All roads lead to Amber.
At least the attempt to annotate the novel «The Nine Princes of Amber» (and even more so the cycle «The Chronicles of Amber») looks problematic. It’s like describing in a “couple of lines” Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” or the same “Game of Thrones” by J. Martin (who, by the way, calls Zelazny his “key inspirer,” and simply admires the Chronicle).
“The most famous fantasy TV series in the world with millions of copies! Prince of Amber Corwin is the main contender for the royal crown in the true world — in the eternal Amber City [Амбере]… His memory is lost, he is thrown into one of the distant Shadows in the ocean of Chaos. Locals call this shadow “Earth” … It is from here that Prince Corwin’s path begins through the center of the world, through the throne, through the Shadow cast by Amber in Chaos … ”
Russo
Some call the “Nine Princes of Amber” a masterpiece, others are perplexed — “for what?”. One thing is indisputable: «The Chronicles of Amber» is the golden fund of fantastic literature and an indispensable member of any list of the «best».
And remember the main thing: everything is just beginning!
«Nine Princes …» is a dream book, when reading which you literally feel how gray everyday life is swept away by magic and a sense of miracle.
When I intend to throw something for an inexperienced reader in fiction to get acquainted with the genre, my choice invariably stops at The Nine Princes of Amber, because there is simply nothing better for this purpose, in my, probably, very immodest opinion, simply.
Uldemir
“When this book was recommended to me, I reacted to it with a fair amount of skepticism. After all, this is more a man’s book than a woman’s. Kingdom, a battle for power, some kind of incomprehensible Middle Ages or something like that … Needless to say, I fell in love with Amber himself and his heroes. Written … just mind-blowing. It is impossible to break away … The world is surprisingly colorful and versatile. It is difficult to get into it, but it is even more difficult to escape from its captivity ”
Reader
“Here you can feel not only the influence of Greek philosophy — there is much that an attentive and educated reader can discover: and numerous allusions to the cycle about King Arthur and knightly novels (even in names and titles we see an identity or similarity — remember, at least Avalon), and the influence of the ideas of analytical and Jungian psychology, and even the opposition of the Apollonian and Dionysian principles of Nietzsche … Zelazny, of course, is a very erudite and well-read author, and his love for mythology and philosophy, his knowledge of world literature and history is reflected here in one way or another.
Timofey Kuzmin
PS For those who have gotten to the end of the annotation — some thoughts about the genre:
“I read completely opposite reviews of the book with the liveliest interest. I agree with everyone and at the same time disagree. Many people judge this work from the point of view of the fantasy genre … This is a big mistake … Zelazny wrote primarily science fiction. Yes, almost all of his works fall out of the canons of both science fiction and mysticism and fantasy. His books are borderline …
Those who accuse Zelazny of the schematic character of the characters and the environment are absolutely right. It’s just that his books are not about that. For Zelazny, in principle, heroes are only a means. Strokes on the canvas. The main thing is the universe, the universe described in the book. The Chronicles of Amber is the gateway to the world of Zelazny, the most simple and adventurous. Whoever likes them will open up the whole world. Whoever doesn’t like it — it doesn’t matter, it’s just not its author. For me, The Chronicles of Amber is a labyrinth through which the author leads the reader. It doesn’t even lead, you fly over it, barely managing to notice the outlines of worlds, heroes and turns flying past. Are the landscapes around you or the characters of the passengers sitting with you in the trailer so important on the roller coaster?
Ostrovitjanka
© 1970, by Roger Zelazny
Publisher: «Glagol» dubbing studio, 2017
Translation: Irina Togoeva
Reader: Dmitry Orgin
Editing: Grigory Sokovikov
Proofreader: Lyubov Karetnikova
Cover: Anna Kolesnichenko.
…