Roger Zelazny (giving him a go)

[Coragem]

Hi there:

I've been reading some very positive things about Roger Zelazny, not least here at SFF Chronicles:

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/6941-amber.html

And elsewhere, too:

http://www.fantasyliterature.com/zelaznyroger.html

I think I'm going to go ahead and buy The Complete Amber Chronicles, the only thing making me hesitate being that I heard they're first person narratives. I tend to prefer third person, albeit with a strong POV voice.

I may well buy Lord of Light as well.

I guess no one is going to suggest that I'm making a bad move!

Coragem.

 

[Mouse]

I've got the Complete Chronicles of Amber, you can buy it off me for cheapies if you like (just pm me). I couldn't finish it, so it's basically unread. I hated and detested the main character with a passion. I've been trying to get rid of the damn book for ages.

 

[Vertigo]

I tried to read the Amber books many years ago and never really got on with them, so I would recommend trying one first and seeing how you go. Though if Mouse is going to give you them cheap then probably worth going for it

I have read one or two other books of his that I enjoyed (eg. Doorways in the Sand) and I have Lord of Light in my SF Masterworks TBR pile.

 

[J-Sun]

I've got the Complete Chronicles of Amber, you can buy it off me for cheapies if you like (just pm me). I couldn't finish it, so it's basically unread. I hated and detested the main character with a passion. I've been trying to get rid of the damn book for ages.

Now that's salesmanship.

But I'm not far removed - I read the first bit of the Amber books and didn't like them, though I did come across the Great Book for cheap, so got it with the intent to try again. But I myself wouldn't recommend starting there - though they're popular and many people would. I think Zelazny's best at short fiction, so would recommend his collections, particularly the 60s stories. But Lord of Light was good and might not be a bad place to start among the novels.

 

[Adasunshine]

Well I'm in the minority here so far it would seem.

I bought the Chronicles of Amber and believe me, it's massive but I still managed to finish it within a week. I couldn't put it down, it kept me up late at night, absorbed my lunch breaks at work... I just loved it. I'm very very gutted though as lent it to my dad who hasn't seen fit to return it

I'm all for people reading Zelazny, reminds me a bit of Tad Williams or maybe that should read Tad Williams reminds me of Zelazny.

xx

 

[williamjm]

Amber is a fun read, at least the first 5-book series is. I haven't read the second series, but it generally seems to be considered disappointing compared to the first.

However, I'd say "Lord of Light" is his masterpiece. Amber is a good Epic Fantasy but it doesn't have the depth of his best work. I liked "Creatures of Light and Darkness" a lot as well, some wonderful writing although the plot is extremely weird and don't expect much in the way of explanation from it. "Doorways in the Sand" was pretty good as well.

I'm all for people reading Zelazny, reminds me a bit of Tad Williams or maybe that should read Tad Williams reminds me of Zelazny.

I wouldn't have really thought to compare the two, I found their writing styles to be quite different. Williams has a lot of detail in his books and tends to be long-winded, Zelazny's books tend to be very fast-moving often without much time spent on the world-building. This might be why the entirety of Zelazny's ten book Amber series is only a little bit longer than the average Tad Williams book.

 

[Adasunshine]

I wouldn't have really thought to compare the two, I found their writing styles to be quite different. Williams has a lot of detail in his books and tends to be long-winded, Zelazny's books tend to be very fast-moving often without much time spent on the world-building. This might be why the entirety of Zelazny's ten book Amber series is only a little bit longer than the average Tad Williams book.

It might be because I read them quite closely together, I tackled War of the Flowers very soon after The Chronicles of Amber (big-all-ten-books-in-one-malarkey) and I would have said the opposite about the detail. I think Amber is filled with detail, it's one of the reasons I loved it as much as I did, I was just transported to this whole different world which was so complete in its creation, I found similar detail in Williams' books.

