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A review by arkron
Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny
3.0
Just a couple of pages in and already one murdered Amberite. The usual suspects are the remaining royal family but they had the help of shadow beings.
It seems to be quite different from the previous books with much less action density. Random tells his story which seems to be this book's psychedelic episode with all it's shadow weaving and circulating stones. Some magic (wielding a storm) and politics (view spoiler).
I absolutely didn't understand the chapter with Tir'Na'Nogh (?sp). Maybe I was too tired or it was just too psychedelic, I don't know, but I simply didn't get it. And I don't know why Tir'Na'Nogh - the Irish mythological otherworld - was referenced, here.
We get much more background story of Random and Corwin. I like the eponymous beast!
Besides of that one chapter it was a nice read with lots of interactions between the Amberite princes and astonishingly few action. As such it is an interesting deviation from the previous stories.
I noted a couple of nice citations:
"... but I can't spare any more brothers at the moment." Sums up the juggling between internal politics and external needs of defending Amber.
"While sex heads a great number of lists, we all have other things we like to do in between." I had to ROFL there.
And once again nice literaric references interleaved with morbidity: "... and be playing football with the head while composing a footnote to Clausewitz."
3.5 stars - rounded down to 3 because of the confusing chapter.
It seems to be quite different from the previous books with much less action density. Random tells his story which seems to be this book's psychedelic episode with all it's shadow weaving and circulating stones. Some magic (wielding a storm) and politics (view spoiler).
I absolutely didn't understand the chapter with Tir'Na'Nogh (?sp). Maybe I was too tired or it was just too psychedelic, I don't know, but I simply didn't get it. And I don't know why Tir'Na'Nogh - the Irish mythological otherworld - was referenced, here.
We get much more background story of Random and Corwin. I like the eponymous beast!
Besides of that one chapter it was a nice read with lots of interactions between the Amberite princes and astonishingly few action. As such it is an interesting deviation from the previous stories.
I noted a couple of nice citations:
"... but I can't spare any more brothers at the moment." Sums up the juggling between internal politics and external needs of defending Amber.
"While sex heads a great number of lists, we all have other things we like to do in between." I had to ROFL there.
And once again nice literaric references interleaved with morbidity: "... and be playing football with the head while composing a footnote to Clausewitz."
3.5 stars - rounded down to 3 because of the confusing chapter.