A Dark Traveling

[Finarvyn]

This is from the dust jacket of A Dark Traveling by Roger Zelazny:

The transcomp makes it possible to travel between parallel worlds, alternate universes that branch off from history. Some of the parallel worlds are very much like our own, and some are different enough to be waging a secret war against us.

The transcomp was protected for centuries under the Foundation’s eyes. Thomas Wiley, a scientist, was working at the Foundation when he disappeared. The Foundation had been locked tight, and there was no other way to enter it except through the transcomp – and it had been smashed.

Had Tom Wiley been kidnapped? Had he escaped into another world? If he had, which world was it?

His son Jim must solve the puzzle. He trusts only his adopted siblings to joint him. His sister claims to be a witch and his brother is a master of the martial arts, but Jim has no special talents to contribute to their journey. He’s just a werewolf.

What if this is a "next generation Amber" setting?

We have a few characters who are siblings, with a common mother but different fathers. Each sibling has certain talents that make them special:
* Jim is a shape-shifter. (Endurance)
* Becky is a witch (Psyche, sorcrey) who can use candles to see visions of the past, future, and other places (Trump) and isn't afraid to use a pistol (Warfare).
* Barry is a martial artist (Strength)

They know about other worlds (shadows) or "bands" which they can reach by using the transcomp (perhaps none are strong enough to walk a Pattern yet). There are "bright bands" (golden circle) where they trade goods. There are also "dark bands" (black zone?) and even a few "dead bands". Some sort of secret war is happening between the Foundation (Amber) and some other group (Courts of Chaos).

So ... since there is a common mother, perhaps this could start as a personal shadow of one of the Princesses of Amber who would want to protect her children from her own siblings. I'm re-reading the story right now, and don't want to speculate on which Princess seems most likely until I get a chance to look for clues.

Anyone ever read this book? Am I on the right track, or full of hooey?

[Arref]

I've read the book. Certainly some of those thoughts went through my head before I actually read the text.

I found the book flowed with an engineering sensibility rather than an artist's and so was very different than Amber. Likewise the plot generally seemed weighed down with mortal practicality that did not slow the Amber stories.

I'll be interested to hear what you think when you finish.

[Finarvyn]

arref said:

I found the book flowed with an engineering sensibility rather than an artist's and so was very different than Amber. Likewise the plot generally seemed weighed down with mortal practicality that did not slow the Amber stories.

Well, certainly the pacing is different but I attribute this to the intended audience. Somewhere I seem to remember hearing that ADT was more of "teen fiction" rather than a conventional adult novel, and its style seems to reflect that.

Going back to my original notion, Merlin is clearly aware of his Amber-ness and that tends to slant his story. If these characters were lost grand-children of Amber, on the other hand, they would feel more mortal because they wouldn't know about their Amber heritage. Perhaps that wold explain the difference in style.