Knight Moves

I was in Forbidden Planet, the London sf bookshop, looking in vain for something to read on the train, when I found this. It came with an enthusiastic review from George R. R. Martin comparing Williams to the young Roger Zelazny. Oh well, I thought. That'll do.In the end I read something else on the train. Later, I read eight chapters and then put the book down. I was disgruntled to find that it fitted its description rather too closely: not only was it like Zelazny, but it came close enough to Zelazny's first novel to be accused of imitation. Not just the writing style, but the restless immortal seeking in future Greece for traces of the past, the alien influence, the creatures out of human legend (in this case centaurs created by genetic engineering). It felt like the guy had read [b:This Immortal 13827 This Immortal Roger Zelazny https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1304429213l/13827.SY75.jpg 1174485] and decided, Hey, I can do that too. The whole feel of the thing was so similar.The idea of someone deliberately trying to copy a specific book of Zelazny's seemed bizarre and even rather pathetic. But it wasn't a bad imitation; and eventually I picked up the book again.In due course it livened up and diverged enough to become imitative only in style; and, in the end, I have to admit it was quite a good read, more or less up to Zelazny's own standards; lacking something of his flair, perhaps, but not giving ground on characterization, poetry, or philosophy. The plot is reasonably coherent and encompasses love, death, humour, and sadness. Zelazny fans could check it out.(Review written in 1985)