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"Nine Princes" Final Thoughts *spoilers*
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I've read this series a couple times. I'm not even sure why I love it so much. The characters are a bit thin. I think it is the beginning is written to draw you into the characters problems right away without any background knowledge necessary. That and the strange magic system.
The entire Chronicles of Amber (all ten) are a must re-read every few years. When friends who haven't read Tolkien ask me to recommend a good fantasy story to them, this is what I tell them to read. There's so many good aspects to these novels: the politics between the surviving siblings, each with their unique strengths and weaknesses; the action; the interesting supporting characters, especially Dworkin; and, most importantly, the metaphysics of the Pattern and what it means to survive walking it..
Well, I personally wouldn't recommend the last 5 books. They seemed almost like they were written by a lesser author.
I first read these books about 20 years ago. I've read them a number of times since. I think what I liked so much about them besides the great story, interesting magic, was that they were written in first person. 
awesome series read it years ago and always recommending to fellow fantasy lovers
I remember reading this, book by book, as it was first published. Took a long damn time, too...but worth the wait.Since then, I've probably read the series a dozen times, and God knows how many copies I've bought as gifts.
For me it does for fantasy what DUNE did for science fiction. It's psychologically and politically complex, accessible, funny, fast-paced and devious. What more could you want?
I broadly agree with all the forgoing. I read this series as it was published and loved it.I never re-read books. There are simply too many others waiting to be read. The Amber series is the only exception I can think of (well, I've started Swann's Way at least three times, but that's a different story).
But I also partially agree with—
David wrote: "Well, I personally wouldn't recommend the last 5 books. They seemed almost like they were written by a lesser author."
Read the Chaos books, but they are a bit of a letdown.
When I was quite young, the local library had an incomplete set of books from both Amber series. They all had the same cover design with little blurbs that assumed that you knew the plot, and they weren't numbered. There would never be more than two of them on the shelf at the same time.I ended up borrowing whichever books were available and read both series mixed together over several months, in the wrong order, with books missing, and tried to figure out what was going on, because it seemed like the coolest story ever.
It was only many years later that the Fantasy Masterworks editions came out and I actually read the whole story in order, and the older me still thought the first series was probably one of the coolest stories ever.
OK, I finally got this from the library and sat down last night for a fun romp through Nine Princes in Amber. I was captured from the beginning and found the story very interesting. It is a bit of work keeping the siblings straight. It was interesting to see how Corwin is a bit more altruistic than his siblings, and even seems to bring out that virtue in them once in awhile.I also found the scene where Corwin crowned himself very funny.
The library only has the first 5. I'll at least finish these.
I finished the first two a very short time ago as the book I got from the library had the first two stories. I thought the story was very well crafted. The elements of action, suspense, humor and plot were well combined to make it an enjoyable read. A previous post noted that the characters are a little thin, I agree with that assessment. It seems to me that the progression has been to provide more detailed and developed charactors, i.e. The Wheel of Time and Game of Thrones series. Some sci-fi and fantasy books have not aged well due to these changes. I thought it applied to these books as well as some Isaac Asimov books I recently read. What do you think?
i agree for science fiction and fantasy that the characters have often become less thin. Though there are still a lot of boosk out there with characters who are nothing more than speaking cliches with a sword.
I remember finding this book by accident in a library that had very little SF and Fantasy. It was a landmark read for me at the time - still is, in many ways. The ideas still hold up, the premise is still very original and strong.I didn't mind the lightness on the characters - the book had so many great points, and the fast pace kept me engaged.
These were some of the first books I ever scraped up the money to buy in hardbound, new. Even got them signed - they are still a cherished part of my collection - which says quite a lot.
Up until a little over halfway through the book, I didn't know how I felt about it. The characters, since they aren't fully developed, didn't grab me emotionally. When the battle came, I didn't overly care what happened to them and, like Laura said, I had a hard time remembering which sibling was which and where they fit in. The characters seemed to just drop in momentarily and then they were gone again without leaving a lasting impression. I guess I'm not used to that. I'm used to reading books that are a lot longer, more descriptive, and the characters have greater roles. Although, in the books Erick describes (Wheel of Time and Game of Thrones), there was a little too much development, so I got sick of reading some of the storylines, especially of the characters I didn't like or who annoyed me, and started skimming to get through them.So although I had mixed emotions for most of the book, as I got closer to the end all the strange and wonderful things Roger Zelazny mentions but doesn't explain have actually made me incredibly curious. I want to know more about the curse, what happened to Random, and learn more about Dworkin and his crazy drawing talent. The 5 pages he was in didn't do him justice!
This book accomplished what the first book in any series should and left me wanting to read more, so now I have to get the rest of the series and see what happens next!
