Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Arganda del Rey (Madrid) La Factoría de Ideas [2006]
Description
One of the most revered names in science fiction and fantasy, the incomparable Roger Zelazny was honored with numerous prizes-including six Hugo and three Nebula Awards-over the course of his legendary career. Among his more than fifty books, arguably Zelazny's most popular literary creations were his extraordinary Amber novels. 'The Guns of Avalon' is the second book of The Chronicles of Amber. Across the worlds of Shadow, Corwin, Prince of blood royal, heir to the throne of Amber, gathers his forces for an assault that will yield up to him the crown that is rightfully his. But, a growing darkness of his own doing threatens his plans, an evil that stretches to the heart of the perfect kingdom itself where the demonic forces of Chaos mass to annihilate Amber and all who would rule there.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Frozeninja
Guns of Avalon picks up right where Nine Princes in Amber leaves off, with Corwin who is still recovering from his ordeal in Amber searching out a shadow close to the land of Avalon which he once knew. However he gets intercepted on course and finds that he has to face the consequences of his
The first half of this book flows exactly as Nine Princes did, fast paced and exciting as ever. The political intrigue is still as present as ever and the decisions of who to trust are getting harder and harder for Corwin, new to 'Guns of Avalon' is the romance element, element is possibly too strong a word as it barely exists, but it is there, and referenced every now and again; not unlike the instance with Moira in Nine Princes.
However the second half (or maybe just the last third) of the book disappointed me a little. It was still a good read, but I felt that the pacing had gone a little off course. Not sure what about this irks me, as probably just as much occurred in this section but it didn't seem to flow as well as the first part did. Maybe it's simply that the middle of a story is the most boring part? I shall endevour to find out as I speed into the third Amber book.
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previous actions and fight his own demons.The first half of this book flows exactly as Nine Princes did, fast paced and exciting as ever. The political intrigue is still as present as ever and the decisions of who to trust are getting harder and harder for Corwin, new to 'Guns of Avalon' is the romance element, element is possibly too strong a word as it barely exists, but it is there, and referenced every now and again; not unlike the instance with Moira in Nine Princes.
However the second half (or maybe just the last third) of the book disappointed me a little. It was still a good read, but I felt that the pacing had gone a little off course. Not sure what about this irks me, as probably just as much occurred in this section but it didn't seem to flow as well as the first part did. Maybe it's simply that the middle of a story is the most boring part? I shall endevour to find out as I speed into the third Amber book.
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LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
Interesting but not wonderful. Again, it manages to be part of a story while still having a reasonable beginning and ending - I think I would hate to read it first (rather than starting with Nine Princes), but Corwin does reference the previous story, without overloading the current one. More about
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Shadows, and Corwin keeps running into shadows of himself (not physically, but people everywhere he goes know Lord Corwin (and mostly dislike him!). I quite like Benedict - his obsessions seem a lot more reasonable than Corwin's. Dara does some neat footwork, and convinces Corwin completely. Though...I guess she got there first, since Corwin and Ganelon didn't miss the servants? Odd. The Dark Road is interesting and nasty - he's going to have to deal with it eventually. And I vaguely remembered that the hairy guys came back into the picture after Princes. Again, a battle where the fallen are only numbers - actually, in this case, it's the numbers of those still fighting that are mentioned. And it was very convenient that the wyverns forestalled Corwin - saved him from an action that would make him unfit to be the hero of the book(s). So a triumph, a puzzle, and a challenge and a half to lead on to the next book. Show Less
LibraryThing member bjanecarp
With The Guns of Avalon, Roger Zelazny creates his second installment in his fantasy series, The Amber Chronicles. The main character, Corwin is still a tobacco-smoking muscled sumbitch, but I'll be darned if the guy isn't growing on me by inches. He doesn't say "dig" anymore, which I didn't dig.
Corwin lived and ruled in Avalon, a shadow world, until a duel with his brother Eric left him incapacitated. Centuries later, the battle with Eric continues. At the moment of his supposed destruction, he unleashes a curse on Amber. Corwin has been imprisoned for five years in the dungeons of Amber. He escapes and plots his revenge, only to discover his own curse horrifyingly present in the world.
