the family Corwin finds himself in. His brothers and sisters are not just family, they are Jungian archetypes; literally. They cast shadows throughout the multiverse, like everything in Amber. And as Corwin comments, his family is like a klatch of mean little old ladies with the universe as a combination retirement home and obstacle course. Suspicion, deceit, alliance and betrayal are meat and drink to this lot.
And the story is just beginning. While the Nine Princes may loom large in this book, the entire family is just one player in a larger game that unfolds in four more books. Beyond them, a further five continue the tale, though not from the point of view of Corwin.
Zelazny was a brilliant author, and the Chronicles of Amber are some of the best beloved books in the fantasy field. He had a need to build coherent magical systems, and a penchant for including anachronisms, Sci Fi in his fantasy settings. He also displayed a fascination with the absent father, and with people becoming gods. All these elements are at the core of the Amber series.
Zelazny was nominated for 14 Hugo and Nebula Awards. He won the Nebula three times and the Hugo six. Amber was by far his most popular creation, and his legacy.
These are among my favorite books. I give them my highest recommendation.
This review is submitted for the Ressurrecting the Oldies Write-Off.
Recommended:
Yes
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talyseon
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