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The Chronicles of Amber
袟邪屑芯泻 袗屑斜械褉: 褨谢褞褋褌褉芯胁邪薪懈泄 锌褍褌褨胁薪懈泻
袛芯蟹胁芯谢褜褌械 肖谢芯褉褨, 锌褉懈薪褑械褋褨 袗屑斜械褉邪, 锌褉芯胁械褋褌懈 胁邪褋, 谐芯褋褌械泄 褨蟹 孝褨薪褨 袟械屑谢褟, 芯写薪懈屑 褨蟹 薪邪泄写懈胁芯胁懈卸薪褨褕懈褏 蟹邪屑泻褨胁 褍 褋胁褨褌褨 褎械薪褌械蟹褨, 褖芯 褋褌芯褩褌褜 薪邪 褋褏懈谢褨 谐芯褉懈 袣芯谢胁褨褉. 袨斜褨泄写褨褌褜 薪邪胁泻芯谢芯 蟹邪屑泻褍, 锌褉芯谐褍谢褟泄褌械褋褟 褋邪写邪屑懈 褌邪 锌邪褉泻邪屑懈 泻芯褉芯谢褨胁褋褜泻芯褩 褉芯写懈薪懈 袗屑斜械褉邪. 校胁褨泄写褨褌褜 写芯 袙械谢懈泻芯褩 蟹邪谢懈, 胁褨写 褋褌械谢褨 写芯 锌褨写谢芯谐懈 褍胁褨褕邪薪芯褩 斜邪褉胁懈褋褌懈屑懈 谐芯斜械谢械薪邪屑懈... 胁褨写胁褨写邪泄褌械 胁械谢懈褔械蟹薪褍 泻褍褏薪褞 褌邪 斜邪谐邪褌褍 薪邪 褨褋褌芯褉懈褔薪褨 褉械谢褨泻胁褨褩 蟹斜褉芯褟褉薪褞. 袛械褌邪谢褜薪褨 锌谢邪薪懈 锌褉芯胁械写褍褌褜 胁邪褋 褍褋褨屑 蟹邪屑泻芯屑, 泻褨屑薪邪褌邪 蟹邪 泻褨屑薪邪褌芯褞, 鈥� 胁褨写 袙械谢懈泻芯褩 蟹邪谢懈 写芯 褋泻邪褉斜薪懈褑褨, 胁褨写 锌褨写蟹械屑薪懈褏 胁鈥櫻徯沸叫秆喲� 写芯 芯斜褨写薪褨褏 蟹邪谢, 胁褨写 斜褨斜谢褨芯褌械泻懈 写芯 芯褋芯斜懈褋褌懈褏 邪锌邪褉褌邪屑械薪褌褨胁 褌邪 锌芯褌邪褦屑薪懈褏 泻褨屑薪邪褌. 袉 褋泻褉褨蟹褜 薪邪 胁邪褋 褔械泻邪褦 褨薪褎芯褉屑邪褑褨褟, 褟泻芯褩 薪褨褏褌芯 泄 薪褨泻芯谢懈 写芯褋褨 薪械 褔褍胁 鈥� 邪写卸械 肖谢芯褉邪 锌芯写褨谢懈褌褜褋褟 蟹 胁邪屑懈 胁谢邪褋薪懈屑懈 薪械芯褉写懈薪邪褉薪懈屑懈 写褍屑泻邪屑懈 褨 芯褑褨薪泻邪屑懈, 锌械褉械泻邪卸械 薪械 芯写薪褍 褉芯写懈薪薪褍 谢械谐械薪写褍, 褉芯蟹泻褉懈褦 薪械 芯写薪褍 褉芯写懈薪薪褍 褌邪褦屑薪懈褑褞...
袙懈 写褨蟹薪邪褦褌械褋褜 斜邪谐邪褌芯谐芯 薪芯胁芯谐芯 锌褉芯 泻褍谢褜褌褍褉褍 褌邪 屑褨褎芯谢芯谐褨褞 袗屑斜械褉邪, 锌褉芯 写胁芯褉懈 啸邪芯褋褍, 锌褉芯 袥邪斜褨褉懈薪褌 褌邪 袥芯覒褉褍褋鈥�
校褋械 褑械 褌邪 斜邪谐邪褌芯-斜邪谐邪褌芯 褨薪褕芯谐芯 褔械泻邪褦 薪邪 胁邪褋 褌褍褌! 袥邪褋泻邪胁芯 锌褉芯褋懈屑芯 写芯 蟹邪屑泻褍 袗屑斜械褉!
