The Chronicles of Shadow?
This post is where
Chapter One: Arden used to be. For aesthetic and esoteric (possibly even occult) reasons, I have decided to merge two pairs of chapters. So One and Two have been spliced together, forming the new version of Chapter One. And Seven and Eight, once joined, will make up the new Chapter Six. Causing the numbering of all the chapters to change. My apologies for the confusion.
The chapters in the first half will have the label "Beginning" on them, while those in the last half will bear the label "End." This way, the entire story can be pulled up and viewed in two windows.
Years ago, when I first came up with this idea, the story was conceived as the first of a five-part sequel to Zelazny's original series, which by no small coincidence was also made up of five parts. Yes, I shamelessly stole the five-act formula, as well as the characters and the milieu. My notion was that Corwin, as the aging hero, could still set out on an adventure, only this time as an older, more mellow, though not necessarily that much wiser prince of Amber. And that this time, having unraveled the mysteries lying behind the existence and operation of Amber, he would be confronted with the mysteries surrounding the Courts of Chaos. So the story would be part of a
Chronicles of Chaos imagined by a lifelong fan.
Well, it turns out there is now a series of books out there called
The Chronicles of Chaos by John C. Wright. The editorial reviews for Wright's trilogy about reincarnated Greek Titans going up against the new power on Olympos - Hermes Trismegistus - are mainly raves. His
Chronicles of Chaos would be tough to beat.
Anyway, since Wright has dibs on
Chronicles of Chaos, I must look elsewhere for a unifying idea, and - for now, at least -
The Chronicles of Shadow works for me.
As for Book One itself, the working title (at least until I can think of a better one) is:
The Call of Chaos. But I will confess there are others, maybe not as good, that I've got up the sleeve, such as
Chaos House Rules. Leaning heavily toward "Chaos" being part of the title, since that's still the main thrust of the story, that our intrepid hero is inexorably drawn in that direction, where adventure lies. There's also
Houses of Chaos - stick a "Three" in front of the title if that sounds better -
Three Princes in Chaos,
All in for Chaos; all generally favor Zelazny's penchant for puns couched in card lingo. By the way, title suggestions are welcome, as I can use all the help I can get.
A Trick of Chaos? No? Perhaps not...
(The story, in just two parts:
Part One and
Part Two)