Sign of the Unicorn
I've made it through the third book in the Chronicles of Amber, and it feels like this story is finally starting. More than the books that came before it, this one felt like a solid beginning. I'm finally caught up with everything that happened before the series started (I think), and I'm ready to see what happens next. Also, the book ends on a hell of a cliffhanger that has me chomping at the bit to dive into the next one. But I'm trying to hold myself back, because I can see myself easily getting sick of this series. Better to keep the anticipation ratcheted up, so I can use it's momentum to get through all ten books.
As excited as I am about the third book, I should say that it's basically an extended info dump, punctuated with brief action scenes that mostly serve to keep Corwin from acting on his information prematurely. One by one, he makes his way through various family members, putting together what happened while he was suffering from amnesia and how he came to get his memory back and rejoin the struggle for the throne of Amber.
I was starved for a lot of this information, so it was nice to finally get the backstory. Most of the characters have reasons to lie, so it's worth taking all of their stories with a grain of salt. But they do help illuminate the alliances and motives of the various characters, helping to drive home the fact that Corwin really shouldn't trust anyone, even, and perhaps especially, the people he's decided to trust.
More than the other books, this one made me think of Wheel of Time, had that series focused exclusively on the Forsaken. The dream world seems to work similarly (and even has a similar name), and the constantly shifting alliances are hard to keep track of. The reason to root for Corwin seems to be that he's the most human of his siblings - he at least knows what compassion is - and that's still enough for now. I still like a couple of his brothers better, but as they are neither ambitious nor the protagonist I'll have to wait and see.
For now, I'm glad to finally get to the meat of the series. Zelazny seems to have finally moved all his pieces into position and now we get to watch it all play out.
As excited as I am about the third book, I should say that it's basically an extended info dump, punctuated with brief action scenes that mostly serve to keep Corwin from acting on his information prematurely. One by one, he makes his way through various family members, putting together what happened while he was suffering from amnesia and how he came to get his memory back and rejoin the struggle for the throne of Amber.
I was starved for a lot of this information, so it was nice to finally get the backstory. Most of the characters have reasons to lie, so it's worth taking all of their stories with a grain of salt. But they do help illuminate the alliances and motives of the various characters, helping to drive home the fact that Corwin really shouldn't trust anyone, even, and perhaps especially, the people he's decided to trust.
More than the other books, this one made me think of Wheel of Time, had that series focused exclusively on the Forsaken. The dream world seems to work similarly (and even has a similar name), and the constantly shifting alliances are hard to keep track of. The reason to root for Corwin seems to be that he's the most human of his siblings - he at least knows what compassion is - and that's still enough for now. I still like a couple of his brothers better, but as they are neither ambitious nor the protagonist I'll have to wait and see.
For now, I'm glad to finally get to the meat of the series. Zelazny seems to have finally moved all his pieces into position and now we get to watch it all play out.
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