袙懈 写褨蟹薪邪褦褌械褋褜 斜邪谐邪褌芯谐芯 薪芯胁芯谐芯 锌褉芯 泻褍谢褜褌褍褉褍 褌邪 屑褨褎芯谢芯谐褨褞 袗屑斜械褉邪, 锌褉芯 写胁芯褉懈 啸邪芯褋褍, 锌褉芯 袥邪斜褨褉懈薪褌 褌邪 袥芯覒褉褍褋鈥�
校褋械 褑械 褌邪 斜邪谐邪褌芯-斜邪谐邪褌芯 褨薪褕芯谐芯 褔械泻邪褦 薪邪 胁邪褋 褌褍褌! 袥邪褋泻邪胁芯 锌褉芯褋懈屑芯 写芯 蟹邪屑泻褍 袗屑斜械褉!
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
2 people are currently reading
295 people want to read
About the author
Roger Zelazny
739听books3,779听followersRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels, best known for The Chronicles of Amber. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nominations) and the Hugo Award six times (also out of 14 nominations), including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel ...And Call Me Conrad (1965), subsequently published under the title This Immortal (1966), and the novel Lord of Light (1967).
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 5, 2015
I had forgotten how horrible this was.
This... book... purports to be an accurate illustrated guide to Roger Zelazny's Amber, with detailed descriptions of the castle, its environs and the city, including each of the family Trumps and a look in each prince and princess' private suite.
It isn't.
What it is is Neil Randall's fanfiction. Bad fanfiction.
I was not surprised to learn that Zelazny himself disliked Randall's descriptions, and the story that he destroyed part of the castle in "Knight of Shadows" so he wouldn't be bound by them is rather funny if it's true.
I have a particular problem with the section on the princes' private quarters and the portrayal of the characters in it. Randall, as far as I can see, has tried to furnish each character's room in accordance with said character's personality as described in the books. This is actually a very good and logical idea. The problem is the execution, which is not so logical and very far from good.
What Randall actually did in most cases was to take one character trait of each prince and princess and base the interior of their rooms entirely on it, while intensifying it to the point of absurdity. And then he casually drops completely ridiculous statements and stories to support his one-sided, absurdly exaggerated character interpretations.
I wish I could give you direct quotes on this, but unfortunately I'm reading a translation and don't have access to the book in the original English. If I ever get it, I'll quote the problematic descriptions sentence by sentence and discuss each one. For now, I'm afraid I'll have to paraphrase and hope nothing gets lost or warped between translations.
Caine, Julian and Bleys are among the worst cases. It seems all Randall remembers about Caine and Julian is that the former is a sailor and the latter a hunter. Therefore, absolutely everything about them must be related to ships and hunting respectively. There's nothing in Caine's rooms that isn't related to the sea, Julian literally uses a bear skin as a goddamn blanket, and for some reason his rooms are so bare that the bear and the tiger rug on the floor are the only items that stand out, unless you count the bookcase that's full of pictures of hunting scenes instead of, you know, bloody books.
Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, Randall projects his own ideas of what sailors and hunters are like on the characters and makes them completely OOC. With Julian, it's only one remark and the general feel of his room that makes him seem out of character, but with Caine it's the entire description Flora gives him.
In Bleys' case, the description of his apartment is full of very strange stories about him playing chess (?) with unicorns (???) and liking vikings (?!?!), and in this case I'll give Randall some points for giving him more than one distinctive trait, but then I'll have to take them away for making shit up.
But none of these even compares to poor, poor Llewella, the greatest victim of One Trait Syndrome, Earth Affinity Syndrome (which I will discuss in a minute) and Has This Hack Even Read The Damn Books Syndrome. Lllewella's room is furnished to resemble the ocean, to the point that everything in it is shaped like conches and seashells, everything is in the colours of the sea, the rug seems to be moving like waves and Flora gets seasick sleeping there (why was she sleeping there in the first place?!). This might have been logical - if really overdone - if the explanation for it was Llewella's preference for Rebma over Amber (which is absolutely canon) making her furnish her rooms to resemble Rebma.
This is not the explanation given in the book. The explanation given in the book is that Llewella has an obsession with the goddess Venus who was born from the waves. And she has pictures of Venus on her walls and talks about Neptune and what the actual fuck.
This is only one instance of perhaps the most annoying and "fanficcy" idea of Randall's, what I earlier called Earth Affinity Syndrome - the idea that every single fucking Amberite has been to Shadow Earth and loves it! Llewella's obsession with Earth deities (which allegedly started when she met the goddess on her first trip through the Shadows, I'm not even making this shit up!) is only one example. Others include Gerard playing rugby for a college in Alabama, the armory housing Julian's armor from the Crusades, Bleys playing chess with Bobby Fischer, Fiona using Scandinavian furniture from Earth, Deirdre having armchairs designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and what the hell is this guy smoking. Perhaps the worst is the way characters like Flora and Deirdre are apparently following Earth fashion and treating it as the really important fashion, as if Earth was the center of the universe!
