The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well, finally a story wraps up, and it is a good one. Corwin has moved from the center of things to some extent with the return of Oberon, and is now sulking in the Library, but Random talks him into leaving and taking an interest in things. Dara now appears as Oberon’s messenger with instructions for everyone in the family. And from Random’s son Martin, Corwin learns that he has a son named Merlin who will take center stage with the next set of novels.
Oberon is going to try and repair the pattern that Brand disrupted, but Corwin steals the Jewel and tries to do it himself. He is stopped before he can make the attempt by Oberon and Dworkin. Oberon instead takes a little of Corwin’s blood and turns it into a red raven that will accompany Corwin. They have a final talk, and Corwin tells Oberon he no longer is interested in the throne of Amber. He mostly wanted it in competition with Eric, and now that Eric is gone he knows he is not right for it. Oberon tells him he has to Hell Ride to the Courts of Chaos, and to bring the Jewel to the battle there, but first Oberon needs it to try the repair of the Pattern. The other members of the family have their instructions to gather their armies and go to the battle.
While on his ride, Corwin is visited by the red raven who brings him the Jewel, but he does not know at first whether Oberon succeeded in repairing the pattern or died in the attempt, but as the monster storm gathers it looks like Oberon failed. Corwin is able to create a new pattern, but when he falls exhausted Brand appears and takes the Jewel. So now Corwin has to go the Battle and find Brand and get the Jewel back somehow. He finds Brand, and so do the others, but Corwin is better attuned to the Jewel and uses it to burn Brand, before an arrow kills Brand, and he and the Jewel go into a chasm.
Oberon’s face appears in the sky and tells them that the decision of who is to rule in Amber will be left to the horn of the unicorn. The unicorn duly appears, with the Jewel hanging from its horn, and places the Jewel in front of Random. Corwin helps Random to become attuned to the Jewel, and Random disperses the storm.
This ends the 5 novel “Corwin Cycle” of Amber, to be followed by the 5 novel “Merlin Cycle”. It is a very satisfying ending that ties up a lot of loose ends, and is well worth a read. But at the very least you have to commit to reading all 5 novels to get any value out of this. It is really one long novel divided into 5 parts. But if you like fantasy, give it a shot. Zelazny is fantastic writer, and I have never regretted reading any of his work. I even got to hear him read from one of his novels (A Night In The Lonesome October) at a local science fiction convention some years ago.
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