[wwfward]

Im searching for a new fantasy series, and this seemed interesting.

Is this series recommended or should I keep searching? The reviews on Amazon are quite good and the summary sounds intriguing.

Also, the only new version is "The Great Book of Amber" at more than 1200 pages :eek:. I like saving money, but I would hate to lug that thing everywhere I go, which I tend to do with my books. Is there another version that splits the series into smaller pieces??

[bluetyson]

Yes, it is definitely good.

You should be able to find second hand books of those pretty comfortably via ABE or ebay, or somewhere like that, check there.

The great book of Amber is a fabulous deal though.

[Nottobrite]

You could probably find the series in individual books used, but I don't think you can get them new anywhere.

As far as the series. The first five books, dealing with Corwin are excellent. After that, it's hit and miss. There is definitely a drop off, at least in my opinion, in the series after the fifth book. Yet, the first five are a self contained series in itself, so you can read those, and have a full and complete story, without reading the other five.

[JBI]

Though the second set of five are in my opinion worse than the first five, they still are quite good. All of them are very good, and even the short stories are excellent, however, the prequels that came out after Roger Zelazny died are rubbish in my opinion. Definitely read these or you are missing out. In addition, I would consider looking into his other works such as Lord of Light, and Call me Conrad (republished under This Immortal). His early novellas really stand out as an achievement in both sci-fi and fantasy. Also, if you can find it, pick up A Night in a Lonesome October. That is by far his best fantasy work in my opinion.

[U-Borat]

You can get the first 5 in the Gollancz Masterwork Edition IIRC.
I don't think you can get the last 5 anywhere else except via separate books.

[Tony Williams]

Great fun - one of my favourites, although I agree that the quality fell off later.

I originally read several of the stories decades ago, but more recently bought "The Great Book of Amber", published by Avon Books in 1999. That includes 10 stories.

[Gildor]

The first five books are great fun, i'd second Nightsorrows mention of the Gollanz edition, its quite cheap and has all you need. PLus its got a gorgeous Celtic cover by John Howe, great stuff!

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/4900/9781857987263ou2.jpg

[Lani]

I would definitely second what most people have said and recommend reading the Amber series. It's definitely a lot of fun and a rather cool mixture of fantasy and science fiction as well. There are also short stories based on the world, some of which I believe might be available online. I'd recommend reading the books first though.

[Julian]

I would definitely second what most people have said and recommend reading the Amber series.

With a name like mine, who am I to disagree :) ? However, being me, I will.

The first Amber series - the first five books - are excellent (though the ending is relatively poor). The second series - not so much. In fact, the second five books are part of my "wish they wouldn't have bothered" category.

There was a time when Zelazny had something like the Midas touch - round about the time he wrote "Lord Of Light" (1967) just about everyone loved him*. Excellent books - such as "Creatures Of Light And Darkness" and the wonderfully ambivalent "Jack Of Shadows" - followed, but by the time the first Amber series had drawn to a close (1978), the magic had diminished somewhat.

The second Amber series (starting off with "Trumps of Doom" in 1985) proved this almost painfully. In effect, it made plain that Zelazny had long since reached his sell-by date.

Is this good or bad news? Don't really know, but it's more or less accurate, I hope.


_______________
(*Certainly the popular critics. Hugos were given for both "This Immortal" and "Lord Of Light" - and rightly so - though I don't think Zelazny ever won the rather more nebulous Nebula.)

[Dyloot]

First have are great, last five are average. I wasn't sorry I read the last five, however. Just go out and buy the Great Book of Amber and enjoy.