Scan barcode
A review by hawkeyegough
The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Zelazny has yet another winner in The Courts of Chaos. This author has a really incredible gift for combining fantasy and mythological elements with esoteric science in a genre-bending swirl that is delicious. Added to this, the main character has continued to evolve and develop over the course of five books now in a consistent and believable way. This is an excellent way to keep the reader involved, and is a good example of one of my absolute favorite aspects of Zelazny's writing: he manages to leave out every unnecessary syllable and yet say volumes in the dense text that remains. This is apparent in the Corwin, the protagonist's reckoning with his existence as some kind of demi-god and the meaning of morality, duty and virtue as well as responsibility. Throughout this series, we are following Corwin in a series of tumultuous events, and this challenging time of his life is making him consider his extremely long life and any meaning he's derived from it. Zelazny's choices of what events and interactions to leave out or hint at manage to emphasize and lend impact to text he chose to use and keep.
Additionally, Zelazny's prose is second to none. He manages to simultaneously keep the tone light and sometimes hilarious in a dry, subtle way while treating us to some incredible metaphors and descriptive passages. An example is when the author has a character begin to allow himself to feel hope near the climax. Corwin describes this as drops of liquid hope landing on his heart, which felt somehow accurate to a sensation we've probably all felt at some point. This is just one example of an author who has created an immersive, finely-crafted world and some enjoyable characters within it. This whole series has wildly exceeded my expectations, and I will be revisiting it soon in the 6th installment.
Additionally, Zelazny's prose is second to none. He manages to simultaneously keep the tone light and sometimes hilarious in a dry, subtle way while treating us to some incredible metaphors and descriptive passages. An example is when the author has a character begin to allow himself to feel hope near the climax. Corwin describes this as drops of liquid hope landing on his heart, which felt somehow accurate to a sensation we've probably all felt at some point. This is just one example of an author who has created an immersive, finely-crafted world and some enjoyable characters within it. This whole series has wildly exceeded my expectations, and I will be revisiting it soon in the 6th installment.