Zelazny, Roger

The Great Book of Amber: The Complete Amber Chronicles, 1-10 (Chronicles of Amber)

Average customer rating:

There Is A Better Edition Available
The GREAT Book of Amber is...GREAT!
Comments on the edition
Chronicles of Amber
The Pattern Revisited

The Great Book of Amber: The Complete Amber Chronicles, 1-10 (Chronicles of Amber)
Roger Zelazny
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lord of Light
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Roger Zelazny's Shadows of Amber
Roger Zelazny's To Rule in Amber (New Amber Trilogy)

ASIN: 0380809060
Release Date: 1999-12-08

Amazon.com

Roger Zelazny's books have three things in common: a flawed hero who sometimes fails, endlessly surprising plot twists, and a blend of lyricism, literary allusions, and sly puns that makes the pages fly. The Great Book of Amber, collecting all 10 Amber novels, is vintage Zelazny. Despite some irritating typographical errors, it's invaluable for anyone who wants to read or reread the tales of Corwin and his son, Merlin.

Corwin is a prince of Amber, the "immortal city from which every other city has taken its shape." All other worlds, including Earth, are shadows of that reality. Corwin has spent centuries on Earth as an amnesiac. But when someone in the family tries to kill him there, Corwin begins a search for his past. He quickly learns that his family has some very unusual powers. They can travel between Amber, its shadows, and Chaos by manipulating reality; use magical playing cards to communicate and travel instantaneously; and are able to walk the Pattern that created Amber. Corwin regains his memory, solves the mystery of his father Oberon's disappearance, and fulfills his destiny--only to disappear into Chaos.

Merlin searches for Corwin and his destiny as a son of both Amber and the Courts of Chaos. His story parallels Corwin's, answering many questions about Amber, Chaos, and the next generation in the family.

Many readers have complained that the series goes on too long and the ending is disappointing. None, however, would deny that it's filled with fascinating ideas, complex characters, and action-adventure. Don't miss a chance to make up your own mind. --Nona Vero

Book Description

All ten of Roger Zelzany's classic Amber fantasy novels in one book! Join Corwin, Merlin and the others in wild adventures in the lands of Amber, Earth, and the Courts of Chaos, where the powers of Amber and Chaos constantly battle for supremacy through intrigue and adventure. Revisit Amber, the land of mystery, adventure and romance. Amber, the one true world. All other worlds, including our Earth, are merely Shadows.

Customer Reviews:

There Is A Better Edition Available.......2007-06-12

I completely agree with the spotlight reviews that the Amber series by Roger Zelazny is the the greatest Fantasy series ever. Well I should clarify - the first 5 books are perfect. Zelazny is at his absolute peak of his writing prowess. The subject material is worthy of his talents. These books have a nobility and clarity that is amazing. I've probably read them 10 times since I first devoured them at 16 years old 28 years ago. As for the second 5 books - they are not in the same class. They are interesting and worth reading once or twice, but not in the same classic mold. The characters are not as interesting and Roger's writing skills had dropped off considerably. To be honest they are not worthy of being in the same book as the first five segments. There has been one hardcover, and one hardcover only, that collect the 5 first perfect Amber stories in ONE volume. It is called The First Chronicles Of Amber and it was published by the Science Fiction Book Club in 1999. Which means that you did not see it new in stores. But you can find it used and in good condition right here at Amazon for just a few dollars. This is the perfect way to read this classic collection - as a single novel 700+ pages long. You won't get anything better than this.

The GREAT Book of Amber is...GREAT!.......2007-05-28

I had read the first five books in the series as a teenager about 10 years ago...I was happy to find that I enjoyed it even more as a 'grown up'! Roger Zelazny's style is exciting and fast paced and this series is some of the best fantasy fiction I have read. Reading the second half of the series for the first time, you can notice the transition from Roger Zelazny to the new authors ('The Amber Corporation') but they try to capture his style and they do a pretty good job. Overall, the whole story is so complex, exciting and well written it's hard to stop reading! Also, buying it in this large volume with all 10 books makes it so much easier reading, as in the single editions it's not very clear which order the books are in. Also very good value!

Comments on the edition.......2007-05-24

I love the series, but plenty of other people have said that. Let me say a couple of things about this omnibus paperback edition containing both the first and second Chronicles of Amber.

1. The cover art is uninspired and weird. It doesn't map at all well with the textual description of Amber.

2. It's too damn big. Why not print each Chronicle in its own 400+ page paperback.

3. There are a fair number of typos and they obviously come from scanning and optical character recognition errors.

Other than that, reading this book was like catching up to an old friend and I appreciate that it's in paperback again, even if the choices made by the company producing it were lousy.

Chronicles of Amber.......2007-05-12

I remember finding the first book in this series years ago and waiting anxiously for the next one. I lost a lot of books in the many moves so am more than pleased to find them all again in one volume. I thought the concept of being able to change your world as you were travelling to a place completely different was wonderful and spent many happy hours in the car trying just the same thing (it never worked!). This is a great series and highly recommended to anyone who enjoys science fantasy

The Pattern Revisited.......2007-05-03

Sometimes when I walk the Pattern I get to thinking of Roger Zelazny's books. It's not that I believe in Amber and Chaos as the ultimate Good/Evil symbols. (I prefer green or red lights to those amber ones whose meaning is somewhere between "speed up" and "slow down.") Nor do I wear a snake as a bracelet that I can toss around to choke people when I don't like them (although the idea seems very attractive sometimes). I don't travel by Trumps, and I prefer the Magician's Nephew to Merlin, son of Corwin. I do, however, like Zelazny's books. And I do walk the Pattern from time to time. Try it. You'll like it.

Average customer rating:

Subtle
"And then the fit hit the...!"
One of my favorite books
Archetypal example of fantasy on a bed of hard SF
Zelazny weaves a complex tale.

