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.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 12

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.

Late with this one. Sorry! Forgot to publish.

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Corwin travelled to New York in our Shadow Earth to retrieve the Jewel of Judgment, which he had hidden on his property there, only to find his brother Brand had beaten him to it. With the help of his sister Fiona, Brand's erstwhile ally, he travelled to the primal Amber, where he narrowly prevented him from attuning himself to the Jewel on the proto-Pattern. Brand completed the Pattern and escaped with the Jewel, however.

In this chapter, Corwin finally meets his nephew Martin, who has been brought to Amber by Random. Martin tells his own version of his story, which is consistent with the other Amberites' speculations about what happened to him. After walking the Pattern in Rebma, he used it to transport himself to Avalon, where Benedict taught him to use his new powers. He wandered in Shadow for years. Then, en route to visit his friends, the Tecys, he was contacted out of the blue by Brand, and stabbed. Before Brand could finish the job, Martin managed to break contact. After recovering somewhat at the Tecys', he again disappeared into Shadow, where he encountered the black road. He also met Dara, who pressed him for information about Amber, particularly about Benedict. Later, Random found him and brought him back to Amber.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 11

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. If you don't want me ruining the experience for you, put this post down and go read The Hand of Oberon now. I promise I won't be offended.

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With his mad brother Brand trying to reach the Jewel of Judgment before him, Corwin hellrode to his house on Earth to retrieve it from the compost heap where he had hidden it for safekeeping. He discovered that the compost was gone, because his friend Bill (who was trying to sell the house for him) had hired Ed Wellan, a local contractor, to clean up the property. Fortunately, Bill told Corwin that Ed had kept the compost for himself and taken it to his own place.

Corwin meets Bill at Ed's property, but discovers that someone has already been digging through the compost. The Jewel isn't there. Then Gérard contacts him, to tell him that Brand had tried to access the Pattern, but was scared off by his standing guard. Immediately afterward, he is also contacted by Fiona to warn him Brand already has the Jewel. Corwin has the Patterns in Amber and Rebma under guard, but Brand is aiming for the primal Pattern.

Fiona trumps to Corwin (to Bill's amazement) and they depart together for primal Amber. En route, Fiona tells her side of the story. It was Brand who wanted to maintain the alliance with Chaos, and Fiona and Bleys who broke with them. Brand used Corwin's commitment in the asylum and his subsequent "accident" to keep his memories suppressed, rather than restore them, as he had earlier claimed; Fiona and Bleys were the ones trying to save him.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 10

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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Learning that Brand had again disappeared, Corwin began a hellride to Earth to retrieve the Jewel of Judgment, which he had hidden in the compost pile at his New York house, before Brand could find it. He encountered Julian on a hunt in the forest of Arden. Julian warned him that Brand had become more powerful than the rest of them in the ways of Shadow, calling him a "living Trump."

When Corwin arrives at the house, he discovers that the compost pile—and with it, the Jewel—is gone. Remembering that his lawyer friend, Bill Roth, had offered to try to sell the house, he pays Bill a visit to try and track down his compost. Bill hired a local contractor, Ed Wellan, to clean up the yard and renovate the house. Ed kept the compost for himself, however, and took it to his own farm. Bill also tells Corwin that there has been buyer interest in the house: a redheaded, bearded man visited the property. It is Brand, obviously. Corwin contacts Gérard to warn him that Brand is still alive and must be kept away from the Pattern at all costs. The same goes for the mirror Pattern in Rebma. He then rides to Ed's farm to search for the Jewel.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 9

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 again disappeared, and there were blood and other signs of a struggle in his room. Gérard, who had suspected Corwin previously of murdering Caine and Benedict's retainers, was again enraged and tried to fight him.

Ganelon intervenes and pummels Gérard unconscious, allowing Corwin to escape so he can hellride to Earth and retrieve the Jewel of Judgment, which he concealed in a compost heap at his New York house (after being stabbed, supposedly by Fiona, in Sign of the Unicorn). As he pssses through the forest of Arden, he is spotted by one of Julian's hunting birds. He believes Julian is hunting for him. However, when he is pursued by a manticora that is taken down by Julian's hounds, he realizes it was his prey, not him.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 8

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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Corwin, along with his brother Random and general Ganelon, discovered the primal Amber and Pattern, the latter of which had been damaged by the spilt blood of Martin, Random's son. Upon returning to their own realm, Random and his brother Benedict travelled through Shadow to find clues as to the whereabouts of Martin, if indeed he survived. Corwin went to speak to Dworkin, the architect of the Pattern, but was forced to escape when Dworkin's madness came upon him, and found himself transported accidentally to the surreal Courts of Chaos.

Returning to Amber, Corwin met with his brother Brand, who admitted to stabbing Martin; the resulting damage to the Pattern created the black road, which gaves his allies from the Courts of Chaos access to Shadow and to Amber itself. He also revealed that Bleys and Fiona were still organizing another attack on Amber, and suggested a plan to assassinate them, which Corwin rejected.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 7

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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Corwin paid a visit to the mad Dworkin, architect of the Pattern that is the source of the Amberites' power—and, as he learned, his grandfather. Dworkin wanted to destroy the primal Pattern, which was marred with the blood of Martin (the son of Corwin's brother Random), and remake it. But Corwin, posing as his father Oberon, wanted to try and repair the damage. As Dworkin's madness came over him and he transformed into a clawed being, Corwin escaped using a random Trump from his desk—only to find himself in the Courts of Chaos.

The Hand of Oberon, chapter 6

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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After returning from the primal Amber, Corwin went to see the mad hunchback Dworkin in the palace dungeon. Dworkin mistook him for Oberon using Corwin's likeness. They argued over Dworkin's plan to destroy the world. Dworkin wanted to sacrifice himself on the primal Pattern to obliterate it, and thus destroy Amber and all Shadow. Oberon would then use the Pattern stored in the Jewel of Judgment to recreate the Pattern anew. Corwin, on the other hand, wanted to try to repair the damage to the proto-Pattern (as would Oberon) caused by Martin's blood. Dworkin was revealed to be Oberon's father. He realized he was speaking to the real Corwin, not a disguised Oberon. As his madness came over him again, Dworkin transformed into a beastly, clawed creature and tried to attack Corwin, but Corwin used a random Trump to escape, and teleported himself to the Courts of Chaos.

Corwin realizes he has been to this place before, though he does not remember who brought him. The Courts of Chaos are a misty, surreal landscape: one-half of the sky is as dark as night with rapidly moving stars, while the other half is a mad swirl of colours, and the whole thing rotates rapidly around a point overhead. Corwin stands at the edge of a cliff, and looking downward, he can see more sky. Far in the distance is a black mountain with an indistinct edifice upon it.