The Road is a highway through time with exits to different centuries. Red Dorakeen has been traveling the Road for years, searching for a place that might no longer exist. He is accompanied by a sentient computer disguised as a paperback book that acts as his conscience, his keeper, and sometimes protector. At some point in his past (future?), Red had a falling out with a former business partner named Chadwick who hires a series of assassins to kill him.
Meanwhile, a young man named Randy discovers another computer disguised as a paperback book that once belonged to Red. From it, Randy learns that Red is his father. The book leads him to the Road and from there, to Leila, an old friend of Red’s. Together, they set off to find him.
The format of the novel is unique and the story experimental. The chapters alternate between Red’s adventures (titled “One”) and the secondary characters (titled “Two”). The concept of the Road is brilliant and the plot is engaging if somewhat fragmented. Unfortunately, the secondary characters are flat (especially Chadwick, Randy, and Leila) and the whole show goes off the rails near the end as if Zelazny rushed to finish it or perhaps he tried to cram too much into a short novel. Nevertheless, it was a fun read!
