The fourth chapter of the Amber Chronicles has now
been reviewed.

General Information

Title: The Hand Of Oberon

Author: Roger Zelazny

Original Publication Date: 1976

ISBN: 0380809060 (single volume of ten books)

Cover Price: $22.95 US for the complete series

Buy from: Amazon.com
or Amazon
.ca

Premise

The source of several problems was found at the end
of the third
book. In this, the fourth novel, Corwin takes steps
to correct the
situation.

High Point

Once again, the cliffhanger ending.

Low Point

The title reveals material meant to be revealed in
the last few pages.

The Scores

Old series, new directions. This one delves more
deeply into the
metaphysics of Amber, and what an individual can
actually do with
Shadow. It also brings about more answers than
questions, a first for
the series. I give the originality 5 out of
6.

The imagery starts moving back to the
earlier figurative
language. Add that to the descriptions of locales,
and I give it 6
out of 6.

The story is one of the most interesting of
the series.
Zelazny’s through world-building, and is just moving
things along
toward a conclusion. I give it 5 out of 6.

The characterization is starting to show
depth in characters,
particularly Brand, Random, and Ganelon.
Unfortunately, Corwin still
isn’t on that list. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response is strong,
particularly through the
second half. There isn’t time spent on anything but
the action. I
give it 5 out of 6.

The editing is cleaned up a little. The
arrangement of
events works as well here as it did previously, but
the typographical
problems were not around. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, it’s another solid entry in the
series, well
deserving of its placement one book before the entry
that was
originally meant to be the finale. I give it 5 out
of 6.

In total, The Hand Of Oberon recieves 35 out
of 42.

Additional Notes and Comments

Next up: The Courts of Chaos, the original
end to a five part
series. After that, it’s onto the now thrice
requested Godel,
Escher, Bach before I come back and finish the
Amber Chronicles.