From archive (archive) Subject: Amber Timeline From: knight@F.GP.CS.CMU.EDU (Kevin Knight) Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI Date: 19 Oct 87 22:27:31 GMT --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIMELINE III Here is the third version of the Timeline of Amber -- I update it and post every time a new book comes out (or at least, that is what seems to be happening). As always, comments are appreciated. Kevin Knight (knight@f.gp.cs.cmu.edu) PS. Many dates on the timeline come from inference and calculation. Some are approximate. PPS. One of my favorite UNIX commands is "grep Brand amber.timeline". (This lists all lines containing the word "Brand"). Invent your own. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- *** Obviously, there are major SPOILERS here *** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE BEGINNING Oberon is born to the Unicorn (father is Dworkin) Dworkin flees from Chaos to a small sudden island Dworkin meditates upon the abyss The Jewel is revealed to Dworkin by the Unicorn Dworkin creates Amber out of Chaos Oberon marries Cymnea -3000y Benedict, Osric, Finndo, born to Cymnea (father is Oberon) Dworkin begins to fashion the family Trumps Eric born to Faiella (father is Oberon) Oberon dissolves marriage to Cymnea Oberon marries Faiella (father is Oberon) Osric kills three of the House of Karm in a vendetta Oberon acquits Osric at a hearing, though he is friendly with Karm Oberon sends Osric to front lines in a nasty war Osric dies Finndo dies, purportedly in the service of Amber Corwin, Caine born to Faiella (father is Oberon) Faiella dies giving birth to Deirdre (father is Oberon) Oberon marries Clarissa Fiona, Bleys born to Clarissa (father is Oberon) Llewella born to ? (father is Oberon) Oberon divorces Clarissa Oberon recognizes Llewella as legitimate Brand born to Clarissa (father is Oberon) Flora born to ? (father is Oberon) Julian, Gerard born to Rilga (father is Oberon) Sand, Delwin born to Harla (father is Oberon) Random born to ? (father is Oberon) Mandor born to ? (father is Sawall) Jurt born to Dara (father is Sawall) Despil born to Dara (father is Sawall) Coral born to ? of Begma (father is Oberon) -187y Sand and Delwin depart from Amber THE OLD DAYS Deela the Desacratrix burns Unicorn shrines at Begma Oberon defeats Deela, takes her prisoner, rapes her Deela escapes Dalt born to Deela (father is Oberon) Deela begins to raid once more around Begma Oberon sends Bleys to defeat and kill Deela Corwin and Bleys strand Random on an island Random puts a spike in Corwin's boot Brand, Bleys, and Fiona study with Dworkin Kashfa and Begma clash over Eregnor Corwin rules over Avalon Random goes to Rebma and elopes with Morganthe Martin born to Morganthe (father is Random) Random banished from Rebma Martin walks Pattern, leaves Rebma Corwin gulls Caine Corwin beats Julian at his favorite game -160y Moonriders out of Ghenesh attack Amber Benedict holds the pass above Arden against the Moonriders Dark things out of Shadow attack at Jones Falls Brand has argument with Corwin Corwin and Eric fight while hunting in the Forest of Arden BEFORE THE CHRONICLES -156y Corwin exiled by Eric after their fight Brand and Gerard search for Corwin in many shadows Tomb built for Corwin, assumed dead Benedict leaves Amber for Avalon -74y Flora goes to Shadow Earth -72y Flora first spots Corwin on Shadow Earth Dworkin tells Oberon how to destroy the Pattern Oberon imprisons Dworkin Brand, Bleys, and Fiona form cabal Oberon gets mad with Eric and glorifies Corwin over dinner Brand allies with powers from Chaos and learns how to destroy Pattern -65y Brand asks Llewella and Random about Martin -22y Jasra becomes consort to King Menillan of Kashfa King Menillan dies Jasra organizes coup headed by Jasrick and Kasman Jasra and Brand meet over magical operation, secretly marry Brand leaves Kashfa Rinaldo born to Jasra (father is Brand) Jasra has Jasrick killed Jasra leaves for the Keep of the Four Worlds Rinaldo is left in charge of Kashfa Jasra stays in the Keep, trying to win over Sharu Garrul Rinaldo takes Dalt to walk the Pattern at Tir-na Nog'th Rinaldo worries about Jasra, attack the Keep with Dalt Jasra beats Sharu in a sorcerous duel, pays off Dalt Kasman takes over in Kashfa Kasman attacks the Keep in order to eliminate Jasra and Rinaldo Rinaldo leaves the Keep Brand takes Rinaldo to walk the Pattern at Tir-na Nog'th Barnd initiates himself into the Fount of Power at the Keep Dalt attacks the Keep on his own Rinaldo takes Dalt to walk the Pattern at Tir-na Nog'th Dalt attacks Amber, fails, is wounded by Benedict -2y Random goes to Texorami Brand paints a trump of Martin -1y9m Brand finds Martin and stabs him over the Pattern Brand, Bleys, and Fiona involve Benedict with the hellmaids Oberon is lured away by Brand, Bleys, and Fiona -1y6m Oberon is imprisoned in the Courts of Chaos -3m Bleys and Eric argue over the throne; Bleys leaves Amber Eric seizes control of Amber Bleys builds military strike force Brand tries to win Caine over to the cabal, fails Eric-Caine-Julian alliance formed Brand sees Corwin in Tir-na Nog'th Brand sees Corwin is Eric's mind Brand under surveillance by Eric in Amber Bleys and Fiona split with Brand Corwin begins to regain memory -2d Brand escapes Amber, puts Corwin in Porter Sanitarium Brand