Nine Princes in Amber
I've been meaning to read Zelazny for a long time now. I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction, and he's always there on the periphery. Most of my favorite authors cite him as one of their favorite authors. I get the impression that he is as foundational to the genre as Tolkien, Asimov, and LeGuin. And so when two fantastic books that I read back to back (Among Others and Radiance) both referenced him, I decided it was finally time to seek him out.
While it may have made more sense to start with one of his stand-alone novels, his epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Amber called to me. It helped that I found the entire ten-book saga published as a single omnibus, which saved me money (at the expense of my wrists, but alas). What's interesting is that all ten books published together are the same length as a single book in Wheel of Time, The Stormlight Archive, or The Kingkiller Chronicle. Each individual book is less than 200 pages.
So I was surprised when the first book, Nine Princes in Amber, actually took me a while to read. It's a little uneven and tries to pack a lot into not very much space. The good news is that I've spent most of my life training to read books like this. I'm no stranger to parallel dimensions, people with godlike powers, or political maneuverings. It helped that I caught most of the references Zelazny made, and it helped even more that I was able to recognize the inspiration for many of my favorite authors.
The more I reflect on this book the more I like it. And that started as I was reading it. It was slow to start, but definitely picked up steam by the end, pulling me right into this adventure. I do wish that many of the characters had been better developed, that some of the exposition had been better integrated. Then again, it was useful to know that all of the main players were listed and described in chapter three. And if the book jerks a little, spending pages on a single afternoon then rushing through months in a paragraph, I can forgive a bit of roughness.
The thing is, the highs in this book were so incredibly high. Zelazny has a sneaky sense of humor, delivering brief details that stick with you. He references Kentucky Fried Lizard Parts to show that the characters have passed into a world similar to but distinct from our own. He describes an army as being as intelligent as a bunch of high school freshmen, then apologizes to the fourteen year olds reading his book. He sums up an entire battle in two sentences: "Let's be brief. They killed everyone but me."
There's a quote about popping a beautiful sentence in your mouth and sucking it like a fruit drop. More than once I encountered sentences like that. So if the book was occasionally tedious, I'll forgive it. It was also funny and exciting and beautiful. If the characters felt a bit sketched in, especially the women, I can only hope that they will be developed better in the later books. And if I'm still not entirely sure why I ought to root for the protagonist, or who he's even telling his story to (because he is definitely recounting this tale to someone), well that mystery is more intriguing than frustrating at this point. It's giving my brain a lot to chew on.
While it may have made more sense to start with one of his stand-alone novels, his epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Amber called to me. It helped that I found the entire ten-book saga published as a single omnibus, which saved me money (at the expense of my wrists, but alas). What's interesting is that all ten books published together are the same length as a single book in Wheel of Time, The Stormlight Archive, or The Kingkiller Chronicle. Each individual book is less than 200 pages.
So I was surprised when the first book, Nine Princes in Amber, actually took me a while to read. It's a little uneven and tries to pack a lot into not very much space. The good news is that I've spent most of my life training to read books like this. I'm no stranger to parallel dimensions, people with godlike powers, or political maneuverings. It helped that I caught most of the references Zelazny made, and it helped even more that I was able to recognize the inspiration for many of my favorite authors.
The more I reflect on this book the more I like it. And that started as I was reading it. It was slow to start, but definitely picked up steam by the end, pulling me right into this adventure. I do wish that many of the characters had been better developed, that some of the exposition had been better integrated. Then again, it was useful to know that all of the main players were listed and described in chapter three. And if the book jerks a little, spending pages on a single afternoon then rushing through months in a paragraph, I can forgive a bit of roughness.
The thing is, the highs in this book were so incredibly high. Zelazny has a sneaky sense of humor, delivering brief details that stick with you. He references Kentucky Fried Lizard Parts to show that the characters have passed into a world similar to but distinct from our own. He describes an army as being as intelligent as a bunch of high school freshmen, then apologizes to the fourteen year olds reading his book. He sums up an entire battle in two sentences: "Let's be brief. They killed everyone but me."
There's a quote about popping a beautiful sentence in your mouth and sucking it like a fruit drop. More than once I encountered sentences like that. So if the book was occasionally tedious, I'll forgive it. It was also funny and exciting and beautiful. If the characters felt a bit sketched in, especially the women, I can only hope that they will be developed better in the later books. And if I'm still not entirely sure why I ought to root for the protagonist, or who he's even telling his story to (because he is definitely recounting this tale to someone), well that mystery is more intriguing than frustrating at this point. It's giving my brain a lot to chew on.
Comments
Post a Comment