Farmer's sci-fi/fantasy series follows immortal, human-like "Lords" who construct their own artificial, customized pocket universes and battle each other for dominance. Zelazny took this conceptual framework to create the multiverse of Shadow. Amber and the Courts of Chaos are the two fixed realities, while everything in between consists of infinite, parallel worlds. The royal siblings act exactly like Farmer's squabbling, god-like Lords—possessing the unique power to manipulate, traverse, and rule over these lesser realities.