Rating: 
Summary: The Great Book of Amber- a must read
Review: I read this collection and loved the first five novels- but the sixth lost my interst, although the writing did not go downhill- just the story line. Roger Zelazny is an excellent writer, although my observations are based on these books alone. I loved this series, and recommend it for all science fiction and fantasy readers. My family has read it, too, and they loved it, so recommend it to others who you think would like this genre!
Rating: 
Summary: This is an excellent book
Review: This book is a geat choice to read, but is not for the faint of heart. It takes a good while to read but is well worth it. In certain points it can become confusing if you don't stay with it the entire time, but otherwise it is a great book to read. I enjoy myself every time I read it, what with the scandals, fencing, utter hatred, romance, and war that ravages through this book. I personally enjoyed the second half of the "great book" when Corwin's son Merlin becomes the main character as opposed to Corwin, as in the first half. This book will keep you intrigued with its twists and turns, and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Science Fiction meet Philosophy
Review: What else is there to say about one of the great classics of science fiction/fantasy. This book is a must read for anyone who has an interest in science fiction/fantasy. Zelazny shows you a quite in-depth view of the plurality of worlds, while throwing you into what could very well be Machiavelli's Italy. The descriptions in this book of things are great and very interesting plot line that you will not want to put the book down till you finish it. Even then you want to read more. [Why there is a Role-Playing game based off the book and not the other way around.] The short stories to conclude the book are scarce, but findable over the internet, and hopefully in future editions they will be included in the Great Book of Amber. This is definitely a must read for anyone with an intellectual interest in Science Fiction / Fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate in Fantasy-- A gazillion stars!!!
Review: To start with, I've read these stories all the way through three times, and enjoyed it each time like the first. It just doesn't get any better than this in the fantasy genre. They broke the mold after Zelazny wrote this one.
Rating:
Summary: An classic of the fantasy genre - you will soar along
Review: These works of Zelazny provide escapism of the top class. Even if you are not an avid fantasy reader, the thickening plot of intrigue, mystery, adventure and study of "human" nature will leave you pining to sink deeper within the world of Amber. You can take the riddles artfully presented to you by the writer as far or as near as you want to. But if you are an artist, beware, first thing you'll want to do is pick up a pencil and create a set of your own Trumps. The volume contains all 10 "books" of the series following the adventures Corwin in the first 5 and his son in the second 5. Although, the latter 5 books are sometimes considered inferior in quality to the former, they develop no less intense (albeit different) plots and characters. Indeed the two sections complement each other exceptionally. The book is not only an appropriate but a highly suggested reading material for young adults and older children (beware that due to its volume the font is fairly small and pages thin - for younger children and those with eyesight difficulties it might be more desirable to get separate volumes).
Rating:
Summary: Make room on your book-shelf!
Review: This book is called "The Great Book of Amber," and not "The Complete Book of Amber," because it doesn't include any of Zelazny's shorter 'Amber' fiction. That aside, though, this weighty tome is certainly 'great' in that it's the best available compendium of Zelazney's 'Amber' stuff-- and an excellent introduction to this classic fantasy series. The 'Great Book' contains ten complete novels: two epic series comprised of five books each. The first series of five books tell the saga of Prince Corwin of Amber, member of a powerful bloodline with inherited control over 'reality.' Afflicted with total amnesia, Corwin slowly learns of his true heritage through a mixture of cunning and deception; the amnesia is a wonderful literary device that allows you to learn about Corwin's family and their intrigues through Corwin's eyes as he discovers these things for himself. Zelazny's writing style grabs your attention and holds it throughout the first five books, and his characters are so fully-developed that they immediately feel like old friends. Every book in this series is a real page-turner, and you literally have a hard time putting them down. The end of the fifth book is guaranteed to leave you craving more AMBER! Unfortunately, the next five books aren't as strong (singly or collectively) as the first five. This second 'Amber' series tells the story of Merlin, Corwin's son, and his involvement in a quasi-metaphysical struggle between the embodiments of Order and Chaos. Although Zelazny's writing style is always entertaining, Merlin's narrative "voice" never quite manages to grab the reader in the same way that Corwin's did. To Zelazny's credit, the new characters in the second series seem just as real as the characters from the first series did, but the stakes in this conflict aren't nearly as well-defined, and it's harder as a reader to care one way or the other which of these two abstract powers (Order vs. Chaos) eventually triumphs. The third, fourth, and fifth books also contain several extraneous plot threads that seem like "filler" material, included mainly to preserve the first series' five-book format (although even these portions are incredibly well-written). Since Zelazny never tied up most of these loose ends, the conclusion to Merlin's saga doesn't really leave you with the feeling that anything was resolved. As fantasy series go, the 'Merlin' stories are certainly better than your average tunnel-crawl, but they're still a strong disappointment after the incredible ride that the 'Corwin' series took you on! Don't get me wrong, I've read and enjoyed all ten books several times over, and there isn't a book in either series that isn't worth reading... but... let's just say that you probably wouldn't enjoy the 'Merlin' saga so much if you hadn't been hooked on the 'Corwin' stories in the first place.