recaptured by Eric Corwin escapes from Porter 0 Brand escapes again, shoots Corwin's tires out Eric puts Corwin in Greenwood, under Flora's care Brand captured by Bleys and Fiona, put in Tower Brand calls Random for help Random attempts to save Brand, fails Julian contacts Random about the throne Random loses his Trumps NINE PRINCES IN AMBER +6d Corwin escapes Greenwood, goes to Flora's house Corwin finds Flora's Trumps Flora attempts to return to Amber, fails Random arrives at Flora's house +7d Corwin and Random set out for Amber Corwin and Random take Julian prisoner in Arden, release him Corwin and Random save Deirdre, go to Rebma Random sentenced to marry Vialle +9d Corwin walks Pattern in Rebma Corwin transports himself to Amber Corwin and Eric fight Corwin goes to Bleys, encamped at Avernus Bleys and Corwin make alliance Corwin makes deals with Gerard and Caine to open the seas Corwin contacts Oberon and Brand by Trump, both weakly Corwin and Bleys build force, attack Amber, fail +96d Bleys falls off stairs, Corwin taken +100d Eric crowned Corwin blinded, imprisoned, fed by Lord Rein +4y10d Corwin escapes to Cabra with Dworkin's help Corwin stays with Jopin at the Lighthouse +4y100d Corwin resists Trump contact, decides to leave Cabra THE GUNS OF AVALON Corwin goes to Lorraine Corwin meets Lance, travels to the Keep of Ganelon Corwin meets Lorraine, the girl Someone attempts to contact Corwin once more Corwin and Ganelon defeat the Black Circle Corwin and Ganelon travel to Avalon Benedict romances Lintra, then kills her, losing an arm Benedict defeats the hellmaids Dara is born in Chaos (great-grandfather is Benedict) +5y90d Corwin and Ganelon meet Benedict +5y93d Corwin meets Dara Ganelon kills Benedict's servants +5y94d Corwin gets diamonds and gunpowder +5y95m Corwin and Ganelon leave Avalon, encounter Black Road Corwin saves girl from Black Road Benedict chases Corwin, fights, loses Corwin calls Gerard to help Benedict +5y129d Corwin gets guns on Earth Eric begins major battle with Black Road Corwin visits old house, reads Eric's message Ganelon and Corwin go to Riik to collect troops +5y150d Ganelon and Corwin march on Amber Dara arrives in Amber +5y156d Corwin wins battle at Amber Eric dies in battle Corwin and Random go to the Pattern Dara completes the Pattern Dara claims "Amber will be destroyed" Merlin born to Dara (father is Corwin) Merlin grows up in the Courts of Chaos SIGN OF THE UNICORN +5y162d Caine is found dead Random tells his story (of the Tower) to Corwin Corwin attunes to the Jewel Flora tells her story (of Eric, etc.) to Corwin Corwin visits his tomb with Ganelon +5y163d Corwin and Gerard fight, bury Caine, at the Grove of the Unicorn Corwin and Gerard see the Unicorn Brand is returned by united family effort Fiona stabs Brand Gerard takes care of Brand Caine stabs Corwin Corwin returns to Shadow Earth, stashes Jewel +5y164d Random brings Corwin back to Amber Corwin visits Brand Brand recovers well Corwin goes to Tir-na Nog'th, gets mechanical arm from Benedict +5y165d Corwin, Ganelon, and Random follow Unicorn to Primal Pattern THE HAND OF OBERON Martin's Trump found in the Pattern Benedict and Random seek Martin Corwin talks to Vialle +5y167d Corwin goes to Dworkin's quarters Corwin trumps to the Courts of Chaos, kills rider, meets Merlin +5y175d Corwin returns via Gerard's Trump Corwin talks to Brand again Caine attacks Brand Ganelon tells Benedict about Dara Corwin and Benedict form alliance Gerard fights Corwin again, Ganelon intercedes Corwin talks to Julian Corwin returns to Earth to retrieve the Jewel, talks to Bill Roth Brand gets the Jewel first Corwin orders all the Patterns guarded Corwin talks to Fiona Brand show up at the Pattern in Amber, met by Gerard, flees Brand starts walking the Primal Pattern Corwin intercepts him, forces Brand to transport out Random finds Martin, who tells his story Brand goes to Tir-na Nog'th to walk Pattern there Benedict intercepts him, regains the Jewel, using mechanical arm Ganelon reveals himself as Oberon THE COURTS OF CHAOS +5y178d Oberon takes command, gives separate orders to his children Brand draws Trumps for Sand and Delwin, who refuse to help him Replay of Tir-na Nog'th scene in Amber, Benedict loses arm Corwin talks to Dara, learns of Merlin Corwin tries to repair the Pattern himself and is stopped by Oberon Corwin talks to Oberon Oberon orders everyone to attack Chaos Corwin begins his hellride Oberon starts walking the Pattern to repair it Oberon sends the Jewel to Corwin via the bird Brand's first contact with Corwin ("Dad failed") Corwin hides in cave, meets man with scripture Corwin almost lured by dwarves and by Lady Brand's second contact with Corwin (appears with crossbow, loses eye) Corwin meets Ygg, Hugi, and the Jackal Corwin inscribes a new Pattern Brand's third contact with Corwin (grabs the Jewel) Corwin and Brand both transport to Chaos Corwin kills Duke Borel of Chaos Battle of Chaos Oberon's message in the sky Brand killed by Caine's crossbow, drags Deirdre over the cliff Family reunites after the battle Oberon's funeral Merlin appears Random made King of Amber by the Unicorn Corwin attunes Random to the Jewel Random diverts the Wave of Chaos +5y6m Corwin tells his story to Merlin Rinaldo hears of his father Brand's death, on April 30 TRUMPS OF DOOM +5y6m Merlin goes