It appears that Neil Randall has forgotten not only that Amber is the center of this universe, but also that in the actual books only Corwin and Flora had a particular interest in Shadow Earth! Other characters tend to describe it as "that Shadow Corwin/Flora likes so much", Eric calls it "that squalid Shadow" (direct quote) in his letter in "Guns of Avalon" and no one but Corwin, Flora, and later Merlin and Luke cares about it. This insistence on centering everyone's lives around our world not only goes against canon, but also resembles nothing so much as a bad fanfiction writer moving the setting to their own country for no particular reason other than their own laziness and lack of creativity. God, it's horrible.
The art is rather bad too, and there are probably a million other problems I'm missing, but I'm sick of writing about this stain on the Amber universe so I'll stop here and try to forget it. I have to get all this bullshit out of my mind so it doesn't pollute my mental image of the characters.
This... book... purports to be an accurate illustrated guide to Roger Zelazny's Amber, with detailed descriptions of the castle, its environs and the city, including each of the family Trumps and a look in each prince and princess' private suite.
It isn't.
What it is is Neil Randall's fanfiction. Bad fanfiction.
I was not surprised to learn that Zelazny himself disliked Randall's descriptions, and the story that he destroyed part of the castle in "Knight of Shadows" so he wouldn't be bound by them is rather funny if it's true.
I have a particular problem with the section on the princes' private quarters and the portrayal of the characters in it. Randall, as far as I can see, has tried to furnish each character's room in accordance with said character's personality as described in the books. This is actually a very good and logical idea. The problem is the execution, which is not so logical and very far from good.
What Randall actually did in most cases was to take one character trait of each prince and princess and base the interior of their rooms entirely on it, while intensifying it to the point of absurdity. And then he casually drops completely ridiculous statements and stories to support his one-sided, absurdly exaggerated character interpretations.
I wish I could give you direct quotes on this, but unfortunately I'm reading a translation and don't have access to the book in the original English. If I ever get it, I'll quote the problematic descriptions sentence by sentence and discuss each one. For now, I'm afraid I'll have to paraphrase and hope nothing gets lost or warped between translations.
Caine, Julian and Bleys are among the worst cases. It seems all Randall remembers about Caine and Julian is that the former is a sailor and the latter a hunter. Therefore, absolutely everything about them must be related to ships and hunting respectively. There's nothing in Caine's rooms that isn't related to the sea, Julian literally uses a bear skin as a goddamn blanket, and for some reason his rooms are so bare that the bear and the tiger rug on the floor are the only items that stand out, unless you count the bookcase that's full of pictures of hunting scenes instead of, you know, bloody books.
Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, Randall projects his own ideas of what sailors and hunters are like on the characters and makes them completely OOC. With Julian, it's only one remark and the general feel of his room that makes him seem out of character, but with Caine it's the entire description Flora gives him.
In Bleys' case, the description of his apartment is full of very strange stories about him playing chess (?) with unicorns (???) and liking vikings (?!?!), and in this case I'll give Randall some points for giving him more than one distinctive trait, but then I'll have to take them away for making shit up.
But none of these even compares to poor, poor Llewella, the greatest victim of One Trait Syndrome, Earth Affinity Syndrome (which I will discuss in a minute) and Has This Hack Even Read The Damn Books Syndrome. Lllewella's room is furnished to resemble the ocean, to the point that everything in it is shaped like conches and seashells, everything is in the colours of the sea, the rug seems to be moving like waves and Flora gets seasick sleeping there (why was she sleeping there in the first place?!). This might have been logical - if really overdone - if the explanation for it was Llewella's preference for Rebma over Amber (which is absolutely canon) making her furnish her rooms to resemble Rebma.
This is not the explanation given in the book. The explanation given in the book is that Llewella has an obsession with the goddess Venus who was born from the waves. And she has pictures of Venus on her walls and talks about Neptune and what the actual fuck.
This is only one instance of perhaps the most annoying and "fanficcy" idea of Randall's, what I earlier called Earth Affinity Syndrome - the idea that every single fucking Amberite has been to Shadow Earth and loves it! Llewella's obsession with Earth deities (which allegedly started when she met the goddess on her first trip through the Shadows, I'm not even making this shit up!) is only one example. Others include Gerard playing rugby for a college in Alabama, the armory housing Julian's armor from the Crusades, Bleys playing chess with Bobby Fischer, Fiona using Scandinavian furniture from Earth, Deirdre having armchairs designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and what the hell is this guy smoking. Perhaps the worst is the way characters like Flora and Deirdre are apparently following Earth fashion and treating it as the really important fashion, as if Earth was the center of the universe!
