The Hand of Oberon

At this point I'm pretty much done with this series. For the sake of closure I'm going to finish Book 5, but really I don't understand why this is seen as such a Fantasy classic. The narrative mainly consists of various fairly interchangeable characters explaining the plot to each other, followed by a dull description of yet another 'hellride' between parallel worlds. It isn't clear what anyone's motivations are or what precisely is at stake (I suspect probably because the author himself doesn't [...]

And on into the fourth book of The Chronicles of Amber. It's been a pleasant journey, as the series keeps getting better. (I started out not particularly liking the first book.) This is fun, escapist fare, chock full of melodrama, scheming, betrayal, and cliffhangers. What more could you want from this kind of read? There are some dry patches during which characters explicate at length -- too much telling, too little showing, as I used to hear in creative writing class. But then things pick up a [...]

Oh shit! The ending of this book was brilliant! I really was not expecting anything of what happened to happen. Definitely my favorite of the series so far. Looking forward to the conclusion of the books on Corwin

I'll review more later. To round out my commitment to a friend, I'll read the first five (The Corwin Cycle). I just can't see myself finishing all 10. I'm just not a fantasy guy I guess. I've been waiting for a book to signal what others get. The Hand of Oberon, book four, is not that signal. I'm doubting any can be heard by me. The dialogue doesn't work for me, the narrative seems forced. It is like dancing with a woman significantly taller (theoretical) or shorter than me. The timing is off. T [...]

For me, The Amber Chronicles started getting really good with the third novel, Sign of the Unicorn. The Hand of Oberon was easily just as good.The story to this point has been full of deception and misdirection, but that didn't become apparent until the previous book. Now, with more (but definitely not all) of the cards on the table, it's interesting to see how Corwin handles an ever degrading situation in Amber, especially when he doesn't know who he can trust.I think one of the things that rea [...]

there are a lot of shifts in this bookme things you thought true are not and some things that you didn't even know become important.

what ???who in the flaying holy flaming fuck is Ganeton ?

It is pretty sad when my favorite part of a book is the last sentence. Why couldn't a revelation like that happen in the middle? The world is getting expanded nicely but when there is a legitimate threat to the existence of their universe, I should probably feel some type of emotion about that. But I don't. I don't care at all about any of the characters. The concept of the Trumps is the only thing keeping me interested.

The road to Amber keeps getting twisty and full of surprises. I'm glad I have the next book ready to read because the ending of this book just drives you onward to find out what's really happening here.

by Roger Zelazny, published in 1976.As I pass through shadow once again, rereading The Chronicles of Amber, I begin to realize the genius of Zelazny even more. Not only does he write an enjoyable and original fantasy romp in “The Hand of Oberon”, but he manages to do it with an economy of pages, though some would argue that the first five novels are really just one big one.This, The Hand of Oberon, is the fourth novel in the Amber novels and much is revealed about what is going on. The unico [...]

With Corwin and Ganelon and Random having found the true Pattern, and seeing how the damage was done, Ganelon grabs it despite the danger. They find it's a Trump with a knife stuck through it -- not made by Dworkin, who made the Trumps they know -- and they know that it was blood that did the damage. Leading to the conclusion that Random's son Martin was probably murdered there.Followed by a summary of the first three books that would have been better in a "what has gone before" section -- emine [...]

To be honest, I read all of the first Amber Series novels in rapid succession so to me it's all one continuous story. I rate them all pretty-much the same, with the exception of the first one, which got the series off to an awesome start so I gave it 5 stars. I loved all the books and couldn't put any of them down.

Things are really heating up now - the interfamily relations are getting intense. So many twists and turns, and the book contained two truly badass battles, arguably more. I am loving this series, and glad I'm ripping through it at such a rapid rate.

If you've come this far with this gang of Machiavellian misfits, you obviously like the books. Volume 4 holds the reader's attention by making the plot of the series more complicated--if that is even possible. Zelazny does offer the reader a much-needed recap of the first three books, as well as something more important: an explanation of why the characters don't simply just live in any Shadow of their own design. "I never enjoy meeting people who remind me of other people," Corwin explains. "Pe [...]

