~Title:     Knight of Shadows
By:        Roger Zelazny
Publisher: Avon (September 1990)
Format:    pb, $3.95
ISBN:      0-380-75501-7

   And it's grind, clank, grind as Zelazny churns out another volume in a
series that should have been left to expire peacefully five years ago.  Not
that the first four Amber books weren't a lot of fun in their way; I liked
them. The trouble is Zelazny keeps changing the rules, or maybe can't
decide what they are. The effect is a lot like one of the old Doc Smith
space operas, where you get pseudo-resolutions followed by some character
wheeling in a whole new set of physical laws and restarting the same old
fireworks at a higher level. After three or four rounds of this one's sense
of wonder starts to flag, unavoidably. So with Zelazny. Out of plot twists?
Fine -- introduce another unexplained super-artifact or level of pseudo-
metaphysical complication to your fantasy and have at it. Internal
consistency? Economy of concept? What's that you say? Confirmed Amber fans
will enjoy; anyone who hasn't read the previous books will be bewildered; I
was bored.