It appears that Neil Randall has forgotten not only that Amber is the center of this universe, but also that in the actual books only Corwin and Flora had a particular interest in Shadow Earth! Other characters tend to describe it as "that Shadow Corwin/Flora likes so much", Eric calls it "that squalid Shadow" (direct quote) in his letter in "Guns of Avalon" and no one but Corwin, Flora, and later Merlin and Luke cares about it. This insistence on centering everyone's lives around our world not only goes against canon, but also resembles nothing so much as a bad fanfiction writer moving the setting to their own country for no particular reason other than their own laziness and lack of creativity. God, it's horrible.
The art is rather bad too, and there are probably a million other problems I'm missing, but I'm sick of writing about this stain on the Amber universe so I'll stop here and try to forget it. I have to get all this bullshit out of my mind so it doesn't pollute my mental image of the characters.
July 16, 2015
First of all, this book is written for fans of Roger Zelazny and his "Amber" Universe. It is a guide to the Castle (one of the recurring settings within the tales) and some of the castle's surroundings, inhabitants, etc. If you are NOT familiar with Zelazny's Amber stories, you should avoid this volume, as it would fill you with misunderstandings and the occasional "spoiler" that happens to be accurate. If you ARE a fan of Zelazny's Amber books, you want to avoid this book at ALL COSTS, because it is so full of errors that you'll cringe.
This book is of a genre once known as a gazetteer: a guide to a given locale's places of interest. As such, the primary concern of any modern-day author of such work is accuracy. If one bought a guide to, say, London, the reader would be justifiably upset to find the book full of misinformation, mistakes, and wild fantasies.
Yet such is exactly what a reader finds in this book. It is not understandable: not only did the author have the chance to interview Zelazny, but at the time of this book's writing, there were only a handful of Amber books in print. Surely, the research involved could not have been too taxing? Yet, it obviously was.
Just because the book lists Roger Zelazny as first author, don't be fooled. The text is bland and banal, in addition to the errors. It is obvious Zelazny had little-to-nothing to do with the writing of the book.
The book walks you through the castle, led by one of Roger Zelazny's secondary characters, Flora. The author(s) of this particular book crudely mishandled her persona. The book then provides a discussion of the castle and associated "facts." Some of the facts are grossly misrepresented, such as non-royals going mad if the view the Pattern (an artifact crucial to the tales, and hidden in the bowels of the Castle) Some mistakes are so ludicrous that one is left either a) rolling one's eyes or b) laughing out loud. The degree of care that went into the writing of this book is told by none other than the presumed main author, Neil Randell, himself. According to the book's Introduction, while colleagues were interviewing Zelazny, he was off reading the draft of Roger's next book! Talk about missed opportunities and misplaced priorities!
Another side effect of the book also made it obsolete: Zelazny so disliked being bound by the descriptions in this book that in his next novel, he had a large-but-unspecified section of it destroyed so that it could remodeled any way he wished. So, in the end, the book is doubly useless: not only it is full of misinformation, but it was obsolete as soon as Zelazny could make it so! Don't waste your money!
This book is of a genre once known as a gazetteer: a guide to a given locale's places of interest. As such, the primary concern of any modern-day author of such work is accuracy. If one bought a guide to, say, London, the reader would be justifiably upset to find the book full of misinformation, mistakes, and wild fantasies.
Yet such is exactly what a reader finds in this book. It is not understandable: not only did the author have the chance to interview Zelazny, but at the time of this book's writing, there were only a handful of Amber books in print. Surely, the research involved could not have been too taxing? Yet, it obviously was.
Just because the book lists Roger Zelazny as first author, don't be fooled. The text is bland and banal, in addition to the errors. It is obvious Zelazny had little-to-nothing to do with the writing of the book.
The book walks you through the castle, led by one of Roger Zelazny's secondary characters, Flora. The author(s) of this particular book crudely mishandled her persona. The book then provides a discussion of the castle and associated "facts." Some of the facts are grossly misrepresented, such as non-royals going mad if the view the Pattern (an artifact crucial to the tales, and hidden in the bowels of the Castle) Some mistakes are so ludicrous that one is left either a) rolling one's eyes or b) laughing out loud. The degree of care that went into the writing of this book is told by none other than the presumed main author, Neil Randell, himself. According to the book's Introduction, while colleagues were interviewing Zelazny, he was off reading the draft of Roger's next book! Talk about missed opportunities and misplaced priorities!
Another side effect of the book also made it obsolete: Zelazny so disliked being bound by the descriptions in this book that in his next novel, he had a large-but-unspecified section of it destroyed so that it could remodeled any way he wished. So, in the end, the book is doubly useless: not only it is full of misinformation, but it was obsolete as soon as Zelazny could make it so! Don't waste your money!
