Christ is King!

If Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:12–28)

Today is Easter, the holiest Sunday of the year, celebrating the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

In dying on the cross, Jesus acted as our infallible high priest: unlike mere human priests, who had to offer sacrifices over and over, for their own sins as well as the people's, he had no sins of his own, and hence his atoning death was able to appease his Father's wrath against sinners once and for all and to "save to the uttermost" (Hebrews 7:25–;27). And when he rose from the dead, he showed that the Father was satisfied with his sacrifice. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we too can have hope that there is life beyond the grave.

On that first Easter weekend, Christ conquered our two greatest enemies: sin on Good Friday, and death on Easter Sunday.

Everything has been put into subjection to him. Christ is King!

The Guns of Avalon, chapter 9

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. Unless you're the sort of person who likes skipping to the last page, go read the book first.

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Corwin intends to use firearms to retake Amber from Eric. He and his ally Ganelon travelled to Avalon, a Shadow realm ruled by his brother Benedict, to obtain a large quantity of jeweller's rouge in Avalon to use as gunpowder in Amber, where actual gunpowder will not burn. They then travelled to our Earth to obtain firearms for their siege of Amber. Whole on Earth, Corwin visited his former house in New York state, where he found a letter from Eric, asking him to help defend Amber against attacks from creatures from the black road that has appeared in Amber and across all Shadows. Corwin ignored the request and resolved to continue with his plan to retake the throne of Amber from Eric.

The Guns of Avalon, chapter 8

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. Unless you're the sort of person who likes skipping to the last page, go read the book first.

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Corwin of Amber arrived in a Shadow world named Avalon to obtain a quantity of jeweller's rouge to use as a gunpowder substitute, because gunpowder is inert in Amber, but rouge is explosive. His brother Benedict is the ruler of Avalon. While there, Corwin met and fell in love with Benedict's great-granddaughter, Dara. After purchasing the rouge, he and his ally Ganelon left Avalon secretly to travel to Earth, but they were pursued by Benedict, who wanted revenge on Corwin for a supposed murder. They defeated Benedict, and summoned brother Gérard to retrieve him while they escaped.

The Guns of Avalon, chapter 7

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. Unless you're the sort of person who likes skipping to the last page, go read the book first.

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Corwin and his former enemy, now ally, Ganelon, arrived in a shadow Avalon ruled by Corwin's eldest brother, Benedict. They want to obtain a large quantity of jeweller's rouge in Avalon, and to buy firearms in Belgium on our Earth. Gunpowder will not ignite in Amber, but rouge will, so he intends to use it as a gunpowder substitute. In Avalon, he met Benedict's great-granddaughter Dara, and they fell for each other. Corwin and Ganelon then left Benedict's house secretly.

The Guns of Avalon, chapter 6

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. Unless you're the sort of person who likes skipping to the last page, go read the book first.

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Corwin and Ganelon arrived in a shadow Avalon where Corwin's brother Benedict was the ruler. They decided to stay with him for a time, but he warned them not to use Avalon as a staging area for their planned assault on Amber. Corwin also met Dara, Bebedict's young great-granddaughter, who has a latent ability to manipulate Shadow but has not yet walked the Pattern in Amber that will fully enable her abilities.

The Guns of Avalon, chapter 5

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. Unless you're the sort of person who likes skipping to the last page, go read the book first.

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Corwin of Amber and Ganelon, steward of a Shadow world called Lorraine, have formed an alliance to retake Amber from Corwin's brother Eric, who has placed himself on its throne. They are former enemies, but Corwin helped Ganelon defeat a dark Circle in Lorraine, a by-product of a curse Corwin placed on Eric. They travelled to a shadow of Avalon, the realm that Corwin once ruled. Corwin plans to obtain a quantity of jeweller's rouge in Avalon, and use it as the propellant in firearms purchased on Earth, because Corwin once discovered that unlike conventional gunpowder, jeweller's rouge will burn in Amber.

The Guns of Avalon, chapter 4

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. Unless you're the sort of person who likes skipping to the last page, go read the book first.

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Corwin has been living in a Shadow world named Lorraine. The steward, Ganelon, is known to him from centuries past when he ruled another Shadow world called Avalon. However, he banished Ganelon for rebellion. Using the pseudonym Corey, Corwin helped Ganelon defeat the evil creatures of the dark Circle that had appeared in Lorraine as a consequence of Corwin's curse against his brother Eric. Ganelon finally recognized Corwin, but no longer hated him.

