Amber

Anyone read the Amber novels by Roger Zelazny? Now this world of his is a most intriguing notion. The character that struck me the most was Benedict. I love how he ceaselessly travels from shadow to shadow to view endless variations on historical battles. That would be paradise, if you are the sort that likes to play the "what-if" game.

My favorite characters here would have to be Benedict and Fiona

And, of course, the unicorn

I had the series in one hardback book that I got from a book club 25 years ago. But I sold it in a yard sale. I remember liking it a lot but can't recall what it was about. Refresh my memory, please.

without going into a great deal of detail, it concerns a family who is able to imagine and travel to any number of realities. The reality of Amber is one of two primal realities (the other is Chaos, with its' own inhabitants and rulers); Amber and Chaos both cast an infinite number of Shadows of themselves and each shadow is it's own world. Our world is considered a shadow of Amber. Just really wild books altogether, and a lot of fun to read.

And excellent series, though without enough... lightheartedness for my taste. But well written and with very good and original conceptualization.

I've actually only read one book in the series, but enjoyed it.
I actually have an interesting tale to tell - I go to Johns Hopkins University, and supposedly Roger Zelazny based some of the characters in the series off of people he knew when he lived near here, and the first gaming group at Hopkins called itself the Society of Amber!

[Grand Admiral Reese]

I read all ten books(in an omnibus) this summer. Amazing. One of the characters even shares my name(Prince Eric).

[ringbearer]

The Amber series holds a close second to LOTR of my all time favorites! I have read it six times...it is brilliant! It's a shame Zelazny died so young! Every one I have recommended this book to has simply loved it! It is just a shame that Merlin left Frakir tied to that bedpost...I'm sure Roger would have written an epilog to rectify this...had he lived .

My favorite character has to be Merlin...A Chaos Lord and an initiate of the Pattern...the best of both worlds!!!

[andustar]

well, I just got an omnibus edition (the first five books I think) for my b-day still waiting for it to arrive though, as we bought it online

I went to see what you guys had to say as I had never heard of the books before. Glad to see you all liked it, because from the way my friend described it I had my doubts.

Sounds good now tho, and it had better arrive SOON!

[ringbearer]

I envy anyone who is starting this series for the first time...trust me you will love it!

[andustar]

Well, I've read the first book and decided to take a break

So far it's promising to be really great, but I must confess to not understanding some of what's going on

But as the main character did not seem to be much better off at first, I guess that's okay

I'm looking forward to the rest of them though. But to clarify: just how many books are there in that series? five in my edition, but I seem to remember hearing about more...? or is that just me? there's no mention of any others in the list at the front of the book, so it probably is, right?

[Elvellon]

Hi,

I’ve read the Omnibus edition last summer, and I really enjoyed it!

[ringbearer]

Originally posted by andustar
Well, I've read the first book and decided to take a break

So far it's promising to be really great, but I must confess to not understanding some of what's going on

But as the main character did not seem to be much better off at first, I guess that's okay

I'm looking forward to the rest of them though. But to clarify: just how many books are there in that series? five in my edition, but I seem to remember hearing about more...? or is that just me? there's no mention of any others in the list at the front of the book, so it probably is, right?

There are two series...each one is 5 books long. The first was written in the 70s, and the second series in the late 80s and early 90s. How could you possibly take a break after the first book? What don't you understand?

Here is a list of the books...
1st series:
Nine Princes in Amber
The Guns of Avalon
Sign of the Unicorn
The Hand of Oberon
The Courts of Chaos

2nd series:
Trumps of Doom
Blood of Amber
Sign of Chaos
Knight of Shadows
Prince of Chaos

For fun, check out the value of a 1st Edition copy of Nine Princes in Amber...the last one I saw online went for $1,000(slightly damaged)!

[andustar]

hey, s'ok. I finished the first five and... WOW

by 'take a break' I meant for less than an hour my neck was aching from lying down too much, too (I read on my bed )

but those books got better and better, IMO. the end of the fifth... WOW

and you know what? when I had just started the Hand of Oberon, I was going to come here and post what I thought was going on . I should have, because some of my guesses were actually pretty good but never mind...

as for what I was confused about, it wasn't that bad or anything, it's just that names and strategies have never been my strong points in books... I mean, there were so many brothers and sisters!! and the plotting and intrigue got muddling. To me, at first reading anyway. Also I've never enjoyed descriptions of battles much (both tactics of where armies and troops are, AND swordplay/wrestling... whatever) just not my type of thing.

But those books were seriously amazing... I HAVE to read the others. And reread the ones I have, of course . Please, please be about Corwin still...

I loved the writing style, and the way you got to know the characters so well. Also there were several twists in the tale that could not have been predicted and the whole idea of Amber and shadows was really great.

have you people got any recommendation for other books by him? I did find one in the library but didn't take it (I can't remember what it was called, but I didn't like the impression I got from both the blurb and when I read a couple of pages of it. It was Scifi and looked... I don't know... the pages I read, people were saying pretty gruesome things and planning murder with all sorts of "interesting" sharp instruments... not for me)

[ringbearer]

His other books are not "fantasy" like Amber. Some of his short story collections are good. A pre-Amber book worth reading is called "Lord of Light"(Hugo award). Another good one is called "The Changeling".

The 2nd Amber series is more about Merlin, Corwin's son...but Corwin is in it. Sorry to say, he does not play a major role until towards the end. The 2nd series is somewhat better, though.
Merlin is a fantastic character...he is both a Chaos Lord, and an initiate of the Pattern! A Chaos Lord has the power to shape-shift. One cool thing about the 2nd series is Corwin's neighbor Bill,
on the shadow Earth gets to travel to Amber! Merlin can walk through Shadow AND summon things from other Shadows, as well.

There is one huge paperback called "The Great Book of Amber"...it contains all 10 parts. It retails for around $20. Also, try to find "The Visual Guide To Castle Amber". It has pictures of the Major Trumps approved by Zelazney!

Hey andustar, can you tell me who Corwin's grandmother is? It is revealed in the books you have read!

[andustar]

who Corwin's grandmother is? Er, sorry, no. But don't worry, I'm going to reread them in a couple of days and then I promise to give you the answer

Good, I like the idea of Merlin being the main char in the next ones. What I meant in my previous post was that I didn't want it to move a looong time ahead, like some second series do. You know what I mean? where what you've read before is now ancient history

My library doesn't have ANY more books by him! only that scifi one and the Hand of Oberon! This means... well either I'm gonna buy the books, or... oh well, I guess I'll buy them (no, I really want to own then, but I don't have enough money to buy all the books I want to own )

Anyway it'll probably be a while till I read them... >: ( I'll make do with reading the first five then...

[ringbearer]

Seek the answer in "The Hand of Oberon".

[Mathron]

How big a role does Oberon have in the books? I've only read one, so don't know, but am curious, as I know the guy who, supposedly, Zelazny based Oberon's character on.

[Onodrim]

Well, nice to see a thread about The Books of Amber! I own the Great Book of Amber! What an awsome series. I've read the series about 23-24 times now so I have a pretty extensive knowledge of the book. My second favourite book series next to Lord of the Rings.

[ringbearer]

Originally posted by Onodrim
Well, nice to see a thread about The Books of Amber! I own the Great Book of Amber! What an awsome series. I've read the series about 23-24 times now so I have a pretty extensive knowledge of the book. My second favourite book series next to Lord of the Rings.

Glad to see more fans! Since you have an extensive knowledge about the story...don't give away the answer about Corwin's Grandmother to Andustar. Let Andustar find it.

[Onodrim]

Okay!