Jack of Shadows

I first read this Zelazny novella a lifetime ago; I liked it then and I like it now, though I'm certain I see it in a different light given that lifetime's experience. Zelazny was enamoured of mythology, and that's what he presents here: a myth. It's trifle of a story, really, but like all good myths, speaks to deeper truths.

"Jack of Shadows" tracks as if the story of Prometheus mingled with "How the Leopard Got its Spots," and a _Just-So Stories_ version of the world reborn through an antihero came to be. There's a not-too-subtle similarity in "JoS" to the conflict and relationship between Ged and a wandering spirit of his doing in Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" to Jack's own through the last half, but with a very distinct role show more reversal. It is, frankly, satisfying. Though Jack is an unsavory and unreliable narrator, his is the best p-o-v for this telling since Zelazny's gift was to make 'dark wry' the best loaf of all. show less

Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny, 1971

Back in the day we had to hunt for our books. Or more specifically, we had to stumble across authors and then having tasted and enjoyed, hunted for more. Obstacles included shelf space and whether a book was in print. So you’d start any book hunt by hitting your section and then quick scanning certain authors. Mine at one point started with Anthony, Aspirin, Chalker, Foster, and so on until Zelazny. Was there a new release, a new arrival of some out-of-print treasure at the used shop? Snatch it up quick and then maybe another leisurely turn through the stacks for other stuff worth grabbing.

I can’t say it’s better these days with Goodreads (Amazon) and Booktubers and FB groups all making sure show more that you know about every book you might even consider. But it is easier. Easier to collect authors, to avoid Variant Titles and fixups. Easier to review and remember what you’ve read.
What does that have to do with my review of this book? Well not much except to say that I come to this as a fan of Zelazny’s and sometimes with a less concrete idea of what titles attach to which stories. I swear I’ve read this in the distant past but have no memory of it.

This one is an early work and technically published after the first Amber book, it feels earlier. The claim is this was a one take novel and I believe that I just think it was written in ’66 or ’67 because of a few elements and writing tricks that feel very Amber to me.

Shadow walking and a struggle between chaos and order. A primordial pattern—
[He] “moved his left thumb along the edge of the blade and let his blood fall into the center of the pattern. As he did this, he spoke seven words. He turned then and gestured”.

There are ideas that pop up in the Merlin cycle of the Amber books and references that reminded me of The Changeling/Madwand books as well. This is not to be taken as a negative, it happens to be thing I look for as I take in an author’s works. I get a kick out of these things.

As for the story itself, it has a flavor of fairy tale or mythology. As intended, I’m sure. Technically taking place on another planet there appears to be magic and science but very little of that is important. The quest of hero Jack is the focus, and the trappings are relatively unimportant compared to the psychological journey of the protagonist. Another familiar trope of Zelazny’s work.

If you’re a fan and haven’t read this one yet, please do yourself a favor and do so. If you’re new I might suggest something else to start with. Perhaps some of his short stories or Amber. If you’re in between those two, keep an eye out for the familiar things and enjoy the ride. show less

I’m a big fan of Roger Zelazny’s books, mainly because he managed to cram so much into his books. Jack of Shadows is no exception. In a world half in darkness, ruled by magic, half in light, ruled by science, Jack of Shadows challenges the mighty and seeks his revenge.

In a lesser (or, to be honest, a more recent) author this might take five books and several thousand pages, Zelazny manages to weave a remarkably intelligent yarn. Although simple, the story is not simplistic, and for a thirty year old minor novel, Jack of Shadows takes a view of power and evil that seems remarkably sophisticated when placed next to today’s “epic” fantasy. It was never going to win literary prizes, and contains many elements re-used in his more show more famous works, but it’s worth picking up if you fancy a short break from farm boys becoming kings. show less

A short fantasy novel from the early 70s, featuring a world divided into two halves, one of strange magical powers and permanent night and one of science and technology in the light of permanent day, focused on a being from the dark side, a thief called Jack, who has power over shadows.

Which makes it sound like a much more mundane kind of story than it actually is. In reality, it has a slightly surreal, slightly myth-like feel to it, and every time I felt like I was getting some kind of handle on the world or the story, it'd go somewhere I wasn't expecting and didn't feel remotely sure about. Most of the way through, I kept thinking that it was interesting and (as is usual for Zelazny) well-written, but that it felt more like an odd show more little writing exercise than a novel, and there was no way it was going to be entirely satisfying. And yet, in the end... I liked it, possibly more than I feel like I really should.

Rating: a bemused and possibly over-generous 4/5. show less

The old saying goes that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, But Zelazny raises the question in this book, does power corrupt or does power simply reveal what was already there. Is power the light that reveals what lurks in the shadows? Zelazny's tale of the thief who breaks the world has quite a few parallels to his 'Amber' series. For fans of Amber this one has intrigue, magic, as well as plots of double cross, revenge and power. Betrayed by his employer and the one he loves, Jack of the Shadow Guard, one of the Lords of the realm of darkness fights back against impossible odds to reclaim himself and enact his vengeance. But at the height of his revenge and power he earns the title Jack of Evil to replace Jack of show more Shadows. He is more powerful than all the darksiders - but can he stop the world from ending? This one is out of print and hard to find, but was worth the search. show less

This was kind of fun. Nice and short, not very similar to anything else I can immediately think of, and the the character seemed appropriately motivated to do what was done (half the books I read make me question why on earth characters would behave that way, outside of "the plot requires it.") It's also an elegantly-written, moody sort of a read, and while not particularly comic, it had a certain wry sensibility that can raise a smile from time-to-time.

Most of all it seemed old-fashioned (in the best possible way) and dreamlike, like an easier-to-read Worm Ouroboros, or a vastly shorter The Night Land, and is slightly episodic (somewhat like Anvil of the World). Hard to describe, worth the effort.

This was a re-read of a book that I remember loving when I read it years ago as a teenager. Unfortunately, it hasn't really stood the test of time, and maybe I'm a more critical reader too.

The beginning is great - Zelazny makes no attempt to set the scene - we are just dumped into a situation and have to make sense of it as the story goes along. The anti-hero Jack also known as Jack of Shadows or Shadowjack is a long lived being from the dark side of the planet who has been caught hanging around with intent at a games where a fabulous gem is on offer as prize. He is denounced to the organiser by two contestants and the organiser has him executed immediately, solely on the basis of his reputation as thief. The contestants work for one of show more the Powers who rule darkside: the Lord of Bats. By the end of chapter one, Jack is resigned to his beheading, but vows that he will come back - though from a ghastly place called the Dungpits of Glyve - and will wreck vengeance on his list of enemies which includes the two contestants, the executioner, the games organiser and the Lord of Bats himself.

Next, Jack wakes up in the pits and has to regain his senses and travel back through great dangers, showing resourcefulness and also an amoral lack of compassion or sensitivity, possibly because all darksiders lack souls. Only the light siders who have only one life believe they have souls. So Jack's response to a beautiful singing bird is to eat it as a snack.

Eventually Jack's vengeance quest takes him to the light side of the planet where a society very similar to early 1970s USA (the book was published in 1971) exists, including the type of vast computer where you had to book time to run a program. And Jack takes up smoking which he proceeds to do a lot.

I won't say whether Jack achieves his vengeance or lives to gain a type of morality and to regret his deeds. The main problem with the book despite its inventiveness - and I do love the idea of someone who can take strength from shadows - is that there is no real development of the characters and some are just ciphers so that it isn't possible to feel any sympathy for them. Jack is developed more, but given his casual cruelties doesn't engage this reader at least. So although I like some aspects, the book doesn't live up to my memory of it. show less