Rating:
Summary: A Collectors Item.
Review: If your anything like me a leather binding doesn't make up for junk inside. That's why I love this collection. The good stuff is all there. I won't go on about the late Roger Zelazny's great narrative styling or story telling ability. The real test is seeing if you can put this book down. I've reread the stories at least a dozen times and enjoyed them every time. This is fantasy at its best. The only way you can top this book is to go out on the net and collect the "unfinished tales" of Amber that Zelazny had started but never finished. Great read.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Each book is progressively less and less interesting. The end is not at all satisfying. I can't believe it took him so long to write all this. The first person perspective gets old and then the author takes over as another character in first person. While there are some interesting concepts in the book, overall I'd have to say, "pass".
Rating:
Summary: Zelazny's most ambitious and, perhaps, best-known work
Review: This mammot collection of ten novels weighs in at over 1250 pages, of which the first half are great. Book 1 introduces the universe of Amber, in which all parallel worlds are but shadows of Amber, the one true city. Corwin, the narrator and protagonist, has been exiled and an amnesiac on a shadow world called Earth. A few attempts to punch his ticket start a recollection process and he finds his way to some of his fellow scheming siblings and to Amber and the return of his memory. The rest of this book, and books 2-5, follow Corwin as he undertakes various machinations to make things right, in his own image, though the reader is certainly on his side, as he seems not so much a lesser of various evils, though he is that, but a hero in his own right, despite various mentioned past transgressions. There are numerous illegitimate siblings, backstabbing plots, megalomaniacal villains of miraculous power, and some neat toys in their methods of remote communication and teleportation. There was not so much in the way of magic or advanced SF-type technology, rather a good tale of redemption and pyrrhic victories. The second set of five novels is narrated by Merlin, another illegitimate Amberite, with roots in the Courts of Chaos as well. It starts with him in Berkeley on the same shadow Earth that all Amberites seem to visit (according to THIS set of five anyway). Unfortunately, there is both a very strong presence and dependence of the story on magic that it seems a poor follow up for the first series. There are SO many twists and turns, and SO many MORE illegitimate Amberite descendents that one struggles to keep up. There often is nothing in the way of foreshadowing, as these are true surprises. While this is due to the first-person narration, it is still somewhat annoying, in my opinion. I think that book 6 is pretty good, and perhaps the latter half of book 10 (which seems somewhat hurried in wrapping things up, and still leaves a great number of loose ends) are good, with 7 being OK, and 8 and 9 seeming to drag on with this not-quite-so-abstract conflict of order versus chaos. Note that all books are still well-written in that inimitable, incomparable Zelazny prose; I just disliked the path of the story, but that is, of course, the author's prerogative. Note that this book labels itself the Complete Amber Saga, but there were a number of short stories that Zelazny wrote in the Amber setting that are omitted here. I personally would have liked their inclusion, but this is still a good weighty book to entertain for a week or so of intensive reading.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous-- Loses 1 star for being incomplete
Review: This could be a six star review, but the five short stories and one special prologue (Trumps of Doom) of the series are missing from this edition. This excellent fantasy takes off from page one and never really slows down. Through the first five books, we meet Corwin, and quite a complex protagonist he is. His greatest problem is his own past and his family's future. Zelazny takes us through a wonder of fantastic settings and entangled family conflict. The characters just may destroy each other and take the universe with them. That's the first five books. The old guard might have settled things, but along comes Merlin, Corwin's son and a new series of problems emerge, the first of which is that someone makes an annual attempt to kill young Merlin. Splashy and wondrous surreal landscapes pepper this series as Merlin resolves to not be used by his experienced relatives. Can he make this decision stick? Not likely -- but tune in to see how twisted it can get as Merlin does his best to avoid death and find answers to his questions. Along the way, you just might fall in love with Zelazny's nifty prose.
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