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Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I got this book expecting to read about the secrets of Castle Amber, to put a "face" on the Pattern, and to see some COLOR pictures of the beautiful artwork described in the books. None of that happened. There was no color, only black and white floorplans of everyone's rooms. ZZZ. Worse, they made all the Amberites obsessed with Earth. They made it seem like they were all there all the time, with everyone having a decor drawn from Earth. And worst of all, the authors made no effort to give a picture of the Pattern. I always have a hard time trying to visualize it. For nonfans, this book is filled with allusions to the other books, so it may pique your interest to read the others. For someone familair with "Corwin's story", it was very very tame.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I got this book expecting to read about the secrets of Castle Amber, to put a "face" on the Pattern, and to see some COLOR pictures of the beautiful artwork described in the books. None of that happened. There was no color, only black and white floorplans of everyone's rooms. ZZZ. Worse, they made all the Amberites obsessed with Earth. They made it seem like they were all there all the time, with everyone having a decor drawn from Earth. And worst of all, the authors made no effort to give a picture of the Pattern. I always have a hard time trying to visualize it. For nonfans, this book is filled with allusions to the other books, so it may pique your interest to read the others. For someone familair with "Corwin's story", it was very very tame.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I got this book expecting to read about the secrets of Castle Amber, to put a "face" on the Pattern, and to see some COLOR pictures of the beautiful artwork described in the books. None of that happened. There was no color, only black and white floorplans of everyone's rooms. ZZZ. Worse, they made all the Amberites obsessed with Earth. They made it seem like they were all there all the time, with everyone having a decor drawn from Earth. And worst of all, the authors made no effort to give a picture of the Pattern. I always have a hard time trying to visualize it. For nonfans, this book is filled with allusions to the other books, so it may pique your interest to read the others. For someone familair with "Corwin's story", it was very very tame.
Rating: 
Summary: A Review from the Middle of the Road...
Review: I've never understood the "love it or hate it" reaction that so many people have to this book. Zelazny was interviewed by Randall and Hamilton for the express purpose of creating this little book. He described the people, the places, and the history of Castle Amber in more concrete detail than you get from the 'Amber' novels, and his descriptions were then "fleshed out" a bit with original prose and illustrations to create 'The Visual Guide to Castle Amber.' Your guide is Flora, one of the characters from Zelazny's 'Amber' series, and her narration takes you on a floor-by-floor tour of the Castle. Each floor and many rooms of the castle are mapped and thoroughly described. There are also Trump illustrations, along with an incomplete family tree (the 'Visual Guide' appeared before all of the 'Amber' novels were published). Quite interesting, fairly well-organized and well-presented, and authorized by Roger himself. What's the fuss? The way that fans react to this book has always been amusing to me. Depending upon the individual, the 'Visual Guide' is either a foul blasphemy that defiles THAT WHICH IS THE ONE TRUE AMBER, or else it's a definitive "last word" that was so important that Zelazny assumed flesh-and-blood form to deliver it to the unworthy masses. I look at it this way: The 'Visual Guide' is ONE VIEW of what Amber might be like, informed by Roger Zelazny and expanded by a couple of self-professed Ambermaniacs. I've seen better, I've seen worse. Generally speaking, I like the maps fairly well but most of the Trump illustrations are run-of-the-mill. I enjoyed leafing through this book quite a bit, and I'd say it's worth reading if you're an 'Amber' fan like me, but I don't go back to it time and time again the way I do with Zelazny's fiction. Taken for what it is, the 'Visual Guide' is a nifty piece of fan art and fiction, no more and no less.
Rating:
Summary: A Review from the Middle of the Road...