to Shadow Earth, studies computer science in college Fiona takes Merlin to see Corwin's pattern Bill Roth works up Patternfall Treaty between Random and Swayvil Merlin meets Luke (Rinaldo) in college Merlin takes his girlfriend Julia through Shadow Rinaldo attempts to kill Merlin on April 30 Rinaldo tries again the next year, and the next Rinaldo breaks off the attempts on Merlin's life; Jasra continues them +9y6m Merlin and Rinaldo graduate and join Grand Design Merlin begins building Ghostwheel Merlin breaks up with Julia Jasra attempts to kill Merlin, making a total of seven tries +13y6m Merlin quits Grand Design, talks to Rinaldo about it Julia is killed by a dog-beast from Shadow Merlin goes to Julia's place, finds her dead, kills the beast Merlin finds the Trumps of Doom Merlin visits Rick Kinsky, Julia's old boyfriend Merlin visits Victor Melman, kills him in self-defense Jasra arrives at Melman's place, bites Merlin Merlin trumps off to the Sphinx, escapes Dalt gets ammo from Melman's building, burns it Merlin returns to Melman's building, finds a shotgun shell Caine murdered by Rinaldo, Bleys wounded by Rinaldo Merlin goes to Rinaldo's hotel, gets ring Merlin checks into Hilton in Santa Fe Merlin meets up with Rinaldo Dan Martinez talks to Merlin Merlin removes ring Rinaldo and Merlin drive into the country Rinaldo kills Martinez Merlin goes to Bill Roth Merlin meets George Hansen Merlin and Bill Roth go to Amber Random discovers that the shotgun shells explode in Amber Merlin talks to Fiona and goes back to a bar on Earth Merlin meets Meg Devlin and goes to her apartment Caine's funeral Rinaldo attempts to bomb the Amberites, fails Merlin tells Random about Ghostwheel, is told to shut it down Merlin tries to reach Ghostwheel, but is told to go back Merlin meets a lady in Shadow Merlin meets Rinaldo in Shadow Rinaldo imprisons Merlin in a crystal cave BLOOD OF AMBER Merlin is locked in the crystal cave for over a month Merlin rigs a booby trap and escapes Merlin meets up with Jasra, immobilizes her, trumps to Flora on Earth Rinaldo grabs Jasra away from Merlin Flora tells Merlin about Jasra, Kashfa Merlin tells Flora about Rinaldo Merlin tries to call Meg Devlin and George Hansen, fails Mask contacts Merlin Flora and Merlin go to Julia's place Merlin goes through trap door at Julia's place Merlin runs into Scrof, defeats him Rinaldo hires Dalt to attack the Keep with him Merlin goes to the Keep of the Four Worlds, meets the hermit Dave Dave tells Merlin about Sharu, Dalt, Kashfa, Jasra, Rinaldo, Brand Merlin tries to move closer to the Keep, is stopped by Mask Merlin trumps to Amber Dalt intentionally wounds Rinaldo in battle at the Keep Random tells Merlin about Dalt and Deela Merlin goes to Bloody Bill's for seafood Merlin meets Old John, the King's emissary Merlin leaves, gets attacked, saved by Vinta Bayle Merlin and Vinta go to Arbor House, where they trade information Ghostwheel contacts Merlin Rinaldo calls Merlin, trumps in Merlin calls Dalt, Dalt shows aggression, Merlin hangs up Rinaldo asks Merlin to help rescue Jasra Merlin takes Rinaldo to crystal cave, negotiates deal Merlin returns to Arbor House briefly Merlin runs into a lop-eared wolf, which tries to kill him and escapes Merlin returns to Amber, talks to Bill Roth Merlin goes to Corwin's tomb Merlin goes to the Pattern, walks it, trumps to the Keep Merlin finds Jasra frozen Mask appears, has duel with Merlin Merlin trumps back to Amber with Jasra Rinaldo contacts Merlin Merlin goes into the main hall Benedict and Random enter the main hall Rinaldo tells all about Dalt's plan to attack Amber with riflemen Merlin walks into a huge trump of himself, disappears into Wonderland SIGN OF CHAOS Jaston, Ruler of Kashfa, falls off balcony, dies Random goes to Kashfa to put Arkans on the throne Random promises Eregnor (territory between Kashfa and Begma) to Arkans Merlin and Rinaldo experience LSD in Shadow Wonderland Fire Angel sets upon Merlin Fire Angel is defeated by Merlin and the Jabberwock Merlin calls Mandor, they talk Fiona calls, comes through to Merlin Tornado in Shadow Merlin, Mandor, and Fiona talk about Corwin's Pattern Mandor and Fiona team up to find cause of Shadow storms Merlin returns to Amber, talks to Llewella and Vialle Begma delgation arrives (Orkuz, Nayda, Coral) Coral and Merlin walk Jurt attacks Merlin in the caves, fails, retrieved by Mask Jurt returns to the Keep to be initiated into the Fount of Power Merlin takes Coral to the Pattern below Amber Coral walks the Pattern, asks it to transport her somewhere Martin goes punk Fiona and Mandor call Merlin, warn him about Ghostwheel Rinaldo calls Merlin, they plan attack on the Keep Nayda and Merlin talk Ghostwheel calls Merlin, warns him about Fiona and Mandor Merlin tells Ghostwheel about the attack on the Keep Mandor calls, Merlin cuts him off Merlin talks to Bill Roth Merlin talks briefly with Benedict Merlin attends state dinner with Llewella, Vialle, Bill, Begmans Dalt arrives with a small army, demands Rinaldo and Jasra Merlin is called to speak with Vialle about Dalt Merlin brings Rinaldo through, they go to Julian in Arden Rinaldo duels with Dalt, loses, is taken prisoner Dalt's army retreats Merlin returns to Amber Merlin talks to Nayda in his room Merlin creates Trump for Coral, reaches her briefly Merlin attempts to reach Rinaldo, is blocked Merlin realizes that Nayda is the Guardian, and he calls Mandor Mandor binds the Guardian, who is a ty'iga demon Merlin frees Jasra Ty'iga can't tell Merlin who sent it, tells Mandor Mandor refuses to tell Merlin Merlin goes to Corwin's room Jasra agrees to attack the Keep with Merlin Ghostwheel takes Merlin, Jasra, Mandor to Keep Merlin, Jasra, Mandor find Jurt and Mask All five fight a battle of wizardry Mask is injured Sharu Garrul is freed Mandor destroys the Fount Mask is Julia From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Dec 14 16:59:18 1993 Xref: liuida rec.arts.sf.reviews:443 rec.arts.books:71861 alt.books.reviews:1838 alt.history.what-if:2977 alt.fan.holmes:1623 Path: liuida!sunic!EU.net!uunet!