Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny starting March 1, 2023.

Giving this a bump too xD

I’m probably going to start this tomorrow.

Read this yesterday! These go so quick.. I think I enjoyed this more on the reread than I did initially based on my rating from 2015. There's not as much action, a lot of the story comes from dialogue, but it was interesting trying to figure some things out. (I really don't remember much from my first read)(view spoiler)[ Its really hard to keep track of all the siblings.. Especially who's in cahoots with each other :D Might be a bit easier with a text-version

I really liked the explanation of why Corwin believes he has the right to the throne... and the fact that he didn't crown himself right away. Is Oberon still out there somewhere?

The ending was pretty strange, and I'm not sure I entirely understood what was going on. Might need to re-listen to that bit! (hide spoiler)]

I was delayed in starting. I’m a little more than halfway through so far and enjoying it thoroughly. I’m loving how the plot is heading toward piecing together many of the unknowns from the previous books.

Just started today! From the start, in Chapter 1 (view spoiler)[starting right in the middle of the mystery, with Corwin carrying a dead body surreptitiously through his castle... I can see a movie starting with this very scene. But it also reminds us, as much as the past two books have been contained in themselves, there are many mysteries left to solve. The biggest of which being--what happened to dear old dad?

The fact that these creatures were chasing Random--and that Oberon (and Brand) disappeared--well before Corwin made his curse on Amber suggests that the whole chaos-curse thing is not the (sole) source of trouble in Amber. Did this same antagonistic force move Corwin like a chess piece into making his curse, or take advantage of it? (hide spoiler)]

Like Emily said, I'm finding it very interesting how much of the story so far has enfolded in conversation... reminds me of the old adage "show, don't tell" but here Zelazny is showing by telling...

Chapter 2 I was rather miffed by this exchange: (view spoiler)[
“What about the girls?”
He shrugged. “They tend to take things lying down. No problem.”

I know that "taking things lying down" is a common phrase for not putting up resistance, but with the dismissiveness towards women, and the additional existing cultural connotations of lying down or especially "on one's backs" when referring to women, this expression just got my hackles up. Ah, 1970s sexism...

Back to the creatures chasing Random--how they followed him across Shadow definitely reminds of Dara in book 2--she could cross Shadow, but only if following someone. Until Corwin taught her how.

Really seems like Corwin should have taken time for Random's story a lot earlier than this... and very interesting seeing it from Random's perspective, with all the conspiracy theories and mental backstabbing juggling... (hide spoiler)]


This line... So Childe Random to the dark tower came, yeah, gun in one hand, blade in the other. At first I was thinking... was this the inspiration for King's Dark Tower series? From Amber? But then I did a little digging... and apparently this line: Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came is the title of an 1852 narrative poem by Robert Browning, that ends with that line, so you never know what is inside the Dark Tower--and that it in turn is taken from this line in King Lear:
Child Rowland to the dark tower came.
His word was still "Fie, foh, and fum,
I smell the blood of a British man."
When Gloucester's son Edgar is pretending to be Tom o'Bedlam and talking nonsense...

Apparently, there've been quite a lot of SF/F books, especially second half of the 20th century, to take inspiration from this poem... I went and found a full version of the poem--I wonder if more of this book will echo it? I found it here:
(https://allpoetry.com/Childe-Roland-T...)

Chapter 3 (view spoiler)[Glad to see Corwin putting everything together and saying it straight out--always nice when the author plays things so that the reader thinks of it right before it is confirmed, makes us feel smart, but not bored.

A traitor in Amber? Most likely a member of the family--or to be the most influential, should be someone already introduced. Part of me really wants it to be one of the sisters behind this, or maybe one of Oberon's discarded lovers/mothers of his children, as revenge against being constantly underestimated and dismissed...

Still love the way Zelazny turns a phrase: Either way, the coronation had served only to fatten his already obese ego.

This also gives me thought: Also, I had had a head injury, and I was well aware of my own desires. The mind is a funny place. I do not even trust my own. Could it be that I had manufactured that whole business? A lot had happened since.--Corwin is no traditional hero--he is selfish and arrogant, if perhaps more caring or less callous than his siblings--but he does not let empathy get in the way of is goals... and he even tells us readers that we should not trust him. I almost wonder if the Amber books were some of the first SF/F to feature a gray protagonist and an unreliable narrator?

