Book One (The Chronicles of Amber 1) - Nine Princes in Amber

...that never quite pans out. While full of interesting ideas and imagery at the outset, that creativity and novelty drops off rather sharply after the halfway point.

Also of note is the prose. A certain amount of simplicity and straightforward-ness is to be expected (and appropriate) for a book targeted at young adults. Zelazny starts off with clean, direct structure that becomes repetitive and, at times, clunky.

All in all, a quick and easy read, especially for younger readers (or those just coming into the genre). Not everyone reading the first book will pick up the second, but everyone who finishes the first should feel pleased about completing a time-honored work of fantasy from one of the genre's defining periods.

I've been waiting years for them to release the Chronicles of Amber in E format. I was so excited when I saw Nine Princes in Amber I actually stood up at my desk at work and did a serious happy dance. Yes I'm a dork I won it. I hope the rest of the series will be coming out soon.

Extremely well written book. It starts a little slow but it picks up quickly. There are a few typographical errors in the kindle edition where b's and h's are swapped but it wont throw you off too much. All in all it's a very good very well written story.

This book will jumpstart the imagination. Corwin was a Prince of Amber who had the power to create worlds of shadow--worlds formed from his own imagination--of which our Earth was just one.

Being heir to the Throne of Amber after the disappearance of his father, Corwin was one of nine brothers who felt they should be the one who ruled Amber, the only real world and from where all other worlds of shadow unfolded by the Royalty of Amber.

Good book, and a fast read!

The Chronicles of Amber was - for me - one of the first Epic Fantasy series that I genuinely loved.

Were it not for persistent typos, this would be a five-star review.

"Llewella" is listed as "LIewella" throughout (that's LI instead of LL at the beginning of her name), for example, and a number of other small typos and issues keep cropping up and knocking me out of the story.

I read this as part of the omnibus paperback edition "The Great Book of Amber" which has the Amber Chronicles 1-10 bound together. It's a hefty book and unfortunately doesn't seem to be available in ebook edition as an omnibus yet.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It's held up well for a classic; published in 1970 it doesn't feel too dated, although a bit of the slang expressions did date it a little. Sort of odd for a man who's lived for centuries to "dig" stuff, in the slang-not-shoveling sort of way. The book is quite short by current standards, but Zelazny still manages to cover quite a lot of ground.

Anyhow, a brief synopsis - we meet our protagonist, Corwin, when he wakes up in a private hospital with amnesia in time to save himself from being continually doped into insensibility. You immediately see his indomitable will and sort of native cunning/years of survival instincts come to the fore as he gets enough information to get out of there and start to unravel what's happened to him and why. Along with Corwin you discover his family tree, some of his powers, and the central plot of the book - which is the vying of the Princes of Amber to take the throne of Amber now that their Father, Oberon, has disappeared. We see the shifting alliances of the Amber siblings and their confrontations, as the story progresses.

Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, the powers the royals of Amber have to move around through a limited means of portals/Tarots is pretty unique and a nice twist. The road to Amber has a very multiverse feel.

This is a good first installment of the Amber books and I'd be interested to read more, though it might not be in the top of my priority list.

When I was in ninth grade, I joined the Science Fiction Book Club and got a five-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.

Returning to my commitment to review books I've read (at least) once before, I randomly opted for the opening book in Roger Zelazny's master fantasy opus, Nine Princes in Amber.

Over the 10 books that comprised the saga (more, likely, had he stuck around), this opening tale is surprisingly short. I had forgotten how short when I came to the abrupt, but appropriate ending.

There is so much to like about this book and its companions. Most appealing is the central concept around a core metaphysical question: In the process of imagining a thing, have you actually created it.

This tale, about the inhabitants of Amber, the one true city, offers an answer in a unique and definitive way: Absolutely, the places and events you imagine are real.

If you're of the blood of Amber, that is.

Granted control over "Shadow", an over-arching metaphor for the power of imagination, Amberites can travel to any time or place of their imagination by "adding" or "subtracting" from the real world they know.

Of course, there is ample time spent in our "fake" world of Earth, along with many other locations across the infinity that is Shadow.

The first five books of this series follow Corwin of Amber, a prince of the realm lost in time and memory. As he struggles to recapture not just who he is but what he is, he encounters members of his family that work for and against his existence, some doing both simultaneously.

But the first book does more than just set the stage and introduce the characters. There is plenty of action and character development, as well as plot threads woven subtly into the story that will pay off in later books.

There is a bit of confusion on the part of the author about halfway through the book where he insinuates a changed frame of reference for Corwin (first person narrator), but it's easily overlooked in the scope of the entire work.

The first five books are quite entertaining, with the second having a bit more of an "unfinished symphony" feel to them. In total, though, the Amber chronicles are immensely enjoyable fantasy and later books offer some thrilling new takes on old fashioned concepts.

The only truly unresolved and inexplicable question is why these books haven't been adapted into movies. They've got your palace intrigue, vast battles and wars, supernatural beings, magical and pseudo-scientific trappings, swords, sorcery and a kingdom to be won...and even a bit of good old modern planet Earth.

It's a blockbuster in the waiting!

