Roger Zelazny came up with this concept of ten books long ago and then he started writing it finally. The entire series is divided into two parts and this book starts the first half of the series. The world of Ember is described initially because the concept of this new world is very important as this concept development will help the listeners in the future parts as well. Ember according to the author is the real world and the earth or other planets around it are just like shadows which means that their importance is negligible as compared to Ember.
Long ago Corwin i.e the prince of Ember was exiled and was thrown on the earth after which he was forgotten. The prince has been suffering the toil since then and he has committed himself this time that he will return to take back what belongs to him i.e the throne. Alessandro Juliani has narrated the character of the prince as a frustrated being when the story opens and when the prince decides to return to Ember the voice gets fueled up.
Corwin has decided that it is now or never for him as if he fails this time then there would be no second chance for him. Don’t rush for The Hand of Oberon or The Hand of Oberon straight away because this book is much stronger in introduction than these other two books.
Corwin’s eight brothers stand in his path and to get to the throne he has to eradicate all of them. The problem is that all of the eight princes are immortal and killing them would need special magic.