Characters
The Machiavellian royal family of Amber is headed by Oberon, the former king, now absent. His five daughters are Florimel, Deirdre, Fiona, Llewella, and Coral (who doesn't come into play until book 9) but the major players of the novel are the nine princes of the title:
- Benedict. The oldest surviving prince; uninvolved in the current struggle for the crown. The master tactician of the family and a man who seldom smiles. Presumed to be dead by the rest of the family.
- Corwin. The protagonist. A cross between a cruel rogue and a reluctant poet, his years on Earth seem to have softened him somewhat. "And remember who it was who gave you your life where another would have taken it."
- Eric. The arrogant yet competent would-be king of Amber; he commands the loyalty of Julian, Caine and Gérard.
- Caine. Calculating and realistic.
- Bleys. Dashing and charming; Corwin's other ally in his fight against Eric.
- Brand. Like Oberon, mysteriously unavailable. "There was a quality of both strength and weakness, questing and abandonment about him."
- Julian. A sinister hunter. "I enjoy slaughtering beasts and I think of my relatives constantly."
- Gérard. Physically strongest of the nine, affable and liked even by his enemies.
- Random. A sneaky rascal albeit Corwin's ally. A gambler and the youngest of Oberon's children.
Read more about this topic: Nine Princes In Amber
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That is different. They are characters beyond
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They are men but artificial men.”
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“No one of the characters in my novels has originated, so far as I know, in real life. If anything, the contrary was the case: persons playing a part in my life—the first twenty years of it—had about them something semi-fictitious.”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)
“No author has created with less emphasis such pathetic characters as Chekhov has....”
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