First Half, Amazing, Second Half, Not So Much

books:

	• The Great Book of Amber: The Complete Amber Chronicles, 1-10 (Chronicles of Amber) Roger Zelazny Eos, 1999 - 1264 pages average customer review:based on 211 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

First Half, Amazing, Second Half, Not So Much

Would that Roger Zelazny had stopped after the first five chronicles in this series of ten. If he had, I'd've had no trouble giving the collection five stars. He builds a world unlike any other, pushes it to the limit, and uses its unique plasticity to great purpose in the first half of the series. ...And then in the second half he kind of goes off the rails. I also wish that I'd only read the first five books. If you get The Great Book, I recommend cutting it in half after the fifth book, and throwing books 6-10 away. Keep 1-5, read them often and treasure them.

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The Chronicles of Amber

I read each of these books that originally came as a series. Yes I waiting for each of these books to come out and couldn't wait for the next one. It is great to have them all in one enormous book now. If I can only find the time to read it again!

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Amber

This book is fantastic in every sense of the word. Dashing characters move through all sorts of time and space to have mind-blowing adventures through a unique and deadly game of sibling rivalry. The protagonist of the first five is one hell of a Renaissance man. Technically superior, thrilling plotline. The only criticism I would have is that many of the characters seem to speak and think like the narrator.

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Somewhat uneven

Because Amber is essentially two stories, I'm separating my review into two parts. I really wanted to like it as a whole, but to me the two parts of this book are somewhat unequal.

Chronicles of Amber 1-5
Five stars

The first half of "The Great Book of Amber" is told from the perspective of Corwin. It begins with Corwin in a hospital with no memory of who he is, where he's from, or what exactly he's doing there to begin with. The reader is pulled along while he tries to discover all these things, meeting some interesting characters along the way. (Random is one of my personal favorites.)

What I loved about the first part of this book is that the writing style is very neat and precise. Zelazny does not waste the readers time with being overly verbose. He doesn't need to use 100 words when 10 will do. I found it very easy to read and more than that a pleasure to read.

Also, Corwin is an interesting anti-hero of sorts. Sometimes he has a tendency to do the "wrong" thing and it makes him more interesting. He is not a perfect, shiny hero, instead fighting for plenty of selfish reasons as well as for "the greater good." Part of the story is spent trying to clean up after his own mess. But I loved reading from his perspective, and I found him likable flaws and all.

As a narrator he worked well because of his amnesia. The reader is just as confused as he is at times, and finds out his story along with him.

Beyond that, I find the entire setting of Amber fascinating. Amber is the only real place in existence, and everything else is just a shadow cast from it. The magics used in this book are interesting and I thought innovative, such as using the trumps for communication and teleportation. The entire first half of this book was fascinating and a pleasure to read.

Chronicles of Amber 6-10
Three stars

The second half of this book was told from the perspective of Merlin, Corwin's son. I really wanted to like Merlin, but I never found him quite as interesting as his father. I spent a lot of time skimming pages hoping for some mention of Corwin, or that he would show up soon.

While the writing was just as good, some of the plot was harder to follow and at sometimes seemed to skirt the line of being too abstract. I did enjoy the second part, but not nearly as much as the first part and I didn't relate to the characters as well.

Also, the ending was fairly... anticlimactic. It seemed more like a pause than "credits roll" and it felt like someone had just stopped in the middle of a sentence.

If given the option, I would recommend just reading the first five and stopping there.

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The most fun I've had sitting down!

I shouldn't have liked this book. First of all it's huge, there are a million characters and due to the basis of the book the author can whip up a deus ex machina any time he needs. I mean how can such a "light" book stick with you as long and as well as this work of Zelazney? Simple... just create an old fashioned swashbuckling tale that forces you to turn the page.

I loved the characters and the writing. My favorite line in the book is the first line in part two of this book: "It's a bitch waiting around for someone to kill you." That kind of catch-you-off-guard writing kept the me rivited to my seat for all of the 1264 pages. Even after that much I was sad the book was over. I wish Roger was still with us for there is so much more to be said and done in Amber but alas.

If you are looking for a fun adventure buy this book!

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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.

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