Lord of Light
Roger Zelazny
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060567236
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Amazon.com

In the 1960s, Roger Zelazny dazzled the SF world with what seemed to be inexhaustible talent and inventiveness. Lord of Light, his third novel, is his finest book: a science fantasy in which the intricate, colorful mechanisms of Hindu religion, capricious gods, and repeated reincarnations are wittily underpinned by technology. "For six days he had offered many kilowatts of prayer, but the static kept him from being heard On High." The gods are a starship crew who subdued a colony world; developed godlike--though often machine-enhanced--powers during successive lifetimes of mind transfer to new, cloned bodies; and now lord it over descendants of the ship's mere passengers. Their tyranny is opposed by retired god Sam, who mocks the Celestial City, introduces Buddhism to subvert Hindu dogma, allies himself with the planet's native "demons" against Heaven, fights pyrotechnic battles with bizarre troops and weapons, plays dirty with politics and poison, and dies horribly but won't stay dead. It's a huge, lumbering, magical story, told largely in flashback, full of wonderfully ornate language (and one unforgivable pun) that builds up the luminous myth of trickster Sam, Lord of Light. Essential SF reading. --David Langford, Amazon.co.uk

Book Description

Earth is long since dead. On a colony planet, a band of men has gained control of technology, made themselves immortal, and now rules their world as the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Only one dares oppose them: he who was once Siddhartha and is now Mahasamatman. Binder of Demons. Lord of Light.</p>

Customer Reviews:

Subtle.......2007-05-31

This story was a joy to read. Centered on the characters, and their choices in a conflict of their own making, the narrative does not let any of them off easily.

"And then the fit hit the...!".......2007-04-21

For a couple of years, Roger Zelazny was reliably the best author in the field of science fiction/fantasy. When I write "best," I mean both the most satisfying to his fans and the most accomplished in a literary sense. During that time he used religion as a hook and nimbly cavorted through the pantheons. "Lord of Light" and to a lesser extent "Creatures of Light and Darkness" were novels of brilliance, but two of his novelettes were lightning bolts constrained to paper and ink: "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" and "But for a Breath I Tarry."

Zelazny, himself, didn't fully appreciate his triumphs. He thought he was in a rut. I remember an interview that appeared in some long-since forgotten magazine in which he said he disliked being regarded as merely a writer of religion-oriented themes.

Not long after that, his bank account grew and his talent shriveled as he was drawn irresistibly into the black hole of his own making that was Amber.

One of my favorite books .......2006-12-25

I have only praise for Lord of Light and lately, 25 years since I read it in high school, I have this notion that Lord Of Light is Zelazney's back handed homage/parody of Lord of
the Rings. There are so many odd parallels, Christian vs. Hindu, and the Sauron like Lord of the Dead who causes revulsion in just about everybody. Anyway, it's just a thought.

Archetypal example of fantasy on a bed of hard SF.......2006-08-11

At the time this was first published it was a ground breaking novel. It became the prime example of an apparently supernatural society solidly built on a "rational" technological base. And yet, the characters who understand these technological underpinnings maintain a spiritual existential awareness that is atypical of the hard science novels that attempt to undermine directly, or through metaphor those with supernatural or theistic beliefs.

Most importantly, this is a thoroughly entertaining book, great Summer read, with well done characters.

Zelazny weaves a complex tale........2006-07-11

"They called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He himself preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed not to be."

Lord of Light was Roger Zelazny's third novel and it won him the Hugo award for Best Novel in 1968.

The story on the surface seems like diefied fantasy, based around the Hindu pantheon. Deeper in however clues are revealed as to what is truly going on. The book starts out with the introduction of Sam, or Buddha, or Siddhartha, or any of the half dozen other names he is known by. Each of the subsequent 5 chapters are flashbacks telling the story of Sam's fight against "Heaven", with the seventh and final chapter occurring chronologically after the first.

Many consider this to be Zelazny's finest work. I still prefer the first Chronicles of Amber, but I can certainly see why other choose this. Once I got a grasp on how the story was being told, and began to pick up clues as to what the gods truly were the story made a lot more sense. This is a book that really makes you work.

8.5 out of 10

Average customer rating:

Great book!
Worthy posthumous addition to RZ's legacy
Many answers
great book
Only for the devoted Zelazny fan

Manna from Heaven
Roger Zelazny
Manufacturer: Wildside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0809530953

Book Description

This new collection includes all five previously uncollected "Amber" stories, plus the prologue from the rare limited edition of Trumps of Doom, and 16 other fantasy and science fiction stories (including a collaboration with Harlan Ellison).

Customer Reviews:

Great book!.......2007-03-29

One of the only places to find many of the short works by this wonderful author. Definitely an enjoyable read!

Worthy posthumous addition to RZ's legacy.......2007-01-03

Roger Zelazny wrote some of the finest fiction I've ever had the pleasue to read. Although this collection of shorts does not match the quality of his other anthologies, there are still plenty of stories that ensnare the mind and entice the imagination. The Amber shorts at the end of the book made me want to reread the entire series for the umpteenth time. A gifted writer who was taken all too soon, Roger Zelazny truly has channelled some Manna from Heaven in this compendium.

Many answers.......2006-02-25

Good book, sure answers a lot of questions that were left unanswered in Zelazny's last Amber novel, as well as expanding on a few side stories that seemed like they were left on the editing floor from that same novel. The balance of the book is traditional Zelazny, always leaves you wanting more....alas, I imagine this is truly the last from him. RIP RZ

great book.......2006-02-25

I was impressed with Zelazny's ability to make short stories great stories. I knew from reading the Great Book of Amber that he could write a spot-on novel; Manna From Heaven confirms his ability to turn one page into a whole universe...