Zelazny's work borrows from Arthurian tradition, and from the medieval French chansons de geste as he develops his characters. Those introduced to the Chronicles include his brother the warmaster Benedict (who is now the Protector of shadow-Avalon); and his exiled former councilor named Ganelon, now much older, and much changed. Two love interests, Lorraine the prophetess, and the mysterious Dara, provide romantic distraction and not a little confusion for Corwin.
The concept of the shadow world of the Platonic forms still provides the force of Zelazny's theory of magic behind The Chronicles. It is a fascinating thought: if a person could manipulate the shadows, isn't that what we mere mortals would consider "magic"? Ganelon refers to Corwin as a sorcerer and a devil, and a god, probably for good reason. The Amberites (the name given Corwin and his siblings) still communicate, and occasionally move through the universe, using a deck of Tarot cards, presumably drawn by an insane old man called Dworkin.
The writing is solid, with a few descriptive passages that stand out as truly excellent. The book is not embarrassing, as I found moments of his Nine Princes in Amber; still, it is a boilerplate fantasy novel with stock characters, and doesn't rise exceptionally above the genre in any way. I keep hoping for that moment of transcendence in Zelazny's writing. Guns of Avalon has me curious enough about the story read more, but still hoping for greater character development. I will continue to the third novel of the Chronicles, Sign of the Unicorn just for kicks, and let you know what I think.
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This helps. Corwin lived and ruled in Avalon, a shadow world, until a duel with his brother Eric left him incapacitated. Centuries later, the battle with Eric continues. At the moment of his supposed destruction, he unleashes a curse on Amber. Corwin has been imprisoned for five years in the dungeons of Amber. He escapes and plots his revenge, only to discover his own curse horrifyingly present in the world.
Zelazny's work borrows from Arthurian tradition, and from the medieval French chansons de geste as he develops his characters. Those introduced to the Chronicles include his brother the warmaster Benedict (who is now the Protector of shadow-Avalon); and his exiled former councilor named Ganelon, now much older, and much changed. Two love interests, Lorraine the prophetess, and the mysterious Dara, provide romantic distraction and not a little confusion for Corwin.
The concept of the shadow world of the Platonic forms still provides the force of Zelazny's theory of magic behind The Chronicles. It is a fascinating thought: if a person could manipulate the shadows, isn't that what we mere mortals would consider "magic"? Ganelon refers to Corwin as a sorcerer and a devil, and a god, probably for good reason. The Amberites (the name given Corwin and his siblings) still communicate, and occasionally move through the universe, using a deck of Tarot cards, presumably drawn by an insane old man called Dworkin.
The writing is solid, with a few descriptive passages that stand out as truly excellent. The book is not embarrassing, as I found moments of his Nine Princes in Amber; still, it is a boilerplate fantasy novel with stock characters, and doesn't rise exceptionally above the genre in any way. I keep hoping for that moment of transcendence in Zelazny's writing. Guns of Avalon has me curious enough about the story read more, but still hoping for greater character development. I will continue to the third novel of the Chronicles, Sign of the Unicorn just for kicks, and let you know what I think.
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LibraryThing member Radaghast
The Guns of Avalon is worthy sequel to Nine Princes in Amber. In fact, it surpasses the original in a variety of ways. Guns of Avalon takes place immediately following the events of the original. Corwin has escaped imprisonment, and ventures to the mythical shadow realm of Avalon where he once
This book worked so much better than the first. A lot of the complains people have had about the first novel (awkward phrasing, annoying characters, over-description) are nowhere to be found. Zelazny found his footing so well, that it made me realize even more how inadequate the first book was, where originally I had a much more positive view of Nine Princes. This book takes a brilliant concept and fulfills its promise in all but a few ways.
What problems the book had centered on a particularly long stretch of over-description where Corwin struggles to escape from some deadly menace in a series of broken sentences that Zelazny no doubt believed would indicate the frantic nature of the situation. It did not. I ended up skipping this section. The book also describes far too much of what happened in the first novel. It seems the author didn't expect that his readers had read Nine Princes.
Nevertheless, if you stayed through the first one and were relatively satisfied, read this book. It is a great ride that leads to a shocking twist.