March 6, 2024
袨写褉邪蟹褍 褏芯褔褍 写械褖芯 锌褉芯褟褋薪懈褌懈. 孝邪泻, 褟 锌芯褋褌邪胁懈谢邪 "袉谢褞褋褌褉芯胁邪薪芯屑褍 锌褍褌褨胁薪懈泻褍" 5. 袗谢械 褑械 薪械 褌褨 卸 褋邪屑褨 5, 褟泻褨 褟 锌芯褋褌邪胁懈谢邪 芯褉懈谐褨薪邪谢褜薪褨泄 褨褋褌芯褉褨褩. 携泻褖芯 谐芯胁芯褉懈褌懈 锌褉芯 褑褞 泻薪懈谐褍 褍 胁邪泻褍褍屑褨, 褌芯 褋械褉械写薪褨泄 褉械泄褌懈薪谐 斜褨谢褜褕-屑械薪褕 芯斜'褦泻褌懈胁薪芯 胁褨写芯斜褉邪卸邪褦 褉械邪谢褜薪懈泄 褋褌邪薪 褋锌褉邪胁. 携 锌芯褋褌邪胁懈谢邪 5, 斜芯 胁芯薪邪 薪邪 100% 胁懈锌褉邪胁写邪谢邪 屑芯褩 芯褔褨泻褍胁邪薪薪褟 褨 写邪谢邪 屑械薪褨 褉褨胁薪芯 褌械, 锌芯 褖芯 褟 褍 薪械褩 泄褕谢邪. 袗 泄褕谢邪 褟 褌褍写懈 锌芯 褎邪薪邪褌褋褜泻褍 写褍褉薪懈褔泻褍. 小邪屑 袞械谢褟蟹薪懈, 褟泻 褟 褉芯蟹褍屑褨褞, 薪褨褟泻芯褩 邪斜芯 屑邪泄卸械 薪褨褟泻芯褩 褍褔邪褋褌褨 胁 褋褌胁芯褉械薪薪褨 褑褨褦褩 泻薪懈卸泻懈 薪械 斜褉邪胁. 笑械 褌胁芯褉褨薪薪褟 褎邪薪邪褌邪, 锌褉懈蟹薪邪褔械薪械 写谢褟 褌邪泻懈褏 卸械 褎邪薪邪褌褨胁. 袙 锌械褉褕褨泄 锌芯谢芯胁懈薪褨 锌褉懈薪褑械褋邪 肖谢芯褉邪 锌褉芯胁芯写懈褌褜 写谢褟 褔懈褌邪褔邪 械泻褋泻褍褉褋褨褞 袗屑斜械褉褋褜泻懈屑 蟹邪屑泻芯屑, 邪 写褉褍谐邪 - 褑械 褌邪泻邪 褋芯斜褨 屑褨薪褨-械薪褑懈泻谢芯锌械写褨褟 锌褉芯 褋胁褨褌 袗屑斜械褉褍 蟹 泻芯褉芯褌泻懈屑懈 胁褨写芯屑芯褋褌褟屑懈 锌褉芯 褔谢械薪褨胁 泻芯褉芯谢褨胁褋褜泻芯褩 褉芯写懈薪懈 褨 谐芯谢芯胁薪褨 谢芯泻邪褑褨褩 蟹 褉芯屑邪薪褨胁. 袛芯锌芯胁薪械薪芯 褑械 胁褋械 褨谢褞褋褌褉邪褑褨褟屑懈, 锌芯 褟泻懈褏 胁褨写褉邪蟹褍 胁懈写薪芯, 褖芯 褩褏 屑邪谢褞胁邪谢懈 褍 80-懈褏. 袞邪谢褜 褌褨谢褜泻懈, 褖芯 胁芯薪懈 褔芯褉薪芯-斜褨谢褨, 褟泻斜懈 袧袣 袘芯谐写邪薪 蟹褉芯斜懈谢懈 泻芯谢褜芯褉芯胁褨 胁泻谢械泄泻懈, 屑芯卸谢懈胁芯, 褑械 斜褍谢芯 斜 褌褉芯褏懈 写芯褉芯卸褔械, 邪谢械 蟹薪邪褔薪芯 械褎械泻褌薪褨褕械.
April 14, 2021
袠薪褌械褉械褋薪邪 懈薪褎芯褉屑邪褑懈褟, 写芯斜褉械 锌芯写薪械褋械薪邪, 胁懈卸写邪屑 懈 褔械 褋械 褋褔懈褌邪 蟹邪 泻邪薪芯薪, 胁褗锌褉械泻懈 褔械 蟹邪 薪褟泻芯懈 薪械褖邪 斜懈褏 褋锌芯褉懈谢邪 写芯褋褌邪 (锌芯胁械褔械 褖械 泻邪卸邪 褋泻芯褉芯), 薪芯 邪褉褌褗褌 械 懈蟹泻谢褞褔懈褌械谢薪芯 谐褉芯蟹械薪. 袙懈薪邪谐懈 芯褑械薪褟胁邪屑 泻邪泻褗胁 芯谐褉芯屑械薪 褌褉褍写 械 写邪 褋械 薪邪褉懈褋褍胁邪褌 胁褋懈褔泻懈 褌械蟹懈 薪械褖邪, 薪芯 泻芯薪泻褉械褌薪芯 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸懈褌械 斜褟褏邪 懈蟹泻谢褞褔懈褌械谢薪芯 锌褉芯褌懈胁薪芯 薪邪褉懈褍褋胁邪薪懈, 邪 胁 褌邪泻褗胁 褌懈锌 泻薪懈谐邪 (companion book) 邪褉褌褗褌 械 懈蟹泻谢褞褔懈褌械谢薪芯 胁邪卸械薪. 袧械 蟹薪邪屑 泻邪泻 袟械谢邪蟹薪懈 谐芯 械 芯写芯斜褉懈谢.
