Post by Admin on Sept 12, 2019 4:45:45 GMT
I started a reread of the books in June when thinking about running a new campaign. Up to Courts of Chaos chapter 2 now. Wasn't thinking about blogging about it and have probably forgotten many of the things I wanted to write about but will put a few things down.
One thing I like about the series, and scifi from that era, is that the books are shorter than the tombs being published nowadays; they get to the point and tell a story without too much of the blather we read now. If Jordan was writing the series book 1 would be 800 pages long and only cover Corwin getting his memory back and going to Flora's house. RZ mentions Corwin eating breakfast and buying clothes in passing but Jordan would devote two 50 page chapters detailing the type of eggs, condition of the diner, style of the clothes, the salesperson sniffing and pulling their braids, etc. In these older books we get right to the important events.
NINE PRINCES IN AMBER
I've read this one more than 10 times over the last 30 years yet still always forget that Julian is described as having a speech impediment or maybe a drawl:
pg 38 in the Great Book of Amber.
Bella, does this change you opinion that all the Amberites are exemplars of creation?
Later on when discussing the family Fiona is described as being 'to the South'. Does this mean she is in the same world as Amber of in some southerly shadow? Zelazny does that in a few places where different shadows are given directions. Kind of challenges my idea of travelling through shadow to be directionless, in that all directions would be equivalent it is just the act of changing the scenery that causes the shifting. More of this topic in Guns of Avalon.
Rebma is said to the the mirror image of Amber but the castle is described as being in the centre of the city while Castle Amber always seems to be imagined as apart and higher elevation from the city.
Other than Fiona, Benedict, and Dworkin, the rest of the family gets at least a little bit of screen time in this book.
One thing I like about the series, and scifi from that era, is that the books are shorter than the tombs being published nowadays; they get to the point and tell a story without too much of the blather we read now. If Jordan was writing the series book 1 would be 800 pages long and only cover Corwin getting his memory back and going to Flora's house. RZ mentions Corwin eating breakfast and buying clothes in passing but Jordan would devote two 50 page chapters detailing the type of eggs, condition of the diner, style of the clothes, the salesperson sniffing and pulling their braids, etc. In these older books we get right to the important events.
NINE PRINCES IN AMBER
I've read this one more than 10 times over the last 30 years yet still always forget that Julian is described as having a speech impediment or maybe a drawl:
"What a surprise!" said Julian in his slow, almost impeded way of speaking.
pg 38 in the Great Book of Amber.
Bella, does this change you opinion that all the Amberites are exemplars of creation?
Later on when discussing the family Fiona is described as being 'to the South'. Does this mean she is in the same world as Amber of in some southerly shadow? Zelazny does that in a few places where different shadows are given directions. Kind of challenges my idea of travelling through shadow to be directionless, in that all directions would be equivalent it is just the act of changing the scenery that causes the shifting. More of this topic in Guns of Avalon.
Rebma is said to the the mirror image of Amber but the castle is described as being in the centre of the city while Castle Amber always seems to be imagined as apart and higher elevation from the city.
Other than Fiona, Benedict, and Dworkin, the rest of the family gets at least a little bit of screen time in this book.
