Plot summary
Corwin, Random and Ganelon go down to the Primal Pattern and see that it is damaged, with a dark stain obscuring the pattern from the center to one edge, in the shape of the corrupted Vale of Garnath. They also see a pair of objects at the pattern's centre. While Corwin and Random discuss whether it would be safe to walk a damaged pattern, Ganelon runs through the stain to the center and retrieves the objects - a dagger, and a pierced Trump card. A purple griffin-like beast emerges from a cave, and Random's horse runs onto the pattern. The horse is consumed/ripped apart by a rainbow-coloured tornado.
Ganelon discusses what it was like to run on the stain, and asks Random to drop a small amount of blood on the pattern. The blood drop stains the pattern in the same way, and they realize that the trump must have been used to spill blood onto the pattern by someone at its centre. Random recognizes the trump as that of his Rebman son, Martin. Corwin recognises the style of the trump as that of Brand.
Ganelon proposes that Corwin use the Trumps to contact Benedict, who transports them to the slopes of mount Kolvir. Random and Benedict, who had known and was fond of Martin, set off through shadow to find him, or if necessary avenge his death. Corwin returns to Amber to inform Random's wife, Vialle, that Random will be gone for a while. Discussing matters with her, he realizes that now Eric is dead he no longer wants the throne - but he still loves Amber and wishes to repair the damage, even though he is no longer sure it is his fault.
Corwin then descends into the depths of the castle to find his former cell in the dungeons. On the way to his cell, Corwin meets Roger Zelazny, who makes an appearance in his own book. The author describes himself as a "...lean, cadaverous figure... smoking his pipe, grinning around it". In his dialogue with Corwin, Roger states that he is "...writing a philosophical romance shot through with elements of horror and morbidity". This may or may not be a not-so-subtle description of the entire Chronicles of Amber series.
Once in his former cell, Corwin uses the trump that Dworkin drew on the wall to project himself to the mad sorcerer's chambers. Dworkin incorrectly assumes that Corwin is Oberon, and reveals to him in a vaguely metaphoric manner that he, Dworkin, is Oberon's father (and that the mother was the Unicorn), and that he drew the Pattern using the "Jewel of Judgement", which was given to him by the Unicorn after he fled from Chaos. Dworkin then describes how the damage to the Pattern could be fixed if he destroyed himself, erasing the pattern and allowing Oberon to draw another.
Dworkin takes Corwin to the Primal Pattern, past the purple griffin, Wixer. Dworkin then realizes that it is Corwin, and explains that there is a way to mend the Pattern using the Jewel of Judgement, though that would be more difficult, and probably fatal to the person who attempted it. Dworkin then loses control of his madness, transforming into a monstrous beast and pursuing Corwin back into his chambers. Corwin escapes via a Trump which he finds there.
He finds himself in the Courts of Chaos, a great castle which looks out over the Abyss, a swirling black/white hole, under a half-colored-stripy, half-black-swirly sky. Corwin remembers being brought here as a child by Oberon, to see that this is in fact the true source of all creation, not Amber. A strange, pale rider attacks Corwin, but is defeated. A familiar-seeming man approaches with a crossbow, but spares Corwin after recognizing him by his blade.
Corwin contacts Gérard via Trump, and learns that because of the time differential between Amber and Chaos he has been missing for eight days.
Corwin takes the pierced trump of Martin to Brand, who admits stabbing Martin through the trump in order to damage the pattern, as part of his cabal's scheme to capture Oberon. He tries to persuade Corwin to use the Trump to kill Bleys and Fiona, as he was stabbed. He asks for the Jewel to help him to restrain them, but Corwin is unconvinced.
Ganelon, who is with Benedict, contacts Corwin via Trump. Benedict is now wearing the metallic arm from Tir-na Nog'th. Corwin gives Benedict the trump of the Courts.
Gérard arrives via Trump. Brand has gone missing, and his room is covered in blood. Gérard becomes convinced that Corwin has finished Brand off, and starts to fight Corwin. Ganelon stops Gérard's punch and knocks him unconscious with several blows, giving Corwin time to escape.
