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A review by arkron
The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
4.0
It took 5 chapters to start Corwin smoking this time :)
The first five books in the Amber series come to a conclusion with this book before Amber is continued with Merlin as the main protagonist. Corwin's boy isn't really introduced here but gets a soft hand-over to his own cycle by bringing him in in several scenes. It is a little bit artificial, but on the other hand it is good that he doesn't appear in a flash in the next book.
The narrative is slower than the previous books, lots of psychedelic descriptions of Shadow voyage - it reminds me of the first travel of Corwin with Random in his car towards Amber.
And it is full of interesting self reflection and philosophical discussions.
Concerning action, I really liked the hilarious drunken dwarf party. Some random encounters with unnamed foreigners make me wonder who they are and if they will play a role in the second half.
The showdown with Brand is nearing. The first two fights are paced quite good and the effects are nice.
Zelazny dives into Germanic Mythology: The worldtree Yggdrasil and Loki's thought - manifested as the bird Hugi - come along. I liked Zelazny's interpretation of both.
A couple of weeks ago, I've been visiting Paris once more - and Corwin is there in his thoughts as well: The Place des Vogues, Place de la Concorde, several Cafes, the Pigalle, the Seine - I have all those places in vivid memory and I loved having them mentioned within a fantasy book.
And finally it got a nice, epic showdown and funeral and a soft, reflective epilogue. Not the high bang that some would have liked, probably, but very fitting to the series' style.
This book is way better than the previous couple of books. Because Zelazny's strengths of inner monologue, philosophical discussions (like the discussions with Hugi about Absolute and desire), psychedelic travels and strange random encounters (like the drunken dwarves) and divings into mythology with Yggdrasil and Hugin are emphasized.
I'd like to point out the very thorough discussion on Zelazny's influences, philosophy and mythology roundup at http://www.nyrsf.com/2012/07/suspended-in-literature-patterns-and-allusions-in-the-chronicles-of-amber-by-christopher-s-kovacs-1.html
I know that most people see it the over way round because they dislike exactly these features and liked the action parts more. But this is my personal preference.
The first five books in the Amber series come to a conclusion with this book before Amber is continued with Merlin as the main protagonist. Corwin's boy isn't really introduced here but gets a soft hand-over to his own cycle by bringing him in in several scenes. It is a little bit artificial, but on the other hand it is good that he doesn't appear in a flash in the next book.
The narrative is slower than the previous books, lots of psychedelic descriptions of Shadow voyage - it reminds me of the first travel of Corwin with Random in his car towards Amber.
And it is full of interesting self reflection and philosophical discussions.
Concerning action, I really liked the hilarious drunken dwarf party. Some random encounters with unnamed foreigners make me wonder who they are and if they will play a role in the second half.
The showdown with Brand is nearing. The first two fights are paced quite good and the effects are nice.
Zelazny dives into Germanic Mythology: The worldtree Yggdrasil and Loki's thought - manifested as the bird Hugi - come along. I liked Zelazny's interpretation of both.
A couple of weeks ago, I've been visiting Paris once more - and Corwin is there in his thoughts as well
Spoiler
while waving a new patternAnd finally it got a nice, epic showdown and funeral and a soft, reflective epilogue. Not the high bang that some would have liked, probably, but very fitting to the series' style.
This book is way better than the previous couple of books. Because Zelazny's strengths of inner monologue, philosophical discussions (like the discussions with Hugi about Absolute and desire), psychedelic travels and strange random encounters (like the drunken dwarves) and divings into mythology with Yggdrasil and Hugin are emphasized.
I'd like to point out the very thorough discussion on Zelazny's influences, philosophy and mythology roundup at http://www.nyrsf.com/2012/07/suspended-in-literature-patterns-and-allusions-in-the-chronicles-of-amber-by-christopher-s-kovacs-1.html
I know that most people see it the over way round because they dislike exactly these features and liked the action parts more. But this is my personal preference.