The Guns of Avalon
core novel 1972 Chronicles of Amber
Record
| First published | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.13 (26,236 ratings, collected 2026-08-06) |
| Page count | 223 |
| First-edition ISBN | 0-385-08506-0 |
| First-edition date | 1972-10 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
After escaping imprisonment in Amber following the events of the first novel, Corwin finds refuge in shadow worlds beyond his brother Eric's reach, including Avalon, a realm he once ruled. Since ordinary gunpowder will not function in Amber itself, he devises an unconventional plan: raising a legion of soldiers from shadow Earth and arming them with rifles, using a jeweler's rouge he discovers as a substitute propellant that can work in Amber's environment. As Corwin gathers this shadow army to move against Eric and reclaim the throne, he crosses paths with a mysterious woman named Dara and begins encountering unsettling signs of a black road cutting across the shadow worlds, a corrupting force spreading from the Courts of Chaos that threatens Amber and every realm connected to it.
Where it sits
- Universe: Chronicles of Amber
- Series: The Chronicles of Amber (Corwin Cycle) core; position 2 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Roger Zelazny
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Novel), 1973: finalist; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 9. Category recorded as generic "Novel" -- the Locus Awards did not yet have a separate "Best Fantasy Novel" category before 1980; sfadb's own historical listing preserves this era-appropriate category name (confirmed via sfadb.com/Roger_Zelazny, human-verification pass 2026-08-07).
- Mythopoeic Award (Fantasy), 1973: nominated
Notes
- From the series record (The Chronicles of Amber (Corwin Cycle)): Narrated by Corwin. Publication order = internal chronological order (OrderOfBooks.com).
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Chronicles of Amber (Corwin Cycle): position 2 of 5: previous Nine Princes in Amber (1970) · next Sign of the Unicorn (1975)
- Internal chronology, within Chronicles of Amber: position 2 of 10: previous Nine Princes in Amber (1970) · next Sign of the Unicorn (1975)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guns_of_Avalon
- http://books.ofearna.us/zelazny.html
- https://www.isfdb.org
- https://www.sfadb.com/Roger_Zelazny
- The Mythopoeic Society, official Fantasy Award finalists list
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