So, what was the deal with Zelazny's second Amber series sucking so badly?

[Thomas Shey]

It's been more than thirty years since I've read the Amber series. I don't remember the Merlin stories being bad, but I do remember preferring the Corwin stories much more. Zelazny is an author I just don't hear a whole lot about these days, but he's been dead for about thirty years now, so maybe that's to be expected.

Honestly, the worst complaint I have with the Merlin stories was the power creep, but other than that, I thought a lot of elements of it were interesting and explored areas you didn't (probably couldn't) see from Corwin's point of view.

 

[Jim Cummins]

I loved the Corwin series, and I really liked the Merlin series, but the two protagonists operated on very different levels, Corwin never delved into the meta-physics of the universe he operated in, even if he created his own pattern and reality. He always treated the Pattern as a tool. Whereas I got the impression Merlin was taught about the true Pattern and the details of what his ancestor Dworkin did. He also started talking to it, when he started to see that it was taking actions in its own behalf. He treated the pattern as an animate entity, like his Ghostwheel.

The series were two very different takes viewing the same world, from two individuals with wildly different backgrounds. One is the pinnacle of Machevelian scheming, the other has deeper insight and powerful abilities. if we swap the characters, Corwin would have suspected and acted against Dara and the others in the Courts outright, he would not have trusted them completely as Merlin did in the beginning, and Merlin would have gone to the primal pattern immediately, found the problem and devised a technical solution to correct it. These would have been much poorer stories

 

[Ruin Explorer]

It's been more than thirty years since I've read the Amber series.

Don't feel too bad, it'd only been like 10 years when this thread started! This is some "dinosaur mummy" level necromancy.

 

[Maxperson]

I will second Lord of Light. Amber is OK, but I think Zelazny's best work was before that.

Lord of Light is fantastic. It's definitely better than Amber, though I do think Amber is much more than just okay.

 

[Maxperson]

I loved the Corwin series, and I really liked the Merlin series, but the two protagonists operated on very different levels, Corwin never delved into the meta-physics of the universe he operated in, even if he created his own pattern and reality. He always treated the Pattern as a tool. Whereas I got the impression Merlin was taught about the true Pattern and the details of what his ancestor Dworkin did. He also started talking to it, when he started to see that it was taking actions in its own behalf. He treated the pattern as an animate entity, like his Ghostwheel.

The series were two very different takes viewing the same world, from two individuals with wildly different backgrounds. One is the pinnacle of Machevelian scheming, the other has deeper insight and powerful abilities. if we swap the characters, Corwin would have suspected and acted against Dara and the others in the Courts outright, he would not have trusted them completely as Merlin did in the beginning, and Merlin would have gone to the primal pattern immediately, found the problem and devised a technical solution to correct it. These would have been much poorer stories

Corwin delved into it as well, and in fact cast at least one spell against a demon he encountered. He just wasn't into the magical side of things as much as Merlin and some of Corwin's other siblings. Merlin was a high level wizard who dabbled in fighter as a multiclass. Corwin was a high level fighter who dabbled in wizard as a multiclass.

 

[Jim Cummins]

Corwin delved into it as well, and in fact cast at least one spell against a demon he encountered. He just wasn't into the magical side of things as much as Merlin and some of Corwin's other siblings. Merlin was a high level wizard who dabbled in fighter as a multiclass. Corwin was a high level fighter who dabbled in wizard as a multiclass.

True, Corwin gave the demon a hot foot on the window sill, but even though he wasn't a great magic user, he was very attuned to the Pattern, as he was the only one who cut through the black road, even two of his siblings, while traveling together couldn't do that. I always thought he must have repaired a small point of the primal pattern when did so. He had his own innate special abilities, he just never delved into the esoteric, he had to be led to the primal pattern. While Merlin, was not just a high level wizard, he was a technician and artisan who built Ghostwheel who was an entity whose power by the end of the books operated in the region of the Pattern and Logrus. I always thought Ghostwheel was the counter balance needed because of Corwin's pattern. It seemed like a nice way to return the universe to an even more balanced state.

 

[Maxperson]

True, Corwin gave the demon a hot foot on the window sill, but even though he wasn't a great magic user, he was very attuned to the Pattern, as he was the only one who cut through the black road, even two of his siblings, while traveling together couldn't do that. I always thought he must have repaired a small point of the primal pattern when did so. He had his own innate special abilities, he just never delved into the esoteric, he had to be led to the primal pattern. While Merlin, was not just a high level wizard, he was a technician and artisan who built Ghostwheel who was an entity whose power by the end of the books operated in the region of the Pattern and Logrus. I always thought Ghostwheel was the counter balance needed because of Corwin's pattern. It seemed like a nice way to return the universe to an even more balanced state.

Didn't he cut through it with Grayswandir, which had part of the pattern within it? I always read that to be why he was able to do it when others couldn't.