chroniclingamber

9 Princes in Amber: Ch. 7

Sun, 18 May 2025 02:11:47 GMT

It is a very demoralizing thing to tramp along and be rained on, a cold rain at that. How I’ve always hated the mud, through which it seems I’ve spent centuries marching!

You knew who drew great mud, in the context of soldiers slogging through mud? Bil Mauldin. He drew comics during about the army experience during WWII. He also drew political cartoons later which generally dealt with politics, fascism, racism, sexism, and the poor treatment of veterans. My default “soldiers slogging through the mud” mental image is WWI, though. The interminable trenches, the often-poisonous fog, the feet rotting in wet boots (“trench foot”), etc.

There’s some good, succinct descriptions of the tribulations that Bleys and Corwin’s army marches through, of how much they’re struggling. Corwin doesn’t realize that the man leading the attack on them in the forest that Julian patrols, using Julian’s men, is Julian or else he’d have tried to pull a mental attack on him which is a shame as he most likely would have won. But after the fighting comes what I, personally, find one of the most horrific things in the series:

Someone had set fire to the Forest of Arden as a war tool.

To burn this ancient wood. as venerable as the Forest of Arden, seemed almost an act of sacrilege to me.

I really have to agree with that sentiment.

In part because it’s a place that Corwin loves, is emotionally invested in.

But more than that it’s destruction for the sake of power. An entire gorgeous ancient forest, a real forest that can’t be easily Shadow Shifted to be like it was, that will never be restored to what it once was, that will take centuries to heal and regrow, is gone because some dillweeds want power. All the creatures of the forest, the deer and rabbits and pheasant and bears and whatever, they’re all suffering and will die because a bunch of jaggoffs are in a political scrap.

I’ve never been in a wildfire but I have been around a lot of bonfires and campfires and was also in a house fire and his descriptions of being in a fire ring as pretty true.

Corwin and Bleys and some of their troops head for the river Oisen to escape the flames and heat. The pair manage to stay relatively close to each other and there’s a beautiful bit of description:

The interlocked branches of the trees overhead had become as the beams in a cathedral of fire.

That’s just so evocative.

The water is cold and while that might in theory be good for their burns it’s also physically difficult to be submerged in cold water. They shiver and cramp and swim and drift. Eventually, of course, there’s archers. Corwin gets injured and separated from the rest and Zelazny has him remove an arrow from his person in the way that arrows actually should be removed. I.E. he doesn’t just yank it out. You love to see it.

Bleys stood there and called things, like Robert E. Lee at Chancellorsville, and we took them.

This is an interesting comparison.

Robert E. Lee was a great tactician.

Robert E. Lee defeated a larger, healthier, better equipped force.

Robert E. Lee and the confederacy were scrappy rebels.

And Also:

Robert E. Lee and his scrappy rebels were fighting for the states’ right to literally own people as slaves.

Zelazny references various tactical geniuses throughout the Amber novels. Sometimes it’s a direct comparison of one Amberite to a specific guy, other times it’s casually mentioning one of them reading a book by a specific guy. It’s interesting that here he specifically picks Lee. There’s other generals that have vanquished larger forces but Lee and Stonewall Jackson, who received a mortal wound on the battlefield, were advocating for the right to own other people like they were property. As they lead big red guys and little furry guys who think they’re gods into battle. Is that intentional on Zelazny’s part, or is that just the first battle he thought of? Or did he want the vibe of “two great war guys, one of whom is killed”? 98% of the troops they dragged along with them died – they died of the cold and they drowned and they burned and they bled all so two dudes can gain a bit of political power. So much futile death.

They reach the foot of the mountain Kolvir and begin climbing the great stair that zigs and zags its way up. Corwin and Bleys stick a bunch of their men in front of them as they can only go single file, and Amber troops wind their way down as well. They’re basically reduced to single combat, one dude against another, the loser falling off the mountain and down, down, down to the rocks below.

The breeze was sharp and cool from off the sea, and birds were collecting at the foot of the mountain.

The carrion birds know what’s up and are feasting well.

The men fight and they die and they fight and they die and then Bleys is at the front of the line and he fights and others die and he fights and others die and Corwin wishes he could spell him for a bit but there’s no way for him to get in front of him, the passage is too narrow and things are moving too quickly. This is another long stretch of fighty bit that would look good and dramatic on screen, up to and including the dramatic falling-to-his-death of Bleys.

Corwin, acting on instinct, chucks his Trumps at Bleys on the slight chance that Bleys can 1) catch them 2) open the box 3) pull out a usable Trump 4) make contact with someone 5) get pulled through. That is a very slight chance, indeed! Minuscule, even. The rest of the book, the outcome of the book, hinges on this scene (aided by Corwin not being able to spell Bleys for a bit).