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: Evelyn.Chimelis.Leeper@att.com Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews,rec.arts.books,alt.books.reviews,alt.history.what-if,alt.fan.holmes Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER by Roger Zelazny Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <9312121143.ZM5456@mtgpfs1.mt.att.com> Date: 12 Dec 93 23:27:15 GMT Lines: 38 A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER by Roger Zelazny with illustrations by Gahan Wilson AvoNova, ISBN 0-688-12508-5, 1993, $18. A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1993 Evelyn C. Leeper I read this immediately after reading Kim Newman's ANNO-DRACULA, and two more different novels with a similar cast of characters are hard to conceive. ANNO-DRACULA had Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Moreau, Dr. Jekyll, Jack the Ripper, and so on; A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER has Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Frankenstein, Lawrence Talbot, Jack the Ripper, and so on. But where ANNO-DRACULA is a "realistic" novel of vampire control of Victorian London, A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER is a bizarre tale of a gathering in which some of the characters attempt to open a "doorway" to allow the Elder Gods to come to our world, and others attempt to keep the doorway closed. And it's narrated by Jack the Ripper's dog. Unfortunately, I found it totally unengrossing. All the business of calculating the spot for the doorway seemed like padding, and most of the rest did too. Gahan Wilson is a very talented artist, but his illustrations did nothing for the story. The best thing about this book is probably James Warhola's great cover illustration. It's possible that reading this right after ANNO-DRACULA had me in the wrong frame of mind for it (it didn't "tickle the funnybone" the way the jacket promised at all), but I can't recommend this book. %T A Night in the Lonesome October %A Roger Zelazny with illustrations by Gahan Wilson %C New York %D August 1993 %I AvoNova %O hardback, US$18 %G ISBN 0-688-12508-5 %P 280pp -- Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | ecl@mtgpfs1.att.com / Evelyn.Leeper@att.com From rec.arts.sf.written Wed Oct 13 10:53:38 1993 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!wogg0743 From: wogg0743@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Shakespeare) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: BATHROOM REVIEWS #1: _Lord of Light_ Date: 11 Oct 1993 23:55:55 GMT Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana Lines: 81 Message-ID: <29crqb$bj1@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: uxa.cso.uiuc.edu BATHROOM REVIEWS #1 Book Reviewed: Lord of Light Book Author: Roger Zelazny This begins a series of reviews of individual books which I have read or reread. The title of the review series, not to put too fine a point on it, comes from my habit of reading in the john, a habit I understand to be rather wide-spread. --- _Lord of Light_ is often considered the best of Zelazny's novels. It is certainly the most ambitious. Like all of Zelazny's work, the prose has a tendency to be a little bit on the flacid side, except where Zelazny is trying to be poetic, which he is never as successful at as he might desire to be. Thankfully, in _Lord of Light_, Zelazny resists the temptation toward Joyceanism, especially pointless passages of neo-stream-of- consciousness which happen all too frequently in some of his other works, the Amber novels in particular. I will never forgive Zelazny for the stupid play on words that he buries deep in the novel. Be on the lookout for "Then the fit hit the Shan." Yes, he gives a character the title of Shan and makes him have an epileptic fit for little other reason than to make this joke. Blah. However, the merits of _Lord of Light_ outweigh its problems. Zelazny's strength is his ability to manipulate symbols and archetypes to create truly primal reactions in his audience. Reading the better of Zelazny's books reminds me of Robert Graves' contention that he knew when he was reading true poetry because the hairs on the back of his neck would stand on end and his wiskers would bristle, making it easier to shave. The ending of _Lord of Light_ always has this effect of producing an overwhelming emotional and even physical reaction. Zelazny is capable of speaking to the soul (or to the subconscious mind, anyway). It is this ability which outweighs his real deficits as a prose stylist. _Lord of Light_, like many of Zelazny's