Sara, I have to agree with you, that the characters are underdeveloped and I just couldn't care about them. It was a very quick read, but probably not the best choice to read on the Prince of Peace's birthday.
I encourage everyone not to stop with 9 Princes. If you go on and read the next four, that concludes the Corwin sequence. Then you'll see more character development, and to me it was very satisfying how Zelazny brought it all together.
One of the best fantasy series ever... When I read it through I started to read it again. ;-) Discover lot of plot details which I missed the first time.
I read this many years and even though it is still enjoyable I find it less captivating than when I read it in my teens.
I just finished 'Nine Princes' the other day and have started 'Guns of Avalon'. My s.o. loves this series, so we have the version that has the complete cycle in it. I was actually kind of ambivalent about continuing, and am doing so moreso for his sake - and his promise that it gets better - and also because the cliffhanger ending left me curious.I agree that I found the characters a bit thin, but am also trusting that they get more developed as the series progresses. He said he also prefers the Merlin part of the series to the Corwin part. I think, for now, I'm going to finish the Corwin arc and move on to other things and finish the Merlin arc at another time. That is unless the series gets much better.
I liked that the story was short. I thought the telling was odd. With the action sequences, with the "I lunged and he parried and riposted, I parried this, feinted and attacked, etc" type descriptions are odd. On one hand I'd prefer an action sequence which engaged me. On the other hand, if they're not that engaging, at least they're brief.
I was also somewhat annoyed that none of the sisters seem to play a major role in the stories. Each of the brothers gets his own paragraph of description. The girls are all lumped into one paragraph, and each get one or two lines. While I'm not sensitive enough to such things to let it annoy me overly, it was something that I noted. Again, I'm assured that there are other women, later in the series, which are developed and pivotal characters.
Lastly, the faux-medieval language when they got to Amber was vexing. And the way he keeps saying "So we did this thing." Just a little quirk, but I'm starting to get an eye-twitch whenever I see it.
Anyway, I didn't love the first book by a long shot, but it wasn't terrible and I am curious to see what comes of it.
I'm another one who read these when they first came out, and I enjoyed them...still have the paperbacks of most of them. I think one thing that made them notable is Corwin's voice. He tells a fantasy story with the language and attitudes of a rather hip contemporary guy (for 1970) who seems recognizable.I think there was some controversy about the shadow walking being stolen from Philip Jose Farmer's "World of Tiers" series. Anybody else remember something about that?
I enjoyed the book but wasn't amazed by it. I think I would have liked a bit more from it (it's very short) and didn't feel connected to the characters. I thought the middle dragged a bit, but I did like the beginning and the end. Also could have use more female characters and would have liked a better portrayal of the ones we meet. I'd keep reading these if I had more of them, because it's an intriguing world and I do like Corwin, but they're so short that I'd rather spend my money on all the other books I want to read. I'll keep my eyes open in used bookstores and hope I happen across them someday.
Stephanie wrote: "I enjoyed the book but wasn't amazed by it. I think I would have liked a bit more from it (it's very short) and didn't feel connected to the characters. I thought the middle dragged a bit, but I di..."If you're really interested, there's an omnibus version that has all ten books. The Chronicles of Amber is what I believe it's titled.
And it's one of those books you can probably get used for not very much money.
Okay, I'll have to look for the omnibus then. Thanks! Yes, that's what I was thinking. I'll keep my eyes open in used bookstores when I'm back in America in the fall :)
(for now, English books are hard to find so I mostly just borrow/buy ebooks...prefer hard copies though)
Mod
In the first impressions thread I commented on being happily surprised by the tone of the book, but that was a feeling that was long forgotten by chapter 4 when I put the book down that night.
I wasn't at all enamored with the protagonist, Corwyn. The best thing going for him was that he stopped his brother Random from killing a rightly aggrieved motorist, though by declaring that it was for him (Corwyn) to decide whether the unnamed individual lived or died I wasn't exactly seduced.
It's common in tales of monarchs, dictators, and authoritarians for masses of the unnamed to die for the (ig)noble cause and so it might seem churlish to complain about there being a mere twelve survivors of an army of a million but the protagonists moralizing of it made it irksome.
What annoyed me most about him (and the author) was the line "And what of my sisters? Forget it. Bitches all, they." Eric had his eyes burned out and repeatedly attempted to kill him, but I don't recall a single line with such vehemence and disregard directed at the newly crowned King. Sure, hatred was stated but never expressed in a way fitting with this reference towards his sister's who never stood against him.
In short, I didn't like the protagonist.
Of the other characters there's little to say besides noting their lack of depth. Of how any and all wonders happen; magic? will power? Who really knows? I've no issue with the lack of explanation in truth.
