It's amazing what you can find in a Recommendations category when you're bored and decided, "Huh, that looks interesting." I'd never heard of this book before an Audible browsing binge awhile ago but found it was a very fortunate find. Let's dive right in.
Before all of creation, there was Amber, the only true world. All other worlds are but Shadows, including ours. When Corwin wakes up on the Shadow world that is Earth with no idea as to who he is or what has happened to him, all he knows is that Amber calls to him. Corwin is one of fifteen original princes, now only nine remain, and all are vying for a chance to become the next king. As Corwin ventures deeper into Shadow and learns the truth of his destiny, the one thing he knows for sure is that it is his destiny to be the next ruler in Amber and he'd do whatever it takes to secure the throne for himself.
One thing that really stood out to me was that the writing of this story is very matter-of-fact. It really does feel like Corwin telling the story, as any first person narrative should. It actually starts almost Bourne Identity style with an amnesiac protagonist slowly figuring out that he's got impressive and deadly skills and wondering who the heck he is to know such things. However, it quickly delves into fantasy without preamble. It was almost a little shocking, the transition from one to another, but that was the desired affect and it was pulled off splendidly. However, the matter-of-fact style tended to lead to a lack of deep detail, especially once the fighting starts. There's a lot of "I did this" and "I stabbed one guy", etc. While some might complain that this takes away from affect and doesn't do much to help the readers be invested, I actually kind of liked it because it always felt like Corwin telling the story. It never broke character to wax poetic and I appreciated that. First person narratives aren't all told from the perspectives of master storytellers and I got that from this book. It stayed very much in character.
Speaking of character, Corwin is a very interesting protagonist. He's a delicate balance of positives and negatives. He fights brilliantly but he's also a bit of a liar (he fools those around him about his amnesia for an impressively long time). He's cocky and arrogant but also cares about the lives of those who support him. He doesn't give up, even when he's likely to lose. He's a glutton. He can feel pity and despair but has no problem leaving people behind. Just a very complex character who people can appreciate as being both flawed and powerful. That's what makes the clipped dialogue work so well. He puts the emphasis where he, as a character, feels it. He thinks very little of cutting down enemies in combat and so the combat scenes aren't dwelt on. When he's trying to spare the lives of his men, you want him to win and you sympathize with his plight. There's even a point in the book that was actually really hard to get through because Corwin is suffering and you feel the suffering with him. It was just incredibly done.
The rest of the cast is pretty interesting too. This royal family is full of manipulators and backstabbers and everyone has their own agenda. It's also pretty easy, despite there being nine brothers, to recognize them after awhile. Conniving Eric, timid Random, valiant Bleys, nobel Julian, everyone stood out. It's also clear that, when bonded together, these brothers make for a deadly force but they are so busy fighting amongst themselves that it's impossible to do so. Each one is greedy and wants to be king or else see the brother they know will give them comfort as king. The set up is full of political intrigue that people just eat up and, I admit, I did too.
But one of the best details of the book was the Shadow worlds. The descriptions of the multitudes of worlds and how they came to be and the creativity behind them is just amazing. It brings a great deal of scope to this universe, giving it that great fantasy vibe. From the underwater reflection of Amber called the Kingdom of Rebma (geddit?) to multicolored realms full of everything from dinosaurs to hairy people with the intelligence of high school freshmen (I laughed out loud at that one).
Final Verdict
This book was a very lucky find. A great main character, to-the-point dialogue that matched the personality of the narrator, a rich plot with great environment. Hard to believe I find two books in a row that are worthy of the Shelf of Recommendation!
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Next Time: 99 wives to fight in a game, 99 wives to fight.....
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