Отново страхотна книга. Динамиката не само се поддържа от Зелазни, но имам усещането, че набира и допълнителна скорост! В "Ръката на Оберон" дори повече, отколкото в предишните книги от поредицата, става ясно посланието, че нещата биха могли да са съвсем различни, в зависимос [...]

Том втори от „Хрониките на Амбър” съдържа поредните четири романа (части от 4 до 7) от многотомната фентъзи сага на доайена Роджър Зелазни. Легендарната поредица е задължителна за феновете на жанра и съвсем с право е включена в колекцията на издателство „Бард” „Велики ма� [...]

Хотела уже бросить серию на этой книге, но тут автор наконец-то расшевелился. Читаю дальше.

Audio re-read3.5 starsOriginally posted at FanLit. fantasyliterature/reviThe Hand of Oberon, the fourth book in Roger Zelazny’s CHRONICLES OF AMBER, continues exactly where the previous book, Sign of the Unicorn, left off. The story was originally serialized in Galaxy Science Fiction and later printed in approximately 180-page installments. Each, therefore, is short and ends at some dramatic moment. These days, we’d probably be annoyed with an author who did this (why buy 10 books when you c [...]

A fantastic 4th book in the first part of the Amber series. It's the current read for the Zelazny group:/group/show/2The first few books rocked, but the last, Sign of the Unicorn, ended on a real cliff hanger. This one ties a lot up. There's a bit too much summation in some parts, more than I recall Zelazny ever doing in another book, but it serves a purpose & does tie the story together tighter. Still one more book to go in the first 5 books AKA The Corwin Cycle & that's The Courts of C [...]

Lots of twists and turns here as assumptions that have been made since the first book are challenged. What is the point of the twist right at the end? I guess I'm stuck reading the next volume.I don't dislike it, but I am 480 pages into the omnibus and still not really wowed either. The opening of book 4 here contains one of the most tedious narrative recaps I can remember, with a character literally spending several pages telling the plot to another character. The other chunk of narrative that [...]

I adore new wave. I tried to re-read some sci-fi/fantasy that I loved as a 13, 14-year old, and I could not believe how bad those books sound now; flat characters, silly plots. I am sorry, Asimov and Clarke. But this is definitively not the case with the mind-bending experimentations of the new wave. Upon re-reading, they just become much much better, and this is particularly the case with Chronicles of Amber.What started something like an urban fantasy in the first book of the Amber series, in [...]

-¿Es la familia lo más importante?.-Género. Narrativa Fantástica.Lo que nos cuenta. El unicornio ha servido para localizar un estrato de realidad todavía más profundo que la propia Ámbar y al intentar recorrer el Patrón con mácula Corwin, Random y Ganelón tienen un extraño enfrentamiento con una bestia de comportamiento raro y terminan descubriendo que alguien ha llevado a cabo ritos peligrosos que implican posibles sacrificios de un miembro de la familia. Cuarto libro de la saga Cró [...]

Early on in this book, Corwin lays out the story so far as he understands it, piecing together the revelations of the first three book. I appreciated this summary, sparing me some rereading. Then our understandings shift as new events unfold. There is a large cast of powerful characters, each with his or her own agenda. Who is actually pretty decent? Who is the traitor? The ending is a surprise engineered to keep the plot roiling for more books ahead. A surprise, perhaps, but heavily foreshadowe [...]

The way Zelazny writes is incredible~! All of his novels, that I've read so far are like a narrative, as seen in the eyes of Corwin, one of the nine princes of Amber. If you are a fan of fantasy novels, I highly highly recommend checking this author out! I'd also recommend purchasing the Chronicles of Amber, since all 10 books are in there, and it's a great value AND you can go from book to book just by turning the page!

The series is interesting because it's so different from what I normally read. The characters are certainly a lot more cynical and less trustworthy. The plot's pretty complex. It's still challenging for me to follow, and I still don't feel like I know most of the characters well, but I am curious to find out how it ends.

One of the Chronicles of Amber series I believe had the most brilliant opening sequence of any book I've read. I need to re-read to capture it - any time I pick it up I find myself unable to put it down.

This copy is signed by Roger Zelazny.

Well, it was kind of obvious that Ganelon was not the one everyone thought him to be

Probably the best book of the series so far. Really enjoyed this one.

I was RIGHT also the book was good.