Now it’s Corwin’s turn to fight and kill and fight and kill and grind himself and his men down. It’s exhausting, physically and emotionally, and of COURSE he regrets tossing his chance at escape to Bleys. He’s reduced to just killing and killing and killing.

But there was no one to surrender to, no one asking for a surrender.

If he’d stuck his hands up and yelled for parlay would the opposing forces have listened to him? Probably not! He’s stuck in a hell he created for himself.

Eric’s people kill everyone but Corwin, and capture him then beat him. He wakes up in a dungeon and, because he’s INCREDIBLY dramatic, his first thought is suicide. He has a pretty good grasp on the situation – torture, suffering, etc. Once again, he’s alone, isolated.

I awakened, and still no one came to me. There was none to buy, none to torture.

Just leaving him alone is a powerful move against him. Even accounting for him talking himself up he still comes across as a pretty charismatic and manipulative man. If there had been guards there would he have been able to strike a deal? Would he have been able to talk Eric around? It doesn’t matter because that’s not the hand he’s been dealt… or dealt himself.

He lays himself down and sleeps.

References:

“Oisen” is another Irish reference – a name more typically spelled “Oisín,” at least now. It’s male name meaning fawn or little deer. Oisín was a pretty important Irish poet, warrior, and of course demi-god. Like Corwin (who could also be described as a poet, warrior, and demi-god if not outright god) he narrates his epic cycles. It’s pronounced kind of like “USH-een.”

“Valley/Vale of Garnath” has been picked up by some RPGs. For instance, “Warstone” uses Garnath as a location. A lot of nerds use Garnath as a handle, too. Bless those nerds.

“Corps-à-corps” or “body to body” is when you’re fencing and a part of your body/hilt touches the other person’s body/hilt. This isn’t permitted in bouts. Bleys is fighting in a two hand sword-and-dagger style.

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9 Princes in Amber: Ch. 6 Pt. 2

Sun, 18 May 2025 02:04:17 GMT

Corwin and his ships manage to ride out the storms. Once over Rebman waters, Corwin pulls out Random’s Trump and has a chat with him. Random drops some pretty important knowledge – namely, that Eric can control the weather, hence the storms. He also passes on tactical advice from Llewella. You know how much the women all suck and are bitches who may or may not deserve death? Llewella apparently has good advice. Random agrees with it. He also states that he could tell what Corwin (and Bleys) was doing, due to “a wavering of Shadow,” which is just cool. This first book has Amber casting much great influence on the Shadows around it than later books do.

Random also tosses out a bit more info that never comes up again, but fits within the context of Rebma-as-currently established: namely, that there’s a second Jewel of Judgement.

“Then you must think you have a chance upon the waters. But listen, Eric has figured a way to control the Jewel of Judgment, I gather, from court gossip about its double.”

Maybe it’s a copy, a minor artifact, a piece of jewelry, a talisman. There’s no way it can come close to matching the actual Jewel of Judgement in terms of power or of history. The idea of there being a duplicate of it, just as there’s a duplicate Pattern, is so interesting though… and also raises the question of there being a ghostly Jewel up in Tir-na Nog’th.

Eric Trumped Random so he could drop some info on him about his plans and what he could do, knowing it would get back to Corwin. The whole “controlling the weather thing” is big. Random, like Llewella, advises Corwin to sit this one out and attack Eric later. It’s a sensible plan. Corwin is not, however, a sensible person and sticks with Bleys’ plan. He improvises a bit, though, and summons up a blizzard, a “Shadow offering.” Eric manages to turn it aside, though.

As his namesake did before him, Caine betrays Corwin. Ok, ok. Not exactly like. Caine didn’t murder Corwin as Cain did Abel, but he absolutely reneges on their deal now that he sees Corwin has no chance of winning. Corwin asks Gerard for help and Gerard declines to take part in killing a sibling, leaving Corwin on his own. Gerard and Benedict are two of the best of the brothers.

I decided then that my centuries on the Shadow Earth had changed me, softened me perhaps, had done something to me which made me unlike my brothers.

One of the things Corwin grapples with throughout the series is how living so long in Shadow, unaware of who and what he is, changed him. But honestly, maybe I’m just too much of a Gerard fan, but I cannot see him acting so coldly toward others, so quick to lead people to their death.

While Corwin is trying to figure out his next step Eric contacts him via Trump in one of my favorite Trump abilities – he captures Corwin mentally and they engage in a dual of wills. They exchange some witty banter and it seems like Eric doesn’t hate Corwin as much as Corwin hates Eric.

“I more than half wish you had stood by me,” he said. “I could have used you more than any of the others. Julian I spit upon. Caine is a coward. Gerard is strong, but stupid.”

