Rating: 
Summary: An overall AWESOME series
Review: I honestly must say that when I first read the "Nine Princes in Amber" I didn't like the story. The stuff about Shadow and the Pattern were too crazy. Something compelled me to continue reading on and I was completely drawn in. The intrigue, the mystery, the betrayals and the politics were brilliantly weaved together. As the story progressed, it became less of a Sci-Fi series and more of a walk through the human psyche. Amber, Shadow and Chaos representing the Freudian personality: the superego, the ego and the id. His writing style is incredible. My favorite character was Merlin although many would probably vote for Corwin as their number one hero. Merlin wasn't as experienced or as cunning as his father but I wish I had a friend like him. He was willing to help his "friends" even when they tried to kill him at one time. I loved the first 8 books in the series but the last 2 weren't as enchanting. The ending was also a slap in the face but I understood Zelazny's reasoning behind ending the series so abruptly. Don't miss out on this awesome series. You won't regret the sleep you will lose over it.
Rating:
Summary: the best thing to happen since color TV
Review: Ah, Amber... the one true world, of which our own is but a Shadow. Sounds intriguing, eh? I certainly thought so, when I first heard about the series years ago. However, most of the novels were out of print, so I had little hope of ever finding out just how great this series was. As is the norm when I eagerly seek out of print lore, I visited my local used book store. But alas, although some of the books were available they were not all there, so, being a completist, I bought none of them. Then, finally, one day behind the facade of an innocent looking bookstore, I stumbled upon this treasure! Wow! All of Amber in a single volume! Too good to be true? Fortunately not. Imagine my delight! Why didn't somebody think of this sooner? So I bought it, read it, loved it. I won't go into a plot summary because if I were to attempt to outline it in detail I would exceed Amazon's maximum word limit! This book is huge, and so is the plot! The basic principle, as you've probably gathered from the other reviews, is that Amber is the one true world, and everywhere else, including Earth, is just a shadow. The main problems in the book deal with the succession of kingship in Amber and the Pattern (difficult to explain, I encourage you to read the book in order to grasp it because my words would fall short). Zelazny is a master. He really knows how to pull you into a story. The first novel of the first chronicles begins with the main character, Corwin, waking up to find he's lost his memory. All of the Amber books are written in first person, so we don't know anymore than the narrator knows. In this case, the narrator (Corwin) doesn't know anything either! We are grabbed by the hand and whisked along with him on a journey of discovery, which makes the world of Amber seem even more strange and wonderful than it already otherwise would. One of the neat things about this series is that the narrators (Corwin for books 1-5, Merlin for books 6-10) both spend a great deal of their lives in the Shadow known as Earth. This allows for a blending of some very wordly and contemporary language and allusions with the fantastic setting of the realms of Amber and its enemies in the Courts of Chaos (which you see a lot more of in the second chronicles). I know, I know, it's convenient, it's somewhat contrived, and a cheap trick, but Zelazny pulls it off well enough that you don't really mind. Most of the other reviewers have probably told you that the adventures of Merlin don't quite live up to those of Corwin. That is true, but that doesn't mean that Merlin's adventures aren't still a darn good yarn. The main problem with the second chronicles (the adventures of Merlin) is not that they are written badly but that Merlin is not quite as compelling a character as Corwin and that Zelazny introduces so many wonderfully wacky suplots and plot twists that he is unable to successfully tie them all up in the last book. Reading the two chronicles straight through is kind of like walking the Pattern (it gets tougher as you go along <read and you'll know what I mean>). Still, I can't recommend this book highly enough. The last five books, while not as good as the first five, are still very much worth reading, and you just can't beat the deal of ten books for twenty bucks (that is, unless you order from Amazon, who has dropped the price to an even sweeter sixteen <nudge, nudge>). Another good thing about having all these books in one is that none of them really stand alone, so they just make more sense in a single volume. There are a couple of drawbacks to this omnibus, though. One, it's big!! The thing is heavy, and, being a paperback of considerable size, is very hard to manage physically, and is easily abused and worn. Two, it's long!! The average reader may need a month or two to get through it. It's not for the faint of heart, but it's definitely worthwhile for those with the courage to tackle it. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The Standard By Which To Measure All Fantasy Universes!
Review: The AMber series is THE most perfectly designed universe in both theory and character EVER in fantasy. It is an absolute must-read. All ten books in one volume for under ... is an incredible deal!
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: This is the best book I have seen in a loooooong time! Roger Zelazny is a master of fantasy, his Amber chronicles are the most engrossing stories I have ever read and I have been waiting for a long time for an anthology of his books to be published and HERE IT IS!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Zis book... She made me LOVE her!!
Review: Corwin's terrific dynamism and cunning drive the first five chapters. The second half: "Aye, there's the rub!". As Merlin, son of Corwin, confesses, "I'm not in the same league as my father". Imagine Homer's "ODYSSEY" with the entire second half devoted to Telemachus. Maybe Zelazny had done better to have a multiple plot going on here with both men; THAT might have been good! From chapter six on, you sadly feel the tale slowly but steadily decelerate with Merlin the magical wunderkind at the wheel. In fact... it's the expansion of the plot complications and range of characters already briefly encountered in the first half of the book which makes Merlin sustainable. Compared with Corwin's judgment and cunning, Merlin's decisions seem wayward, his rationale just too intuitive. It's hard to identify with him... Yet, he does have his shining moments, for all that. Other small defects there are... BUT! This is a Whale of a Book: mildly hazardous if you are on a work schedule. "The Great Book of Amber" is positively addictive; prepare to be bleary-eyed until you finish it. It reminds me of "the Pattern"; once you start, you just can't stop 'til you reach the end. Have fun. It's holds up well to a re-read, also.