books, combines elements of fantasy with elements of science fiction. This technique is particularly effective, I think, because it circumvents part of the normal mechanisms of skeptical thought, allowing the reader to accept mystical occurrence which the mind secretly longs to believe in on the basis of fairly flimsy sci-fi hand- waving. In _Lord of Light_, the crew of a crashed starship have used the technology available to them to make themselves into "gods," patterned after the Hindu pantheon. In the case of Sam, the main character, and Yama, the Death God, this process seems actually to have worked. Of course, the passengers of the ship have gotten the short end of the stick. They have been forced to become worshipers. With the passage of time, they have come to forget that the gods are not gods. Since the gods have real powers, half technology / half psionics, and since reincarnation is technologically possible under the gods' control, the Hindu religion becomes widely accepted. The plot of _Lord of Light_ hinges on the unhappiness of Sam, the main character, with the way that his fellow crew-members have set themselves up to rule over the passengers and their descendants. Sam wants to share the technology which gives the gods their powers. The gods, naturally, do not share his egalitarianism. They like being worshipped and in charge. And, as I said before, in the case of Yama anyway, some may actually have transcended the human condition and become gods in a more real sense. Yama is Death. But Sam is Light. The novel is made up of a frame story and a number of important incidents from Sam's career as a religious reformer. In order to fight Hinduism, Sam introduces Buddhism and becomes the Buddha. He never believes in his message himself, but it becomes clear that Sam is the Buddha, like it or not. To say any more would be to spoil the novel. If you have not read it, I heartily recommend that you do. I give it four rolls of toilet paper (out of a possible five). Note: As in all Zelazny books, the typesetting used by the printer is of an inferior quality and there are a number of mistakes. Zelazny really should insist that all his books be re-typeset before he submits any more work to his publisher. (Bathroom Reviews is copyright 1993 by William Gulstad) -- Shakespeare Lives! / So where are the C.S. babes? wogg0743@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu / Joni Mitchell for President! I vote, so I can complain! / Did you vote? Then don't complain! Republican is the opposite of democracy! / Tune in, drop out, log on. From rec.arts.sf.written Thu Oct 21 15:19:25 1993 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!wogg0743 From: wogg0743@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Shakespeare) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Renamed Reviews #3: _Isle of the Dead_ Date: 21 Oct 1993 08:37:14 GMT Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana Lines: 45 Message-ID: <2a5hnq$b33@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu> References: <1993Oct21.082304.19606@leland.Stanford.EDU> NNTP-Posting-Host: uxa.cso.uiuc.edu RENAMED REVIEWS #3 Book Reviewed: The Isle of the Dead Book Author: Roger Zelanzy This is the second in a series of reviews of individual books which I have read or reread. --- _The Isle of the Dead_ is one of my favorite books. It concerns the last survivor of the 20th century, a guy by the name of Sandow. (Zelazny has this thing about making his main characters more or less immortal.) What makes Sandow special, though, is not his age but the fact that he is one of the Names That Live, which means that one of the gods of a pantheistic, pseudo-Hindu alien religion called Santri is in some sense incarnated through him. _The Isle of the Dead_ is the story of what happens when the eternal enemy of Shimbo (the god whom Sandow channels) in also incarnated and without going through the proper rituals. As a result, Sandow finds himself the focus of a vendetta by an alien named Green Green who has been resurrecting both Sandow's greatest loves and his worst enemies. To say much more would spoil the enjoyment of reading the book. However, I should point out that the manipulation of symbols, especially metaphysical symbols, is Zelazny's strong point. I have always wished that Zelazny had chosen to make _Isle of the Dead_ into a series, rather than create an Amber decology. There is a sequel to _Isle of the Dead_, called _To Die in Italibar_, but it is out of print. Although weaker than _Isle_, I do recommend the sequel to those who want to hear more about Sandow. As it turns out, we find out relatively little about him in the sequel, but he does make an appearence. Sandow is a much more interesting character than Corwin. All in all, I'd give _Isle of the Dead_ three and a half stars (out of a possible five). _To Die in Italbar_ deserves more like three stars, but may not be to everybody's taste. (Renamed Reviews is copyright 1993 by William Gulstad) -- Shakespeare Lives! / So where are the C.S. babes? wogg0743@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu / Joni Mitchell for President! I vote, so I can complain! / Did you vote? Then don't complain! Republican is the opposite of democracy! / Tune in, drop out, log on. From rec.arts.sf.reviews Sun Oct 24 17:42:56 1993 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!uunet!