"Nine Princes In Amber"

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Up in the middle of the night and wandering around my apartment, I discovered a dead tree book called "Nine Princes In Amber", Book 1 of several. The author, Roger Zelazkny, is not a TG author.

I am not more than 1/4 of the way into the work, and must say that the odd seeming 1970's language and break from TG drabble is most refreshing. While not a terribly prolific author, his story seems good enough.

These days, I seem to survive on a series of naps of 1 to 2 hours, and have been told not to worry by my Doctor. Lots of time to cast about in the middle of the night.

Gwen

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Roger Zelazany

In addition to the amber books which were a nice light hearted romp wrote some other fantasy/sci-fi books worth serious reading.

Call From My Doctor's Office

Oddly, I did just now get a call from their office because they are concerned about my heart. They gave me an appointment for Wednesday of next week. With this and all the BS the staff are putting me through over Cataracts, it all seems almost too much.

Gwen

Zelazny is always refreshing

bryony marsh's picture

I loved Zelazny's Amber Series. Also 'Roadmarks', 'Jack of Shadows' and 'A Night in the Lonesome October'.

I have to admit that the "pattern" that's used to work magic in my story, 'My Faustian Bargain', was strongly influenced by the pattern that's walked by people in Zelazny's Amber series. Also Seth, the threadbare god in 'Egyptology' has an informal way of speaking that's influenced by the way Zelazny has his characters casually use slang and Americanisms.

You hold in your hand my formative years. When everyone else was just writing their own slant on JRR Tolkien or Robert Heinlein, RZ was shaking things up.

Sugar and Spiiice – TG Fiction by Bryony Marsh

The cronicles of Amber are great!

As as so many of his other books. There was a movie named after and based on his book, "Damnation Alley"

We the willing, led by the unsure. Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

Roger Zelazny was actually a

Roger Zelazny was actually a pretty prolific author. He wasn't in the same range as Asimov, of course, but who was. Like Ray Bradbury, most of his works were written for magazines, so they were short stories or serials.

The Amber books were very good. Unfortunately, he never finished the final series. Nor did he finish the Madwand series. (Don't worry, the Amber series was basically two arcs of 5 books each, you have lots to read. He just never completed the third arc that looked to be necessary to complete the universe)

There are some prequel books that aren't really part of the series, having been written posthumously by an author contracted by the estate (effectively against Zelazny's wishes, but as he wrote in is will that there were to be no sequels written by others, I think there's not really anything wrong with it. He's dead, and they followed the letter of the will.)


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

You will find

Maddy Bell's picture

Most of the Zelazny catalogue in my library, as well as Herbert, Asimov and a great deal more. I was an avid sci Fi / fantasy reader but then it went bad for a long period, everyone it seems wanted to write a Tolkien epic or a HP sequel series. Whilst the originals are okay, the wannabe writers not so much. Last time I looked in a book shop there was nothing new that caught my attention, just new covers on old books.

Of course there are exceptions but I must admit that I mostly read and watch crime noir atm.

I’ve had a couple of goes at writing SFF, with limited success, to do it well is an art I cannot claim to have mastered. But all those books in my library have helped me refine my writing even if and hopefully it’s not, it’s not obvious.

So keep reading all sorts of stuff, you never know, it might just give you an idea for i to our own writing.


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Madeline Anafrid Bell

Who, Corwin? Your Doctor?

Who, Corwin? Your Doctor? Someone on here?

Corwin's memory issues are explained further on in the books. Nine Princes in Amber is just the first of five in that arc.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

...and in later books...

charlie98210's picture

...the plots really thicken. The reader finds out that not all of the facts of the
first book were interpeted correctly by Corwin. In fact, as a teenager, I found all
the inter-family intrigues incredibly close to my own childhood family (especially
the inter-familial manipulating of each other).

charlie.

Your childhood family?

Including the inter-family homicides, sniper attacks, and using mercenaries on each other?


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.