Thanks! I wondered if I was misspelling the name, but checking the books requires going into the basement.
I think that what it is for me about the second set of Amber books is that I don't actually believe most of what's in them. That makes me want to poke them with a stick until something real falls out. Does that make sense?
I saw Zelazny speak at a local convention, and he said that he'd written the Merlin books because he could sell them rather than because he had any interest in them. I got the impression that he sort of resented the series. He didn't come out and say that, but it was the definite impression I got, especially given how excited he was when I asked him to autograph Doorways in the Sand. He actually said something on the order of, "Wow, it's not Amber!"
The Corwin books actually make sense in terms of Corwin being more or less the person he presents himself as. Corwin also deliberately sets out to do things. He fails sometimes, but he's not just wandering through the story going, "Hey, look at that!" while other people plot and scheme around him.
I think that I'm less likely to write fic for things things satisfy me.
My current story uses the canon for the second series up to the end of the first book (which has Merlin in a situation that he only gets out of because Jasra's carrying the idiot ball), and I'm looking at who Merlin would likely be if he actually were a part of the family that Corwin talked about. None of them are actually nice people, and things Merlin says about his mother's family and life in the Courts of Chaos implies a lot of stuff that shouldn't produce someone who really acts the way Merlin does.
I think that the second series canon that matters is knowing who Ghostwheel, Luke, and Jasra are. Mandor turns up briefly, but I don't think that needs canonical context. The main reason I want someone who knows canon is how much of what's going on rests on Oberon and Corwin and Brand. I also bring in Martin in chapter six, and understanding that kind of depends on being aware of his interactions with Oberon, Dara, and Merlin in the first series. (His interaction with Brand is critical, too, of course, but that's easier for a reader to pick up from context.)
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Date: 2016-09-15 04:59 pm (UTC)I think that what it is for me about the second set of Amber books is that I don't actually believe most of what's in them. That makes me want to poke them with a stick until something real falls out. Does that make sense?
I saw Zelazny speak at a local convention, and he said that he'd written the Merlin books because he could sell them rather than because he had any interest in them. I got the impression that he sort of resented the series. He didn't come out and say that, but it was the definite impression I got, especially given how excited he was when I asked him to autograph Doorways in the Sand. He actually said something on the order of, "Wow, it's not Amber!"
The Corwin books actually make sense in terms of Corwin being more or less the person he presents himself as. Corwin also deliberately sets out to do things. He fails sometimes, but he's not just wandering through the story going, "Hey, look at that!" while other people plot and scheme around him.
I think that I'm less likely to write fic for things things satisfy me.
My current story uses the canon for the second series up to the end of the first book (which has Merlin in a situation that he only gets out of because Jasra's carrying the idiot ball), and I'm looking at who Merlin would likely be if he actually were a part of the family that Corwin talked about. None of them are actually nice people, and things Merlin says about his mother's family and life in the Courts of Chaos implies a lot of stuff that shouldn't produce someone who really acts the way Merlin does.
I think that the second series canon that matters is knowing who Ghostwheel, Luke, and Jasra are. Mandor turns up briefly, but I don't think that needs canonical context. The main reason I want someone who knows canon is how much of what's going on rests on Oberon and Corwin and Brand. I also bring in Martin in chapter six, and understanding that kind of depends on being aware of his interactions with Oberon, Dara, and Merlin in the first series. (His interaction with Brand is critical, too, of course, but that's easier for a reader to pick up from context.)