Nine Princes in Amber, chapter 7

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Nine Princes in Amber 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 Nine Princes in Amber now. I promise I won't be offended.

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In their attempt to take the city of Amber and overthrow their brother Eric before he can be crowned king, Corwin and Bleys have reunited on land after Corwin lost his naval fleet to brother Caine. They march over land toward Amber, but when they reach the forest of Arden, Eric burns it down while Julian deploys archers against them. Eric escapes the fire and arrows by swimming down the river alongside the forest.

Corwin returns to Bleys's camp, where only 5,000 troops remain, and they march on Kolvir, the mountain on which Amber sits. They ascend the mountain and then the long staircase to Amber, with Eric's men eliminating theirs all the way. Bleys is struck near the top and falls, but Corwin throws his Trumps after him in a desperate attempt at a rescue. Corwin himself makes it into Amber, but he is captured and imprisoned—the last one alive.

This is an action-packed and significant chapter. Zelazny does a very good job of describing the war of attrition that Corwin and Bleys fight. Out of the 250,000 troops they had amassed in chapter 6, only 5,000 survive past the Arden fire. Three thousand are left by the time they reach Kolvir. Only a few hundred remain when Corwin reaches the entrance to Amber at the top. Finally, only he survives. That is a staggering loss, though to put it in perspective, some battles in World War II (for example, the Battle of Stalingrad) had body counts in the millions. But to lose an entire army? Well, this is fantasy.

Just as Rebma has a staircase descending into the ocean to its entrance, Amber has a staircase ascending the mountain. Amber's stairs are explicitly described as winding, though, and I didn't get the impression that Rebma's do.

Bleys fell in the battle, only a few feet from the top. I think we'll see him again, though. Like Gandalf's fall from the bridge of Khazad-dûm, it seems too dramatic to be permanent. We'll see.

All in all, Chapter 7 was a well-written and exciting one, and it's whetted my appetite for what remains of Nine Princes in Amber. Three chapters remain.