And I love that he just keeps name-dropping Freud. I really do enjoy all the little references Zelazny also peppers his writing with... he brings in Pavlov too, and "Pawn to King Four"--which I had to look up, it is a chess strategy called "King's Pawn", a popular and aggressive opening move for White--which makes it sound like Corwin is being manipulated at distance by his father, to counter the Black (Chaos?).

Colbert will be developing Amber for the screen... I don't remember if it's movies or TV but probably TV. I have to wonder how they will show walking the pattern? How will they make a cinematic achievement out of an actor walking along a maze, fighting for each step.... A coffee break for Sisyphus! LOL

Add the red jewel to the list of mysteries... (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "Just started today! From the start, in Chapter 1 starting right in the middle of the mystery, with Corwin carrying a dead body surreptitiously through his castle... I can see a movie starting with ..."

(view spoiler)[ The quote you mentioned (the girls tend to take things lying down) irked me as well. I think we've seen more than our fair share of this sexist viewpoint and I doubt this will be the last. I'm simply chalking it up to the time period in which this was written. (hide spoiler)]

As to "Child Random to the dark tower came," I also immediately thought of King's Dark Tower. But I just dismissed it since the Amber series was written first. Then upon reading your post and the details of your research on the topic, you completely jogged my memory. This Browning poem was familiar to me and I know it was mentioned someplace in King's Dark Tower. So I did some digging of my own and found what I was looking for: If you crack open the seventh book of the Dark Tower series, immediately following King's dedication (to us Constant Readers), there you will find the concluding lines of Browning's poem.

Christopher wrote: "Nirkatze wrote: "Just started today! From the start, in Chapter 1 starting right in the middle of the mystery, with Corwin carrying a dead body surreptitiously through his castle... I can see a mov..."

I haven't read the Dark Tower series yet--our Fairy Tale BR this year was my first Stephen King--but I've been curious about it for a long time...

One thing I found interesting in the research, is that a "Childe" is apparently a (usually firstborn) son who has yet to "earn his spurs"--not yet a knight, not yet performed some task of reknown.

It makes me wonder if perhaps Corwin is a "Childe" in this book, and his cycle is him "earning his spurs" and proving himself worthy of inheriting Amber...

Nirkatze wrote: "Chapter 3 Glad to see Corwin putting everything together and saying it straight out--always nice when the author plays things so that the reader thinks of it right before it is confirmed, makes us ..."

Excellent points! Opening the door to the unreliable narrator...

I saw that about Colbert too. I think it's supposed to be a TV series. Definitely something to look forward too - it should be interesting also to see how they handle the inner monologue of Corwin. I'd think that they'd have to have Corwin narrating the show (casting of this should be interesting).

Speaking of narrating, did anyone get a little confused in chapter 2 with the switch in narrator? I actually had to backtrack a page or two when I realized I had missed the shift. That was a cool change of perspective though.

Ugh yeah that line didn't sit well with me either. It was nice to see more from the sisters this book, but then again... not really, because I feel like the attitude towards them was largely dismissive...

Chapter 4 Yet more stories in conversation. This reminds me a lot of murder mysteries--I find myself thinking especially of Agatha Christie's Poirot (though I have only the TV series & movies to pull from, since I've not yet read one)--in how pieces of the mystery are put together as Poirot questions various people on their stories... and then the climax, as he tells his own...

(view spoiler)[And I have to laugh at how Flora looks at gamblers and thinks assorted criminals, and groups in jazz musicians with unsavory peoples... she prefers wealthy Westchester while Random seems he'd be more at home in Harlem...

Interesting how this chapter is split--half interrogation, half drinking session on his own grave... (hide spoiler)]

Christopher wrote: "Nirkatze wrote: "Chapter 3 Glad to see Corwin putting everything together and saying it straight out--always nice when the author plays things so that the reader thinks of it right before it is con..."

I'm doing eye-book, so I wasn't surprised by the narrator switch--I think if I were doing audio I'd've probably missed the key points that led to the change...

@Emily--"dismissive" is exactly the word I think of... part of why I really want one of the sisters to be a mastermind behind all this somehow, or something... Dara in the last book was almost worthy...

Chapter 5 (view spoiler)[An interesting about the unicorn being the symbol of Amber--had that been mentioned before? and the sight of one in the grove...

Also Gerard's decision-making process is interesting... if you can't discover the truth, arrange things so that the truth can't affect the path you take... kind of reminds me of those riddles, like the two doors, where one will always lie and the other always tell the truth, and you can only ask one question to find which path you should take... ("which way will the other door tell me to go?") (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 6 (view spoiler)[Llewella has green hair. Huh. Had to do a google search for fan art of Trumps of Amber but couldn't find a Llewella one.

