The Great Book of Amber: A Novel (Chronicles of Amber)

ealovitt

A Journey through Shadow

""The Great Book of Amber" combines all ten of Roger Zelazny's Princes of Amber novels into one volume, and I wish he were still alive to continue the series with number eleven. Parts of his Amber novels were serialized in the SF/Fantasy magazines of the 1970s, and it shows in his adventure-a-minute, cliff-hanging writing style. I also understand that DC Comics was going to do a series on Amber, and I think that would work, too, because Zelazny's writing is very visual, character-driven, and episodic in nature. He was one of the great fantasy writers of the last four decades, and he collected the hardware to prove it: six Hugos; two Locus Poll awards; three Nebulas; one Apollo; and two Balrog trophies. I originally read each of his Amber novels as they were published, and having all of the stories collected into one volume certainly makes it easier to keep track of the machinations and counter-plots and vendettas of Amber's homicidal First Family. The Amber novels start out as a chronicle of a royal family feud as narrated by Corwin, son of King Oberon and presumptive heir to the throne of Amber (if his immortal father should ever die). Corwin has spent the last three hundred years on Earth (which is a mere shadow of the one real world of Amber) in a state of amnesia, courtesy of one of his eight scheming siblings. He manages to survive the Great Plague of London, numerous wars, and an addiction to chain-smoking before his would-be murderer shifts through the shadows from Amber to Earth and tries to kill him again, this time via an automobile accident. Corwin survives the car crash and starts to regain his memory of who and what he is. His return to Amber and the search for his would-be assassin drives the plot from "Nine Princes in Amber" through "The Courts of Chaos". Then, after five books, Corwin's son Merlin takes over the narrative. Whereas Corwin was a hard-boiled, wise-cracking 40's kind of guy who was irresistible to women and possessed supernormal physical prowess, his son Merlin is a kinder, gentler 60's kind of guy who is irresistible to women and possesses supernormal physical prowess. He doesn't fight nearly as many duels or kill nearly as many folks as his father did. Zelazny's Royal Amberites are affable, interesting, and even noble at times. However, they are supermen so don't expect too much in the way of character development. The women are especially two-dimensional: beautiful and ineffectual, for the most part although they do evolve into something a bit more interesting as the series continues. The real reason to read "The Great Book of Amber" is the journey through the parallel worlds of Shadow. The notion of shifting to a slightly different reality as you walk or drive or ride is endlessly fascinating. Zelazny is at his most lyrical as the shadow of a tree turns from black to emerald or another sun appears in the sky. When travelling through Shadow with him, it is hard for me to remember whether I'm awake and reading, or asleep and dreaming of an effortless, exotic, changing reality. If Coleridge took opium to dream of Xanadu, what did Zelazny take to dream of Amber? You really ought to journey through Shadow with this fine author at least once in your life. ["

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February 22, 2001 Verified Purchase

Emerald

Captivating Fantasy Epic, But Disappointing Delivery Condition

"TL;DR: An underrated fantasy masterpiece with compelling storytelling, but the book arrived in poor physical condition. ___________ Review on Content: "The Great Book of Amber: The Complete Amber Chronicles, 1-10" is a stunning work of fantasy literature. The writing style is mesmerizing, immersing readers in a world filled with a rich spectrum of artistry. It skillfully weaves philosophy, idealism, suspenseful battles, clever plot developments, and elements of love and fantasy. This collection is truly an underrated gem that deserves more recognition. Review on Condition: However, the physical condition of the book upon arrival was a letdown. The copy I received was marred with wear and tear - bent pages and visible marks, detracting from the joy of owning and reading such a remarkable series. Despite the condition issue, the Chronicles of Amber is an exceptional read for fans of intricate and well-crafted fantasy worlds. ["

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January 4, 2024 Verified Purchase

Amazon Customer

The Chronicles Of Amber is an awesome series!!! R.I.P. Roger Zelazny.

"Love this series! I read the first part of the series when I was a kid and fell in love with the worlds described in these books. It would take me a really long time to do an in depth review of each book in the series so I will keep this brief as I have to get ready for work in a few minutes. I recently bought this book so I could read the last 5 books of the series. I had no idea that Roger Zelazny had continued the series beyond book 5 (The Courts Of Chaos) with a different main character but I have to say I'm glad he did. Now I have a chance, as an adult, to jump back into the rich worlds contained within. There are probably many reviews that go into the content of the books more then I have time to so I will leave it at this. The writing is excellent, the story is riveting, and the characters are extremely memorable. I like that all ten books have been combined into one really well made paperback volume. If you need a great book to read then I suggest you give the Chronicles Of Amber a try. You won't be disappointed. May not be suitable for young children. I read it when I was probably about 11 or 12 which I think is probably an alright age to handle the content but there is a bunch of violence and a tiny bit of (very glossed over) sexual material within. As always it is up to the parents to decide. Anyway, check it out yourself! ["

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March 2, 2018 Verified Purchase

Ross James Browne

Spectacular

"If published by itself, the first half of the Amber chronicles would unquestionably one of the greatest works of fiction ever written. The second half is also quite good and definitely worth reading, but the two halves are both stand-alone novels and could and possibly should be published separately. I do not envy the people who had to read the Amber series one novel at a time, waiting for each successive volume to come out. Each individual book is so short that it seems ridiculous that they didn't just publish the work in two volumes instead of ten. But it doesn't matter because now we can read it all at once, thankfully. The story is so riveting, so suspenseful, it would have been agonizing to wait for the next book to come out. This story is too complex to even begin to try to summarize the plot. You'll just have to trust me that the Book of Amber is one of the greatest fantasy novels ever. I find it absurd that many people are still obsessed with Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings series, and that LOTR is still the standard by which all fantasy is judged. I for one do not care for the simplistic and childish works of Tolkien, and clearly the Book of Amber is exponentially better than anything by Tolkien. I get worried when people describe a book as "good, but not quite as good as Tolkien". That would be my first indication that such a book is not worth reading. Roger Zelazny's Amber is in a whole 'nother universe compared to most other fantasy, and is not even comparable to Tolkien. It may be obvious that I am not exacty a die hard fan of the fantasy genre; I read Amber mostly as a diversion from the more difficult reading I had previously been concentrating on, and I was stunned by how good it was. It speaks well for this book that someone who is not even a fantasy fanatic could be so moved by Zelazy's work. ["

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February 21, 2003 Verified Purchase