Sign of the Unicorn

The third installment in the Amber series feels like a British locked-room mystery, except for the fact that the suspects can teleport in and out of the room at will. (I know, I know--then it's not a locked room mystery!) The way it truly feels like a British mystery is the multitude of characters, all with motives and means to commit the crimes. This is the best in the series so far: the action is tight, the time span is short (a few days, maybe) and the plot moves quickly. As other reviewers have said, I can't imagine picking up these books after a two-year hiatus in between them: this was published two years after its predecessor, but Zelazny expects his reader to remember dozens of details going back to the beginning of volume 1. show more (Remember the car crash? That all comes up again here.) The double-and triple-crosses get just about as complicated as can be; they reminded me of the first time I saw Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy--the four-hour Alec Guinness version. But Zelazny's pacing makes the complexities of the plot bearable and it's fun to keep juggling the characters: at one point, when Corwin says "the nine of us," I tested myself and was able to rattle off Corwin, Julian, Random, Benedict, Fiona, Flora, Deirdre, Llewella, Brand off the top of my head, proving that Zelazny had done his job. show less

Tot nu toe het beste deel. Ik begon zowaar af en toe iets van emotie te zien hier en daar. Maar je moet wel vanuit je ooghoek kijken en vooral niet knipperen, anders is het weg. De wereld blijft me intrigeren, dus deel 4 gaat er wel achteraan. Hopelijk blijft die stijgende lijn doorzetten.

In [b:Nine Princes in Amber|92121|Nine Princes in Amber (The Chronicles of Amber #1)|Roger Zelazny|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1416090973s/92121.jpg|1383240], Corwin went from having no memories to learning he was a Prince of Amber, to trying to wrest the throne from his brother Eric--only to be blinded and thrown into prison.

In [b:The Guns of Avalon|62012|The Guns of Avalon (The Chronicles of Amber #2)|Roger Zelazny|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1368213721s/62012.jpg|1105543], Corwin escapes off the Avalon in order to use jewelers' supplies to make guns to take back the throne from Eric--only to end up having to save Amber rather than attack it.

In [b:Sign of the Unicorn|239917|Sign of the Unicorn (The Chronicles of Amber show more #3)|Roger Zelazny|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1368213756s/239917.jpg|2425692], things really start getting weird...

On one hand, we end up getting a much stronger sense for exactly who in Amber's ruling family is working with whom and what all they've done thus far. It turns out that Corwin and his brothers and sisters really are a bunch of conniving bastards (in some cases literally). It's the first time we've really seen all (or at least most) of them all in one place at the same time, which leads to a much different sort of book. It's interesting.

On the other hand, not that much actually happens. We're learning a lot more about the world(s), but mostly only answering questions from the previous two books. I want to know more about what's going on with that Black Road. Perhaps in [b:The Hand of Oberon|116982|The Hand of Oberon (The Chronicles of Amber #4)|Roger Zelazny|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417644788s/116982.jpg|1837346]?

Still worth finishing, but I'm starting to long for more.

Random aside, the book went rather amusingly meta at one point:

“Yes,” he said. “But I wonder . . . I’ve a peculiar feeling that I may never see you again. It is as if I were one of those minor characters in a melodrama who gets shuffled offstage without ever learning how things turn out.”

“I can appreciate the feeling,” I said. “My own role sometimes makes me want to strangle the author. But look at it this way: inside stories seldom live up to one’s expectations. Usually they are grubby little things, reducing down to the basest of motives when all is known. Conjectures and illusions are often the better possessions.”

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This is an awkward one. Events are progressing, but there's no real story - no beginning or real ending here, unlike the first two books. It starts with a death - and no one seems to care that another brother is gone. Great anger that Corwin might have killed him, but not even a pro forma expression of grief that I can recall. This and that - they get Brand back, and again motives come in to question. The nicest scene in the book is the talk with Bill back on (approximately) this Earth - all the rest is nastiness and suspicion and questioning motives. And then it ends - not quite a cliffhanger, but certainly in the middle of things with no conclusions reached. I'm glad I have the next book right here.

Amber rolls forward here, and it's hard to stop here. I had several books I wanted to read after finishing this one, but I put them all aside to grab the fourth Amber novel.

On one hand, that's a good sign of Zelazny's skill at creating a really wonderful and complicated world. This is a story I don't want to put down, and yet it is one I do not want to end.

On the other hand, this volume is weaker in some ways. One of the main reasons I immediately grabbed book four is because I didn't feel like this one really ended. There is a way to end an episode satisfactorily without ending the entire story. Zelazny accomplished this is the first two books. I wanted more, and yet I felt like I had read a complete story. This one ends hastily, and show more it feels more like a commercial break at the end than the end of an episode.

I immediately kept going because I love Amber, but also because I really didn't think I had finished this book. For that flaw, this one loses a star. Still, a four-star book is worth the read, and probably a re-reading or two. show less

Another very good novel. I love the whole Amber setup with it's idea of changing the world around you and living in shadow worlds and so forth. All the talk of family politics and infighting over who is going to get the throne is all a little much for me. To be quite honest I'm one of those people who couldn't give a monkey's who attains the throne. I'm far more interested in shadow and chaos and so forth than pretty infighting amongst the family. I was also expecting a little more in the way of direct confrontation with the darker, more chaotic forces than I actually got though, so a little disappointed there.

Very good.

I am glad I am reading all the Amber books in order. This one is non-stop action with a mystery stirred in for good measure.

Corwin is up to his ears in intrigue, which fortunately moves the story along.

This is well worth the read, but be sure you've read the first two books recently.

Highly recommended for fans of the series.