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S'està carregant… The First Chronicles of Amber (1970 original; edició 1999)de Roger Zelazny
Informació de l'obraThe First Chronicles of Amber de Roger Zelazny (1970)
S'està carregant…
Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar. No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra. On the plus side The Chronicles of Amber has an interesting universe and an epic scope, but on the other hand Zelazny's unimpressive writing and inability to breathe life into that universe means that the series becomes a slog. Right off the bat the protagonist Corwin wakes up with amnesia- cliché to the extreme, but let's be charitable. From there the book introduces its universe, one where there is a central universe and numerous others that are mere shadows cast by that one- our universe being one of them. As a prince of amber Corwin has mastery over this multiverse far more so than others, but his abilities are not unique. Instead he has an extended family that shares his powers, some being allies and some enemies. While the extensive family opens up the possibility for manifold machinations and schemes, few of the characters feel developed in the slightest. Most can be defined by one or two traits. I would much rather have had the family be half the size but more developed, but instead we're left with various names that it's hard to care about. Random is crowned regent in the end- but because Random isn't a character with any depth I'm left not caring. Why is Random crowned and not another member of the family? Perhaps his name was picked out of a hat- there isn't any sufficient explanation in the first five volumes at least. Speaking of the first five volumes, I began the sixth as well, but I honestly just couldn't force myself to read any more of Zelazny's writing. It's mediocre, but not in an inoffensive way: read him for long enough and it becomes grating to the extreme. Corwin navigates many a strange universe, but a) they're not as creative or inventive as they should be, 2) there is only a connection to Amber about half the time, with the other half being universes that Zelazny just thought would be cool, and 3) Zelazny's writing isn't strong enough to imbue this exploration with any sense of wonder or discovery. They are reduced to places that Corwin must go to do this thing that advances the plot. What fun. There's a universe here that might warrant a ten-volume series almost the length of War & Peace, but if so Zelazny isn't the one to deliver it. What should be a fun and creative series to read is instead overwhelmingly bland. I've reviewed the first five AMBER books separately at FanLit: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/fantasy-author/zelaznyroger/ One of my favorite stories. The end is sad, but the rest of the story really moves and is very exciting. It is the kind of book you day dream about. One thing that bothered me was the writing style. I can't remember how many times the word dig is used as in a slang term for liking something. It took me several tries at reading Nine Princes to get over the hippy talk and enjoy the story. I am so glad I did. Review of Nine Princes in Amber This is a tough book to summarize. Let’s just say that Mr. Corey wakes up with amnesia after a nasty car crash and sets out to recover his memory and then to take back what he sees as his. Starting this was a leap of faith. Corey tells the story and since he doesn’t know anything about what’s going on, neither do we. He’s confused, we’re confused, and I for one was left wondering if it was worth the effort to continue on. Luckily, I decided that since I’d heard so many good things about this author and since the book was only about 150 pages, I really had nothing to lose and possibly a lot to gain. Once I got going with the story and started getting tantalizing pieces about the story behind the story, I was hooked. Even after finishing, I have some questions, but I know that this series has to be worth the ride. I love Zelazny’s writing. He has a unique voice and some of his descriptions were incredibly original. Of course I didn’t do anything useful like mark them, but here’s one I did find again: “his skin was as porous as an orange rind and the elements had darkened it to resemble a fine old piece of furniture.” Can’t you just picture this guy’s skin? As much as I liked it, there were a couple of things I didn’t care for. There’s a big old deus ex machina at the end. (Here’s hoping I got hold of the correct phrase) Maybe it will tie in later, but right now it just felt like an easy way out after he had painted himself into a corner. This isn’t really anything to do with the story, but my copy is chock-full of typos. It’s easy enough to figure out what Zelazny meant most of the time, but there were a few instances where the sentence could work in a couple of different ways. There was at least one time when a few sentences were repeated for no reason. It got really distracting. I’m going to give this three stars, mostly because of what I just mentioned and because I still have lots of questions about what exactly is going on. I’ll definitely be continuing the series, and who knows? I might bump my rating up later. The Guns of Avalon I don't have too much more to add except that the typos were better in this section and I'm hugely surprised that one story arc wrapped up as quickly as it did. I'm glad we got to see a few more members of the family. I really didn't see the big twist coming. It's still three stars and I'll still keep on reading. Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
