The Chronicles of Amber (S.F. MASTERWORKS Book 191)

I actually own the 2008 edition of this (white cover, no "Masterworks" branding), rather than the original pictured above, but believe me, it is just as riddled with the typo's that most of the reviewers before me have commented on. It is often a problem with collections of older F&SF. My suspicion is that the books are reproduced by photographic methods, rather than being re-typeset. Since many of the originals were of cheap & cheerful production, and not necessarily on particularly good quality paper, it's understandable that errors creep in.I have to say that I think several of the reviewers make too much of this fault, though. Most of the typo's revolve around the substitution of b, n, or h for each other (so he / be get transposed sometimes, or you get bever for never), and it's usually only one letter in a word. In context, it's easy enough to reverse the substitution. There's only one passage that got really badly mangled. Although, I must say my favourite one ran something like "majestic military ibexes". I forget now what that worked out to, but I had visions of an army riding round on giant goats, a bit like Moorcock's horned Kamargian horses!Anyway, if you're dyslexic, perhaps this will increase your troubles, but if you're not, I shouldn't worry about. Let's focus on Zelazny's Amber. For me, Zelazny is one of very few writers who can do both F & SF genres successfully, and possibly only he & Gene Wolfe can consistently mix both successfully into the same book. This collection includes the first five Amber novels, centring on Corwin of Amber (the second 5 concern his son, Merlin). Barring one chapter, related by brother Random, it's all told from (the very colloquial American) Corwin's point of view.We begin with him wakening in hospital with two broken legs & no memory. As the novels progress, he regains more & more of his memory, realising that he is a Prince of Amber; Amber of which all other worlds (including our own) are but shadows. As a Prince of Amber, he has the ability to "shape" his way through these shadows. Remembering the rivalries & hatreds that abound between the many siblings, he sets about seeking revenge on those who he thinks have wronged him. More than that, I shall not say - if you've read them, you know; if you haven't, I wouldn't want to reveal any of the twists & turns, of which there are... not a few!Whilst it is very US colloquial in style, the atmosphere is maintained throughout (if you can ignore the typo's, anyway), amazingly inventive, well constructed, and wholly (internally) believable. Many consider this to be Zelazny's best work. The only reason I'm not certain is because there's Lord Of Light...

Looking back, I must have read the first Amber novel not long after it came out in 1972. Roger Zelazny’s prose style: confident, modern, inventive, grabbed me immediately. So often, a science fiction novel in orbit with good ideas, is brought sadly down to Earth by clumsy writing. Well, that’s not the case here. Here we are, in 2021, I’m much older and Roger Zelazny’s still impressing me.The Chronicles of Amber contains the first five Amber novels: Nine Princes in Amber (1970), The Guns of Avalon (1972), Sign of the Unicorn (1975), The Hand of Oberon (1976) and The Courts of Chaos (1978). The volume is a very pleasing size – not too heavy to read in bed – and has fabulous cover art by John Howe.But, as we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, we’d better take a peek inside. Corwin, the protagonist, wakes up in hospital to discover that he can’t remember who he is or what’s happened to him. The gradual discovery of his identity takes us into the world of Amber and the Shadow it casts: an infinite number of “realities”, including our own. Corwin discovers that he’s a member of the royal family, all of whom have the ability to move through Shadow. Not only that, they live extraordinarily long lives, heal super-quickly and can re-grow missing limbs. Their longevity renders them morally compromised, though: which is one of the joys of the book for me. You can’t trust anyone and even the most heroic has been cruel, hateful and duplicitous at points in their life.There are nine princes and four princesses (and others, some long dead, others the offspring of the main characters), all the children of Oberon, the king of Amber, who has gone missing. Needless to say, in the lethal game they find themselves playing, the throne’s the prize. Each novel reveals more of their intricate plots and schemes, plus the ever-present danger of the black road that has appeared out of nowhere and cuts through Shadow itself.The universe of Amber is richly diverse: 1970s Earth, or Avalon, or Lorraine where the black road manifests as a black circle, or Amber itself where the labyrinthine palace is built high on Mount Kolvir. There’s no archaism here; no elves or dwarfs; no looking nostalgically back to the mediaeval past. The characters interpret each reality in terms of C20th sensibilities. There’s not even a rightful heir to the kingdom – claims on the throne are confused and unclear; not everyone wants to be king (or queen); some back one claimant, some another. No matter who wins, order is never going to be restored because there’s always a dagger up a sleeve somewhere. Besides, no one’s even sure what’s happened to Dad, the rightful king, Oberon.1970s science fiction and fantasy, like the world of Amber, is rich and diverse. But, it’s a world that’s half a century in the past and, as L.P. Hartley warned us in The Go-Between, the past is a foreign country: they do things differently there. That’s particularly noticeable in the treatment of female characters by male authors. Zelazny doesn’t come out too badly in this respect compared to others but an observant reader will quickly spot that even the strong female characters (and there are a couple) are still described through the male gaze first. Corwin, although he does question his motives (he’s lived in the Shadow world of Earth for a long time and feels it may have mellowed him) is still an unreconstructed action man. However, his laconic turn of phrase does soften that aspect of his character and add more than a touch of humanity. Then, there’s that royalty theme – not so much a well-trodden path in fantasy and sci-fi but a stonking great motorway that’s been driven along far too often! While there’s no getting away from the fact that the struggle for the throne is the motivator of the plot, Zelazny reframes it as a Machiavellian family saga, never allowing the focus to be on reactionary ideas about “royalty” but shifting it towards relationships and character.Why would you give these novels a go? Well, in a world where there’s far too much generic sci-fi around, it’s always a relief to come across work that’s genuinely rooted in deep imagination. These stories are well-written, enormously entertaining, engaging in their complexity and genuinely original. If you’re in the mood to try something new (that’s actually fifty years old) then you can’t do better than this!

As expected of Zelazny, these are great stories. This version is slightly marred by some fairly ropey proof reading but the tales are good enough to rise above that and poor proof reading seems to be the curse of the book world over the recent past.

one of his best...great story, great worldbuilding

Good condition but a bit dated

Was quite slow arriving; but the book is fine

A real classic. Very good condition and amazing value.

Very good condition