March 22, 2019
I enjoyed some of the character and historical background, knowing it came straight from Zelazny, but there were three glaring errors that I have trouble forgiving. One was a subject verb disagreement grammatical error that I don't think Zelazny would have ever committed. The second was an inside joke about a mad Zelazny being held in the insane wing of the dungeon. (Doesn't he make an appearance as a guard in one of the Amber books?) The third is Flora's statement that The Black Road War and Seven No-trump haven't made it into Castle Amber, when an illustration elsewhere in the book clearly shows those two books on a shelf in the library.
August 27, 2024
3.5 猸�
笑褟 泻薪懈谐邪 胁懈泻谢懈泻邪谢邪 胁 屑械薪械 褋褍屑. 效懈褌邪褞褔懈 褩褩, 褌懈 薪褨斜懈 褏芯写懈褕 屑褍蟹械褦屑. 袟邪屑芯泻 胁 褟泻芯屑褍 薪褨褏褌芯 写邪胁薪芯 胁卸械 薪械 卸懈胁械. 袙 薪褜芯屑褍 蟹邪谢懈褕懈谢懈褋褜 褌褨谢褜泻懈 褉械褔褨, 泻褨屑薪邪褌懈 胁 褟泻褨 斜褨谢褜褕械 薪褨褏褌芯 薪械 锌芯胁械褉薪械褌褜褋褟, 褋褌械卸泻懈 锌芯 褟泻懈褏 谐褍谢褟褞褌褜 褌褨谢褜泻懈 褌褍褉懈褋褌懈... 袙褨写褔褍褌褌褟 泻褨薪褑褟 褨褋褌芯褉褨褩, 薪邪褔械 褑褜芯谐芯 褋胁褨褌褍 斜褨谢褜褕械 薪邪屑邪 褨 薪械 斜褍写械. 啸芯褔邪 芯锌芯胁褨写褜 褨写械 胁 "褌械锌械褉褨褕薪褜芯屑褍" 褔邪褋褨 褨 蟹邪屑芯泻 卸懈谢懈泄. 袗谢械 褑械 蟹芯胁褋褨屑 薪械 胁褨写褔褍胁邪褦褌褜褋褟. 袙卸械 胁褋械 胁褨写斜褍谢芯褋褟, 褑械 蟹邪谢懈褕泻懈 薪邪 蟹谐邪写泻褍...
笑褟 泻薪懈谐邪 胁懈泻谢懈泻邪谢邪 胁 屑械薪械 褋褍屑. 效懈褌邪褞褔懈 褩褩, 褌懈 薪褨斜懈 褏芯写懈褕 屑褍蟹械褦屑. 袟邪屑芯泻 胁 褟泻芯屑褍 薪褨褏褌芯 写邪胁薪芯 胁卸械 薪械 卸懈胁械. 袙 薪褜芯屑褍 蟹邪谢懈褕懈谢懈褋褜 褌褨谢褜泻懈 褉械褔褨, 泻褨屑薪邪褌懈 胁 褟泻褨 斜褨谢褜褕械 薪褨褏褌芯 薪械 锌芯胁械褉薪械褌褜褋褟, 褋褌械卸泻懈 锌芯 褟泻懈褏 谐褍谢褟褞褌褜 褌褨谢褜泻懈 褌褍褉懈褋褌懈... 袙褨写褔褍褌褌褟 泻褨薪褑褟 褨褋褌芯褉褨褩, 薪邪褔械 褑褜芯谐芯 褋胁褨褌褍 斜褨谢褜褕械 薪邪屑邪 褨 薪械 斜褍写械. 啸芯褔邪 芯锌芯胁褨写褜 褨写械 胁 "褌械锌械褉褨褕薪褜芯屑褍" 褔邪褋褨 褨 蟹邪屑芯泻 卸懈谢懈泄. 袗谢械 褑械 蟹芯胁褋褨屑 薪械 胁褨写褔褍胁邪褦褌褜褋褟. 袙卸械 胁褋械 胁褨写斜褍谢芯褋褟, 褑械 蟹邪谢懈褕泻懈 薪邪 蟹谐邪写泻褍...
