One of the most revered names in sf and fantasy, the incomparable Roger Zelazny was honored with numerous prizes—including six Hugo and three Nebula Awards—over the course of his legendary career. Among his more than fifty books, arguably Zelazny’s most popular literary creations were his extraordinary Amber novels.
Now officially licensed by the Zelazny estate, the first book in this legendary … legendary series is now finally available electronically.
Carl Corey wakes up in a secluded New York hospital with amnesia. He escapes and investigates, discovering the truth, piece by piece: he is really Prince Corwin, of Amber, the one true world of which our Earth is just a shadow. He is one of nine men who might rule Amber, if he can fight his way past the armies of his older brother Eric.
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Tolkien, Feist, Erikson – and Zelazny – all masters of epic fantasy, possessed of towering imaginations allied with the authorial skills to honor their visions.
Just finished what I estimate to be my 6th re-read of this book. It’s still fresh, still gripping, still enthralling. I never tire of this tale of Corwin, prince of Amber. Lost to amnesia, thrown back into a multiverse of plotting princes and princesses who if not actively stabbing each other in the back will pause to gossip about the state of play while drinking a fine whiskey and enjoying a good cigarette.
The only problem is, while Corwin has been lost on Earth for about four hundred years without his memory he’s picked up a few vices his siblings lack – compassion, a sense of honor, and a penchant for duty…
Just noting that some readers have remarked that if a number of princely types were to be contesting for the empty throne of Amber, and were also blessed with the capability of finding shadow realms that looked just like Amber where they could rule forever – why didn’t they – after all it would be so much easier.
Let me introduce you to the distinction between the real and the unreal. The Real world is ‘Amber,’ the shadows are just that – pale reflections of the real world – i.e. not the real world.
The value of ruling in the real world is qualitatively different from the value of ruling in a shadow world. Not the same, like chalk and cheese.
For any of the contenders for the throne of Amber, this distinction is an acute one that pervades their world view.
Imagine if you will, you are an immortal, and you have the option of choosing between real sex and masturbation for the rest of your immortal life.
Which do you choose?
And now you understand why the princes fight to win the throne of the one real Amber, and forsake the fake illusions of the shadow worlds they could easily rule.
Recommended as a classic of epic fantasy.
What can I say about this book? Hands down is the second best series of all time in my opinion. From page one to the last page of the 5th book in this series, I was fascinated and glued to these books. My first time reading them took me 3 days. And two weeks later I read them again. I cannot say enough good things about this series of books, and the second set of 5 books did not dissapoint either. I would recommend these books to anybody and everybody, whether they like this genre or not, they are that good. Over the years since I read these books for the first time, I have reread them about every 3 to 5 years. I have easily have read this series mor than ten times. This set of books is hands down what Fantasy and Scifi books should shoot for as a standard. Roger Zelazny is hands down one of the best Bards of all time. Thank you Roger, I consider it a priviledge to have read this series.
Great tale of sibling rivalries (everybody wants to be king) alliances & back stabbing. The journey thru Shadow worlds to reach the real-world Amber, magical cards similar to the Tarot, except royal family members are the trumps. Manipulations, machinations, a ginormous battle and a mad artist whose drawings can be walked into.
Wonderful imagery, world building and characters, Roger Zelazny never disappoints!
This is one of my all time favorite books. This was one of the very first crossovers between noir detective stories and the fantasy/sf genre. And yet it is very different from the urban fantasies that are so common today.
A man wakes with no memory in an insane asylum. In the act of escaping and trying to find out why he was there and who he is, he discovers: monsters, other worlds, and the strangest and most interesting family ever to grace the pages of novels.
Will Corwin make it back to Amber? Will his brothers kill him? Will he ever find out why they want to?
A really superb opening to an excellent series.
If you like alternate realities, mixing in some magic and medieval rivalry, this is the book for you!
Anything I say would detract from the greatness of the first book in the Amber series.