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ruled. On the way to rebuilding his new army (cat-men, with automatic weapons), Corwin discovers a new threat that may force him to put aside his vendetta.This book worked so much better than the first. A lot of the complains people have had about the first novel (awkward phrasing, annoying characters, over-description) are nowhere to be found. Zelazny found his footing so well, that it made me realize even more how inadequate the first book was, where originally I had a much more positive view of Nine Princes. This book takes a brilliant concept and fulfills its promise in all but a few ways.
What problems the book had centered on a particularly long stretch of over-description where Corwin struggles to escape from some deadly menace in a series of broken sentences that Zelazny no doubt believed would indicate the frantic nature of the situation. It did not. I ended up skipping this section. The book also describes far too much of what happened in the first novel. It seems the author didn't expect that his readers had read Nine Princes.
Nevertheless, if you stayed through the first one and were relatively satisfied, read this book. It is a great ride that leads to a shocking twist.
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LibraryThing member nesum
Superior to the first novel, Sign of the Unicorn takes the momentum of the series and turns it on its head and back the other way. There was depth in the first book, but in this one we realize that, before, we had only scratched the surface. There is much more to Amber to be explored, and more on
Nine Princes in Amber was only a prelude. This book gets the story started in earnest.
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the other side of the shadow as well.Nine Princes in Amber was only a prelude. This book gets the story started in earnest.
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LibraryThing member SwampIrish
This book seemed like it was ended a little too abruptly in order to serialize the story. Still enjoyable though.
LibraryThing member helver
After having recovered his eyesight and escaped the dungeons of Amber, Corwyn starts to enact his own plans to assault Amber and claim its throne as his own. For this, he requires guns that actually work in Amber. Fortunately, Corwyn accidentally found a substance that combusts explosively in Amber
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- unknown to anyone else. With this, several hundred carats of raw uncut diamonds and some deft Shadow walking, he has his set of riflemen. Corwyn also has a couple of problems - during his captivity, he enacted a curse against Amber which is affecting Amber as well as all the Shadows. As he finds places where the curse is growing stronger, he's the one that should fix it. Then he's got his brothers and sisters to worry about - apparently they mostly want to kill him. And then there's Dara - who claims to be Benedict's great granddaughter, but is apparently not so much a relative as his nemesis... We'll have to find out more in future books. Show Less
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
It's weird, reading this series now; I feel like it ought to be a single brick of a novel instead of in five volumes. It develops that way. But I keep liking it more and more.
LibraryThing member zjakkelien
There was a bit too much travelling in this one. As a concept, the moving between worlds in Amber is nice, but the descriptions of it are mind-numbing. Fortunately, it can be spotted from afar: short sentences or descriptions, and lots of triple dots. I couldn't be bothered to read it, quite
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frankly. So I skipped those bits. The other parts were interesting enough, even though it got a bit annoying to get invested in a Shadow, only to move on without any connections to the people in it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Gonzalo8046
Not bad, the ending was pretty good. Had a good little twist.
LibraryThing member ladypembroke
Four stars for a decent story but some insanely long paragraphs. By long, I mean multiple pages.
LibraryThing member kenzen
Reading the series 20 years apart provides an interesting experience. I remember that as a teenager I wanted to be like Corwin, awesome and angry. As a somewhat adult I see the events more differentiated. Corwin does not seem nearly as awesome anymore.
LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
the Second in the Amber series. It is an unengaging book, the plot being involved with the sibling rivalries of the Amberites, and altogether, the first disappointing book I'd read from this author. He began for me at a very high level with "Lord of Light". Perhaps there is no real way to equal
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that achievement with this writer. Show Less
LibraryThing member kevn57
Picks up right where the first novel ended and is just as fast moving. You learn a lot more about Amber, and Corwin's family
LibraryThing member zjakkelien
There was a bit too much travelling in this one. As a concept, the moving between worlds in Amber is nice, but the descriptions of it are mind-numbing. Fortunately, it can be spotted from afar: short sentences or descriptions, and lots of triple dots. I couldn't be bothered to read it, quite
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frankly. So I skipped those bits. The other parts were interesting enough, even though it got a bit annoying to get invested in a Shadow, only to move on without any connections to the people in it. Show Less
Awards
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — 1973)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1972
Physical description
351 p.; 23 cm
ISBN
9788498002751