The two form an alliance and travel together to a Shadow resembling the original Avalon, which had fallen ages ago. Ganelon catches a youth stealing food from their camp. He is a deserter from a battle against some "hellmaids" that emerged from a cave in Avalon. They let him go, and approach the military camp, posing as mercenaries. They are brought into the camp, where they meet the commanding officer and Protector of this Avalon—who is none other than Corwin's eldest brother, Benedict. He lost an arm during the battle. They catch up on current events. Benedict informs Corwin that he desires peace and will not support any conflict between him and Eric; he is welcome to reside as a guest in Avalon but not to stage an attack against Amber. Afterward, when Corwin beds down outside Benedict's tent, he spies him using his deck of Tarots, but does not know who (if anyone) he contacted.

This chapter is heavy, and I mean heavy, on exposition. Much of it is simply a recap of the story so far. But it introduces a new major character: Benedict. He's been mentioned a few times already. He is Corwin's eldest brother and arms teacher, being the best swordsman of all the Amberites. He has been missing, and nobody knew whether he was alive or dead (Corwin tried to contact him via his Trump in Nine Princes and got no response).

Benedict's namesake is probably St. Benedict of Nursia, the fifth-century Catholic monk who founded the Benedictine order: basically, the father of Christian monasticism. Benedict of Amber has become disenchanted with the court politics of his world, and chosen to remove himself from all that strife, disclaim his entitlement to the throne, and live separated from Amber. In a certain sense, he's become a hermit.

Benedict is encouraged that Corwin regrew his eyes, because it means he may in time regrow the arm lost to the hellmaids, though his ability to regenerate is not what Corwin's is. Corwin feels responsible for that loss, as well as for bringing that corruption to Avalon.

This Shadow Avalon was also once ruled by a shadow Corwin, and like the Corwin of Lorraine, he is not fondly remembered, to say the least. Benedict does not make their kinship known. I am beginning to anticipate that we might actually meet some shadow Corwins in the future. There seem to be a lot of them. As ruler of the original Avalon, Corwin was harsh but not tyrranical. Perhaps the farther the Shadows emanate from their source, the more distorted they become. Could there be some really evil Corwins out there?

Amidst all the exposition in this chapter, we learn a lot more about the Amberites. Benedict is the eldest, who has distanced himself from family politics. He regards any ambition to seize the throne as a usurpation, since Oberon is missing but not actually dead. (Corwin does not tell him that Oberon himself encouraged him to take the throne from Eric, nor is it suggested that Benedict would support him even then.) Eric is older than Corwin, but Corwin says he has the more legitimate claim. He also calls Eric a literal bastard, implying that although they are full brothers, both being sons of Oberon's second wife, Eric was born out of wedlock while Corwin was not.

Corwin spells out his plan to retake Amber. is spelled out. I correctly guessed that he wants to obtain jeweller's rouge from Avalon. Then he will travel to Earth where, employed as a mercenary, he had made connections with Belgian arms dealers from whom to buy a considerable quantity of firearms. "My order would be complicated and expensive, I realized, because some ammunition manufacturer would have to be persuaded to set up a special production line": in other words, his plan requires custom-made ammunition using rouge as a propellant instead of gunpowder. I hope someday we're given an explanation for this wonky chemistry, in which an explosive like gunpowder will not ignite, but a relatively non-combustible substance like jeweller's rouge (ferric oxide) is energetic enough to propel bullets. I don't think I would find "because that's the way it is" a particularly satisfying answer.

Lastly, whom did Benedict try to contact with his Trumps, if that's what he was doing? Is it friend or foe? Is Benedict really as aloof from all this as he appears? The story continues next Thursday.

The Guns of Avalon, chapter 3

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. Unless you're the sort of person who likes skipping to the last page, go read the book first.

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Corwin, having escaped from the dungeon of his brother Eric in Amber, set out in search of Avalon, a Shadow kingdom which he once ruled. Instead he found a realm called Lorraine, ruled over by Ganelon, whom he had banished there from Amber. Disguising his identity, he joined with Ganelon to destroy the dark Circle that had appeared in Lorraine, apparently an extension of the dark rift he opened in Amber when he pronounced a powerful curse on Eric. He began a relationship with a woman, also named Lorraine.

The Guns of Avalon, chapter 2

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. Unless you're the sort of person who likes skipping to the last page, go read the book first.

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Prince Corwin of Amber has escaped after his brother Eric took the throne of Amber, blinded him, and threw him in the dungeon for three years. Travelling through Shadow, looking for a former kingdom of his called Avalon, he encounters a wounded knight named Lance and takes him to the Keep of Ganelon—under an alias, since he had exiled Ganelon from Avalon 600 years earlier. He learns that Ganelon's realm, Lorraine, is home to a darkened circle of land from which evil beings emerge to attack the surrounding area. Ganelon hires Corwin as an arms trainer for his troops.