Pertany a aquestes sèriesChronicles of Amber (First Chronicles, 1-5) Pertany a aquestes col·leccions editorialsGallimard, Folio SF (521) Heyne Allgemeine Reihe (4275) Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy (06/4275) SF Masterworks (New design) Contingut aContéThe Chronicles of Amber, Volume II: Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon, and The Courts of Chaos de Roger Zelazny Nine Princes in Amber de Roger Zelazny (indirecte) The Guns of Avalon de Roger Zelazny (indirecte) Sign of the Unicorn de Roger Zelazny (indirecte) The Hand of Oberon de Roger Zelazny (indirecte) The Courts of Chaos de Roger Zelazny (indirecte) Llistes notables
Amber is the one real world, casting infinite reflections of itself - Shadow worlds, that can be manipulated by those of royal Amberite blood. But the royal family is torn apart by jealousies and suspicion; the disappearance of the Patriach Oberon has intensified the internal conflict by leaving the throne apparently up for grabs. In a hospital on the Shadow Earth, a young man is recovering from a freak car accident; amnesia has robbed him of all his memory, even the fact that he is Corwin, Crown Prince of Amber, rightful heir to the throne - and he is in deadly peril ... The five books, Nine Princes in Amber, The Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon and The Courts of Chaos, together make up The Chronicles of Amber, Roger Zelazny's finest work of fantasy and an undisputed classic of the genre. No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
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Roger Zelazny has a great writing style, very fluent, very smooth, great prose. It's been a while since I last was so engulfed by one's way with words.
As one other reader wrote in his review - see here: you have to read the whole series as one, not as stand-alone books, because they do link up and follow one another. That way you get to see the bigger picture, the puzzle being completed.
In the beginning, it's hard to discover who Corwin is, why he lost his memory, how it happened, who was involved, etcetera. Then you learn that he's part of a big family of brothers and sisters and that it involves the kingdom of Amber and specifically the throne. Some of the brothers/princes of Amber want to ascend the throne, as the king and their father, Oberon, seems lost or dead. Of course, there's a whole scheme behind it, each character has his/her reasons to help or work against the other. Hypocrisy, enmity, jealousy, distrust, betrayal, conspiracies, and so on... the evil that men do, unbelievable.
But apparently such events can also change a human being, making him see his errors and providing the opportunity to set things right, to renew the family ties for the better instead of the worst. And how to see what one really wants in life. Daddy's influence is here and there omni-present, it seems, as Corwin succeeds where he normally would fail or be dead. Zelazny added some nice surprises to twist the events and make you even more excited to read on, despite certain details (about certain characters or areas) not being (completely) known. But then again, were they all that necessary in the grand design?
Also, lovely to see how contemporary and Fantasy elements are mixed, how the scenery changes as Corwin goes into shadow worlds, working his way through different sceneries in the blink of an eye, changing the setting so he reaches his destination faster.
How the Trumps, or set of cards with pictures of the other family members, are used as smartphones avant la lettre. Swiping/touching the card, focusing on the picture and establishing contact. Even being able to be transported to where that other person is, through the card. Interesting idea. Star Trek ("Beam me up, Scotty" meets contemporary times).
However, as was probably very common back in the day (1970s): lots of smoking and drinking. It's still common today, but since there are anti-smoking laws in certain countries...
Long story short: A great series that kept me excited from start to finish, despite at times nothing much happened, not much action, yet all the more descriptions and dialogues. While the ending is an ending and things have been set aright, or sort of, it does make one curious of how it goes on. What about Amber? Will it be like before, how are the family ties now that there are two new members? And so on. I guess I'll have to read the other 5 books for that, no? But that's for later. The first five were very entertaining, so let's leave it behind with positive thoughts. :) ( )