Who is this?

August 8, 2006 5:24 PM

Roger Zelazny's Roadmarks...

In this book, which takes place on a road that streaches throughout time, Zelazny has a wide cast of very minor characters (to the story) drawn from history and fiction. Most of these are easy to recognize. The question though, is one very minor character I feel I should know. I am reasonibly confident he is drawn from somewhere else and is not just a creation for this book. He is simply refered to as a doctor. He was a "big golden-eyed guy with one hell of a sun tan". And drives a 1920s roadster, he carries around handcuffs and seems to be some sort of cross between a physcian and law enforcer/detective. His point in the book was to carry off (litteraly, with is shirt ripping in the process) an assasan who may be linked to him outside of the book in the mytho's he is drawn from. The assasan wears outfits all in one color (yellow, purple...) including rings to match and is referred to as simply John.

So, who is this fellow and where is he from?

I realize this is perhaps a nearly imposssibly question to ask, but thought I'd give it a try.

posted by edgeways to grab bag (12 comments total)

Sounds like Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:34 PM on August 8, 2006

This site has some pictures of Doc, who is often portrayed with a ripped shirt.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:36 PM on August 8, 2006

And the wikipedia entry for cultural references to Doc mentions Roadmarks.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:41 PM on August 8, 2006

And John is probably John Sunlight.

(yeah, I'm bored)
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:42 PM on August 8, 2006

The question has already been answered, but may I say that it's awesome that you're reading Roadmarks?
posted by Hildago at 5:44 PM on August 8, 2006

Yeah, always happy to hear Roger Zelazny's name. He was my favorite author for a good part of my youth.
posted by lbergstr at 6:31 PM on August 8, 2006

Zelazny is one of those that I come back to from time to time to read when I've run of of other authors to read.

and PST, that is friggen awsome. Thank you so much, this puts to bed a minor annoyance I've had for years... YEARS damnit.
posted by edgeways at 7:36 PM on August 8, 2006

The funny part is I've never actually read any of the Doc Savage stories, but I recognized the iconography.

Roadmarks sounds really good. The only Zelazny I've read is the Amber books, which were fantastic, though there's a copy of Lord of Light around here somewhere too.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:43 PM on August 8, 2006

I'm sure you can find it in any used bookshop for 1.95 or 3.95 depending on location. It seems to be one of those that pops up anytime I frequent one. I would say the first Amber series was his masterwork, but there are an awful lot of other excellent stuff too. It's kind of disjointed in ways but he and Bester have a book called Psychoshop which I enjoyed immensely... and thank you again.
posted by edgeways at 7:50 PM on August 8, 2006

I realize this is perhaps a nearly imposssibly question to ask

AskMe: the merely difficult questions, we answer immediately; the almost impossible ones take ten minutes.

Zelazny is on my bookshelf, too. Other non-Amber books: Dilvish the Damned, Eye of Cat, and This Immortal. Also, Damnation Alley, which is a flawed book that got made into a bad movie.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 7:02 AM on August 9, 2006

And don't forget my favorite Z: the incredible short stories in The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth.
posted by Rash at 9:48 AM on August 9, 2006

Yeah, always happy to hear Roger Zelazny's name. He was my favorite author for a good part of my youth.

I was completely obsessed with Roger Zelazny as a teenager. I can't possibly give a realistic estimate of the number of times I read The Chronicles of Amber in middle- and high school. Sorry to be chatty, but my blood pressure actually did increase when I saw this question on the front page.
posted by Hildago at 11:57 AM on August 9, 2006