Did find this though! Made me laugh. "Hold on, gotta take this Trump..."
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

Very cool scene with using the Trumps to rescue Brand. I'm surprised Corwin left Brand alone with Gerard though--could have easily been him with the knife too--he had Brand in his arms. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 7

(view spoiler)[ This whole scene plays out like real life game of Clue. It's really cool to have the entire family posing questions and sharing (albeit sometimes selective) info.

I'm interested to see if Corwin and Benedict can reconcile their differences. Benedict's distrust of Corwin stems from the murders in Avalon and he insists there was never a Dara (I wonder if this is a true statement or a self-serving cover). Yet, Corwin displays actual knowledge of Julian and Caine having stayed with Benedict after being injured in battle. Benedict too conveniently (in my opinion) agrees for them to "forget [Corwin's] source" of that information. Something is definitely up with Benedict. He's also withholding info on Brand visiting him often (assuming that this factoid from Dara is true). Questions abound and who knows what's fact or fiction?

@Nirkatze - Deirdre had the same thoughts as you regarding Gerard.

One last note here: You have to love Fiona's "subjective, intuitive, and biased" analysis. Her money's on Julian with the Wrench in the Conservatory. I wonder what her angle is in all of this. It's certainly nice to finally flesh out one of the sisters and I'm looking forward to learning a bit more about her. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 7--I like your description of "Clue", Christopher! Very apt. (view spoiler)[Thinking on Benedict's objection to Corwin's family theory--none of the brothers have given any thought to the sisters as possible monarchs, only allies... I could see a woman, angered at being so dismissed by her brothers, choosing the "if I can't have it no one will" attitude... sadly, being attacked by a "man" at the end probably ditches that theory...

Am quite glad to have that suspicion of Gerard addressed, indeed!

@Christopher--also appreciate your theorizing regarding Benedict... he's also the only brother to exhibit no interest in ruling Amber... perhaps he believes it is better off destroyed, and his family with it? The way a man who believes himself to be the only honorable one amongst thieves might justify murdering them all in their beds since none of them have any honor and would do it to him if given a chance anyway... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 8

I really enjoyed this chapter as more pieces of the puzzle start to drop.

(view spoiler)[ It seems clear to me that Brand was involved in trying to save Corwin (he has to be the man in green with the red hair and white horse that pulled Corwin out of the lake after his car accident). I referred back to Chapter 2 (Random's account) to try to get a clue on the timing of Brand's disappearance. Random was contacted by Brand via Trump (imprisoned) and that set off his whole adventure with the creatures following him through Shadow, eventually ending with the shootout at Flora's house in Westchester with Corwin. Taking into account potential time distortions, it is feasible that Brand was captured and imprisoned as a direct response to his helping Corwin. (hide spoiler)]

Zelazny has an awesome, semi-break of the fourth wall in this section that was truly hilarious - even laying on some commentary on himself as the author:
(view spoiler)[
Bill: "I've a peculiar feeling that I may never see you again. It is as if I were one of those minor characters in a melodrama who gets shuffled off stage without ever learning how things turn out."
Corwin: "I can appreciate the feeling... My own role sometimes makes me want to strangle the author."

Absolutely brilliant! I tend to feel for Bill as we will likely not be hearing from him again... (hide spoiler)]

re: Chapter 8--hah! I caught that quote too and was LOL-ing... I always love it when authors have their characters mention things like that. One of my favorites is from John Scalzi's The Consuming Fire--(view spoiler)[“...because she wasn’t some fucking fictional character destined to do whatever some goddamn hack wanted her to do.” (hide spoiler)]

Of all the people folks were suspecting, (view spoiler)[the victim, Brand, wasn't on that list... also he was locked up when Caine was killed.... but there's some connection... (hide spoiler)]

More Chapter 8--I really liked Bill--(view spoiler)[he sort of brings home the Earth shadow in a way that Ganelon fails to do for Avalon, for me... gave a sort of surreal sense to the common hospital room scene--and I love that he's like... "ok, you're not human, but I just wanted you to know that you're my friend and I don't care."

CIA hinting was smart too.

I'm also thinking of how Corey survived on Earth with no memories--how long before he realized he wasn't going to die like the people around him? What must he have thought, as he continued past his friends and maybe family, without any memory of who he was? Would he have written himself into mythologies or thought himself cursed? I wouldn't mind reading about those years either... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 9--feeling a lot more like an Agatha Christie book again... (view spoiler)[Was not expecting there to be multiple alliances that could be responsible for different acts in tangent. Some "Murder on the Orient Express" feels herewise...