Only for the devoted Zelazny fan.......2005-09-14

While this book contains a few short (some very VERY short) stories I had not read before, most have already appeared in other volumes of stories (such as the Kalifriki of the Thread stories and the title story). This volume has some significance in that it was edited and put together posthumously. I was someone disappointed in the quality of editing in this book, noting numerous typographical and spelling errors.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful read, shockingly well done!
A Great Re-Telling of the Fall of Satan
Fantastic accomplishment
I'd give this 6 stars
Sometimes getting a story you didn't expect is a good thing

To Reign in Hell: A Novel
Steven Brust
Manufacturer: Orb Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312870493

Book Description

Steven Brusts Vlad Taltos novels and his swashbuckling tales of Khaavren have earned him an enthusiastic audience world-wide. But To Reign in Hell has been out of print for yearscausing used copies to trade for improbable sums. Now, at last, To Reign in Hellreturns to print in a paperback edition, with an introduction by Roger Zelazny.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful read, shockingly well done!.......2007-06-21

This book was suggested to me from Amazon, and the premise was enough for me to buy it and give it a chance. It was part of a big order so it took awhile to get around to reading it.

The book starts off really strong, and to some the writing could come off as strange and hard to understand. I had no troubles, just time. I ended up setting this book down again (before the climax of the story began), only to recently pick it back up and I'm ashamed to have ever set it down.

The story is great, all the key names are written extremely well. To read lines from "Satan" and "Lucifer" without seeing relentless evil and ill-intent is surely a change for some, and it takes the ability to read those as just names to truly enjoy this story.

I highly suggest this to ANYONE.

A Great Re-Telling of the Fall of Satan.......2007-04-20

The first wave of angels come out of uncertainty and nothingness. Yaweh, is one of the first, but he's not God. He is essentially duped into declaring himself as God. The Son is a spoilt brat. The hero, of course, is Satan.

Piers Anthony's "For Love Of Evil" seems childish and quite plain compared to this well written and entertaining story. We all know that Satan will fall, but its in the 'how' of this fall, and the 'why' of it that Steven Brust keeps the reader interested. This book makes for great commuter reading.

Fantastic accomplishment.......2007-03-16

The accomplishments here are nothing short of spectacular.

Imagine writing a book populated with some of the most well known characters in Western history: Yahweh, Jesus, Satan, Lucifer (yes, they are separate), and the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. They all need unique personalities. If they're not, if they're retreads of biblical, Dante, Milton, or others, then the book fails.

Then imagine creating a reason for God to create the Cherubs, Seraph, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, etc. Give all of them a purpose.

Imagine creating Heaven, giving essence to creation itself - a Big Bang, in effect.

Imagine giving reason for the Fall. Not just the reason given in The Book of Revelations, but a rewriting, of sorts, and one that absolutely has to make sense.

This should seem impossible. Only the greatest writers in history have succeeded when touching this material.

I'm not going to suggest that Steven Brust is one of the greatest writers in history, but I will emphatically state that he was unbelievably successful.

And he did his homework. He dug deep into Christian mythology (I'm saying mythology because many characters come from Dante, Milton, or others, and were never seen in the Bible), and must have spent hours upon hours plotting this novel.

It helps if you do your homework too. Luckily, I own a book called THE DICTIONARY OF ANGELS. You probably don't, so I'll help out a bit.

Regarding having distinct Satan and Lucifer characters: there is no biblical evidence that supports the two share identities. I won't go into the various proofs, just take my word for it. If you have doubts, Wikipedia does a fine job explaining the difference between the two.

Brust also does a terrific job with the character of Jesus and the relationship between father and son.
I'm going to quote Wikipedia because they do a better job explaining the theory of creation than I could, and indeed, after I read theirs, I understood better what Brust was writing about. It was fairly complex. "In the beginning, there was cacoastrum, the stuff of chaos. As the flux shaped itself, it occasionally created illiaster, the fabric of order. A being of illiaster was spontaneously created, imbued with self-preservation, and this being fought against the cacoastrum. In the struggle, six more beings were created, and together, the seven created a vast hollow orb that temporarily sealed out the chaos. These were the Firstborn: Yaweh, Satan, Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, Leviathan and Belial.
During the Second Wave, the walls of Heaven collapsed, and the Firstborn fought again, rebuilding their stronghold, and in the process, hundreds of archangels were created. This happened yet again, and the ordinary angels were created."
It helps to have information about some of the angels:

(Disclaimer: I am not Christian, and do not believe in either angels or demons. This list is merely composed to help those who don't have access to other materials reference some angels and demons from the book.)

Bath Kol: Never identified as a character, only in passing reference to a supposed relationship with either Kyriel or Sith. "An angel, often spoken of as female, whose name means "heavenly voice." the angel is said among the Syrians to have the voice heard by Cain asking "Where is thy brother, Abel?" after Cain murdered his brother. Bat Qol is also said to have visited the famous second-century A.D. rabbi Simion ben Yohai (the supposed of the Jewish mystical work the Zohar) while he was imprisoned. in the sense of Bat-Kol, the angel can represent the divine voice that announces the will of God."

Kyriel: One of the 28 angels governing the 28 mansions of the moon.

Sith: Angel of an hour (6 to 7 o'clock); a regent ruling a planet.

Leviathan: In the book, the Regent of the West. In the Enoch parables, Leviathan is the primitive female sea-dragon and monster of evil, associated with Behemoth (who is not referenced in this book).

Ariel: The name has many implications, but Shakespeare saw Ariel as a sprite, and to Milton Ariel is a rebel angel, overcome by the seraph Abdiel in the first day of fighting in heaven.

Abdiel: According to Milton, the angel who overcomes Ariel in the first day of fighting in heaven. Brust takes Abdiel and runs with him.

Mephistopheles: Derived from the Hebrew "mephiz", meaning destroyer, and "tophel", meaning liar. One of the fallen archangels, and one of the 7 great princesof Hell.

Michael: One could write for hours. For brevity's sake: he ranks as the greatest of angels, whether in Jewish, Christian, or Islamic writings, secular or religious. He is chief of the order of virtues, chief of archangels, prince of the presence, angel of repentance, righteousness, mercy and sanctification, and conqueror of Satan. Archangel.

Belial: A great fallen angel. From Milton, "Belial came last; than whom a Spirit more lewd/Fell not from Heav'n, or more gross to love/Vice it self."