December 31, 2017
This is an illustrated companion piece to the Amber series. This text is fun at times but is really only for hardcore Amber fans.
August 29, 2019
What happened here? Yuck.
June 26, 2020
Not written by Zelazny and it shows. However i'm not a puritan and i liked the description of alot of the places described.
January 9, 2012
by Roger Zelazny and Neil Randall, published in 1988.
If you are at all into Fantasy and Science Fiction like I am, then the name Roger Zelazny is very, very familiar. And nothing says Roger Zelazny like The Chronicles of Amber.
But this is not one of those fantastic books of fiction, but rather a guide - literally - to Castle Amber and its environs, personalities and society. And what a fantastic little book it is complete with tons of illustrations by Todd Cameron Hamilton and maps by James Clouse.
I think by now there is a visual guide to just about every super-popular Fantasy or Science Fiction world, but I don鈥檛 know how many were co-written with the author himself as this one was.
We get great writing combined with great visuals of the entire layout of Castle Amber and the surrounding landscape. It is the perfect behind the scenes knowledge we all crave. We are led by Flora, one of Amber鈥檚 royal caste, through the castle and its many rooms including those rooms of the princes themselves.
Also included are short bios of each of the royal Amber family as well as a full page illustration of each, and those illustrations are extremely well done I must say. Good job Todd! My only beef is that Corwin looks, well, way too much like Timothy Dalton for my liking but the others are pretty spot-on as described by Zelazny himself in the Amber novels.
Which brings me to a total craving I had upon completion to this book - to read the Amber novels again, all ten of them. And so, without so much as a bathroom break, that is exactly what I am doing.
One of the most entertaining series I have ever read and will now reread. So, for the next ten posts of mine - or so - you will be getting my take on each fo the ten Amber novels. So far I am enjoying them as much as the first time, maybe more.
And this illustrated guide is the perfect volume to have beside you as you travel the Shadows and follow Corwin and Merlin on their many adventures.
If you can find it, it is well worth your time to pick up.
If you are at all into Fantasy and Science Fiction like I am, then the name Roger Zelazny is very, very familiar. And nothing says Roger Zelazny like The Chronicles of Amber.
But this is not one of those fantastic books of fiction, but rather a guide - literally - to Castle Amber and its environs, personalities and society. And what a fantastic little book it is complete with tons of illustrations by Todd Cameron Hamilton and maps by James Clouse.
I think by now there is a visual guide to just about every super-popular Fantasy or Science Fiction world, but I don鈥檛 know how many were co-written with the author himself as this one was.
We get great writing combined with great visuals of the entire layout of Castle Amber and the surrounding landscape. It is the perfect behind the scenes knowledge we all crave. We are led by Flora, one of Amber鈥檚 royal caste, through the castle and its many rooms including those rooms of the princes themselves.
Also included are short bios of each of the royal Amber family as well as a full page illustration of each, and those illustrations are extremely well done I must say. Good job Todd! My only beef is that Corwin looks, well, way too much like Timothy Dalton for my liking but the others are pretty spot-on as described by Zelazny himself in the Amber novels.
Which brings me to a total craving I had upon completion to this book - to read the Amber novels again, all ten of them. And so, without so much as a bathroom break, that is exactly what I am doing.
One of the most entertaining series I have ever read and will now reread. So, for the next ten posts of mine - or so - you will be getting my take on each fo the ten Amber novels. So far I am enjoying them as much as the first time, maybe more.
And this illustrated guide is the perfect volume to have beside you as you travel the Shadows and follow Corwin and Merlin on their many adventures.
If you can find it, it is well worth your time to pick up.
December 22, 2008
I was surprised when the librarian handed this to me: a paperback just larger than mass market size, and rather skinnier. I had been expecting a lavish coffee table edition, I suppose, with a glossy cover and full-color illustrations.
Disappointments continued: it's narrated by Flora, who isn't a particularly interesting character. (I certainly hope that the author's credit given to Zelazny has nothing to do with the actual text, because the writing is sub-par.) This allows her to make carefully neutral comments about Corwin and Eric and such, but I would have much preferred some of, say, Fiona's caustic wit. And there were far too many references to cultures on Earth, which is just one Shadow of many.
I found the section on each of the princes' and princess' rooms mildly entertaining, as the decor was extrapolated from their personalities. Unfortunately, the illustrations consist of a top-down view so you can see the layout, as opposed to a peek through the entrance, which might've granted a richer view. In general, the book tends to focus on these architectural elements, rather than the greater narrative that took place in Castle Amber.
The trumps were kind of scary in their intensity. I confess a preference for those in the _Amber Diceless Roleplaying_ book.