It took me a while to remember Flora v. Fiona--had to scan through the book. Names look too familiar. Flora is the one who was in NYC, allied with Eric, and who Fiona said "didn't have the brains" to do anything--while Fiona only "lacked the malice, of course." Am hoping this means my female perpetrator theory holds true... for her reasons for contacting the Chaos folk, that is.

Was also wondering--so she's the one who stabbed Brand & Corwin. Is she also the one who killed Caine then? At first I was thinking--why? What benefit? But with what Brand mentioned about having approached Caine about their little cabal, he was the last loose thread (besides Brand) who knew about it... (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "Chapter 9--feeling a lot more like an Agatha Christie book again... Was not expecting there to be multiple alliances that could be responsible for different acts in tangent. Some "Murder on the Ori..."

@Nirkatze - That's a solid point about Corwin living his life with no memories in Shadow Earth - I wonder too how his aging (or lack thereof) was rationalized in his day-to-day life. Not sure if there's an answer forthcoming or we just have to assume and/or hypothesize for ourselves.

(view spoiler)[ So I also noticed early on that I had to keep track of differentiating between Flora and Fiona. Fiona we just met in this one and I commented earlier that she seemed like the first strong, female member of the family. As soon as Julian left the room she was pointing the finger at him. Strong opinions and had all that knowledge about the Jewel. I had a feeling she might be suspect.

The question, as always, is how much of what Brand is telling Corwin is true? How much is he leaving out? This one really does turn into a who-done-it. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 10

I'm not done with this section yet but had to jot down this note on something that came up. The excerpt below really resonated with me and rationalizes a lot of the behavior of the Amberite Royals that many of us have previously taken issue with:

(view spoiler)[ "It may be argued... that we create the shadows we visit out of the stuff of our own psyches, that we alone truly exist, that the shadows we traverse are but projections of our own desires..."

It goes on to further explain:

"Namely, we are the toymakers and they, our playthings..."

Thinking back on the discussion of Book 1, many of us had taken exception with the way Corwin uses the different soldiers from shadow as fodder for his war against Eric. Does this line of thinking change your feeling on this? Could it be that the only reason these various peoples worshiped Corwin in the first place was because they were a creation of his own mind/ego? Or is this line of thinking just a convenient rationalization for Corwin and his siblings? (hide spoiler)]

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Read this yesterday! These go so quick.. I think I enjoyed this more on the reread than I did initially based on my rating from 2015. There's not as much action, a lot of the story comes from dialo..."

@Emily - I see what you mean by things getting strange at the end. I have the last chapter to finish off tomorrow, but that Chapter 10 got really weird.
(view spoiler)[ An online search of Tir-na Nog'th helped me understand a little better what was happening. Here's a quote of what I found: "Tir-na Nog'th is a very special shadow of Amber that contains an exact copy of the Pattern. Tir-na Nog'th only appears on moonlit nights above Kolvir and is connected to Amber by a moonlight stairwell. Tir-na Nog'th is known to interact with the visitor on some level, displaying his or her hidden fears and fantasies." (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 10, re: Solipsism--(view spoiler)[I can't say I'm at all surprised by this explanation of the Amberites attitude towards the people of Shadow--rather, it seems like Corwin was voicing what we knew all along--after all, they call us "Shadow" as though we are ephemeral as the absence of light.

In my mind, this spurs less a conversation on whether my feelings are changed by this explanation, and more on the nature of reality itself--similar to conversations in Children of Memory, come to think. What are the requirements for reality? Does something being less real mean it also has less worth? For that matter, what is the defining line of sentience? The shadows on Earth and other worlds, regardless of their origin, have their own lives, their own agency. They can be easily manipulated by Corwin and his family, but they are not mindless beasts controlled by their will--and thus should not be treated as such.

So yeah, firmly on the side of "convenient rationalization" and "get your pompous ass off that ridiculously high horse, ye scumbag." (hide spoiler)]

Actually, I was thinking of how this whole conversation on self & shadow, & chaos reminded me of the Ephemera series by Anne Bishop starting with Sebastian--a world that is shaped by the heart, and what is in your heart echoes through the world... if you do not resonate with a place, you cannot get to it. (view spoiler)[It makes me wonder... is Amber the only Amber-like place? Or the only hub of reality that people like Corwin can access, because they cannot resonate with the other hubs? (hide spoiler)]

Finding the whole Tir-na Nog'th bit rather confusing... (view spoiler)[Lorraine was the woman he "could have loved" who preceded Dara in book 2, yes? The one who died? And Dierdre is his favorite sister, yes? We haven't met enough men who are not family for this man with her to be someone important...

