Nine Princes in Amber
Ratings137
Average rating3.6
This one's a bit odd. There is some great epic story woven in it but it's buried under poor story telling and decent characterization.
I liked Corwin but the whole amnesia thing was ridiculous. Not knowing who he is, he bluffed his way half way through this book with some insanely high stakes - his own life. It was done to explain how the world works as it's usual for characters with amnesia. But couldn't it be the other way around somehow? Like he would pretend he has amnesia but he really remembers everything? Or something like that.
Then there are the vague shadows and magic system which make little sense. Basically stuff is possible or impossible based on plot requirements. There are deus ex machinas as well.
I'm reading SF Masterworks edition and there were quite a few typos in the book which is odd since the book is more than 50 years old. You'd think they would've fixed it by now. There were letters missing or words contained typos. Once there were two sentences that repeated themselves with unique third sentence following. As if the draft wasn't edited and author forgot to cross one out. I don't know. So weird to see them in a modern printing of such old story.
But despite that I was intrigued enough to continue in hopes that this series will improve. This book is short enough that I'm willing to invest more of my reading time to this series.
Characters were interesting, this family drama upon which fate of the universe potentially lies. All of the characters are flawed in some way though I don't fully understand why everyone is suppose to dislike Random. Corwin makes for a good flawed, charming and selfish protagonist and given what he's against and his found love of humanity it's easy to sympathize with him.
If this book was aimed at 13yo kids in the 70's then it had fulfilled its purpose well but for today's standards it's out of date. Especially for adults. Which leaves me wondering if it's the 60 and 70 year olds of today that still sing praises for this series because they grew up with it. I can't fathom anyone giving this more than 3* unless it's out of nostalgia.
The story starts with the protagonist Corwin in a hospital bed and without any memories. He had suffered an car accident and although he could not remember anything, he knew that he had to get out of there.
Not wanting to betray his condition, lest others try to lie him, he bluffs his way throughout the book until he can find out who to trust. As he finds his sister, a thought comes to his mind: he may not know recollect much, but he is certain of one thing: never trust anyone, specially if they are your kin.
He begins to suspect that his accident may have been a murder attempt, and try to figure it out which brother or sister was responsible, and why. What's so important about him?
I wanted to give this a 4 because it is so rare for me to like something, and this is slightly above average.
This book is a bit light on Fantasy, since it mostly passes on our contemporary world.
I can still distinctly remember the very first scene.
This book (and its sequels) really tend to graft to the back of your imagination.
This started out strong, but as the mystery receded and the main characters' swaggering smugness came to the fore, I lost interest. The female characters are atrocious, the setting is too fluid and insubstantial, and there is hardly any characterization, aside from every key character being a violent egomaniac. As it progresses, the battle descriptions become the focus of the story, and they are extremely tiresome.
There are some interesting ideas, such as the narrator having amnesia and the magical playing cards. It's just not nearly enough to sustain my interest for a whole novel.
Le premier volume de la série des Princes d'Ambre. J'en garde un bon souvenir, mais bizarrement pas suffisamment pour avoir réellement envie de le relire après plusieurs années.