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: kcc@cs.wustl.edu (Ken Cox) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Review of Roger Zelazny's A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <9310221819.AA09880@siesta.wustl.edu> Date: 23 Oct 93 01:21:58 GMT Lines: 60 A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER Roger Zelazny Illustrations by Gahan Wilson A review by Ken Cox Wow. To think I'd been worrying about Zelanzy of late -- Amber 2 was disappointing, and his recent Sheckley collaborations (_Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming_ and _If At Faust You Don't Succeed_) were mildly amusing but not comparable to, say, _Lord of Light_. Well, to be honest, _A Night in the Lonesome October_ isn't comparable to _Lord of Light_ either, but it's definitely up there with _Roadmarks_ or _Jack of Shadows_ or _This Immortal_. Zelazny's still got it. It's a little difficult to comment on the contents, since I don't want to give too much away (and by the way, _don't_ read the material that the publisher helpfully put on the inside cover -- it gives away too much). Perhaps the best way to start would be with the dedication: "To-- Mary Shelly, Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Albert Payson Terhune, and the makers of a lot of old movies-- Thanks." Yes, _A Night in the Lonesome October_ is a horror novel, in a very low-key way; a pre-Technicolor way, a pre-Stephen-King way, a Halloween way. That might be a good characterization -- this is a Halloween present from Zelazny. In case you're wondering who Albert Payson Terhune is, he wrote a lot of juveniles about dogs; an appropriate dedication, since the narrator of _A Night_ is a dog. Snuff is a watchdog. He watches things (and also Things) for his master Jack. Jack is engaged in an important work that often takes him to the foggy alleys of nearby London. And I have absolutely no intention of saying anything more and possibly spoiling the story. The Gahan Wilson illustrations add an appropriate touch of macabre humor, although their placement could have been better -- one in particular is several pages _ahead_ of the corresponding text and rather spoils a surprise. %T A Night in the Lonesome October %A Roger Zelazny %I Avon Books %C New York %D 1993 %G ISBN 0-688-12508-5 %P 280pp %O hardcover, US$18.00; illustrations by Gahan Wilson Ken Cox kcc@cs.wustl.edu From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Dec 14 17:01:15 1993 Path: liuida!sunic!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!news.intercon.com!udel!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: djdaneh@pbhyc.PacBell.COM (Dan'l DanehyOakes) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Zelazny: A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <9312132141.AA09850@gw.PacBell.COM> Date: 14 Dec 93 05:06:16 GMT Lines: 63 A Night in the Lonesome October, by Roger Zelazny Review Copyright 1993 Dan'l Danehy-Oakes Ever since he encased himself in "Amber," I tend to look at each new Zelazny novel with doubt and trepidation. Typically, I will pick it up in the bookshop, read the first few paragraphs, and put it back on the shelf with regret. Thank Ghod he still writes marvellous short stories, or we would have the self- destruction of a talent here unmatched by any but Piers Anthony. As it happens, though, I looked into the first few pages of his newest, A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER, with the usual doubt and trepidation. . . and wound up buying it in the hardcover, a choice I do not at all regret. The "purchase" decision was undoubtedly influenced by the Gahan Wilson illustrations. Since the deaths of Chas. Addams and B. Kliban, Wilson is my uncontested favorite one-panel cartoonist (and, unlike them, he does good strips too: if you get a chance to pick up his collected "NUTS" strips from early NatLamps, do so; they're delightful). But it was influenced even more by those first few paragraphs. As usual, Zelazny has chosen to use a first-person narrator. Less usually, the first-person narrator in this case is a watchdog. Named "Snuff." Who works in London. For a man named Jack. Who goes out into the night with a knife to do . . . things. Jack is under a curse, you see. He also has a Thing in a Circle, another Thing in a Steamer Trunk, and several Things in Mirrors, and a big part of Snuff's job is to make sure the Things stay in their various places of confinement. The other human characters include the Great Detective and his bumbling assistant (the Great Detective spends most of the book in drag); the Count; the Good Doctor and his deformed assistant (who are building. . . something. . . out of parts of human cadavers in the basement); Crazy Jill (who rides a broom); the Vicar; and others. The American, Mr. Talbot, is particularly noteworthy. But the human characters are really the background: the *real* characters are their "companions" -- Jill's cat, Graymalk; the Count's bat, Needle; the Doctor's rat, Bubo; and so on. Only Talbot lacks one, because he doesn't. . . need one (heh, heh), and the Great Detective, who isn't a player in the Game. The Game? Yes. There is a great Game going on, one which is played every time the full moon falls on the thirty-first of October, played by the Openers against the