Book Log 20 & 21/2009 - Zelazny's Amber - Books 1 & 2

[jacey]

The Chronicles of Amber - Omnibus

I bought the five-book ombimus edition of  'The Chronicles of Amber' because I felt I should catch up on important stepping-stone books in the history of fantasy. I can't quite believe I never read these when I was younger. There was something vaguely familiar about Nine Princes and I think I may have read it (or part of it, maybe) back in the early 70s in my library days. I certainly never owned a copy, though. Anyhow, almost forty years after its first publication I'm wondering if I might have had a different reaction in that much more resticted market of the early seventies, because, frankly I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Each book is fairly slight, preceding the fashion for huge door-stop novels as they do. Though there are passages in which the writing is lovely, and the ideas - especially without being swamped by later imaginations - are very clever (and may even have been mind-blowing in their day), by and large I didn't engage deeply with either novel. If it were to be presented now I would even say that it was a little self-indulgent, but I rather suspect that Amber is just a product of its time. I will get round to reading the third, fourth and fifth books in this quintet, but probably not immediately.

Roger Zelazny: Nine Princes in Amber – Amber #1

The classic Zelazny story of a man waking in a hospital on Earth with no memory of his past, but gradually coming to realise that he is Corwin, Prince of Amber (Earth is just one of many shadow-realms) who must fight his way through magical intrigue in many shadow dimensions and in Amber itself before he can challenge his brother for the throne he considers his by right. The family plotting - sibling against sibling - would be worthy of the Borgias. I'm not sure, however, I can get past the villainous brother being called Eric, It's such a dork name for a king (apologies to all the real Erics out there who probably prove my point by not currently being reigning monarchs).


Roger Zelazny: The Guns of Avalon – Amber #2

Continuing the adventures of Corwin as he prepares to take the throne of Amber from his brother Eric, but as he strides through the shadow dimensions discovers that they are all suffering from his own curse, placed on Amber in pain and anguish and echoing everywhere in slightly different forms. We find an irrelevant romantic sub-plot, a missing brother and deceit from an unexpected quarter plus a technological miracle involving jeweller's rouge.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

I read these at 15, and as a result they are deeply ingrained. I love them dearly, but even then I could see where the plot was derailed -- and volume 4 isn't very good. (And yes, Eric is a silly name.) And yet they were wildly original in their day and I still reread them from time to time.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that's confirmed my theory that I just read them thirty five years too late. I can see that without more recent stuff to compare they were probably mind-blowingly original. Now I find them a little emotionless. I'm guessing their original selling point was sensawunda above all else.

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

The whole hellride thing was like nothing else, and the mix of mediaeval and modern, too. Zelazny rather lost his way with the story line, I think, but the world was fascinating.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I read the first bit of the hellride, realised what it was, glanced at the pages and skipped past the rest of it. That's one of the bits that seemed very self-indulgent to me.

[slrose.livejournal.com]

I started with the third book, because it had unicorn in the title. Then I went back and read the first two, and had to wait for the others to come out.

So the next book is the one that hooked me. The second was my least favorite of the first five.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed Amber as a kid, went back recently and re-read the first one and promptly gave the entire set away. They don't stand up well now. For a different modern twist on a similar idea, try Stross's 'Merchant Princes' series.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recommendation. Charlie's Merchant Princes books are on my list.

[hairmonger.livejournal.com]

I read Princes in Amber when it was new and I was--in high school???--and lost interest halfway through, so I don't think it's necessarily that you're 35 years too late. I had read and enjoyed Zelazny before that, but I got so bored that I only skimmed the last half, and never tried the later ones to see if they got better.

Mary Anne in Kentucky