This is a memorable book with some magical images and scenes, but for me the direction it takes is unsatisfactory, and the sequels get worse.When I think of it, I think of Corwin's picturesque car journey with Random in Chapter 4, through a series of shadow worlds. Zelazny liked the idea of car journeys into strangeness; he used it again in a different way in [b:Roadmarks 939645 Roadmarks Roger Zelazny https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330347527l/939645.SY75.jpg 924623].The idea of the magical tarot cards is original and also appeals to me. But there are other things about the story that appeal to me less.I like parallel-worlds stories in general, but this one is odd in that they're all presented as inferior shadows of Amber, and that's a concept I don't really like. We're told about the wonderfulness of Amber, but we're not shown what's so great about it.Then there are the nine princes themselves (and their sisters). How is it that Amber the Wonderful has such a dysfunctional royal family? They've all lived and stayed young for centuries, but they behave like maladjusted teenagers—even Corwin, who's the most normal and most congenial of them from our point of view (rather like Sam in [b:Lord of Light 13821 Lord of Light Roger Zelazny https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330127327l/13821.SY75.jpg 1011388]). There's something called maturity that comes with age and experience, but it doesn't come to them.The princes pursue their adolescent quarrels by raising large armies of anonymous humanoids in the shadow worlds to do battle for them. This ugly and inelegant behaviour takes up chapters 6 to 8 rather drearily; it does nothing for the book, and Corwin is normal enough to be disturbed by it, although he participates in it.Zelazny also did this tiresome raising-of-armies thing in [b:Lord of Light 13821 Lord of Light Roger Zelazny https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330127327l/13821.SY75.jpg 1011388], but in other books I think he mostly depicted individuals acting for themselves, which is better.This book is worth reading for its picturesque images, and I'd encourage people to read it, but be aware that it has flaws. As for the sequels, I've read some of them in the past but don't plan to reread or review them. I don't recommend them. Better to read Zelazny's other books.The last time I read this book, I skipped chapters 6 to 8, because I remember roughly what happens in them, and I neither need nor want to read them again. Corwin persuades a lot of people to die fighting a war for him, which he loses; he's then captured, blinded, and imprisoned by his brother Eric. I'm willing to reread chapters 1 to 5, and 9 to 10.
Not a favorite of mine. I read this due to Dom and George and it's fun for what it is but it's age is really apparent and I don't like the first person but I am invested in the story to see it through.
I first read [b:Nine Princes in Amber 92121 Nine Princes in Amber (The Chronicles of Amber #1) Roger Zelazny https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1416090973l/92121.SY75.jpg 1383240] decades ago. Recently while perusing my bookshelf for my next read, I picked up the dusty book and idly started reading the yellowing pages. I was immediately hooked again by the story of those powerful, enigmatic, feuding princes of Amber. So it became my next read.It is still a great story.I believe I will continue this time and read Zelazny's entire Chronicles of Amber series.
This review is off of old memories, so forgive me. I was very intrigued by the concept of Nine Princes in Amber. I mean, this idea that all worlds are just shadows of this master world, Amber. And that there are people who can manipulate this at will is all pretty cool.
However, what we end up with is a bunch of characters who were all pretty much chumps, waging war for no purpose other than their egos (I suppose it is true to life then, eh?) and the fact that they can to become the ruler of Amber. The main character, Corwin, was completely unsympathetic. I had zero reason to want him to have any sort of victory. The other characters were all terrible as well. It moved both too fast and too slow, at times getting bogged down in silly details, and completely rushing to others.
I honestly cannot recommend this book, and just don't see any of the praise that is heaped upon this book.
An interesting but mixed bag. It's imaginative and unusual – I've not read anything quite like it – but it ultimately feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. The book is at its strongest in the first half, where, like the protagonist Corwin, we're fumbling to get to grips with the setting and stakes. Amber is an intriguing world and the magic is exciting, though it all feels a bit made up on the fly.
I struggled with the writing style the most. There are multiple layers of anachronism to contend with: the of-its-time voice of Corwin's narration, speaking of digging stuff and getting creamed; his relative antiquatedness when in the modern world; and his equally alien modernity when in the magical world. I'm sure there's a degree to which the use of slang and language is intended to be jarring, and sometimes it works in fun, pulpy way, but it often goes a few degrees beyond that, just leaving me a bit baffled as to the book's desired tone.
I admire Zelazny for gunning for an epic scale while briskly avoiding an epic page-count, but the snappy length comes at the expense of rounded characters and a defined world. I'm curious to read more Amber because I have so many unanswered questions, but if the writing style remains much the same, I'm not sure I'll be sold on the series.
I've had the first few of these on my shelf for years but haven't previously picked them up. This was a seriously enjoyable page-turner. Still processing it mentally but already started book 2 (Guns of Avalon).
The characters are complex and interesting. Sibling rivalry to the extreme, let's just say. Interesting setting/world-building. Loved it.
Un livre écrit à la va-vite, bourré d'idées géniales et de phrases stupides. Je vais en rester là, merci.
Nine Princes In Amber by Roger Zelazny
“Besides, I like libraries. It makes me feel comfortable and secure to have walls of words, beautiful and wise, all around me. I always feel better when I can see that there is something to hold back the shadows.”
