I don’t remember how I heard about Roger Zelazny, but I know that I found him after I had ‘outgrown’ fantasy and sci-fi. I read the Amber series in the space of a week in 2003 after a generous friend (read: saboteur) lent me the Great Book of Amber, which has all ten volumes in a single giant book. Do the math there — that’s more than one volume a day. Two weeks before final exams, no less. Can you imagine what would have happened if I’d tried to read the series as it was being written? I think I would have immolated myself to distract me from the pain of waiting in between books.
I read them so fast that all that remained with me afterwards was a recollection of awe, with no memory of the details that contributed to the feeling. (You know, after you’re done with christmas dinner, you’re riding an insulin high, you’re fuzzy and happy, but you can’t possibly remember all the different things you gorged yourself with that made you feel that way? So too, with Amber.) Whenever I spoke of Zelazny and Amber after that, I would tell people that it was a trashy read, but an incredibly enjoyable trashy read; much more worthwhile than almost any other trashy read out there. I mean, I knew it was good. But it read mostly like fantasy, and so, my reasoning went, it had to be trashy by default.
My sister recently borrowed the first two volumes from the library. I re-read them, and was astonished.
These things are almost like, well, real literature. (Yes, I am a snob. I do say things like “this is not real literature”.)
There are so many scenes and so many descriptions in the first two books that are just so downright inspired that I often stopped and said aloud to myself, “Oh man, that was awesome!” But I won’t talk about them here. Shoo, you. Go read them on your own. Sooner, rather than later.
Go!
(P.S. I later tried some of his other work, and found it unreadable. Lord of Light, in particular, triggered my gag reflex so many times within the first three chapters that I had to put it down. I’ve heard that some of Zelazny’s short stories eclipse any of the novels that he wrote, so I’ll have to check those out sometime.)
8:33 am, January 23, 2009Tom Hayes /
I read this series, oh, about 28 years ago. I would have said the same thing -trashy but enjoyable. Now I must go back and read them. My only memory of the books is the “Kentucky Fried Lizard” (or was it salamander) so popular in one of the dimensions.
9:25 pm, November 10, 2011Lokabrenna /
Back when I was a teen, Amber caught me and blew my mind. Reading it again years later, it still entertained me. Like you, however, I realized it was more a fun fantasy romp than an attempt at timeless literature, not that the author was necessarily aiming for the latter. Still, when I think of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, James Fenimore Cooper and many others who will not soon be forgotten, I must admit that great literature may not have always been the first thing on the authors’ minds. Which inevitably invites the question: What is great literature?
When Zelazny returned to his Amber setting 7 years later ~ after stating categorically that the fifth book of Corwin’s story was also the FINAL book relating to Amber ~ I was one very excited fan. And even when ‘Trumps of Doom’ was finally in my hands, and very clearly focused on a new character and a new approach, I forged ahead. But, for me, there was no getting around the basic problem with more Amber books: they weren’t about Corwin.
More than the archetypal city perched on the side of a mountain, the very cool Trumps, the wild idea behind the Pattern, the notion of finding one’s heart’s desire, and all the powers and possibilities available to the characters, it was Corwin that had hooked me and most firmly held my interest. I wanted more Corwin!
Sometimes if you want something badly enough, you will actually do it yourself. Hence all the Amber fan fiction, I guess. The fans still want more, and, sadly, Zelazny is no longer around to craft it for them.
When I was younger, my favorite book of the series was probably the first, ‘Nine Princes in Amber.’ (Or maybe its immediate sequel, ‘The Guns of Avalon,’ which takes the action up a notch.) Now, after so much time, I would have to go with either ‘Sign of the Unicorn’ or ‘The Courts of Chaos.’ The first offers a murder, Random’s tale, a certain special artifact, the climactic library/sitting room gathering, Tir-na Nog’th, genealogical insights, a unicorn, and a fundamentally world-shattering revelation. The other, besides presenting dwarves, a giant, outspoken non-humans and a lady of the lake sans merci, charts the ultimate crossing of worlds and Corwin’s own spiritual journey in which he discovers, and ultimately defines, who he really is, wants to be, and has always been. One is packed with the swords-and-sorcery challenges a warrior prince must overcome, while the other is about the far more universal ~ and more difficult ~ challenges that must be faced to reach maturity in order to find a measure of peace while coming to terms with the limitations of both the world and the self. Take your pick.
Meanwhile, as for Zelazny’s other stuff, let me recommend ‘The Changing Land’ and ‘Dilvish, the Damned.’ The first is probably the superior work, while the second functions as both a collection of short stories about the title character and a prequel to ‘The Changing Land.’ Another fun one: ‘A Night in the Lonesome October.’ And his short stories, as you have already heard, are indeed consistently good.
Finally, thank-you for giving a fan fiction a try and leaving such generous, thoughtful and encouraging comments. At last I have ventured beyond where most of my online time is spent to have a look at your digs. Very much enjoyed reading your rather entertaining take on ‘The Chronicles of Amber,’ and am glad I stopped by.
9:44 pm, November 10, 2011Lokabrenna /
@Tom Hayes
Kenni Roi’s Kentucki Fried Lizzard Partes! Geek that I am, I went and looked up the reference: an alternate Earth with a dino-infested bayou setting and Roman money. Corwin didn’t much care for the beer: weak and salty. He and Random make a pit-stop there not long after the driver of the ZUÑOCO fuel truck nearly gets shot for giving Corwin a hard time about his driving.
Even in other worlds there are hot-headed loudmouths all too ready to come at anyone they label ‘a friggin’ menace!’ Zelazny is unyielding on this point: road-rage is a universal. For confirmation, there is always the showdown between the Mercedes and Morgenstern.
; – )