Roger Zelazny

Nine Princes in Amber: Mr. Corey wakes up in a hospital after a car accident with no memory of who he is. After visiting his sister (and fooling her into thinking he still has his memory), he crosses dimensions with his brother Random and eventually regains his memory after walking the Pattern in the city of Rebma, the sister city of Amber. From there, he joins up with his brother Bleys and attacks Amber, intent on stopping his brother Eric from crowning himself king.  Nine Princes in Amber is really good, especially considering all of the background Zelazny manages to cram into less than 150 pages. The twists are unexpected and the machinations of the nine princes of Amber are fairly reallistic. Although I can tell it was inspired by the first book of the World of Tiers series, it's far from being a ripoff. Zelazny started with Farmer's concept of an amnesiac hero who's a member of a group of nigh-immortal lords and taken it into a different direction.

Guns of Avalon: Corwin hatches a plan to take Amber with a force bearing automatic rifles along with Ganelon, an old enemy. Along the way he spends time with his brother Benedict and Benedict's great granddaughter Dara. However, he isn't the only one assaulting Amber... Guns of Avalon was even better than Nine Princes in Amber. I'm really enjoying the court intrigue between Corwin and his siblings. I didn't really see the ending coming until it was too late. Zelazny really knows how to craft a tale.

Sign of the Unicorn: Another of Corwin's family is murdered, Brand is rescued, and more of what actually happened to Corwin prior to the first book is revealed.  The Amber books probably wouldn't work as well if Zelazny hadn't written them in the first person. The way they are, we learn things as Corwin does. The machinations of Corwin's family are the driving force of the story and we get to watch as Corwin peels away lair after lair.

The Hand of Oberon: I'm officially past the point where I can give a synopsis and not give away too many plot points. Suffice to say, Zelazny is quite a story teller and I'm approaching the final novel in this volume with a sense of anticipation I haven't felt since the last volume of The Dark Tower wound up in my mailbox years ago.

The Courts of Chaos: Who stabbed Corwin in the dark? Will Amber be destroyed by the forces of Chaos? Can the Pattern be repaired? Who will sit on the throne of Amber? All of these questions and more are answered in this, the final book of The First Chronicles of Amber. Zelazny took the aspects of Farmer's World of Tiers he liked the most, namely the immortal family endlessly conspiring against one another and the amnesiac hero, and ran with it. Amber isn't so much a fantasy story as a huge multi-layered mystery. I thought I knew how it would end but I was wrong. I'm officially ranking Amber up there with Moorcock's Elric series (the first six or so) and Stephen King's Dark Tower as my favorite fantasy stories of all time.  (Dan - Goodreads)

Trumps of Doom marks the return to the setting of Roger Zelazny's Amber series. The first five books told the story of Corwin, prince of Amber. This sixth book in the saga deals with Corwin's son Merlin. Having spent a number of years on our earth, Merlin has been dealing with a series of assassination attempts. As he tries to resolve the issue he is drawn into a deeper plot threatening the very heart of reality, Amber itself. If you have not read any of Zelazny's Amber novels previously I highly recommend them. I found this to be one of the most exciting, becoming even more so as this second series progresses. Merlin is a much easier character to relate to as he is a little more like an average person. All of the characters of Corwin's generation are a little too experienced, cynical, and aware for the average person to empathize with. Merlin on the other hand bumbles his way through a number of problems, often surviving through sheer luck. While powerful he is a a much easier character to relate to. (Amazon)

Merlin starts this volume by breaking out of a locked cave, challenging a cave demon, and spending his rest period watching a battle at the Keep of the Four Worlds while chitchatting with a deserter. So much for idle relaxation - Merlin keeps frantically jumping from one death threat to another always avoiding the falling horde or slashing claws by a hairs breadth.  Blood of Amber reveals a layered series of plots all of which want Merlin either dead or under close control. Relatives, friends, and potential mates all are suspect while the fate of Amber hangs in the balance - and perhaps the fate of all that lies in shadow as well. For the alternate Pattern created by Corwin to stave off the advance of Chaos has begin to create reverberations of its own and shadow storms are beginning to wreak havoc. At some point, the reader will realize that all the intricate moves that comprise the action in Blood of Amber are getting too rapid to keep good track of. At this point one must simply go along for the ride from wasteland to wonderland. It is the nature of Zelazny's writing that this remains fun, rather than dissolving in the same chaos that threatens Amber. (Amazon)