There is something about the story that hasn't put me off reading the second in the series but I can't articulate what it is. Hopefully someone here will talk of what they liked about the story that will resonate and untangle a pleasant thought from the vines of dislike and apathy that are my feelings for the Nine Princes of Amber.
What are your thoughts on Roger Zelazny's use of memory loss? Did it bother you that regaining his memory had little to no affect on Corwyns actions?
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I read this today and had a good time doing it. It hooked me enough to keep reading and by chance I have all the books that I got years ago from a swap site.
Paul wrote: "I think there was some controversy about the shadow walking being stolen from Philip Jose Farmer's "World of Tiers" series. Anybody else remember something about that? ..."No, but I'm not particularly impressed by the comparison. The chronological aspect is plausible (although publication of the volumes of World of Tiers [1965-1977 and 1993] overlapped with the original Chronicles of Amber [1970-1978]) , but I read both series as they appeared, and didn't feel that there was much in common between Zelazny's "Shadows" and Farmer's "Pocket Universes."
A better parallel to Zelazny, in my opinion, is E.R. Eddison's A Fish Dinner in Memison, in which one of the characters walks/slides between two worlds, one having a higher degree of fundamental reality than the other.
(Sorry to be a bit opaque on both: I'm trying to avoid a "spoiler effect.")
And the walking between worlds trope goes back at least to the seventeenth century, and Margaret Cavendish The Blazing World and Other Writings, although I doubt that there is any connection. (Given Eddison's wide and eclectic reading in earlier English literature, I can't see any way to prove that he didn't know her work.)
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Plato's allegory of the cave. Amber is the one true city (like Plato's Forms), and all other worlds are merely shadows it casts.
Chris wrote: "I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Plato's allegory of the cave. Amber is the one true city (like Plato's Forms), and all other worlds are merely shadows it casts.""It's all in Plato, all in Plato..." :)
Oookay ... I've read it, but I'm not sure what to with it.Is this meant as a critical comment to warfare? A quick internet search didn't help me with this question.
My impression is not very favorable and I regret that I bought the omnibus cause I most likely will not continue with the series.
Mod
Re-reading this but was many years ago. Still not for me and will not be looking for the rest of the series. Vaguely remember reading The Guns of Avalon but not enough to mark as read on Goodreads.Memory from years ago was I picked this up at same time I was reading other sword and sorcery (Lord Valentine's Castle, A Princess of Mars, Conan the Barbarian and this series is not like those.
I decided to DNF this at 100 pages, just can't get myself to care who wins the throne.
I read this in 2018, and continued to read the next four books. I really enjoyed Nine Princes as a great story which had a lot of elements I wasn't expecting. It spoke to me on a deep, archetypal level, and that is what has stuck with me. When Corwin first walks the pattern, I walked a labyrinth on a very decisive and fateful day; when Corwin realizes he unleashed the darkness with his curse, I too had unleashed a darkness in my own life that I would have to face and resolve. It's a story about sacrificing everything for the one thing that matters most, giving up all of the unreal for the one real thing. So it was and continues to be deeply subjectively meaningful in a way books used to be when I was a young reader, and which is more rare these days.
I just finished Nine Princes today. I won't continue the series right now, mostly because I have other books I'm in the middle of that I want to finish, it's a library book that is overdue and also I didn't love it so much that I just have to go on. I hope I'll get back to it one day. BUT, I won't be missing it much if I don't, unfortunately. I adored A Night in the Lonesome October, which we read together in October and I had high hopes for this. Sadly, I didn't really care about Corwyn or anyone else, nor could I really keep anyone else straight in my mind. I felt it dragged in the middle and why was the battle so long?!? Ugh. Who cares.
I kind of feel like this book sets up a much longer story, so I may change my mind about the series as a whole if I keep reading or ever finish the first 5.
Diane wrote: I kind of feel like this book sets up a much longer storyHeh. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say, "It does!"
Yeah, it's no more of a spoiler than to say "Book 1 sure is a setup for this 10 book series"
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Books mentioned in this topic
A Night in the Lonesome October (other topics)Lord Valentine's Castle (other topics)
A Princess of Mars (other topics)
Conan the Barbarian (other topics)
A Fish Dinner in Memison (other topics)
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I very much enjoyed Nine Princes in Amber. I was not really sure starting out, but after finishing I was very impressed and went down and bought the rest of the series.
I really love the fast paced style, its something I really haven't seen a whole lot of. It is kind of odd at times, but it just seems to work.
I also love how different it is than the normal cliche fantasy world. It is definetly fantasy, but Zelanzy makes his own version of it all, which is very refreshing.
Overall I loved it. I gave it five stars :)
Spoiler:
When I read the part about Corwin crowing himself king rather than giving the crown to Eric I about died laughing. I was laughing hysterically for a good couple of minutes. Great book.