Mages, scribes, and chroniclers

As long as science fiction and fantasy fans continue reading, there will be those who excitedly and vigorously recommend works they enjoy to friends, relatives, colleagues, and acquaintances. Call it what you want: nerd culture, geek speak, book clubs, or just plain sharing of likes and ideas.

The same process of dissemination can be observed for other media. And in the days of texting, blogging, Facebook, YouTube, etc., you can share with an enormous group of readers.

About a year into my college days I began hearing references to a must-read book titled Nine Princes in Amber by author Roger Zelazny. “It’s really, really good!” my friend John Kratz told me. He had a copy, but someone else was reading it at the time. That was the first mention. The second recommendation probably came from another friend Joe DeLuca. So, the seeds were planted.

My third semester found me in the Holy Grail of college courses, Current Themes in Literature: Science Fiction. Professor Collins assigned reading from a Science Fiction anthology of short stories from the best writers. They ranged from H. G. Wells to Octavia Butler. Our class also read half a dozen novels and independently chose a novel to write a research paper about.

We were introduced to a great variety of styles and sub-genres in that class. So many authors, so many books, so little time. I truly had taken my first step into a larger world.

Roger Zelazny was an author featured in the anthology. That author again. The one with not just one but two “z”s in his name! We learned that Mr. Zelazny was not just accomplished in penning prose. He was a poet as well. His story “A Rose for Ecclesiastes” featured a linguist tasked with translating the language of a dying race on Mars. During the short story, the linguist finds the time and inclination to write a short but stirring poem about a Martian named Braxa.

Getting back to Nine Princes in Amber, my friend Charles Delp was the third person to tell me to look into it. So, after that semester, in which I was also taking Literature: Short Story–hey, I wanted to be a writer, sue me–I read Nine Princes. And I loved it!

Nine Princes… **SPOILERS POSSIBLE AHEAD** begins a five book series (now known as the Corwin cycle) telling how a lost prince of Amber regains his memories of his former life and returns to reclaim his birthright.

Corwin of Amber has been living on our Earth since the time of the Black Plague. The story opens as the 1970s are beginning. Carl Corey, as Corwin has been known, awakens in an out of the way New York hospital suffering from amnesia. His legs are in thick casts, the result of an apparent vehicular accident. Sensing deception on the staff’s part, Carl extricates himself from the casts, the bed, and the hospital. He makes his way to the nearby home of his sister Flora, the only relative noted in his files.

He watches her surprised reaction upon appearing at her upscale house. Next he converses with her, trying to discover more about himself, her, their family, and what happened to him before the accident.

Flora leaves the room at one point which frees Carl to search her desk. He finds a strange deck of cards, face cards only, containing portraits of his relatives. His portrait and Flora’s are included. The phone rings, and he answers it.

A man on the line asks for protection. Carl asks who it is that is calling. The man recognizes his voice and is stunned. He reveals himself to be Random, and now he asks for Corwin’s protection. Corwin plays a hunch and agrees.

The rest of the book is a whirlwind of excitement, revelation, and magical occurrences. Corwin does manage to regain his memories a few chapters later. All except the immediate happenings before and after his car accident. He is brought up to speed about the events in his homeland of Amber of late. His father King Oberon has vanished mysteriously, and several of his siblings have designs on the abandoned throne. Chief among these aspiring regents is his older brother Eric whom Corwin despises.

If this setup doesn’t appeal to you, then stop reading this blog entry. Amber might not be for you. But if you like what you’re reading here, then read a little further.

The first batch of chapters are fairly unique. They read slightly more like a detective story. Corwin begins his first person tale devoid of memories. As he picks up bits and pieces of his past so too does the reader. Until his memories are miraculously restored, the reader knows just as much as he does.

After the restoration, Corwin still has to find out what is happening in Amber and who his allies are. What has happened to Oberon? What are the strange forces that were pursuing his brother Random? Where is mad Dworkin, the wizard believed to be Oberon’s sire?

Nine Princes of Amber is followed by The Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon, and The Courts of Chaos. Your mileage may vary as to their quality. I greatly enjoy them. They are books that I love to re-read.

After Corwin’s tale concludes, the first person narrator becomes the protagonist of books six through ten: Merlin.

Merlin, grandson to Oberon, is a young computer programmer recently graduated from a university on our “shadow” Earth. Unlike the Corwin cycle, Merlin’s saga begins with him possessing his complete memory. He reveals that he has a secret admirer who’s been trying to assassinate him year after year on the same date. Couple that with his horrible discovery that his girlfriend Julia has been murdered, and you have the makings of an intriguing followup to the first five books.

I enjoy all ten Amber novels by Zelazny. I have to admit that I prefer the Corwin cycle. It just really compels and entertains me.

Sadly, Roger Zelazny passed away from cancer in 1995. It kind of puts the screws to future Amber projects. John Gregory Betancourt wrote a few prequel novels about Oberon, but the final book was never completed. Controversy surrounds this endeavor. Zelazny told his writing peers he didn’t want them playing in his Amber sandbox. His estate approved Betancourt’s proposal of a continuation, but it later waffled over it. That is why the final book was not finished.

Upsides to Amber’s end exist. Many people believe that Roger Zelazny planned a third cycle of Amber novels. Evidence of his plans can be seen in short stories he wrote after tenth book Prince of Chaos was published in 1991. Beyond that, we’ll all have to puzzle it out for ourselves what he had planned for the future.

They are some of the best books never made into films or television series. And at the end of the day, if you are able to read that is perfectly fine. It’s all in those pages waiting for you.