Asmodai: In Milton, spelled Asmadai. One of the 2 potent thrones. Uriel and Raphael are credited with vanquishing Asmadai. In the book, Asmodai is a builder of sorts, a blacksmith. Asmodeus, a name closely related to Asmodai, is credited with being the inventor of carousels, music, dancing, drama. There may be no connection.

Uriel: Like Michael, one could write for hours. He is one of the leading angels in noncanonical lore, and ranked variously as a seraph, cherub, regent of the sun, flame of God, angel of the presence (remember that Michael is prince of the presence), presider over Hades, etc. Archangel. A patron angel of literature and music.

Raphael: The name seems to mean "God has healed". One of the princes of the presence and regent of the sun. This archangel is extremely healing to all living beings. Raphael grants joy, healing, love, miracles and grace. Archangel.

This certainly isn't an all-encompassing list, but it should be enough to get you started. You don't need to know what Milton, the Bible, or Dante said about any of these entities to fully enjoy the novel, but Brust has some good tongue-in-cheek fun that you would miss out on otherwise.

I'd give this 6 stars.......2006-08-12

Written word was created for a work like this, a gem that makes those weary of scanning all there is available in today's world. This is a book where every word can be savoured; a true classic that should be a tutorial for those wishing to learn creative writing, the concepts of independence, self-reflection, the pursuit of "truth", and finally a fresh perspective on what it is to endure the experience of being human. Fresh because Brust has the boldness, the brains and the creativity to break through deadening dogma and create a blue print for others to turn thier world upside down and look to the truth of finding their own reality through thier own experience.
Abstract forces give rise to form that is life and this life experiences itself, struggles to survive and in so discovers it's nature, strengths, weaknesses, ability to grow and ultimately the enviroment that forces the individuals into actions that the characters repeatedly struggle to resolve, wishing it could be different.
Brust rips through the ultimate death created by dogma by turning everything upside down causing the reader to awaken either by excitement, shock, anger or pure joy at reading a truly original work.
This book requires consciousness, awareness, a mind capable and working and if it isn't when you pick it up, it will bring you around to it when you put it down.
It is also an excellent action book, a thriller entertaining you as it causes you to think twice about routinely excepting historical, cultural, religous "truths".
Brust tenderly presents each of his characters to interact in a way that shows the struggle of responsibility, tolerance, pluralism, and human rights as his characters struggle to survive and create a better world. Sound familiar? Read the book to go beyond the familiar. Have fun. I loved it.

Sometimes getting a story you didn't expect is a good thing.......2006-07-06

I never expected the story that I got from this book. I thought I would get a story written from a slightly more theological perspective but I've found that I like the authors method better. Those great names of Judeo/Christian religion, are given a human face and from that stand point, the plot makes perfect sense. Very good story, I recommend it to anyone.

Average customer rating:

"It Is As Close As The Harvest Moon"
Magical insight to the DC Universe
Good beginning.
This is the reason graphic novels were created...
Good Art, Decent Story

The Books of Magic
Neil Gaiman , Scott Hampton , Charles Vess , and Paul Johnson
Manufacturer: Vertigo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1563890828

Customer Reviews:

"It Is As Close As The Harvest Moon".......2006-02-01

Neil Gaiman works on a different level when he approaches graphic novels. While the apparent story in The Books of Magic is a straightforward tale of the initiation of a 12-year-old boy's initiation into the possibilities of magic it quickly becomes clear that there is a whole lot more going on. If Gaiman has any fault at all it is that he goes to every effort to get the reader to make the necessary intellectual leaps and sometimes the reader needs a little more action.

Timothy Hunter has all the appearance of a slightly nerdy 12-year-old, right down to horn-rimmed glasses and a skateboard. What he doesn't know yet is that he has the potential to become one of the world's greatest magicians (and I don't mean the pulling rabbits out of a hat kind). But four powers do know, and decide that Tim should be prepared to make an informed decision to accept or reject his gift. Not all these agents are equally well disposed toward Tim, but each is going to take him on a trip through the magical side - for good or for ill.

Each of the four voyages - whether it be meeting historical or present day magicians, trying to stay alive, visiting the world of Faerie (where you have to follow all the rules), or taking a trip to the very end of everything - are both an adventure and a lesson in magical things. Tim learns about dark and light, chaos and order, and power and its absence. Heady stuff for a 12-year-old, and Gaiman does not shy away from complex discussions.

In the end Tim must make up his own mind and understand the consequences. He will do so better prepared than he would have been otherwise. And Gaiman will have shown the reader the inside picture of his version of fantasy. It is often intricate and full of dark promise, but always, there is somewhere where the light falls on wonder.

Magical insight to the DC Universe.......2005-10-17

A beautiful tour of the Magical side of the DC Comic Universe. Very dark, and very interesting. I haven't read any of the ongoing series yet, but Neil Gaiman certainly makes it hard to resist with this work.

The story is Mainly told through 4 magical characters plucked from the DC Universe to show young Timothy Hunter the nature of magic and allow him a choice of whether or not to pursue studies in it. However, the path of the work weaves throughout to come in contact with many other intriguing magical characters that populate the DCU.

As always, Gaiman is great and if you are interested in the DCU at all, this work will enrich your understanding of it.

Good beginning........2005-10-11

Nail Gaiman, The Books of Magic (DC Comics, 1993)

Comic books, like television sitcoms, have spinoffs when they get popular. All in the Family spun off The Jeffersons. Cheers spun off Frasier. The Sandman spun off The Books of Magic (which in turn spun off The Books of Faerie, though that could also be seen as a Sandman spinoff... it gets complicated, you know?). And yet The Books of Magic takes a whole different direction, in its first book, than one would expect from a Sandman spinoff; Gaiman mines the world of horror comics (Roger Zelazny, in his introduction, seems to have an almost horrified fascination for the depth of Gaiman's knowledge about obscure comic characters) and comes up with a foursome, called "The Trenchcoat Brigade" by member John Constantine, who are to find a young British boy named Tim Hunter, who has the capacity to become our age's finest wizard, and present to him the choice of whether he wants to become a wizard at all or not. (Presaging, one might add, a certain movie regarding red pills and blue pills that a whole lot of people seem to be fond of.)