― Roger Zelazny, Nine Princes in Amber
Zelazny's writing is front and center in Nine Princes in Amber. There is a frankness and abrupt sentence structure that is partially refreshing and wholly dull. However, the potential refreshment is shattered as the writing style is supplemented with constant summations of events that could be exciting or emotional. The protagonist having his eyes burnt out and spending three years in prison takes twenty pages, three of which detail his sleeping patterns. Nothing is described with more than a single adjective, and it is more than not a color or size. The recruitment of literally hundreds of thousands of “red and tall guys” and “short and furry guys” is not talked about at all, yet both military groups fight loyally to the death. It might be interesting to here how this happened! Are there more races? How did Corwin find these races to recruit them? What did he say? There are so many questions that are completely ignored if they don't seem to progress the main plot in Zelazny's mind. At times, it seems like bad fantasy and bad writing.
Points must be given to the creative plot, which is both unique and intriguing especially towards the end. But this is mostly due to an amnesia gimmick in the beginning, an obstacle the hinders the reader far more than the protagonist. During this forgetful phase, the main character is somehow able to quickly get information without arising any suspicion, unbelievably conducting conversations like a frustratingly vague super sleuth. This lasts in every conversation until 67% in the book.
The book could be a singular diamond in the rough, but it's a 1/2 carat diamond in a mountain of rough– rough writing, pacing, dialogue, and a lack of any character development.
I would skip this book, although I can't say if it's worth plowing through for the sequels.
The book is roughly split into two halves, the first of which takes place in 1970s Earth and the second which takes place in Amber. Amber is the one true world of which all others are but a shadow, and nine brothers are competing for its throne.
As readers, we figure out how the magic goes along the way. There are Trump cards that can be used to magically contact the person portrayed on them and a Prince of Amber can travel through Shadow worlds at will. It is fairly easy to travel to Amber, but much harder to leave.
The book follows several of the princes and princesses of Amber, centering around Corwin. Corwin is a mighty warrior and songwriter, and he spends the first half of the story trying to recover his lost memory. His greatest enemy is his brother Eric, who tries to claim the throne of Amber for himself when their father disappears.
These are the main characters that really stand out. There are several encounters with other princes and princesses of Amber, but they are brief. The most intriguing character is Dworkin, the mysterious artist who originally crafted the Trump cards, but he went missing many years before the story begins.
In the opening scene, Corwin wakes up in a hospital bed with no memory of who he is or how he got there. After managing to muscle and bluff his way out of the hospital, he encounters his sister, one of the princesses of Amber. His sister has no idea that Corwin is missing memories, so he does his best to pretend like nothing is wrong and learn just what the hell is going on. Slowly, Corwin starts to understand the world around him.
About halfway through the book, the struggle for the throne of Amber becomes the main conflict. Corwin's brother Eric has decided to crown himself king, and Corwin decides to oppose this.
The story is told in first person from Corwin's point of view, and the prose is elegantly direct. Zelazny doesn't use three words where one will do, and this helps to keep the book moving quickly. A lot happens in the 175 pages of this book, and the writing style helps avoid a rushed feeling.
In the second half, the writing takes a slightly more detached approach. The events portrayed are viewed from a macro level rather than up close and personal.
This is one of the most easily digestible works of classic fantasy I've read. It's short, the prose is straightforward and memorable, and the pacing is quick.
You might like this if you like urban fantasy that strays away from things like vampires, werewolves, and demons. The first half feels a bit like a magical Jason Bourne, where Corwin must slowly discover what it means to be a prince of Amber.
This might not be for you if you need books with relatable characters. Corwin starts out sympathetic but shifts away from this as the book progresses. Most of the side characters get little development, and there are almost no female characters in the book. I've heard that the characters become more interesting in the sequels, though. This is also not the book for you if you dislike long drawn out battles that feel like lists of numbers instead of an actual story.
Overall, this is a fairly significant book to the fantasy genre and you could finish it in a couple of sittings. There are rumors of a television series being produced by the makers of The Walking Dead, so now might be a good time to check this series out.
Well written, but I did not really care about the characters. Nothing made me sympathize with them or care about what they do. For me there was no reason behind their actions besides wanting power. And that mixed with the amnesia was a bit bizarre.