f4f3 | ...and while I remember...

I finished the first five Amber books last week, and have started the second five again. For those of you who haven't read them, the first five books are concerned with the fellow on my user pic, Corwin, and his story from waking amnesiac in a mental asylum to the end of the war between (and amongst) his kin and the forces of Chaos. They are a lot of fun, more sardonic than your usual fantasy series, and Roger Zelazny finds the perfect voice for his hero - flawed, funny and, when the occasion demands, utterly ruthless. I read them a lot growing up, and I'd like to think the poetry of that voice infiltrated my own prose. God knows, I've tried hard enough. The second five books follow Corwin's son Merlin (no, not that Merlin. Look, it's a common enough name) coming to terms with his own mixed ancestry. Merlin is some way from being as cool as his dad - he's no great shakes with a blade, would rather run than fight, and would rather relax than either. He spends most of the books being acted on, and trying not to react in the extreme fashion of his father to any threats. A lot of the pleasure is in the supporting characters - I've just read the scene where he meets a peckish sphinx and matches riddles with it to a draw. Highly recommended stuff. The first five are available in a nicely reissued anthology in the Fantasy Masterworks series, or all ten in "The Great Book of Amber".
You can pick up the first, "Nine Princes in Amber" for pennies on Amazon marketplace I'm sure.

Fencing continues to be fun. I bought my first lot of kit on Thursday. Jacket, glove, plastron (a sort of under vest which covers your left shoulder) and mask. It's all marvelous stuff. White, for a start, unlike the club equipment, and much more convenient to put on. Next Thursday I pick up my breeches, socks, lame (the foil jacket that you wear when fighting electric), the body wire that plugs into your sword, and my very own foil. I must remember that not everyone has seen Firefly, and stop calling it a sward. Or, possibly, name it Sward. Or Mal.

That might be a bit silly, though, and will hardly make my opponents quake in fear. And let's face it, I need the edge. So, any suggestions as to what I should call my very first sword?