Like the Dune series, the Amber series by Roger Zelazny is one I enjoyed greatly when I was younger and have decided to revisit. The first rather slim volume, Nine Princes in Amber, came out in 1970. I first read it in probably the 10th grade and immediately noticed it was different than other fantasy books I’d read. Although it does have kings and magic and such, it eschews the warmed-over Lord of the Rings-inspired cliches so often found in other fantasy books, as well as their flowery language. Indeed, its clipped, dry style is far closer to a detective novel by Hammett or Chandler than to Tolkien or Terry Brooks.
Its main character is Corwin, who wakes up in a hospital room with his memory gone, but realizing that he’s being over-narcotized. Why? Probably somebody doesn’t want to kill him outright, but doesn’t want him waking up. He drags himself out of bed, rips out the IV, pushes aside the nurse and stumbles down to the hospital director’s office, where he bluffs his way out with the threat of a lawsuit. But where to go from there? Indeed, after this first chapter we very easily could have ended up in a mystery.
But instead, as Corwin’s memory gradually returns, he learns (and so do we) that he is actually one of nine princes of Amber, heirs to the throne of that kingdom which is the only real place in the universe. All other places are mere shadows of Amber, their realness and solidity dictated by their distance from Amber itself. Earth is a fairly important place for it is where several shadows cross, making it somewhat more real than most places and something of a crossroads for travelers through shadows.
Corwin discovers that during his stay in the hospital (and how long was he there, anyway…?), his brother Eric, a cruel and merciless man, has positioned himself to take over the kingdom and is in fact only a few weeks from his coronation. The book relates how Corwin gains his full memory of his true self, and his joining the tangled alliance of brothers who have decided to fight against Eric. But if you think you have already predicted the ending from what I’ve written, you are quite wrong. I meant it when I said this book eschews the fantasy cliches, and it ends up in quite a different place than expected, seemingly teasing the reader with certain fantasy tropes only to veer off in other directions entirely.
This book held up for me as an adult better than the Dune books. In fact, I’d say Nine Princes of Amber was full of pleasures. I’ve mentioned the writing style and the unexpected plot twists, but the characters also are superbly drawn: some have a measure of nobility but all have weaknesses and vices, and take time for the simple pleasures of food, beer, cigarettes, even walks in the woods or games of chess. All have mixed motives, complicated relationships with the other characters, and conflicting desires. This is the first of ten books, and I will definitely be reviewing the others over the coming year. I only ever read the first seven or eight of them in high school, but I have recently purchased The Amber Chronicles, which has all ten in one volume.
When I was in ninth grade, I joined the Science Fiction Book Club and got a four-book-for-a-dollar deal as part of the introductory offer. I picked The Chronicles of Amber because it had a cool cover and the two volume set counted as one book. At the time I had never heard of Roger Zelazny, but after racing through the two volume set, I would try and get my hands on everything he’d ever written. Yet even as I devoured his other works, I kept coming back to Amber. I’ve read the books a dozen times, listened to the audio version narrated by Zelazny, himself, played the RPG both in person and in an extended email version, composed my own stories imagining what would come next, and finally happily bought the e-book versions so I can continue to enjoy them again and again. This is one of the greatest adventure stories in science fiction and fantasy and it all starts here with Nine Princes in Amber. On the off chance that you don’t already know what’s coming, I don’t want to risk spoiling anything. Enjoy it like I did the first time—totally fresh and without any foreknowledge. You won’t regret it.
Changed my life.
I really enjoyed the Princes of Amber series! I love the beginning!
Written decades ago, the intrigues of royal politics within a fantasy realm are masterfully created. One of my favorite reads.
One of the Very Few Books (complete novel) I will Never Forget
It started like a hardboiled detective novel and took a right turn into high fantasy. Every time you think it’s leveled off, it takes a new leap. One of my top five authors of all time and formative influences. I share it with everyone I can.