This little tidbit from the wiki helped solidify what was going on--(view spoiler)[Tir-na Nog'th is a very special shadow of Amber that contains an exact copy of the Pattern. Tir-na Nog'th only appears on moonlit nights above Kolvir and is connected to Amber by a moonlight stairwell. Tir-na Nog'th is known to interact with the visitor on some level, displaying his or her hidden fears and fantasies. (hide spoiler)]

Seems like Corwin went seeking answers in close alternatives... but is this the same Dara as Corwin met, crossed into reality, or is she a shadow of the Dara in book 2--who then is really who she says she is, just Benedict unknowing? Or lying? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 11 (view spoiler)[I'm just tickled that Corwin brought back a frickin' arm from Tir-na Nog'th, and oh, yeah, Benedict is missing an arm, so let's give it to him because that totally works!! LOL

Well, we finally get a clear family tree. Is Cymnea still around? Or Clarissa? Woman scorned...

We haven't confirmed Bleys dead yet... just... tossed off a mountain with a hand of Trumps... where is he in all of this? Ah, glad they're thinking of this too...

Then the Pattern came into view, or a distorted negative of it...--it is the Pattern that makes Amber a hub of reality, yes? So then... are there other patterns? Or could a flaw develop in the Amber Pattern, and threaten the core of reality there? (hide spoiler)]

And Done! And with a big Dun Dun Duuuuun! (view spoiler)[What does it mean, that the real Amber is not the Amber they thought? Oooh, exciting! (hide spoiler)]

@Christopher, re: Tir-na Nog'th--LOL I can't believe we both did a google search, and copied the same note in to help understand WTF was going on...

@Emily--the ending and sibling-tracking is just as confusing in the text version, I swear...

Lessee if I have it right:
(view spoiler)[
Allied with Corwin, firmly: Random
Less firmly: Dierdre, Flora

Neutral-ish (the "screw-you-idiots-I'm-not-playing" group): Gerard, Benedict

Eric's cabal: Julian, Caine (dead), Eric (dead)

Fiona's cabal: Fiona, Bleys (AWOL), Brand (defected?)

unknown alignment: Llewellyn

I think I got them all... (hide spoiler)]

I continue to struggle with this series, the characters/dynamics, the rushed nature of pivotal events in the story, etc etc etc...

The strongest reason for me to continue is how short the books are, and the Buddy Read...

I'm half done already...

Nirkatze wrote: "@Emily--the ending and sibling-tracking is just as confusing in the text version, I swear...

Lessee if I have it right:


Ah glad to see I'm not the only one. That helps though... And re the ending (view spoiler)[ I feel like both Ambers are the "real" Amber...

And maybe that has something to do with the Chaos bleeding in? It's all still pretty confusing lol (hide spoiler)]

Just wanted to say I appreciate Chris and Nirkatze's breakdown of things! I gobbled this one up and didn't take time to comment on the little pieces lol

Re solipsism (view spoiler)[ I don't think that really changes how I feel about the Amberites actions towards the shadows... Just because they might be the ones that create them doesn't mean the shadows aren't people. This line of thought on the Amberite's just seems like an excuse. I'd rather appreciate them for once just own up to it... (hide spoiler)]

I finished... I liked that we got some answers about the events in book 1...

But I think I'm gonna call it quits here... I could keep forcing myself to read these books each month, because they're short, but they're just not doing it for me... and when I skimmed some reviews by like-minded reviewers that persevered, it didn't seem to suddenly improve for them...

I've forced myself through some series in the past... I read all the Earthsea books, all Song of the Lioness books, and a few others I'm probably forgetting, and they just languished as some of my worst rated books on Goodreads (I rarely go below 3 stars)...

Sorry guys... I really liked A Night in the Lonesome October, and might probably still try some more of his standalones in the future...

Understandable, Iain! I am definitely not an advocate for continuing a series you just don't enjoy...
I need to check out some of his other works too.

Nirkatze wrote: "@Christopher, re: Tir-na Nog'th--LOL I can't believe we both did a google search, and copied the same note in to help understand WTF was going on..."

