The chronicles of Amber
by Roger Zelazny · first published 1972
68% recommend23% neutral9% critical
Why HN recommends it
Dark, imaginative fantasy series about a supernatural family, with spare, vivid prose and inventive universe-building; suits Game of Thrones fans and readers who like rereading, with many returning yearly.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This volume collects all ten novels tracing the adventures of Prince Corwin and his son Merlin, as they discover what forces are attempting to destroy them, and in the process, save the fabric of reality itself. 1. Nine Princes in Amber 2. The Guns of Avalon 3. Sign of the Unicorn 4. The Hand of Oberon 5. The Courts of Chaos 6. Trumps of Doom 7. Blood of Amber 8. Sign of Chaos 9. Knight of Shadows 10. Prince of Chaos Not all editions listed on this page are for the same book, for example the 1978 and 1972 editions are limited volumes. The 1978 edition includes only Sig
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I am a journalist. I write articles about gadgets, web, science, technology, space, and the like. And I love to read fiction books. My favorite book is the "The Chronicles of Amber" by Roger Zelazny. It's a magnum opus of 10 volumes about life and adventures of a supernatural mythical family. And for a long time I had a dream – to make this book into a movie. And at some point…
on “Ask HN: I Want to Make “The Chronicles of Amber” into a TV Series. How?” ↗…(not a native English speaker) and couldn't go further than first 2 pages. It's just filled with random words with no explanations (yet?) On the other side of spectrum I remember reading reading Zelazny Chronicles of Amber, as a kid (translated to my language) and absolutely loved it
on ““Dune” (The Movie), Annotated” ↗Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen is a monstrous 10 book (finished) series with a huge, ancient, complex universe, a great mythos and some epic plotting. Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber is pretty dark and very well written. That's all I've got for darkdark fantasy. I can recommend everything Gaiman has written though you'd be better off starting with the Sandman, his best work.
on “Entitlement issues (2009)” ↗Thanks for this. I have read the Chronicles of Amber and really enjoyed Zelazny's writing. I will put this on my list of books to read.
on “Ask HN: What's your favourite sci-fi/fantasy book?” ↗If you liked "Game of Thrones", try "Chronicles of Amber" by Roger Zelazny. I hope one day they will make a movie or TV series based on it. As for sci-fi, you can learn from it too (the science part). Also, many older sci-fi ideas became reality (robots, flying…
on “Why should I start reading science fiction?” ↗Personally, like your suggestion for Gaiman, I highly recommend anything written by Roger Zelazny. If you enjoy the Chronicles of Amber, you might also enjoy Jose Farmer's World of Tiers series. Along a similar vein but dissimilar enough that it's worth the read.
on “Entitlement issues (2009)” ↗Dune, by Frank Herbert. The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny. The Count of Monte Cristo. Lord of the Rings.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite non-technical books?” ↗"The Golden Age" by John C. Wright - just awesome, and I agree with the values of the main character "Chronicles of Amber" by Roger Zelazny - for imagination and badassery Favorite short story is "Understand" by Ted Chiang - mind-expanding ;) Also in general the lesser known Heinlein books are amazing. Not a fan of Stranger…
on “Ask HN: What's your favourite sci-fi/fantasy book?” ↗- Most books by Roger Zelazny. The guy code write with a few words, he could paint an amazing picture. Chronicles of Amber, Lord of Light, Isle of the Dead, etc... - And a trashy Candyman , https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2020/05/10/book-review..., not the one everyone is used to, this was so mind boggling to a 13 year…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗…exist for the universe, but should not be a mandatory pre-requisite. Preferably it needs to avoid large battles, big creatures and alien architecture, all that to lower production costs. For example - Chronicles of Amber by Zelazny, super cool, I would very much like to see it on TV but honestly it would be a failure in production, butchered by the studio and abandoned after 1 or 2 season while needing 5+. Another example…
on “Four book adaptations we want instead of more Lord of the Rings movies” ↗* The Chronicles of Amber (10 volumes) * CODE - Microsoft Press * Snowcrash
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗+1 to Zelazny's take on magic. Didn't realize Changeling was meant to be a trilogy (although that makes a ton more sense in retrospect, too bad it never had a threequel). I also find his Chronicles of Amber to be an interesting take on Universe building, although the magic system is less formulated (but damn is the whole Pattern/Chaos thing cool). All of which to say: if you haven't read Zelazny you should,…
on “Breaking Out of Scientific Magic Systems in RPGs” ↗I reread Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Amber, and Dune, at least once a year. I guess that I've read each of them at least 20 times each. The only other book that I've read more than ten times has to be Stranger in a Strange Land.
on “What book have you reread the most?” ↗…them are worth it). Something else that I loved to read when I was younger(12-14) was Winnetou, but my tries to check it again once I get into my 20s wasn't successfull, so maybe it was just a phase. Chronicles of Amber is another great fantasy series which I would love to recommend, although the series wasn't finished and is left in a pretty huge cliffhanger, but yet the 10(shortish) books are all awesome and the world,…
on “Ask HN: What's your favorite novel? Why?” ↗Also a vote for Lord of Light, I re-read it (or Chronicles of Amber) yearly after my first read some years back.
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