Disappointments continued: it's narrated by Flora, who isn't a particularly interesting character. (I certainly hope that the author's credit given to Zelazny has nothing to do with the actual text, because the writing is sub-par.) This allows her to make carefully neutral comments about Corwin and Eric and such, but I would have much preferred some of, say, Fiona's caustic wit. And there were far too many references to cultures on Earth, which is just one Shadow of many.
I found the section on each of the princes' and princess' rooms mildly entertaining, as the decor was extrapolated from their personalities. Unfortunately, the illustrations consist of a top-down view so you can see the layout, as opposed to a peek through the entrance, which might've granted a richer view. In general, the book tends to focus on these architectural elements, rather than the greater narrative that took place in Castle Amber.
The trumps were kind of scary in their intensity. I confess a preference for those in the _Amber Diceless Roleplaying_ book.
December 13, 2009
Cuter than expected. Little comments here and there made me smile, such as references to Crazy Roger. Definitely only for huge fans of the series. I think most readers would enjoy the pictures of the Trumps/characters. I was also surprised to enjoy the descriptions of everyone's rooms in the castle; the insight into their characters this generated was interesting. I couldn't help but think of how much fun it must have been for the authors and illustrators to interview Zelazny and write/create the book, which made it more fun for me as well. Overall a fun library read or gift, but not one I'd buy.
August 16, 2016
Good, dumb fun: adds little to the mythos (besides FLOORPLANS! and MAPS!) but does flesh out some details and has the bonus of being narrated for a large chunk by Flora in her Merlin Chronicles persona: to be honest, I prefer her as the gossipy aunt she is to Merlin, rather than the slightly treacherous bimbo that Corwin sees her as. The illustrations belong to the Van Art School of the '70s and '80s that has thankfully disappeared from everywhere but its natural home.
One for fans, really. So yeah, I liked it.
April 17, 2011
I reread this one every time I finish the ten books of Amber, even though there's not much in the way of additional insight into anything that happens in either series. I just think it's cool to see the level of detail that Zelazny had in mind while writing Amber even though some of those details never explicitly make it into the stories. It's also fun to revisit the drawings of the Royal Trumps just to see how my mental images of characters stacked up with the ones commissioned by Zelazny.
December 7, 2014
If you haven't read the Amber novels, this guide will spoil everything. If you have, it's mostly redundant. It's nice to see maps and a layout of the castle itself- descriptions of everyone's suites are a nice touch, as is a walk through the city. The character profiles are mostly fluff, synopses of their actions in the novels and excerpts lifted from the Chronicles themselves. Bonus: There's some hilariously bad 80's fantasy art that's amusing.
December 29, 2012
Honestly, this is not good. However, it was AMAZINGLY useful when I was GMing Amber Diceless RPG games, because I would have trouble working out some detail of Castle Amber, look at the book, and say "NO, that's all wrong! It wasn't like THAT! It was more like THIS..." and then I'd have something.
The interior of my version of Castle Amber wound up with a floor plan not unlike the Park Plaza in Boston, though.
The interior of my version of Castle Amber wound up with a floor plan not unlike the Park Plaza in Boston, though.
March 23, 2025
Absolute rubbish. All the complex characters Zelazny created have been reduced to one-dimensional caricatures perhaps only a 4-year old could fixate on. Not even the illustrations have any details. Can not believe this got published. Not a one-star ONLY because I like the idea of having a "location-based" supporting book for a world I thoroughly love. Why didn't they make it decent?? (*goes cries in the corner)
September 3, 2008
Soory for the low rating. As big of a fan as I am of the Chronicles of Amber, I already had my own mind's eye view of all the worlds and places in his books.
But, if you're the type of fan who likes the author naration and special bonus features on DVD, you'll like this book.
But, if you're the type of fan who likes the author naration and special bonus features on DVD, you'll like this book.
January 28, 2013
I always like seeing his sort of thing - maps and diagrams of various things I've read about in a series that I really enjoy. I've always found myself referring to maps included in books I've read over the years, ans this guide was really enjoyable to be for that reason.
September 22, 2015
I think I read this once a long time ago, but it's also possible I just flipped through it and looked at the pretty pictures. However, since I'm running an Amber campaign starting in two days, I would describe it as an invaluable resource. Good stuff.
Read
August 23, 2008isbn,original
February 5, 2013
There's nothing really surprising or exciting here, but it's a fun companion piece to the original Amber series. Some nice illustrations and interesting commentary for hard-core fans.
August 17, 2013
The style the book was written in kind of annoyed me, but it could be the fault of translation... anyway, it made me want to read the Amber series all over again.
Read
May 20, 2015Science-Fiction
December 11, 2015
The first 100 pages are at least readable, but still not really worth it, even if you've read all 10 Amber books. The last 100 pages are complete crap.
February 8, 2016
Excellent book if you wondered what the places in the Amber series looked like. Very recommended.
August 1, 2010
Great addition to the Amber Chronicles. Recommended for the fans.
February 28, 2016
die hard fans only.
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