I am not as knowledgeable about obscure comic book characters as Neil Gaiman, and so I only know one of the Trenchcoat Brigade, Constantine. (I do vaguely remember references to Doctor Occult in my preteen reading, but those days are lost in a lot of fog.) Gaiman retains the spirit of Constantine, but as with the many authors who have been a part of the Hellblazer series over the years, puts his own stamp on the character; he's recognizably Constantine, but not Garth Ennis' or Brian Azzarello's Constantine, he's Neil Gaiman's. Which is a little odd at first, but one gets used to it relatively quickly. (I assume the same can be said of the series' other borrowed characters, but don't quote me.) The interesting thing is how Gaiman's imagination of Constantine fits so well within this world; there's always a bit of jarring when a new team takes over a comic, but Gaiman's absorption of Constantine is flawless, as if he's always been a Gaiman character.

Very odd, and very interesting, and definitely worth continuing with. ****

This is the reason graphic novels were created..........2005-02-28

This is a fantastic story! I've been reading all of DC's comics since the mid 1960s, and this story brings back so many of DC's horror and mystery characters that every time I turned the page I found myself pleasantly surprised by another old friend. Those readers who are only familiar with the spandex crowd of heroes will not be able to enjoy the full flavor of this story, but the story builds to an outstanding conclusion that puts this story in the same league as the Swamp Thing "Gothic" series about the building battle between Heaven and Hell. By all means, buy it!!!

Good Art, Decent Story.......2004-09-27

Books of Magic is the story of a boy, Tim Hunter, who is confronted by 4 mysterious strangers. They give him a choice: live in the world of science, as he has so far, or enter the world of magic. Each takes him on a journey to reveal what entering the world of magic may mean. This provides four stories - one for each journey.

For me the streangth of this comic book is the graphics. They were very well done and colorful. My favorites were pages with a semi-abstract montage feel. Normally I'm all about the black and white accompanied by the lower price tag, but in this case the art is worth the price. Very few of these pictures could have been done as effectively in black and white.

The story was pretty good overall. There were many intrusions by established comic book characters. Usually these bother me because I am not that into comic books and have no idea what is going on. Here they mixed in well and didn't detract from the book. The page layouts flowed well, especially for the final story in which Tim is taken into the future by the blind guide, Mister E. Characters reappeared from story to story so the whole book hung together well. It wan't memorable but it wasn't hard to read eigther.

One thing you probably have noticed if you have looked at the cover of Books of Magic, which shows a kid with glasses and disheveled hair and an owl is "Hey isn't this like Hairy Potter." Nope they are pretty different. (Books of Magic was published first and I haven't seen anything about it in the media, so I'm assuming it's all a big coincidence.) Unlike the Hairy Potter books, Books of Magic has sex references and violence (at one point Tim Hunter wades through a river of blood) so read it before you give it to your darling little children.

I recommend Books of Magic if it is easily accessible. The art stands out, but for me the story wasn't memorable.

Roger Zelazny's Visual Guide to Castle Amber

Average customer rating:

A Review from the Middle of the Road...
Disappointed
Much maligned, but quite interesting
I Wanted My Money Back
Dandy Candy for the Zelazny Fanatic

Roger Zelazny's Visual Guide to Castle Amber
Roger Zelazny , and Neil Randall
Manufacturer: Avon Books (P)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0380755661

Customer Reviews:

A Review from the Middle of the Road..........2003-10-09

I've never understood the "love it or hate it" reaction that so many people have to this book.

Zelazny was interviewed by Randall and Hamilton for the express purpose of creating this little book. He described the people, the places, and the history of Castle Amber in more concrete detail than you get from the 'Amber' novels, and his descriptions were then "fleshed out" a bit with original prose and illustrations to create 'The Visual Guide to Castle Amber.'

Your guide is Flora, one of the characters from Zelazny's 'Amber' series, and her narration takes you on a floor-by-floor tour of the Castle. Each floor and many rooms of the castle are mapped and thoroughly described. There are also Trump illustrations, along with an incomplete family tree (the 'Visual Guide' appeared before all of the 'Amber' novels were published). Quite interesting, fairly well-organized and well-presented, and authorized by Roger himself. What's the fuss?

The way that fans react to this book has always been amusing to me. Depending upon the individual, the 'Visual Guide' is either a foul blasphemy that defiles THAT WHICH IS THE ONE TRUE AMBER, or else it's a definitive "last word" that was so important that Zelazny assumed flesh-and-blood form to deliver it to the unworthy masses.

I look at it this way: The 'Visual Guide' is ONE VIEW of what Amber might be like, informed by Roger Zelazny and expanded by a couple of self-professed Ambermaniacs. I've seen better, I've seen worse. Generally speaking, I like the maps fairly well but most of the Trump illustrations are run-of-the-mill. I enjoyed leafing through this book quite a bit, and I'd say it's worth reading if you're an 'Amber' fan like me, but I don't go back to it time and time again the way I do with Zelazny's fiction.

Taken for what it is, the 'Visual Guide' is a nifty piece of fan art and fiction, no more and no less.

Disappointed.......2003-04-16

I got this book expecting to read about the secrets of Castle Amber, to put a "face" on the Pattern, and to see some COLOR pictures of the beautiful artwork described in the books. None of that happened. There was no color, only black and white floorplans of everyone's rooms. ZZZ. Worse, they made all the Amberites obsessed with Earth. They made it seem like they were all there all the time, with everyone having a decor drawn from Earth. And worst of all, the authors made no effort to give a picture of the Pattern. I always have a hard time trying to visualize it.

For nonfans, this book is filled with allusions to the other books, so it may pique your interest to read the others. For someone familair with "Corwin's story", it was very very tame.

