Questions tagged [chronicles-of-amber]

A series of fantasy novels by Roger Zelazny, dealing with the Princes of the eponymous realm of Amber, who can navigate between parallel worlds, called Shadows, one of which is our own Earth. The series comprises ten novels divided into two five-novel arcs and several short stories and accompanying works.

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Did Roger Zelazny ever read The Lord of the Rings?

During one of the discussions of the Chronicles of Amber, the question arose whether Zelazny thought about creating an analogue of The Lord of the Rings, and how much did Tolkien influence him? Did ...
Влад Артюх's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
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What else, if anything, do we know about Delwin and Sand?

I can't remember whether it was in Knight of Shadows or Prince of Chaos but Merlin has an encounter, of sorts, with two Amberites who present something of a mystery. Merlin refers to them as "the ...
Ash's user avatar
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2 votes
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Crystal cave timing in "Blood of Amber"

When Merlin escapes with Luke to the crystal cave (leaving Vinta behind), he sees bones of those who were sent to for him: It would have been months since the pair who had removed the boulder had ...
Yaroslav  Kornachevskyi's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
146 views

Why doesn't Merlin recognize voice of Ghostwheel?

Merlin shows Ghostwheel to Random, talks to Ghostwheel, hears it and then goes out on a way to shut it down, thinking about Ghostwheel. At that time Ghostwheel warns Merlin to go back, again with the ...
Yaroslav  Kornachevskyi's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
103 views

How could Borel know of Jurt? (The Chronicles of Amber/Knight of Shadows)

In Knight of Shadows we see that Borel (Logrus ghost) knows about Jurt (when Merlin and Jurt walk to the broken pattern): ...There were a number of them—roses of many sorts. I stopped and picked one ...
Yaroslav  Kornachevskyi's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
2k views

Is the D&D 5e magic item "Ioun stone" derived from the magic of Mandor from Zelazny's "Amber"?

Background: So I just learned about the "Ioun stone of Intellect". In action, it is described as: When you use an action to toss one of these stones into the air, the stone orbits your head ...
EngrStudent's user avatar
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23 votes
3 answers
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What does this line mean in Zelazny's The Courts of Chaos?

I'm rereading the Chronicles of Amber, and this line in the fifth book, The Courts of Chaos, has me entirely stumped. It comes just at the end of Corwin's encounter with "Lady." I'll include a few ...
Wildcard's user avatar
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Amber series. Merlin’s higher initiation (twice?)

So, in the beginning of Prince of Chaos, Merlin is using the Spikard to examine the Jewel of Judgment in Coral's eye. He pushes through a void and ends up finding what he believes to be the entrance ...
Destraga's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
359 views

Can the Logrus move under someone trying to walk it?

All the descriptions that I remember of the Logrus describe it as "constantly moving" or similar, does this mean that someone walking it has to move fast before the area they're standing on moves out ...
Ash's user avatar
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3 votes
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What is the name of the place where ghost/clone Corwin bested ghost/clone (chaos lord swordsmaster) Berel?

Merlin went to a place where he met something to which he said "you are me, with a lobotomy and orders to kill". In that place there was a "pattern ghost" Corwin who fought the logrus ghost Borel (...
EngrStudent's user avatar
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What is the significance of 'The Road Less Travelled' and the real Amber?

The very last paragraphs of 'The Age Of The Unicorn': "On that shadow Earth we visited-where you had spent so many years- I heard a poem about two roads that diverged in a wood," [Ganelon] said. "...
TheAsh's user avatar
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4 votes
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What does a 'shadow walker' look like to an outside observer?

In the Chronicles of Amber, they explain 'shadow walking' fairly well. The pattern casts shadows from Amber to the Courts of Chaos, and every possible combination of events and laws of physics are ...
user91294's user avatar
23 votes
3 answers
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Why do matches work but guns don't fire in the city of Amber?

In the home dimension of Amber, normal gunpowder is inert, but you can use matches. Why is this possible?
Marc Eikelenboom's user avatar
5 votes
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What is the life expectancy of an Amber prince/king?

In The Chronicles Of Amber series, Corwin states that he lived for 300+ years on Earth, and Oberon, his father, lived for thousands of years. How long do the Amber nobility live? Do they die of old ...
TimSparrow's user avatar
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3 votes
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Why not to simply take some guns from the Shadow Earth and kill Eric?

I’ve just read the first book from The Chronicles of Amber. I’m wondering, why didn’t Corwin or his brother Random take a machine gun, or just a gun, maybe some grenades, maybe some other weapons like ...
user2950593's user avatar
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5 answers
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What did the Pattern of Amber look like?

In a comment on a Man at Arms: Reforged video I’ve learned that [Roger Zelazny] did draw [Corwin’s sword Grayswandir] for a fan that lives here in Maryland. He drew it as a saber with a ships sail ...
J. C. Salomon's user avatar
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1 answer
847 views

How exactly do shadows work in The Chronicles of Amber?

I’m still reading the first book and what I don’t understand is how the shadows are created. Do they work like parallel universes, or are all of them created by the princes of Amber trying to get to a ...
Uri Popov's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
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What happened to Corwin's Avalon?

Before his long period of amnesia on Earth, Corwin spent much of his time as lord of a shadow called Avalon. I think the first reference to this is in Nine Princes in Amber, when Bleys says: "It is ...
Nick Matteo's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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What is the nature of the Keye?

In To Rule In Amber, one of Betancourt's prequels of Nine Princes in Amber, references are made to a third culture (different from Amber or the Chaos), namely the Feynims. They do not use the Logrus ...
Perceval's user avatar
3 votes
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Time error in Roger Zelazny Amber Chronicles

I do not believe I'm first to notice this, but my google search returned no relevant links. It seems that there is a serious time related error in Chronicles of Amber. It has been said (in Chronicles ...
Adam Kłobukowski's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
529 views

Is the Archangel Corwin passage a reference?

In The Courts of Chaos, as Corwin hellrides through Shadow, he stops to rest in a cave. When he awakens, a man there asks him whether his name is Corwin, mentioning a holy book. The passage in ...
Sconibulus's user avatar
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How did Corwin recover his sword?

In the first book of the Amber series, when Random and Corwin travel to Amber, Random "adds" Corwin's sword when travelling through Shadow. The same thing happens in the second book, Guns of Avalon, ...
comodoro's user avatar
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18 votes
4 answers
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Did Zelazny give a reason for using the name "Amber"?

Did Roger Zelazny ever give a reason for using the name "Amber" in the Chronicles of Amber series? I'm looking for his out-of-universe thinking. If anyone can find the in-universe history of the ...
SteveED's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
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In "The Courts of Chaos", to whom is Corwin speaking when he addresses Carmen?

In the very last page of "The Courts of Chaos", after mentally addressing his family, Corwin says, and pardon my poor french, "Carmen, voulez vous avec moi?" To whom is he speaking, the reader? And ...
The Evil Greebo's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
823 views

Did the Pattern and the Logrus come from the same source?

I can't find my Amber books and I'm in a discussion about the relationship between the Pattern and the Logrus. I seem to remember the implication that both the Pattern and the Logrus both came from ...
SteveED's user avatar
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10 votes
4 answers
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In Amber, what makes a drawing magical that it becomes a trump?

In the Amber series, several characters had the ability to draw a picture that then would be a trump, and enable communications and even teleportation. What is it in the drawing that gives it such ...
Zottek's user avatar
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