Corwin flees into the forest of Arden, hoping to retrieve the Jewel from Earth. A manticora pursues him, but Julian arrives and kills it. Julian explains that the Eric-Julian-Caine triumvirate arose only to oppose Brand's cabal, taking the throne to prevent Bleys from claiming it. When Corwin arrived with Bleys, they assumed he had joined the cabal, but when (after his capture) they realized he only wanted the throne, Julian suggested blinding him as an alternative to killing him. Julian tells Corwin how Brand has acquired strange powers, including becoming a "living Trump", capable of teleporting himself or other objects through shadow.
Corwin proceeds to Earth, musing on his new-found respect for Julian. He arrives to find that the compost heap where he hid the Jewel of Judgment is gone. With the help of Bill Roth, he tracks down the heap, but the Jewel has already been taken from it by a man matching Brand's description.
Corwin contacts Amber and has guards posted on the Patterns in Amber and Rebma, hoping to prevent Brand from using them to use them to attune himself to the Jewel. Fiona contacts him via Trump, and projects herself to Earth. She then leads Corwin to the Primal Pattern, taking a short-cut through a starry tunnel. She explains that she and Bleys had imprisoned Brand because he had decided to destroy the Pattern and re-create, reshaping the multiverse according to his own liking. They kept him alive because they believed he might be helpful in repairing the damage. She also explains that Brand tried to kill Corwin on Earth because he saw a vision in Tir-na Nog'th that Corwin would defeat him. Fiona confirms that Bleys survived the fall from the cliff in the first book.
They arrive to find Brand already on the Primal Pattern. Corwin follows, hoping to slay Brand while he is distracted, but he realises that slaying Brand would further damage the Pattern. He instead gets close enough to ask the Jewel to summon a tornado, of the sort that destroyed Random's horse, but Brand escapes into shadow.
Leaving Fiona to guard the Primal Pattern, Corwin goes to his tomb to meet Random and Martin, who have just arrived. Martin tells Corwin how he was attacked by Brand, and how he met Dara in shadow. Ganelon contacts Corwin to tell him that Tir-na Nog'th will appear tonight, along with its version of the Pattern. Reasoning that Brand will attempt to attune himself there, Ganelon asks Benedict to walk the Pattern in Amber, ready to teleport himself directly to Tir-na Nog'th's pattern when the city appears, and tells Corwin to keep permanent contact with Benedict through the Trump to teleport him out in case the city becomes immaterial.
Corwin rides to the top of Kolvir and contacts Benedict via the Trump. Tir-na Nog'th appears, and Benedict teleports himself there. Brand appears shortly afterwards, and tries to persuade Benedict to allow him to re-create the Pattern. Benedict refuses and Brand, partly attuned to the Jewel from his earlier partial walk through the primal Pattern, uses it to freeze Benedict in place and prevent Corwin from interfering through the trump. Brand makes to stab the paralyzed Benedict, but at the last moment, Benedict's mechanical arm moves apparently of its own accord, snatching the Jewel and choking Brand by its chain. Defeated, Brand teleports away, leaving the Jewel.
Corwin and Benedict decide that the arm being the right weapon in the right place at the right time is too convenient a happenstance to be some sort of coincidence, and so it must have been arranged by some guiding force — Oberon. Together, they try Oberon's Trump, and find that contact comes easily. They are answered by a grinning Ganelon.
The Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game is a role-playing game created and written by Erick Wujcik, set in the fictional universe created by author Roger Zelazny for his Chronicles of Amber. The game is unusual in that no dice are used in resolving conflicts or player actions; instead a simple diceless system of comparative ability, and narrative description of the action by the players and gamemaster, is used to determine how situations are resolved.
Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for The Chronicles of Amber. He won the Nebula Award three times and the Hugo Award six times, including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel ...And Call Me Conrad (1965), subsequently published under the title This Immortal (1966) and then the novel Lord of Light (1967).
The Chronicles of Amber is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Roger Zelazny. The main series consists of two story arcs, each five novels in length. Additionally, there are a number of Amber short stories and other works. While Zelazny's will expressly forbade sequels by other authors, four posthumous prequels authorized by Zelazny's family were authored by John Gregory Betancourt.
Oberon is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fairies.
