Hmm,

[pbray]

Stolen from mcurry


Dworkin was a member of the royal family of Chaos until he rebelled and drew the Pattern - the supreme artifact of Order. It was he who was Amber's first king and the father of Oberon. Somewhere during this time, his humanform became hunch-backed, though he still retained the power of shapeshifting. A sorceror of unimaginable power, he was rendered unstable for awhile because of his intimate link to the Pattern - drawn using the Jewel of Judgement and his own blood. By the time Merlin meets him in Roger Zelazny's Knight of Shadows, Dworkin had recovered from his malady and was still enigmatic.

Which Amberite are you?

It's been so long since I last read them, I now have a craving to reread the Amber novels again.

Comments

[princejvstin.livejournal.com]

I admit that I've read the first five more times than the second five. I am not sure if its because I like Corwin better than a protagonist, or if the writing simply was better in the first five. (I was faux-shocked that I got Merlin in that easy-to-game meme quiz going around).

Granted, there are many cool things in the second series but as far as a re-readable story, I prefer Corwin's tale to Merlin's.

I don't think it was that Zelazny was losing his touch--I loved Lonesome October, for instance. But the Merlin books lack something that the Corwin books have in spades.

And I think you are right, in the modern publishing world, NPIA would probably wind up at least as a single 400 page novel, and perhaps as multiple 350 page novels (like the way Stross' Family Trade novels have been split)

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Yeah the five Corwin books have that irresistible quality of a great indie movie. Sure there are flaws there, but it's a damn fine story.
Technically the Merlin books are probably just as well written, if not better, but they fall short on the emotional engagement.

And you're right, it wasn't a question of his having lost his touch. As I remember Zelazny's writing had that variable quality throughout his career--great stories sprinkled among merely average ones, with a couple mediocre titles.