Closers. Part of the game is trying to figure out who the players are, and what side they're on; and that is indeed a significant part of the fun for the reader. (There's at least one ringer.) But seeing all this through the eyes of the familiars gives it a strange and lovely feel, one which I enjoyed thoroughly. If "openers" and "closers" sounds familiar, it ought to; A NIGHT IN THE LONESOME OCTOBER turns out to be Zelazny's contribution to the Cthulhu Mythos. It wanders around the edges of being a horror novel without ever quite deciding to settle down and become one, but this is all right; it is a delight of whatever genre it belongs to. Actually, I think it's damn near sui generis despite being Lovecraftian. %A Zelazny, Roger %T A Night in the Lonesome October %I Morrow/AvoNova %D 1993 %G ISBN 0-688-12508-5 %O hardcover, $18.00 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Sat Mar 19 01:48:00 1994 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!howland.reston.ans.net!wupost!udel!news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: aaron@amisk.cs.ualberta.ca (Humphrey Aaron V) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Prograde Reviews--Roger Zelazny & Thomas T. Thomas:Flare Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <94Mar16.184507-0700.138893@amisk.cs.ualberta.ca> Date: 18 Mar 94 02:22:01 GMT Lines: 56 Roger Zelazny & Thomas T. Thomas:Flare [some spoilers] _Flare_ is, essentially, a disaster novel. Big solar flare happens, disrupts lots of stuff on Earth. The catch, in this case, is that it's 2081, and the sun has been quiescent for 80 years. No sunspots, no flares. People have forgotten how dangerous solar flares are, for the most part; radiation shielding for the settlements off Earth is considered an 'extra'. One scientist, the _only_ current sun scientist, is manning a Mercury-orbit space station to observe the sun. He _happens_ to see a huge sunspot pair start up, and the flare start out. The book is very fragmented. The closest we have to a plot involves the scientist, and his grad student on Earth who's trying to convince anyone that there's danger. But most of the book focuses on specific incidents related to the flare--the Moonwalkers who get a big radiation dose and a bunch of static on their headphones, the ship carrying trillions of tons of methane from Titan, the millions of people using VR headsets who get fried (including a fair chunk of people in the stock market)... All of the individual vignettes are interesting, but together they don't make a coherent plot. The writing is great; it's not Zelazny style as I know it, so Thomas must have some nontrivial share of it, as well as apparently supplying the impeccable scientific knowledge behind the book. I enjoyed reading it. But it has no plot. Also, as a disaster novel, it has a more-than-usual share of the cautionary tale in it. It depicts graphically the hazards of cost-cutting, and of relying too much on technology without a less sophisticated, but more reliable, backup. For instance, planes of 2081 have consoles accessible only via VR; after the flare, one pilot ends up having to look out the _window_ to try to see the ground, while the other responds to her spoken directions, wearing VR goggles to operate the instruments. There's also a jibe about the administration who won't listen to the doomsaying scientist who happens to be right... If you like hard SF and Analog-type stuff, you'll like the book. In that way, it's more Thomas than Zelazny... %A Zelazny, Roger %A Thomas, Thomas T. %T Flare %I Baen %C Riverdale, NY %D September 1992 %G ISBN 0-671-72133-X %P 344 pp. %O Paperback, US $4.99, Can $5.99 -- --Alfvaen(Editor of Communique) Current Album--Yello:One Second Current Read--Charles de Lint:Spiritwalk "curious george swung down the gorge/the ants took him apart" --billbill Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.ida.liu.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!logbridge.uoregon.edu!howland.erols.net!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!dreaderd!not-for-mail Sender: wex@deepspace.media.mit.edu To: rec-arts-sf-reviews@moderators.isc.org From: danny@anatomy.usyd.edu.au (Danny Yee) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Book Review - Lord of Light Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 2 Jul 2001 21:55:14 +1000 Organization: Anatomy and Histology, University of Sydney Approved: wex@media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.7/Emacs 20.4 Message-ID: Lines: 122 NNTP-Posting-Host: deepspace.media.mit.edu X-Trace: 994087123 senator-bedfellow.mit.edu 1933 18.85.23.65 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2848 Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny Review Copyright (c) 2001 Danny Yee [contains plot spoilers --AW] Colonists from Earth, using a mix of mental powers and high technology, have long ago subjugated the native inhabitants and are now making themselves into gods, ruling over their descendants within a framework set up in imitation of Hinduism and ancient India. But even as the "Deicrat" consensus firms, there is dissent: Sam, one of the First, the crew of the original spaceship, remains an "Accelerationist," wanting to spread scientific knowledge to everyone. He starts a one-man crusade to bring down Heaven, a crusade that will lead him to