In the Sign of Chaos, Zelazny turns the magic of his sorcerous Logrus initiates loose in a big way, including a very entertaining sequence where Merlin, his very interesting half brother Mandor, and a surprising third ally make an assault on the Keep of the Four Winds. Spells and fur fly, and in the end Merlin finally gets a handle on who all the players may be in his troubles through these books, if possibly not a clear picture of all their motivations. We also see more interaction with the Ghostwheel. As with both five book Amber series, Sign of Chaos does not stand on its own. It is, fittingly, just the middle of this very intricate series of mysteries and adventures. Zelazny's writing continued to entertain in a way separate from the plot itself. For example, he gives Merlin very clever and amusing names for his spells. Merlin continues to be a fascinating combination of spunky and naive, taking great pains to follow his own agenda despite what those around him might prefer. Many of Zelazny's characters from the first Amber series play interesting roles, along with new, vibrant characters introduced here with Merlin's story. (Amazon)

"Knight of Shadows" is Merlin's Vision Quest, similar to Corwin's allegorical journey in the last book of the Amber series. Although I still like the two books, Zelazny's normal fascinating stories slow down considerably when he decides to go this route. Merlin becomes trapped in a symbolic battle between the Pattern and the Logrus, and for most of the book we have no idea where Merlin's encounter with a land between shadows relates to the three plus books leading up to here. On the good side, things liven up quite a bit towards the end of Merlin's trials here. The magic and Merlin's pluckiness get fun again. Zelazny introduces a new type of character into the series in "Knight of Shadows". They become surprisingly interesting and sympathetic figures in the story, and I thought they were a very imaginative idea. (Amazon)




With the exception of a few weak steps in Sign of Chaos, Zelazny's Amber series has proven to be one of the enduring monuments of fantasy writing in the 70's and 80's. They are the logical culmination of a focus on the concept of 'world builder' first investigated in Isle of the Dead. In that volume world building was a spiritual activity and here, in the twin five volume series about Corwin and his son Merlin is is the politics of those who can wander the dimensions and 'find' worlds of their own design that is important.

Prince of Chaos makes it clear that Order and Chaos are the great forces that drive events. And that it is the inhabitants, not the manifestations of the powers that must keep the balance. For all their instincts of preservation, the Serpent and the Unicorn would gladly have the universe destroyed if for one instant either side can rule unconstrained. Merlin, born and raised in the Courts of Chaos, but true son of Amber, finds himself maneuvered into the precarious position of potential heir to the dark throne. He despises the idea of wearing a crown, hates being manipulates, but his progress has been almost inevitable. He is a piece in a very large chess game.

Zelazny builds this volume as a puzzle with Corwin charged with finding all the pieces and fitting them together. He must find his father, determine who among his relatives can be trusted, and make more than a few decisions of the heart. He is a young man surrounded by players who have been in the game for hundred, if not thousands, of years. And each victory means new threats to defend himself against.

Zelazny manages to wrap up most of his loose ends while leaving considerable room for further amplification. There will never be another volume in this series, but the reader has so much material to work with that there are countless alternate new volumes resting in the heads of inspired readers, caught in the pattern of fascination that drives the plot. That these stories go on in our minds is the true charm of Zelazny's work. With today's focus on action rather than plot the art of the storyteller has almost disappeared from the genre. (Amazon)

Roger Zelazny has a secure spot in my SF Hall of Fame, and I've read all his novels, several of them more than once. I don't know enough science to explain the planet where Jack lives. It doesn't rotate, so half is always in light (where science and technology are common) and half is always in darkness (where magic holds sway). There's a shadowy border area, and that's where Jack thrives. He has no powers in complete light or darkness, but he draws it from shadow. He's one of the few who can travel between the worlds. As the book opens, he's on the light side, where he's about to steal something. He's a thief, after all. He's caught and executed, but darksiders have serial immortality, and so does Jack. He's tossed into the Dung Pits of Glyve, where he regenerates and gradually makes his way back to the darkside, where he plots his revenge, along with a rescue.

Jack's name (so said Zelazny at one time) is a bow toward Jack Vance, and the "travel through marvels" half of the book (the first half) is Vance-like in some ways. I was reminded a bit of the stories in The Dying Earth, and Jack isn't entirely unlike Cugel the Clever. The second half is different and darker, and I've heard more than one person express dislike for the book because of it. I liked it, though, and I have nothing against the open ending. I probably thought when I read the book back in the early '70s that Zelazny would write a sequel. I might even have hoped he would. But he never did. That's okay, though. There's still this one, and it was fun to visit it again. (Bill Crider)