Sign of the Unicorn, chapter 6

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. I recommend reading the book first. It's short, I promise.

---

Caine was murdered in the Grove of the Unicorn by a creature from Shadow, apparently to frame Corwin. Corwin recognized the creature as of the same kind that had chased Random to Flora's mansion in New York. Random first encountered them at the far extents of Shadow, guarding a tower in which Brand was imprisoned. Caine and Gérard went to the grove to retrieve Caine's body where Corwin hid it after finding him. Gérard defeated Corwin in a fight and threatened to kill him, accusing him of conspiring against Amber with the dark Shadow creatures that besieged the palace. However, he relented, and before they left, they saw a unicorn, wondering what it meant.

Corwin again gathers his family together in the palace in Amber. Random retells the story of discovering the tower. Since no single person can maintain a connection to Brand, Corwin suggests that everyone concentrate on his Trump simultaneously. It works, but as Brand recognizes his brothers and sisters, Gérard grabs a battle axe and charges into the image, where he frees Brand from his chains and battles the deformed guardians in the tower. Random follows, and together they pull Brand back into Amber. Unfortunately, Brand has been stabbed, and it is clear it was one of the Amberites that did it. Gérard renders medical aid and appoints himself to guard Brand as he recovers, knowing for certain only that he is innocent. The rest try to figure out which one of them would want to imprison or kill Brand.

At last, Sign of the Unicorn has some real action. This was a pretty good chapter, simultaneously a commando raid and the beginning of a locked-room mystery. Brand was stabbed, but no one knows who did the deed. It wasn't Brand's guardians in the tower; they didn't get close enough. That leaves only one of his siblings as the perpetrator.

It seems to me three of the ten remaining Amberites can be ruled out. I believe Corwin himself is a reliable narrator, so he hasn't obfuscated his own involvement. Random is the one who discovered Brand's location and the first to attempt a rescue. And Gérard, as I said last time, is without guile: he just doesn't seem smart enough for this kind of intrigue.

Maybe Benedict can be ruled out as well. He came to the meeting on Gérard's Trump to show his displeasure with Corwin. Given his belief that Corwin killed his servants in The Guns of Avalon, I wouldn't put it past him to blame Corwin for killing Caine as well—and maybe also making the attempt on Brand's life. Which eliminates him as the suspect, too.

So that only leaves … everyone else. There's still something shady going on, but I'm not yet in a position to unravel the mystery. Who is working with the dark road people, and to what end?

Amber really is an intriguing bundle of anachronisms. It has what appears to be the typical, medieval-ish setting of a high-fantasy novel, though, of course, it's not high fantasy. Amberites have access to worlds in Shadow, including our own. Hence they also have knowledge of technology available in the 1970s, when the novel was written. So it's plausible that the palace has a medical lab and IV equipment available, although earthly antibiotics, just like gunpowder, are ineffective there. I noted previously that Amber has access to brand-name cigarettes. (I still wonder if one of the royals makes regular trips to Earth to keep up their stock of Kools.)

So far, we haven't seen a Shadow more technologically advanced than Earth. Do any exist, and does Amber have some of their technology as well? (I suppose Corwin didn't need to do all that business with jeweller's rouge and Earth firearms if he could have just picked up a shipment of ray guns on another Shadow, right?)

We've reached the halfway point in Sign of the Unicorn, and the plot is finally starting to move. Why was Brand imprisoned, and by whom? Is the same person responsible for trying to kill him—and for killing Caine and trying to frame Corwin? What, exactly, is going on? Let's see on Thursday if chapter 7 starts to make things clearer.