Rating:
Summary: Read it!
Review: I had a friend who's been after me for years to read this series. Thanks to this book, I did. I'm impressed. It's got to be one of the best series of all time, honestly. The storytelling sucks you right in, the plot thickens through each book. A rare find. This series is part Fantasy, part Sci-Fi, part Mystery and part Political Intrigue. A very winning combination. If you don't usually like Fantasy, you'll still like this collection. It's not your garden variety good v. evil, dragonslaying, magic tossing book. Very intelligent and gripping all around. Worth the price of admission!
Rating:
Summary: Well Written and a Great Read
Review: I feel this series of books could be really defined as two parts: 1. The adventures of Corwin and the problems facing Amber 2. The adventures of Merlin and the problems facing the courts of Chaos The first part was an excellent read with twists, plots, heroes and unknown bad person/s (don't want to spoil it). It all revolves around Corwin and how he tries to find out what is going on with his life and then later with the greater powers of the Pattern (the force of normality) and his father. He aspires to rule the kingdom of Amber which all other shadow worlds are cast from, but all the siblings are scheming and positioning themselves politically to obtain some sort of power. The first part is an excellent read, unpredictable and well written. 5 out of 5 Stars The second part did not drag me into the plot as did the first. It lack the mystery and the personalities of the first part. It revolves around Merlin who is the son of Corwin and Merlin's search who is trying to kill him. Later he searches for his father (Corwin). Merlin is a son of Amber and of Chaos and because of this his loyalty is divided between the two. Both the Pattern of Amber and the Forces of Chaos test him and attempt to make him choose sides. I feel the Merlin part of the series lacked the punch and intrigue of the Corwin part of the series. It also lacked the depth of characters and plotting of the Corwin part of the series. It was well written but I felt it was a little shallow and predictable on many occasions. 3 out of 5 Stars.
Rating:
Summary: 10 Masterpieces all in 1 book
Review: I cannot begin to tell how much I loved this work. I picked up my first book of Amber 6 years ago and have been trying to get all 10 ever since. As the originals were out of print this proved to be very hard. So when I found out about this, I was greatly excited. Now having bought it I am now making all my friends read this book! The greatness of this book is that it combines elements from many genres. Though it is classified as Science Fiction, it borrows heavily from all in bringing in stories about court intrigue, family betrayals, family loyalty, murder, mystery, fantasy and humor. Zelazny is a master storyteller and the world of Amber is a great place to escape to. Whether your a sci-fi/fantasy lover or someone just looking for a good story that will totally engage them, this is definitely a book to read.
Rating:
Summary: A brain-twisting epic
Review: I've been wanting to read Zelazny's Amber Chronicles for a long time, but had a hard time finding them all, so I jumped at the chance to have them all in one volume. The purchase was worth every penny and much more! Zelazny knows how to hook you into a story from the very beginning - a paragraph or two and I already couldn't put it down. The start of the book is confusing, because it's told in first person and Corwin, the main character, is in the midst of amnesia. However, it's written in such a way that you can still follow the story, and are kept in such suspense that you keep reading. The reader learns what's going on at the same time as Corwin does, and the series takes off from there. I found it difficult at first to keep the names straight of the various Amberite siblings, but as the series went on and the characters were fleshed out, it became easier. I liked the first half of the volume (the first five books), which concern Corwin, better than the second half (second five books), which are mostly about the next generation of Amberites. However, both are extremely well written and keep you turning pages. Zelazny definitely has a way with words: "...something within me looked for words to wear, failed, ran naked away through the night." Sometimes the long descriptions of the shifts between shadows got to be a little bit *too* wordy, but nobody's perfect! The concept of parallel universes is not a new one, but the way that Zelazny has presented it is refreshingly original. Our own world figures prominently in the story, and I particularly enjoyed a bizarre trip Through the Looking Glass to visit Wonderland at one point during the second series. Fantastic. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Books 1-5
Review: (Note: My copy only has the first 5 books of the Amber Chronicles.) I have always had a fascination with the idea of an infinite number of dimensions, or as Zelazny terms it shadows, so when I saw The Chronicles of Amber I was intrigued. I enjoyed the book very much and found the plot to be sufficiently original and not as black and white as so many fantasy novels are. There were enough twists and turns to keep me interested and the characters were not simply good or evil. I like books that are somewhat more reflective of actual human personalities and don't have goody goody heroes and absolute evil villains. The one criticism that I do have of the book is that Zelazny had a tendancy to be a little bit wordy in some sections particularly those that attempted to describe the shifting of shadows that Corwin did during his hellrides. Multiple pages of sentence fragments just gets somewhat tiresome after awhile. Other than that this book was thouroughly enjoyable.
| 