Much maligned, but quite interesting.......2003-01-29

Looking over the past reviews, one would surmise that this book is simply awful. Actually, quite to the contrary. Example: The illustrations are far from crude. In fact, they are well-drawn and very detailed. I think this is similar to the controversy surrounding the "Lord of the Rings" movies coming out. Many fans are crying "Heresy!" because the director's vision doesn't fit their notions of how the characters look and act. ....Read this one, and enjoy, it is rich!

Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books / Krakow RPGs

I Wanted My Money Back.......2002-08-15

This book is formatted as a walk-through tour of the castle, with some discussion of major characters. I bought the first edition in 1988, and eagerly started reading it for its promised "revelations." Instead, I found it to be a HUGE disappointment. Anyone who is "into" Zelazny's Amber novels will cringe at the vast number of errors in this book and the insipid illustrations. Although Zelazny is listed as first author, he seems to have had next to nothing to do with the contents of this book, and he certainly didn't write the banal text. Errors run the gamut from maps that are at odds with the text in Zelazny's books, to listing as dead a character who isn't, to making ludicrous claims, such as non-royals going mad if they view the Pattern (an artifact central to the Amber novels). The illustrations disagree with the original text. There are major conceptual errors, such as describing part of Amber as "almost" an archetype, when it is by definition *the* archetype. The authors used a character from the novels as a tour guide, and then crudely mishandle her persona in their writing. The only good thing about this book is the encouragement it may offer would-be writers: if something this bad and sloppy can get published, then almost anything can. If you are interested in this book's topic, *The Complete Amber Sourcebook* is a much better choice, despite a few errors.

Dandy Candy for the Zelazny Fanatic.......2000-04-18

Steeped in succulent tidbits of Amber lore as this book is, it nevertheless has simply atrocious illustrations, crudely drawn and obvious, committing crimes in black and white thankfully left unsaid in color. Years ago, after eagerly obtaining a copy on its first printing I sadly found my finely spun images of the people and places that cast the shadows I adored in Zelazny's world butchered to such an extent I simply gave it away. Recently however, a new friend's eyes sparkled so at the mere mention of possession of this crude tomb that I must bow to tradition and give this book its due; it has apparently a worthy place in the frugally documented world of Amber. The parts I liked best had to do were descriptions of those places whose location was mutuable, such the Hall of Mirrors.

Average customer rating:

Wascally Sheep I'm gonna Hunt You
Things Pretending to be People
Do people dream of them?
Great read.
One Of the Few Movies that are Better Than the Book

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Philip K. Dick
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1568658559

Book Description

"The most consistently brilliant science fiction writer in the world."
--John Brunner
THE INSPIRATION FOR BLADERUNNER. . .
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published in 1968. Grim and foreboding, even today it is a masterpiece ahead of its time.
By 2021, the World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn't afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep. . .
They even built humans.
Emigrees to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn't want to be identified, they just blended in.
Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids, and to retire them. But cornered, androids tended to fight back, with deadly results.
"[Dick] sees all the sparkling and terrifying possibilities. . . that other authors shy away from."
--Paul Williams
Rolling Stone

Customer Reviews:

Wascally Sheep I'm gonna Hunt You.......2007-05-24

I have never dreamed of Electric sheep so does that mean I'm not an Android? I doubt it would matter. I'm pretty sure none of the androids we have ever known dreamed of them. I don't recall Yul Brynner in "Westworld" or Arnold Schwarzenegger talking about it in "Terminator". I certainly don't recall Data in the "Star Trek: Next Generation" exposing the lack of sleep causing him to resort to such a measure. I know Isaac Asimov's robots didn't since I read all his Robots and Foundation series. Why is this book even discussed to any degree? Two reasons. One, it is a good book with some unusual ideas. Two, if it wasn't it would never have caught the eye of movie producers and directors and led to the making of "Blade Runner". Now the fact only have some roughly similar viewpoints doesn't make either the book or the movie bad. I think each are great in their own medium. And why would anyone say you can't judge a book by it's cover? Duh! So although I get the book, I like the movie. I can't help it I'm into visualization. But those of you like to feel the paper, cloth, or leatherette binders I understand.

Things Pretending to be People.......2007-03-24

This anti-robot novel is oft misunderstood by those who come to it with expectations formed by the pro-robot movie. The novel is essentially a paranoid fantasy about machines which pretend to be people. The pretense is so horrifyingly effective that a bounty hunter engaged in the entirely necessary task of rooting out and destroying these monsters finds that his own humanity has become imperiled.

The novel "DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?" re-titled "BLADE RUNNER" to tie it to the Ridley Scott film loosely based on it, remains available under either title (and with separate entries on AMAZON), but it is the same book. The film studio wanted to market a "novelization" of the film, but PKD adamantly refused to authorize this, forcing them to instead market his original novel under the film's title. Good move, Phil!

This decision, however, has led to confusion and/or disappointment when readers approach the novel with expectations formed by the film. Many reviewers here (whether they like the book, the film, or both) have commented on how different they are. Few seem to realize, however, the extent that they are in direct and fundamental conflict. Some praise the book for tearing down the distinction between man and machine or promoting other nihilistic views and pro-robot messages that the author would have found abhorrent. Others pan it for lack of focus, or for otherwise failing to promote the film's pro-robot agenda as effectively as the film did.

The book is anti-robot and pro-human, and seeks to uphold the distinction between robot and human, and between illusion and reality, in the face of a most-insidious challenge. The common man is celebrated for his basic decency -- specifically his capacity for basic empathy and compassion -- and deplores the robots for their complete lack of these qualities. In the book, even a "chickenhead" (a mentally retarded human mutant) is infinitely more valuable than the smartest robot.

The film was pro-robot and anti-human, promoting the idea that a compelling illusion is equivalent to reality. It glorifies the android as a sort of superman ("more human than human") -- stronger, faster, more beautiful, more intelligent, -- who seem poised to inherit the future on a dying Earth. The film even seems to admire the robots for their ruthlessness.