Lol gotta love google.

Nirkatze wrote: "Chapter 10, re: Solipsism--I can't say I'm at all surprised by this explanation of the Amberites attitude towards the people of Shadow--rather, it seems like Corwin was voicing what we knew all alo..."

@ Nirkatze and Emily

(view spoiler)[ I agree with both of you that no matter how you look at the races of creatures that inhabit shadow, they are independent beings with their own lives and that still deserves some respect and appreciation. The whole idea of solipsism, the notion that nothing exists but the self, explains the Royals' behaviors but it doesn't make it right. This egocentric philosophy really irked me, to be honest. Where is the line that divides reality and and the creations of one's mind? This line of thinking can rationalize any selfish behavior and is just a cop out to me. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 11

(view spoiler)[ As you stated, we finally get a clear picture on the family tree. This is helpful. We also learn some more theories about the other family members who seem to have more knowledge on how things work (via Dworkin).

What a strange ending - so the unicorn leads them to the real Amber (meaning the Amber they were in is a shadow of Amber?). The Trumps aren't working (and Dworkin told Random he'd never have to worry about that ever coming to fruition - so basically, Dworkin was saying he never pegged Random to be someone who'd ever make it to the real Amber!). I wonder what's to come. (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "@Emily--the ending and sibling-tracking is just as confusing in the text version, I swear...

Lessee if I have it right:

Allied with Corwin, firmly: Random
Less firmly: Dierdre, Flora

Neutral-ish..."

This list is helpful and will be good to refer back to later. As of what we know now, I agree on how you divided everyone.

Timelord Iain wrote: "I finished... I liked that we got some answers about the events in book 1...

But I think I'm gonna call it quits here... I could keep forcing myself to read these books each month, because they're..."

Sorry you won't be continuing but I've been there too and there's not enough time to read things you're not enjoying. Hope to see you on another buddy read sometime.

@Iain--if you ever get curious about how things work out in the series, just wait for Colbert's TV show!

re: Solipsism, @everybody LOL--one thing I did find interesting was simply the bare thought of this... (view spoiler)[that Amberites were maybe using this philosophy as an excuse... or that it had so invaded their thinking that it wasn't even an excuse but more a narcissistic way of being... but I actually honestly didn't know that this was a real school of philosophy, and I remember in high school going through a very philosophical phase (lots of thinking about the nature of reality) and coming to the same conclusion--that the only things we could be certain were real were those things we personally experienced... and the next step was that even if that is so, it didn't matter... I needed to make my reality one I could be proud of...

The Amberites dropped the ball on that second half. (hide spoiler)]

@Emily--I think I agree with you, on there being (view spoiler)[two real Ambers... after all, shadow manipulation doesn't work in the Amber they came from either... looking forward to see how this is all explained in the next one. Bleeding chaos... (hide spoiler)]

I finished this today, but I have the flu and just can't do notes... I liked it quite a bit. I love the style of writing and in my eyes, RZ can do no wrong... I am sorry for not participating better... I haven't been this ill in a long time...

Oh no Choko! Feel better soon!

Feel better Choko. No worries on the lack of participation. Glad to see you’re still doing the buddy read. We’ll have 7 more after this to discuss so just get better!

Thank you guys!

Hope you feel better soon Choko! 💗

Planning on starting this tonight. Hoping to get caught up an be back on track for May.

Cool. Welcome back!

Christopher wrote: "Cool. Welcome back!"

Thank you, Christopher! :)

I second Christopher, Nyssa:))

Choko wrote: "I second Christopher, Nyssa:))"

(((Hugs)))

I have finished the first three chapters.

I do not trust Random; he feels duplicitous, quickly turned, and unloyal.

I'm unsure if I understand what Corwin has done by rewalking the path.

I am currently at a loss. But I will pick the story up again tomorrow. I may have to take my time with this one.

From what I understand about walking the Labyrinth, it can give different abilities--first time is to gain the ability to shadow-walk--maybe it attunes them with Amber? Then any time someone walks the Labyrinth, they can instantly teleport to anywhere they wish. Attuning to the control jewel also requires walking the Pattern... and then there's the time it restored Corwin's memory...

That's all I remember--anyone else want to weigh in?

I think walking the Pattern is akin to calibration (or in some instances, like Corwin w his memory loss, recalibration). The Pattern is so intertwined with Amber itself that it’s central to the Amberites and their powers (whether it be acquisition of new powers or restoration of old ones).

I like your theory, Christopher...

Thank you!