Corwin is a potential asset to Eric – or at least that’s the story that Corwin is telling himself/us/his unseen audience. Eric holds Corwin in higher esteem than he holds Caine, Julian, or Gerard… again, according to Corwin. I, for one, reject this base Gerard slander. Corwin also takes the chance to tell a little lie on Random’s behalf:

“Listen,” I said. “I conned Random into coming here with me. He wasn’t hot on the idea. I think he would have supported you, had you asked him.”

The Random we have seen in this book absolutely would not have supported Eric in any way, shape, or form.

Eric, however, knows this:

“That bastard!” he said. “I wouldn’t trust him to empty chamber pots. One day I’d find a piranha in mine.”

I mean… yeah. But it’s interesting to see Corwin trying to intervene on behalf of others – he asks Random to be kind to Vialle, he tries to sweet talk Eric into not claiming some kind of vendetta against Random.

Now, it’s very valid to ask just how unreliable of a narrator Corwin is. Like, is this actually the default state of Amberites – to be cold hearted selfish dicks? To be basically self-centered sociopaths? To be obsessed with ruling over all of reality? Or is Corwin trying to justify his own actions? Is being vaguely decent towards others truly that rare a thing for them? I keep coming back to this point but sometimes it’s hard to tease apart the bits that are “Corwin is an unreliable narrator” and the bits that are “Zelazny changed his mind about stuff.” There’s also the question of just how much the incredible trauma that Corwin goes through changes him.

But even as Corwin grapples with the morality of sending a bunch of big red and small furry creatures to their violent deaths, he still has the mental space for grim observations like:

We slew everyone aboard both boarding ships and opened their hatches and sent them down to Rebma where Random would be amused by the carnage.

Ew. I mean, ew. “amused by the carnage”? He does not have a great opinion of Random, or else “great opinion” means “wow what a dangerous psychopath!”

Anyway, as soon as the battle turns fully against him and Caine comes to take him prisoner personally Corwin nopes out, leaving his men behind. He feels kind of bad about it, though.

As I stood on a hilltop and the evening began around me, it seemed as if I looked out over every camp I had ever stood within, stretching on and on over the miles and the centuries without end. I suddenly felt tears come into my eyes, for the men who are not like the lords of Amber, living but a brief span and passing into dust, that so many of them must meet their ends upon the battlefields of the world.

“It sure sucks that so many mortal men are doomed to die fighting on battlefields.” Look, buddy, this is on you. This is entirely on you. You could change this, directly, absolutely.

References:

“Then you’re crazy, Charlie.” This is a phrase I heard someone stumbling over on a podcast. Why call him Charlie? What does that mean? Eh, “Charlie” is a way of saying “buddy” or “guy” or similar. “You’re crazy, pal.” It can also mean “fool.”

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9 Princes in Amber: Ch. 6 Pt. 1

Sun, 18 May 2025 02:00:08 GMT

The climate was warm and the colors bewildering, and everyone thought we were gods.

Bleys takes Corwin to review his fighting force. His soldiers are fairly demonic looking, lacking only horns and barbed tails. Their clothes are all blue or grey, which is kind of a Star Trek vibe (everyone wearing almost exactly the same thing). The land is called Avernus, which is an actual place in Italy – a site said to be the location of the entrance to the underworld.

Corwin points out a lot of flaws in Bleys’ plan – he doesn’t have enough guys, for one. He expresses some pretty grave misgivings about the whole thing and Bleys lashes out, pointing out accurately that Corwin is bringing nothing to the war table. He suggests finding a Shadow of his Shadow and mustering up some troops there, a suggestion that hurts Corwin’s heart. He refuses and heads off to find his own nonhuman troops.

We get another example of how stiff necked and proud they are, when Bleys offers to apologize for not being nice enough to Corwin.

“Stay with me, please. I will even apologize.”

“That is not necessary,” I said, knowing what this thing means to a prince of Amber. “I’ll stay. I think I can help you.”

Which is pretty extreme, honestly. They are SO grandiose and SO dramatic yet it fits.

Corwin promises to get his own bodies to throw into the sausage grinder and does so – furry little guys with fangs and claws. I always think of them as being blue for some reason; maybe because Bleys’ guys are red. Corwin gathers up his troops to pursue his birthright, musters up these little furry guys who think he’s a god, but he feels kind of bad and guilty about it.

[…] and about as intelligent as a freshman in the high school of your choice-sorry, kids, but what I mean is they were loyal, devoted, honest, and too easily screwed by bastards like me and my brother. I felt like the dee-jay of your choice.

It’s an evocative description, one that I “got” when I myself was a freshman in high school and one that resonates even more now when I, an old person, look at kids in high school and what they have to deal with and how easily betrayed they are. I don’t mean this as a slight against teenagers – I love teens, they’re great. It’s an admission that there’s a lot of adult predators who use teens, manipulate them, to get what they want and then toss them aside. It’s sick and it’s sad.

But I was feeling kind of funny. Most of these troops were destined to die. I was the agent responsible for much of this. I felt some remorse, though I knew the difference between Shadow and Substance. Each death would be a real death; however, I knew that also.

