I finished The Chronicles of Amber, the Corwin half. Great stuff, I felt it was one of those stories that feel so complete that I don't feel the need to read the sequel at all. I know there are a lot of unexplained aspects left, but it also feels oddly finished together with Corwin's quest. I prefer the things we don't know as distant vistas that add to the charm of the world rather something we have to see (explained). Although the things we do see are wonderful, I really really enjoyed the descriptions of Tir-na Nog'th, Rebma, the various Shadows and other wild places Corwin sees. Same with the concepts like the Pattern, the Trumps, the Shadows. I think I might have genuinely gotten carried away by the writing because I didn't really stop to wonder how things worked unless there was something I found particularly jarring. To me that's part of what creating a sense of wonder means too.
It's not my first Zelazny book, but I think this "sense of wonder" works better for fantasy, you know? Even when a lot of the characters are dicks (kudos to Z for still making them likeable and develop them in such a short number of pages). This is why even though I think Corwin's journey plus the Unicorn scene in The Courts of Chaos and the general wrapping up of stuff for the whole family is great, Sign of the Unicorn remains my favourite.Tir-na Nog'th, the Unicorn and its realm, the first full meeting between all the siblings and the ensuing cooperation, plotting and backstabbing were everything I enjoyed about the series in one neat book. One thing I would leave out would be all those recaps that pop up in every book. I assume they were supposed to refresh the readers' minds, but they didn't really make sense considering the context of the narration and took up too many pages. A small complaint though. Zelazny's stylish writing and love for mythology made up for that.