the depths of Hellwell and to Nirvana and back. _Lord of Light_ is a lively novel with plenty of action: duels, battles, confrontations, defiances, and repartee. Following the structure of Indian epics, elaborated sub-stories adorn a simple overall plot, with each chapter an episode in Sam's war against Heaven: his taking up arms against Heaven; his revival of Buddhism and the attempts to kill him; his loosing of the demons and possession by one of them; his capture and imprisonment in the Celestial City; his escape and defeat in a climactic battle; his return from Nirvana; and his final victory. The first chapter is chronologically the second-last, which is a little confusing at first. While few of the characters have much depth, they manage to be both human and, when they take on their Aspects and wield their Attributes, embodiments of fundamental forces. Sam himself is a crotchety old-timer, a con-man and a trickster -- but also an embodiment of military prowess and defiance against odds. The scientific scaffolding always remains visible -- Shiva's trident is a device, "reincarnation" is done through body farms and mind transfer machinery, the Christian heretic Nirriti uses guided missiles -- and _Lord of Light_ is clearly science fiction rather than fantasy. This is affirmed explicitly within the story by Yama, engineer and god of Death, explaining that demons are "malefic, possessed of great powers, life span, and the ability to temporarily assume virtually any shape" -- but not "supernatural". "It is the difference between the unknown and the unknowable, between science and fantasy - it is a matter of essence. The four points of the compass be logic, knowledge, wisdom and the unknown. Some do bow in that final direction. Others advance upon it. To bow before the one is to lose sight of the three. I may submit to the unknown, but never to the unknowable. The man who bows in that final direction is either a saint or a fool. I have no use for either." Which is a sentiment to warm the hearts of hard science fiction devotees, even without the "technology good, theocracy bad" plot elements. Despite the underlying epistemology, however, the dominant "mode" of _Lord of Light_ is mythic rather than scientific. Zelazny does more than raid Hinduism and Buddhism for props -- he ends up touching on the genuinely numinous, evoking through language and mood something of the power of real religion and myth. Buddhism, for example, is introduced by Sam as a counter to Hinduism, but his own beliefs are ambiguous and when one of his disciples (originally an assassin sent to kill him) attains enlightenment, it is obvious that Buddhism has taken on a life of its own. _Lord of Light_ sports quotations from Indian scriptures at the beginning of each chapter and uses themes and language and ideas taken from them throughout. At one point Sam delivers a three page sermon, for example, and the penultimate paragraph of the novel is: "Death and Light are everywhere, always, and they begin, end, strive, attend, into and upon the Dream of the Nameless that is the world, burning words within Samsara, perhaps to create a thing of beauty." This could easily have been tedious or trite but in Zelazny's hands it actually works. Myth and religion never actually break free from the scientific scaffolding, but they manage to make it irrelevant -- one could almost consider _Lord of Light_ a demonstration that their symbolic power does not rest on their metaphysical claims. Despite its serious approach to religion and its success as epic, _Lord of Light_ is at the same time rather light-hearted, sometimes verging on the flippant. "It was early morning. Near the pool of the purple lotus, in the Garden of Joys, at the foot of the statue of the blue goddess with the _veena_, Brahma was located. The girl who found him first thought him to be resting, for his eyes were still open. After a moment, though, she realized that he was not breathing; and his face, so contorted, underwent no changes of expression. She trembled as she awaited the end of the universe. God being dead, she understood that this normally followed. But after a time she decided that the internal cohesiveness of things might serve to hold the universe together for another hour or so; and such being the case, she thought it advisable to bring the matter of the imminent Yuga to the attention of someone better suited to cope with it." Zelazny also includes a few truly terrible puns. Somehow all the disparate components of _Lord of Light_ -- humour and epic, science and religion, action and philosophy -- come together in an successful novel. The result is my favourite Zelazny work and indeed one of my favourite science fiction novels of all time. Though it won the Hugo award in 1968, it has I think been relatively neglected; it can bear comparison with the much better known _Dune_, and I suspect Zelazny was inspired by Frank Herbert's use of Sufism in that work. %T Lord of Light %A Zelazny, Roger %I Methuen %C London %D 1986 [1968] %O paperback %G ISBN 0-413-58250-7 %P 261pp %K science fiction, India %Z epic science fiction using Hindu and Buddhist themes Danny Yee's Book Reviews http://dannyreviews.com/ An HTML version of this book review can be found at http://dannyreviews.com/h/Lord_Light.html along with more than five hundred other reviews.