As for characters, the same applies, the main character (who, always for me was Corwin although Random was a close second simply because anything could happen with him around and I looked forward to him appearing), I felt like I knew him, he was so well written and Tad Williams is nothing if not thorough.

Like I say, it might be because I read one soon after the other but again, each to their own.

xx

P.S. Have moved this thread to the Roger Zelazny forum with a redirect for 2 weeks

 

[nomadman]

I wasn't massively keen on the Amber series (first five books) but absolutely adored Lord of Light, which is a similarly epic and ambitious fantasy tale (regardless of its SF trappings) but one that's far tighter and more emotionally resonant, with a setting that I found much more intriguing and more well realised than that of the former.

 

[williamjm]

It might be because I read them quite closely together, I tackled War of the Flowers very soon after The Chronicles of Amber (big-all-ten-books-in-one-malarkey) and I would have said the opposite about the detail. I think Amber is filled with detail, it's one of the reasons I loved it as much as I did, I was just transported to this whole different world which was so complete in its creation, I found similar detail in Williams' books.

When you mentioned Williams I was thinking mostly of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, I suppose that War of the Flowers might be a bit closer (perhaps Otherland is closer still, despite being a different genre). With MS&T Williams had obviously done a huge amount of work on the people, the cultures, the history and the mythology of his world and the overall effect is much closer to Tolkien than Zelazny. We do get to know a fair bit about the mythology and history of Amber itself, but I'm not sure I could really say much about what life is like there for its ordinary inhabitants (i.e. not Corwin's family) and we don't get much detail about the various Shadow worlds visited in the books. That's not really a criticism of Amber, I'm not sure the book would really have benefited from having lots of exposition about the various worlds. I would say that Zelazny was good at putting a lot of information into a short space, Creatures of Light and Darkness has enough concepts in it to fill a trilogy of huge books in the hands of another author, but it's less than 200 pages long.

 

[Mouse]

Now that's salesmanship.

Heh. Yeah, I'm too honest me!

 

[TheTomG]

The first Amber books I enjoyed, the whole concept of the characters' abilities was what I loved and it has always stayed with me (details of the stories themselves have faded with time, making them due for a re-read.)

Lord of Light I liked, and This Immortal. Haven't read more of his work, other than the joint work with PKD, but maybe I ought to. For those who liked the first Amber books, will the second lot be just a disappointment, or will they do that horrible thing and detract from the original?

 

[Timba]

Geez, it has been a long, long time since I read the Amber series. I remember enjoying them a great deal but none of the details come to mind. If I did not have so much new stuff to read I might consider reading it again but the truth is I do not have enough time to read all that I want now so I think I will just let it remain a pleasant memory. If asked I would certainly recommend it though.

 

[Boneman]

I loved the chronicles of Amber, read them waaaay back, but got the complete set again last year. Where I can now see him going on a bit, especially in the latter part of the book as the main character passes through many barriers, I still found it a fantastic read. Buy Mouse's copy - I don't think you'll regret it! And the historical significance of a 'mouse-owned' book will be enormous, when she makes it big in the publishing world - which she absolutely will...

 

[Mouse]

Don't be daft!

 

[Moggle]

I would like to read Lord of Light, but my library doesn't carry it.

 

[Heck Tate]

I would definitely reccomend you buy, or at least read without buying, both the full Chronicles of Amber and Lord of Light. I got in to Amber when I was about 13 and those books made Zelazny my favorite writer. I attempted Lord of Light after, but had to go at it 2 more times over a few years before I could understand it fully, it's weird and weirdly written. If I were you I'd give Amber a shot first, and if you like it read A Night in the Lonesome October, (one of my all time favorite books) Lord Demon, and then Lord of Light. Zelazny's writing is generally pretty explicit and easy to understand, but Lord of Light is just so strangely done that I know people who were turned off by all of Zelazny's stuff by jumping into that one first. Best to work your way up to it.

 

[VideoChrist]

I would like to read Lord of Light, but my library doesn't carry it.

You could always buy a copy -- it's in print.