The Chronicles of Amber

Rarely in my experience has an addition from the Gollancz masterwork range been a bad read, so with the Amber book I eagerly delved into Roger Zelaznys world. Compromising 5 books written in the 70’s the first Chronicles of Amber follows the trials and tribulations of Corwin, a man who has lost his memory on Shadow earth and seeks to discover more about his forgotten past.

From there Corwin gets plunged into a breathless medley of dysfunctional family life and otherworldly parallel travel as he retraces his steps back to Amber, and the answers that await him there. The first few books set off at a manic pace, and the fast paced start is in a way sustained by the partial ignorance of Corwin, and as the action fades and the intrigue begins, Corwin’s brothers and sisters begin to come more into play, and the story widens into many diverging rivulets of deception and knowledge.

The first few books in the sequence roll along at quite a breakneck speed; the plot is nothing too amazing. In the latter books the writing becomes more fluent and the imaginings more large scale. A real feeling of layers and back story infuses everything, and the heroic fantasy tone is more evened out by the Machiavellian antics of the Royal Amberites. It’s not perfect in places, the writing stalls occasionally, and sometimes I became weary of the inter dimension travelling parts, but overall nothing could seriously detract from the exploits Corwin relates to us throughout.

For any lovers of fast paced Heroic Fantasy, this is perfect, in that it also comes with a heavy dose of intrigue and other serious tropes, which shine against the fantasy background to great effect.

The Chronicles of Amber - 8 / 10