Review: I've never understood the "love it or hate it" reaction that so many people have to this book. Zelazny was interviewed by Randall and Hamilton for the express purpose of creating this little book. He described the people, the places, and the history of Castle Amber in more concrete detail than you get from the 'Amber' novels, and his descriptions were then "fleshed out" a bit with original prose and illustrations to create 'The Visual Guide to Castle Amber.' Your guide is Flora, one of the characters from Zelazny's 'Amber' series, and her narration takes you on a floor-by-floor tour of the Castle. Each floor and many rooms of the castle are mapped and thoroughly described. There are also Trump illustrations, along with an incomplete family tree (the 'Visual Guide' appeared before all of the 'Amber' novels were published). Quite interesting, fairly well-organized and well-presented, and authorized by Roger himself. What's the fuss? The way that fans react to this book has always been amusing to me. Depending upon the individual, the 'Visual Guide' is either a foul blasphemy that defiles THAT WHICH IS THE ONE TRUE AMBER, or else it's a definitive "last word" that was so important that Zelazny assumed flesh-and-blood form to deliver it to the unworthy masses. I look at it this way: The 'Visual Guide' is ONE VIEW of what Amber might be like, informed by Roger Zelazny and expanded by a couple of self-professed Ambermaniacs. I've seen better, I've seen worse. Generally speaking, I like the maps fairly well but most of the Trump illustrations are run-of-the-mill. I enjoyed leafing through this book quite a bit, and I'd say it's worth reading if you're an 'Amber' fan like me, but I don't go back to it time and time again the way I do with Zelazny's fiction. Taken for what it is, the 'Visual Guide' is a nifty piece of fan art and fiction, no more and no less.
Rating: 
Summary: Much maligned, but quite interesting
Review: Looking over the past reviews, one would surmise that this book is simply awful. Actually, quite to the contrary. Example: The illustrations are far from crude. In fact, they are well-drawn and very detailed. I think this is similar to the controversy surrounding the "Lord of the Rings" movies coming out. Many fans are crying "Heresy!" because the director's vision doesn't fit their notions of how the characters look and act. ....Read this one, and enjoy, it is rich! Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books / Krakow RPGs
Rating:
Summary: Much maligned, but quite interesting
Review: Looking over the past reviews, one would surmise that this book is simply awful. Actually, quite to the contrary. Example: The illustrations are far from crude. In fact, they are well-drawn and very detailed. I think this is similar to the controversy surrounding the "Lord of the Rings" movies coming out. Many fans are crying "Heresy!" because the director's vision doesn't fit their notions of how the characters look and act. ....Read this one, and enjoy, it is rich! Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books / Krakow RPGs
Rating:
Summary: Dandy Candy for the Zelazny Fanatic
Review: Steeped in succulent tidbits of Amber lore as this book is, it nevertheless has simply atrocious illustrations, crudely drawn and obvious, committing crimes in black and white thankfully left unsaid in color. Years ago, after eagerly obtaining a copy on its first printing I sadly found my finely spun images of the people and places that cast the shadows I adored in Zelazny's world butchered to such an extent I simply gave it away. Recently however, a new friend's eyes sparkled so at the mere mention of possession of this crude tomb that I must bow to tradition and give this book its due; it has apparently a worthy place in the frugally documented world of Amber. The parts I liked best had to do were descriptions of those places whose location was mutuable, such the Hall of Mirrors.
Rating: 
Summary: A Guide from the Lord of Fantasy
Review: This book is a walk through guide not an actual story, it gave an in depth look into the world of Amber. It icludes character discriptions and backgrounds, timelines geneology and a complete map of castle Amber and the city around it. It also tells the story of the Unicorn and Dworkin, how the Pattern was created, and where the Jewel of Judgement came from. I highly recomend this book to any one that is a fan of Roger Zelaznys fantasy world Amber.
Rating: 
Summary: I Wanted My Money Back
Review: This book is formatted as a walk-through tour of the castle, with some discussion of major characters. I bought the first edition in 1988, and eagerly started reading it for its promised "revelations." Instead, I found it to be a HUGE disappointment. Anyone who is "into" Zelazny's Amber novels will cringe at the vast number of errors in this book and the insipid illustrations. Although Zelazny is listed as first author, he seems to have had next to nothing to do with the contents of this book, and he certainly didn't write the banal text. Errors run the gamut from maps that are at odds with the text in Zelazny's books, to listing as dead a character who isn't, to making ludicrous claims, such as non-royals going mad if they view the Pattern (an artifact central to the Amber novels). The illustrations disagree with the original text. There are major conceptual errors, such as describing part of Amber as "almost" an archetype, when it is by definition *the* archetype. The authors used a character from the novels as a tour guide, and then crudely mishandle her persona in their writing. The only good thing about this book is the encouragement it may offer would-be writers: if something this bad and sloppy can get published, then almost anything can. If you are interested in this book's topic, *The Complete Amber Sourcebook* is a much better choice, despite a few errors.
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