Nine Princes in Amber

This is a very short book, but it felt much longer and in a good way.

We start with Corwin waking up in a hospital and not remembering anything. I really enjoyed the slow uncovering of the characters and the world as he remembers them. It's also quite tense as his life might depend on others not noticing that he is just pretending to know everything.

Now the world that gets slowly uncovered is certainly an interesting one. Same as the magic.

Wow, never had I thought that I would like Roger Zelazny's work. I know that the series is a classic in the genre, and that, yes, the series consists of 10 books... But luckily the first 5 are complete on their own, whereas the others apparently focus on the main character's (Corwin) son, Merlin. Maybe one day I'll read those other six, but when reading other peoples' comments, it seems they're not as good and written to exploit the series.

Roger Zelazny has a great writing style, very fluent, very smooth, great prose. It's been a while since I last was so engulfed by one's way with words.

As one other reader wrote in his review - see here: you have to read the whole series as one, not as stand-alone books, because they do link up and follow one another. That way you get to see the bigger picture, the puzzle being completed.

In the beginning, it's hard to discover who Corwin is, why he lost his memory, how it happened, who was involved, etcetera. Then you learn that he's part of a big family of brothers and sisters and that it involves the kingdom of Amber and specifically the throne. Some of the brothers/princes of Amber want to ascend the throne, as the king and their father, Oberon, seems lost or dead. Of course, there's a whole scheme behind it, each character has his/her reasons to help or work against the other. Hypocrisy, enmity, jealousy, distrust, betrayal, conspiracies, and so on... the evil that men do, unbelievable.

But apparently such events can also change a human being, making him see his errors and providing the opportunity to set things right, to renew the family ties for the better instead of the worst. And how to see what one really wants in life. Daddy's influence is here and there omni-present, it seems, as Corwin succeeds where he normally would fail or be dead. Zelazny added some nice surprises to twist the events and make you even more excited to read on, despite certain details (about certain characters or areas) not being (completely) known. But then again, were they all that necessary in the grand design?

Also, lovely to see how contemporary and Fantasy elements are mixed, how the scenery changes as Corwin goes into shadow worlds, working his way through different sceneries in the blink of an eye, changing the setting so he reaches his destination faster.

How the Trumps, or set of cards with pictures of the other family members, are used as smartphones avant la lettre. Swiping/touching the card, focusing on the picture and establishing contact. Even being able to be transported to where that other person is, through the card. Interesting idea. Star Trek ("Beam me up, Scotty" meets contemporary times).

However, as was probably very common back in the day (1970s): lots of smoking and drinking. It's still common today, but since there are anti-smoking laws in certain countries...

Long story short: A great series that kept me excited from start to finish, despite at times nothing much happened, not much action, yet all the more descriptions and dialogues. While the ending is an ending and things have been set aright, or sort of, it does make one curious of how it goes on. What about Amber? Will it be like before, how are the family ties now that there are two new members? And so on. I guess I'll have to read the other 5 books for that, no? But that's for later. The first five were very entertaining, so let's leave it behind with positive thoughts. :) ( )

On the plus side The Chronicles of Amber has an interesting universe and an epic scope, but on the other hand Zelazny's unimpressive writing and inability to breathe life into that universe means that the series becomes a slog.

Right off the bat the protagonist Corwin wakes up with amnesia- cliché to the extreme, but let's be charitable. From there the book introduces its universe, one where there is a central universe and numerous others that are mere shadows cast by that one- our universe being one of them. As a prince of amber Corwin has mastery over this multiverse far more so than others, but his abilities are not unique. Instead he has an extended family that shares his powers, some being allies and some enemies. While the extensive family opens up the possibility for manifold machinations and schemes, few of the characters feel developed in the slightest. Most can be defined by one or two traits. I would much rather have had the family be half the size but more developed, but instead we're left with various names that it's hard to care about. Random is crowned regent in the end- but because Random isn't a character with any depth I'm left not caring. Why is Random crowned and not another member of the family? Perhaps his name was picked out of a hat- there isn't any sufficient explanation in the first five volumes at least.

Speaking of the first five volumes, I began the sixth as well, but I honestly just couldn't force myself to read any more of Zelazny's writing. It's mediocre, but not in an inoffensive way: read him for long enough and it becomes grating to the extreme. Corwin navigates many a strange universe, but a) they're not as creative or inventive as they should be, 2) there is only a connection to Amber about half the time, with the other half being universes that Zelazny just thought would be cool, and 3) Zelazny's writing isn't strong enough to imbue this exploration with any sense of wonder or discovery. They are reduced to places that Corwin must go to do this thing that advances the plot. What fun. There's a universe here that might warrant a ten-volume series almost the length of War & Peace, but if so Zelazny isn't the one to deliver it. What should be a fun and creative series to read is instead overwhelmingly bland. ( )

I've reviewed the first five AMBER books separately at FanLit: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/fantasy-author/zelaznyroger/ ( )

One of my favorite stories. The end is sad, but the rest of the story really moves and is very exciting. It is the kind of book you day dream about. One thing that bothered me was the writing style. I can't remember how many times the word dig is used as in a slang term for liking something. It took me several tries at reading Nine Princes to get over the hippy talk and enjoy the story. I am so glad I did. ( )