The book makes Deckard (the protagonist) human, and loyal to humans. The film has Deckard switch sides and join the robots. Indeed, in the film (not the book) Deckard may himself be a robot (the latter is never made explicit, but director has made clear it is what he intended). This means that, in the FILM, there are virtually no sympathetic human characters -- those characters who suggest that a man is worth more than a computer program are portrayed as bigots.

In PKD's view, the androids are unquestionably monsters who must be destroyed. The irony, and the central problem posed in the novel, is that their ability to SEEM human (which,, in the NOVEL, is never more than meticulously-programmed fakery), means that those who must destroy robots risk damage to their own humanity in the process. Thus, the author approves of Deckard's wife, whose sympathy for the "poor andys" is evidence of her humanity, while still approving of Deckard's assignment.

In the novel, the robots' increased ability to fool the VK test is merely an advance in programmed mimicry of human test responses. The film, on the other hand, treats the improved performance on the VK test as evidence that the robots are truly "human". But the film's robots do not demonstrate compassion in any meaningful way. The agenda of the film is NOT so mcuh to show that robots are as compassionate as humans, but rather to show that humans are as ruthless as robots (as evidenced, mainly, by their willingness to kill robots). This agenda is eerily similar to that of the TV androids near the end of the novel, who set out to expose human empathy as a myth.

In the novel, the title question must be answered in the negative. Androids DON'T care about other creatures. It is humans who have the capacity care about other creatures -- ironically, even about androids -- even electric sheep.

So many, even among the author's admirers, have missed the novel's true focus that it may be best to defend my interpretation with a quote from the author himself, made shortly before his death (quoted in the book "Future Noir"):

"To me, the replicants are deplorable. They are cruel, they are cold,
they are heartless. They have no empathy, which is how the
Voight-Kampff test catches them out, and don't care about what happens
to other creatures. They are essentially less-than-human entities.

"Ridley, on the other hand, said he regarded them as supermen who
couldn't fly. He said they were smarter, stronger, and had faster
reflexes than humans. 'Golly!' That's all I could think of to reply
to that one. I mean, Ridley's attitude was quite a divergence from my
original point of view, since the theme of my book is that Deckard is
dehumanized through tracking down the androids. When I mentioned
this, Ridley said that he considered it an intellectual idea, and that
he was not interested in making an esoteric film."

Do people dream of them?.......2007-03-01

We all know that Bladerunner is based loosely on this book. Very loosely. They are two separate works - I like them both, but they need to be considered independently of each other.

It's an "After the War" setting, with the existential emptiness of not really knowing who was fighting, or who launched the weapons that scorched so much of the earth, or maybe even what the weapons were. It hardly matters, since the world is a radioactive waste, with daily reports on fallout the way we expect reports on rain or high tides. The governments want everyone out, to colonies on the other planets. As incentive, they offer a free robot to everyone who leaves, built to request. If you qualify for an exit ticket, there's no down side.

Unless you're one of the robots. Slaves, really, since they're carbon goo instead of steel and silicon. Of course, some few try to escape. Of course, since their factory-made minds are so agile, many succeed. Of course, the people (such as they are) who remain on Earth are fussy about "skin jobs" who killed real people (whatever that means) in order to escape. Enter Decker, a quasi-cop whose job is to bring back enough cells to confirm the kill.

Despite it forty-year age, the story remains strong and vivid. Lots of things morphed on their way to the silver screen, including J.R. Well, that's OK. They're different media. They tell stories different ways, and that means that they have different stories to tell. Even with the movie update, this one is still strong and original.

//wiredweird

Great read........2007-02-08

Great read to anybody that has any slight interest in this style of science fiction.

One Of the Few Movies that are Better Than the Book.......2007-01-08

A thought provoking story, but too scattered to bring any one idea into focus. The movie it inspired, "Blade Runner", was much better.

Average customer rating:

Pure insanity, but would have been better if finished by A.B
There's an explenation...
A very nice blend
Psychoshop
Good, thought provoking book

Psychoshop
Alfred Bester , and Roger Zelazny
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679767827
Release Date: 1998-06-30

Amazon.com

This is a posthumous collaboration by two of SF's greatest writers, Alfred Bester and Roger Zelazny. Bester had completed half of the manuscript before his death in 1987, and then Zelazny finished it off before his own passing in 1995. In his introduction to this strange mix, Greg Bear calls the work an improvisational duet, and he is, as usual, right on the mark. This isn't so much a coherent novel as a story passed between two of the genre's more stylish writers. Fans looking for The Demolished Man or Nine Princes in Amber will be disappointed. Instead, what they'll find is the tale of Alf Noir, a reporter who travels to Rome where he finds a 3,000-year-old shop that trades in the strange dealings of the mind. Not only is the shop not what it seems, but its proprietor, Adam Maser, is not what he seems. And soon Alf will come to realize that there is something unusual about himself as well. --Craig E. Engler

Customer Reviews:

Pure insanity, but would have been better if finished by A.B.......2002-03-18

This book is like almost any work of Phillip K. Dick...incredibly insane, but as hard to stop reading as it is to stop smoking... The problem is that I just keep getting this nagging feeling that the book would have been better if Alfred's insanity would've finished it...instead, you can clearly tell Zelazny's parts because they're just too sane--I'd have liked for Alfred's insanity to culminate in the incredible ending that it already has.

There's an explenation..........2001-01-11

The book deserves ofcourse 5 stars ,but since each of the giants wrote better on his own - let there be four.

It's almost blesphemy ,but I think the book would have come out better if Bester would be alive to finish it on his own. Not that the late Zelazny ruined it or something ,it's just that opposite to a few other reviewers ,I could tell when Bester stops and Zelazny takes over. It's not a bad change ,bad there's a change. of pace .of style. of plot direction.

