Markus's Reviews > Nine Princes in Amber

All roads lead to Amber..

Nine brothers fight for the inheritance left behind by the disappearance of their father. The ultimate prize is the throne of Amber, the one real world, of which all other worlds are mere shadows and reflections.

Nine Princes of the Amber is an interesting fantasy introduction with an intriguing concept. I really enjoyed reading the early parts, where the prince Corwin wakes up in a hospital on Earth with no memory of his past. I expected a more traditional fantasy when picking up this book, but instead got a story of Corwin and his companions travelling between worlds and attempting to reach Amber while also struggling to regain his memory and understanding of what’s going on.

This combination of science fiction and fantasy was pretty interesting, and made even more so by the fact that the protagonist himself, as a result of his amnesia, holds as little information as the reader to begin with about the world of Amber and how it works. Thus the reader is able to follow Corwin’s journey and learn with him.

Unfortunately, Zelazny’s writing is not very good, at least not at this early stage. It seems to blend many different styles of writing, which often ruins the atmosphere of the story and the setting, and also contains a number of mistakes throughout the book. Additionally the simplicity of the plot and the shallowness of characterisation made the quality suffer slightly. However, these are all negatives that can be easily corrected in sequels, and I’m ready to give dear Roger the benefit of doubt because of how intriguing the concept is.

Overall, this is a very short and enjoyable introduction to one of the great fantasy series of the previous century.