This is the biggest difference between Corwin and his siblings. They’ve never been regular jagoffs. Corwin has lived among regular jagoffs, has thought he was a regular jaggoff, has loved regular jaggoffs. These little furry guys are regular jagoffs int heir own way. and a part of Corwin (the jagoff part) recognizes the jagoff in them. He’s managed, despite the odds, to have grown a conscience (about regular jagoffs). But he’s still able to shove that bit of conscience into a box and ignore it to get what he wants. They’re going to die, it’ll be a real death, but at least it’ll uh be a death with honor and er in service to their god (him).

Corwin deals himself a tarot reading, a thing that largely is not brought up again; although a story written a few decades after this involves a different (and very cool) form of fortune telling. He actually does this a few times, looking for different things. He gets the same result each time – one of his brothers, Caine. He calls Caine up and they gossip, they banter, they work out a deal where Caine will hold his ships back while Corwin and Bleys sneak their own ships through. Caine also requests “a regency” (note again, not a dukedom or earldom or whatever, a regency) and also wants to murder Random which… I can see it. Corwin says no to that last one, though.

He consults with Gerard, who goes along with his ideas. He can’t reach Benedict, though, and when he tries Brand something unpleasant happens – Brand screams and begs for help and things go wild before the connection is severed. This comes up again in the next book.

Having made contact with several people and perhaps feeling a bit maudlin Corwin considers his father’s Trump and attempts to make contact. Amazingly he succeeds – he and Oberon have a quick chat and Oberon doesn’t tell him what happened, claims nobody else consulted him, and gives Corwin his blessing to take the throne – urging him to do it quickly. Corwin does not tell anyone about this or make a second attempt to reach him.

He does, however, check in with Bleys about what would have happened if he hadn’t popped up when he did. What would Bleys have done? Bleys tells him a nice story about his previous plans, including the fact that he purposely went to a Shadow where a brother would help him. Benedict, maybe? A different brother having a sudden change of heart? The story is a thin one, though, and Corwin has doubts about it; but he knows Bleys as such a brilliant tactician that of course he’d have made it work. Of course. He totally didn’t have some other secret plan.

Corwin realizes, happily, that he can still navigate Shadow and can recognize a route to Amber.

Corwin is bringing troops by sea and Bleys by land. It’s not going well, mostly for Bleys, although after 8 days of journey it’s Corwin’s turn to have troubles. Namely, it storms. It pounds them for hours without lightening up; Corwin ties himself to the ship’s steering wheel so he can continue guiding the ship without them getting blown horrifically off course (or getting washed overboard). How bad is it? So bad a leviathan or whatever gets itself gone.

“Storm?” he said.

“You bet your sweet ass. It’s the granddaddy of them all. I think I see a monster off to port. If he has any brains, he’ll aim for the bottom… He just did.”

After the storm, Corwin realizes that he’s lost half the fleet.

He also needs a bit of hot gos and Trumps Random for the latest news. More on that in the next post.

References:

Caine is an alternate spelling of Cain, the first born of Adam and Eve in the Christian mythos. Cain was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. Both offered up sacrifices to God and God was not super accepting of Cain’s grains and fruits but he was well pleased with the smoking fat and meat and blood of Abel’s offerings. Cain, jealous, killed his brother Abel, committing the world’s first murder. God then banished Cain, sentencing him to a lifetime of wandering.

The “Russian Campaign” refers to the catastrophic French attempts to invade Russia. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed by starvation, disease, and the cold, accomplishing nothing (other than setting Corwin a few steps further toward Amber).

“Guide and Opener of the Way” sounds like it refers to something – possibly Robert Bloch’s short story collection “The Opener of the Way.” Some of the stories are part of the Cthulian mythos. A god leading a force of young men to their doom in a different world might have some overlap there, you know?

“To die, to sleep—/ To sleep—perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub!” This is a bit from Hamlet, which basically means “Damn, it’d be great to die. Wouldn’t that be great? Just lie down and die. It’d be like sleeping. Oh wait no, what if I have dreams when I’m dead? That would sure suck. There’s the rub (problem) indeed!”

“Inches and Hours” might be related to the phrase/aphorism “Repentance is not to be measured by inches and hours,” although I can’t find a source for it.

“Then the winds arose, and-if you’ll excuse the expression-broke-upon the vessel I rode.” “Breaking wind” is another euphemism for “passing gas.” It’s a fart joke. Feel free to correct me if there’s a different reference I’m missing but uh… it’s a fart joke.

“Tempest-tossed” is a Shakespearean turn of phrase. I want to say that “storm-torn” is as well, but it’s so widely used it’s hard to tell the origin. Emma Lazarus used the phrase “tempest-tost” in her poem “The New Colossus.”

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