As it came out at last ,it's a wonderfully written ,humoristic (not really FUNNY but light-hearted) ,with that Bester quality of PKD chaos ,but not as gloomy ,and zelazny's action ,and a number of sub-plots converging at the last possible point. Overall one of the best half-light reads i've had.(half-light 'cause Bester's style is more heavy ,but not domminant).

Very recommended.

A very nice blend.......2000-08-27

This book blended the two author's styles nicely. It was a lot of fun on the second read, trying to pick which part was written by whom. The fight scenes were pure Zelazny. Wonderfully crafted by a skilled fencer & Aikidoist.

Psychoshop.......2000-08-03

This book is very fast pased and gets interesting from page one. The characters are not what you expect. And eveery time you see them in a new light

Good, thought provoking book.......1999-03-07

I picked this book up because I thought the title and the cover seemed pretty interesting. Once I started reading I couldn't stop, which is rare for me because I prefere TV. Yet i sat there for a few long sessions and finished the book. I think the books views and their meddlings in history are very well thought out. The plot twists are superb and the fight scene is fantastic. I really enjoied this book.

Average customer rating:

I sincerely hope this one comes back into print
A fine light fantasy
Well, That Was Interesting
Zelazny does a horror movie roman a clef
Fun, breezy Zelazny novel with atrocious illustrations

A Night in the Lonesome October
Roger Zelazny
Manufacturer: Avon Books (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0380771411

Customer Reviews:

I sincerely hope this one comes back into print.......2007-04-03

This is one of my favorite novels of all time, and one I go back to again and again. A short book and an incredibly quick read, I think I devoured this in one sitting the first time I picked it up.

Come on, how can you go wrong with a story told from the perspective of Jack the Ripper's dog?

A fine light fantasy.......2007-01-03

A fine light fantasy. It aims to be amusing rather than deep, so the plot (good and evil fighting over opening a gate) is just an excuse to create a Victorian horror pastiche, including The Count (Dracula), The Good Doctor (Frankenstein), a witch, Jack (the Ripper), a mad Russian monk, The Great Detective, a Werewolf. Each "player" is accompanied by a familiar. Our narrator is the watchdog Snuff, the ever alert assistant to Jack.

Lots of fun, provided you don't expect the plot to fit together.

The second-hand copy I had was in really bad shape, but I liked the book enough I ordered a soon-to-be-printed UK hardcover copy.

Well, That Was Interesting.......2006-07-21

Definitely an interesting book. But, it's nothing like normal Zelazny (if there is such a thing as "normal" with Zelazny's works). I almost put the book down shortly after starting it. The initial chapters were so short, the narration (by Snuff, the dog) was very simplistic (perhaps "shallow" is a better word), and the illustrations were pretty terrible, so I wondered if this might be a children's book. But, I persevered. Though the illustrations never get any better, the chapters lengthen and Snuff's narration skills grow as the book progresses. By the end, it's a pretty good read. This is sort of a tongue-in-cheek mild horror book and it's nowhere near as complex as I'm used to with Zelazny. But, it's definitely "interesting" and, overall, I rate it at an OK 3 stars out of 5.

Zelazny does a horror movie roman a clef.......2006-05-17

Zelazny definitely wrote this in competition with Philip Jose Farmer's "Nothing Burns in Hell" (which was a Detective Noir). It is just a fun book to read and reminded me of movies like "Abbott and Costello meet the Wolfman" and "The Three Stooges versus Dracula".

All of our old friends are there, the Wolfman, Dr. Frankenstein and the Monster (called Experiment man), Jack the Ripper (as a good guy), a Witch named Jill, even the Great Detective makes an appearance, not to mention a crazy Vicar, and all their familiars. A dog named Snuff is our narrator, and takes a good period of the time to explain what is going on and what will happen on Halloween. It seems that everyear, these people get together and some of them try to open a portal to allow the Elder Gds to come back to earth; others are there to stop them. Every thing else revolves around mechanizations and probing among the group.

The story itself is a great piece of nonsense, and the pleasure is reading the colorful narrative and how the different characters interact with each other.

Fun, breezy Zelazny novel with atrocious illustrations.......2005-11-11

Reading this book is like going to a "greatest hits" concert by one of your favorite bands. Zelazny seems fully aware of what makes his work most enjoyable, and this book, sadly one of his last, is one of his fastest and most accessable. As usual with Zelazny, a group of magically talented individuals has organized for a conflict the nature of which becomes clear only gradually. Rather than the Amber family or the Hindu gods (or people replicating them or whatever was going on in "Lord of Light") it's figures from 19th century fiction, the actual 19th century, and early monster movies. Hence Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes, and Dracula are all characters and so forth, and the nature of the conflict turns out to be referential rather than original as well. The book is narrated by Jack the Ripper's dog (!), which makes it sound terrible, but it's actually a ton of fun.

However, the book is marred by awful, cartoonish illustrations by the never-talented Gahan Wilson. They're poor -- in one of them I couldn't figure out where the dog's face was -- and totally inappropriate in tone to the material. That might be forgiveable if two of them weren't placed in locations that give away major plot twists well in advance of the text reaching that point, a la the Nancy Drew books. You'll note they hired a much more talented artist to do the cover. Someday this book will come out without the cartoons and be unadulterated fun.

Average customer rating:

An excellent Light vs. Dark story

A Dark Traveling
Roger Zelazny , and Lebbeus Woods
Manufacturer: Avon Books (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0380705672

Customer Reviews:

An excellent Light vs. Dark story.......1999-07-01

The worst thing about this story is the fact that the late author never wrote a sequal. A Dark Travelling involves a boy who gets extra-hairy during full moons, his adopted sister who is a witch, his brother who lives in a castle and the exchange student who lives with them, having been raised as a trained assasin. They are part of a group of families which together controlls the secret interdimensional commerce between parallel worlds, and who support a revolution on a Darkband... an alternate reality where forces of Dark have taken over. This was a fascinating novel for Zelazny's younger fans, with visible influences from A Wrinkle in Time and the Dark is Rising sequence

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