I remember reading this series in paperback some years ago and I probably still have them around somewhere. However, a Kindle version would be more lasting, I think. In any event, loved, loved, LOVED this story. I was so happy to find this in Kindle format and as soon as I finish reading the series that I''m currently reading, this book is next in line. I just hope the typographical errors have been corrected. Honestly, people tend to just let the imperfect machines take care of the spelling. It's a shame that nobody really proof-READs anymore before publishing! But I digress... I highly recommend this series.

please be sure to grab and read this work in any form, be it hardback, paperback, electronic, vellum scroll-it matters not the form, the content never stales, as all Zelazny readers know-time and again, the stories satisfy. I actually have many, almost all RZ stories (not only the Amber 10) on paper (though admittedly tattered) whether within eaasy reach or residing indefinitely with friends or safe in the county library--so my only complaint is for the looooong wait for the e-book release and my frustration when They publish only a part of a long-extant series-for instance, you can enjoy Madwand, the sequel, but not Changeling, the premier, in ebook form, at least on the store ? not to mention only the first 2 of the Amber series, for however long it is going to take, so all those new readers who might not have access to the out-of-print paper books will just have to suffer-or go to the library. trust me it is well worth any effort to get the next in this series, hope the negotiations for the ebook releases don't take forever.

This is not a review of the ebook. This is a review of The Great Book of Amber. One become of ten.
I write this for you, future reader. Future fan. And for Zelazny. May he be never forgotten.
If, reader, you find your introduction to Roger Zelazny from a paper back cover in a book store grab it. But Amber, Amber! His one true Earth.

The wizard of novellas, the mad poet of prose; above and beyond himself in full length, dig?

A very interesting book that held me interested more through the imaginative set-up than the actual plot or writing.
The nine princes, who can create any world they like by moving through the infinite reflections of Amber and changing a single detail at a time, have decided to wage war on each other for the throne of Amber now that their father has gone missing.
This idea has so much potential that it kept me hooked throughout the book, even if it was rarely used as I felt it could be. A good example is how Corwin travels through many reflection worlds until he finds one where he is worshipped as a god, and uses the population of that world as an army that he leads back to Amber in order to lay claim to the throne. However, the actual raising of the army and their travels through the reflections on their way to Amber is described only very briefly, and would have been better if it was two or three times as long as it was in this book.
Corwin's quest to reclaim his memories, which was a very intriguing mystery, is also resolved too quickly and simply.
In fact, Corwin himself was fairly uninteresting. It's established fairly quickly that he is quite ruthless and is prepared to do what is necessary to take the throne for himself, not really because he opposes his brothers, but just because he wants it for himself. This isn't a problem, as I have read books like this (e.g. Prince of Thorns) where the author deftly infuses enogh subtlety and complexities into the character that they become very compelling indeed. The problem is that this is pretty much all their is to Corwin. It's also all there is to his brothers as well, and they are fairly indistinguishable.

Yet, despite all of that, I have to give this book four stars, because the setting is so imaginative and unique, and there were enough hints about what could be done with it to keep me turning the pages quickly, so my enjoyment of the book stems more from the world (or worlds) itself than the story.

I find it very interesting that both Corwin's worst enemies and strongest allies are his own kin. His struggle is persistent even though he is the strongest of his siblings. And although it's fantasy, magic appears sparkly and many of the struggles witnessed are something we might see today.

The involvement of our "real" world in the story adds a nice touch that helps this book maintain its identity among its peers in a very wide genre.

Book 2 here I come!

Excellent storytelling. I admit I was put off by some odd twisting of sentences that led me to believe a word was missing here and there, but I got used to the voice of it after a bit. Some scenes go on for longer than I'd like, but the story, taken in whole, is quite inventive and epic!

Mom handed me the Amber Series many moons ago. The awesome two-book version with the BORIS cover. I snuck those out of the house and have never returned them. Starts out as pulpy Oz/Dreamrealms travel fiction.

Jump on this ride and stick with it for at least five books. The last three books in the first set are some of the strongest entries in the entire series. The Sign of the Unicorn was a delightful noir murder mystery with medieval fantasy trappings. The Hand of Oberon continued the noir trend and delivered solid two-fisted action. The Courts of Chaos gave us not the ending we wanted but the ending the story deserved.

I chose this book on a recommendation without any other information and could not be more pleased. The world crafted here is incredible and full, and the prose without pretentiousness Zelazny uses to describe it is wonderful. This ranks high among my favorite first-of-a-series novels, and I'm excited to see my way through the rest of this one.

"The Chronicles of Amber (4 Book Series)" is actually a 5 book series. The last book is missing. I'm waiting patiently, but there is no way for the store to tell the publisher to Kindelize that last book, The Courts of Chaos, because there are no copies for sale on the store, even used.

Plus, there is a second Amber set by Zelazny, another five books, about one of the characters' sons. It is not available either.

i truly enjoyed this series. there are some naysayers, which is natural, but most of the negative reviews seem to be about the terrible kindle version and not about the book. this book is dated and has has too much tobacco overall but still enjoyable none the less.

I bought this as a five book book-club set, oh, 45 years ago. I'm reading it now (from a download on trained when Kindle was a Glen in Jeff's eye)liner. Its a classic, but if all five are not available don't start.

One of my all-time favorite series. The Amber Chronicles led me to read every piece of Roger Zelazny's that I could get my hands on. The next questions is when will the remaining books in the series be released for Kindle? I do all my reading on my Kindle now, and would love to reread this beloved series in its entirety.

One of my all time favorites, lucky for me I still have the paperback from the 70's. Unlucky for me I don't have any of the other Amber books. Here's hoping they get the rest of the series out on Kindle

Wonderful series!! However I have hardcover editions and treasure them very much. This series is well planned and there are mysteries you cannot solve without the next book and great drama! I highly recommend this author