Science Fiction-Free September s24e21

Huzzah! We made it to another September. What better way to celebrate than abstaining from reading science fiction for a whole month?

Science Fiction-Free Septembers (SFFS) are my annual moratorium on science-fiction books (and, by extension, my regular reading habits) in favour of novels that I am less likely to read otherwise. Septembers tend toward more classic or literary fiction as a result. Sometimes, the selections are themed, but generally they're just books that I've felt I wanted to read for some time, and SFFSes are a good opportunity.

Last year I chose the books that had lingered longest on The List (what real book bloggers call their TBR, for To Be Read), and enjoyed myself. So I think I'm going to repeat that theme, more or less.

The Courts of Chaos, chapter 1

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

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This is it. The home stretch. The final novel in the original five Chronicles of Amber.

My plot summary is starting to rebel against my desire to be concise. Nonetheless—

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 13

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of The Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. I recommend you support your local bookseller or public library, and read the book first.

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Brand disappeared from Amber and made a play to steal the Jewel of Judgment from Corwin, beating him to Earth and retrieving it from the compost pile where it had been stashed. Knowing that Brand wanted to attune himself to the Jewel and access its powers, Corwin warned the Amberites to guard the Patterns in Amber and Rebma. Brand went directly to the primal Pattern instead. Corwin pursued him there and prevented him from completing the Pattern, but he escaped, taking the Jewel with him.

Meanwhile, Random found his son Martin, who confirmed that Brand had stabbed him and marred the primal Pattern with his blood. Brand's plan is to destroy the primal Pattern, and thereby the entire universe (multiverse?) of Shadow, in order to remake it to his own whims.