Nine Princes in Amber is a fantasy novel by American writer Roger Zelazny, the first in the Chronicles of Amber series. It was first published in 1970, and later spawned a computer game of the same name. The first edition of the novel is unusually rare; the publisher pulped a significant part of the original print run in error when the order went out to destroy remaining copies of Zelazny's older book Creatures of Light and Darkness.
The Guns of Avalon is fantasy novel by American writer Roger Zelazny, the second book in the Chronicles of Amber series. The book continues straight from the previous volume, Nine Princes in Amber, although it includes a recapitulation.
The Courts of Chaos is a fantasy novel by American writer Roger Zelazny, the fifth book in the Chronicles of Amber series. It was first published in serial format in Galaxy Science Fiction.
Manna from Heaven is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writer Roger Zelazny. It was published in 2003 by Zelazny's estate eight years after Zelazny's death.
My Name Is Legion (ISBN 0345248678) is an anthology of three stories by American writer Roger Zelazny, compiled in 1976. The stories feature a common protagonist who is never named.
Corwin, a Prince of Amber, is the main character in the first five books of Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber. He is the second son of Oberon and Faiella, and the father of Merlin. Within the novels, much of the action centers on Corwin and his family as they plot against one another conspiring to become the King of Amber.
Doorways in the Sand is a science fiction novel by American writer Roger Zelazny. Featuring both detective fiction and comic elements, it was originally published in serial form in the magazine Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact; the hardcover edition was first published in 1976 and the paperback in 1977. Zelazny wrote the whole story in one draft, no rewrites and it subsequently became one of his own five personal favorites in all his work. Doorways in the Sand was nominated to the Nebula and Hugo awards.
Castle Amber is a Dungeons & Dragons adventure module designed by Tom Moldvay. This was the second module designed for use with the Expert D&D set. The module is in part an adaptation of Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne stories, and set in the fictional medieval French province of that name.
In The Chronicles of Amber series of fantasy novels, The Pattern is an inscribed labyrinth which gives the multiverse its order. It granted characters walking through it "the ability to access a multitude of compossible worlds". Related to it is the Logrus, a shifting, three-dimensional maze which represents the forces of Chaos in the multiverse.
"The Last Defender of Camelot" is a fantasy short story by American writer Roger Zelazny, first published in the Summer 1979 issue of Asimov's SF Adventure Magazine. It was subsequently published as a chapbook by Underwood/Miller for the May 23, 1980 V-Con 8 where Zelazny was guest of honor. It is currently published as a hardcover, paperback, and digital e-book by Amber LTD. The story was also the basis of a 1986 episode of the television series The Twilight Zone.
This Immortal, serialized as ...And Call Me Conrad, is a science fiction novel by American author Roger Zelazny. In its original publication, it was abridged by the editor and published in two parts in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October and November 1965. It tied with Frank Herbert's Dune for the 1966 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Nine Princes in Amber is an interactive fiction video game with graphics. The game was published by Telarium, a subsidiary of Spinnaker Software, in 1985. The game is based upon the fantasy novels Nine Princes in Amber and The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny.
Trent Zelazny is an American author of crime, horror, and fantastical fiction. His work includes To Sleep Gently, Fractal Despondency, The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories, Destination Unknown, Butterfly Potion, Too Late to Call Texas, People Person, and Voiceless. His short story "The House of Happy Mayhem" received an honorable mention in Best Horror of the Year 2009, edited by Ellen Datlow.
The Dark World is a science fantasy novel credited to Henry Kuttner, although his wife C. L. Moore may have been an uncredited collaborator, or possibly even the author. The novel was first published in the July 1946 issue of Startling Stories, then reprinted in the Winter 1954 issue of Fantastic Story Magazine. Its first book edition was issued by Ace in 1965, followed by a British edition by Mayflower Books in 1966. A French translation appeared in 1972. The novel was reprinted in full in Issue #5 of Amberzine in 1992, and also collected in a 1997 paperback omnibus, The Startling Worlds of Henry Kuttner. Roger Zelazny, author of The Chronicles of Amber, credits this book as being one of his primary influences during his youth.
This is a partial bibliography of American science fiction and fantasy author Roger Zelazny.
