The Complete Amber Sourcebook

Rating:
Summary: Strike "complete" from the title and you might be satisfied!
Review: Despite the author's attempt, the book misses on many levels, the least of which is cross-referencing Zelazny's material instead of 'fluffing' the story he wrote. The Amber language and calendar elements are good. The timeline vs. Shadow Earth is interesting. The omission of Mirelle, Lora, Carmella, while including characters much less central is puzzling. Especially when the author states he had Zelazny's ear to answer such questions. Fans will respect what is included and moan over what is missed here. The geneology chart doesn't agree with other sources. You'll find no mention of Shroudlings, or other elements from the short stories.

Rating:
Summary: Good book on a difficult topic
Review: I know the author and have discussed the book with him. He is one of a very, very limited number of people who have interviewed Zelazny in regard to the Amber series. Ted's book is well written and is a good source for information in regard to the long and somewhat complicated series.

Rating:
Summary: The best 'Amber' reference to date, but not without faults.
Review: Krulik's "Complete Amber Sourcebook" is a lot of fun. Arranged in encyclopedic format, it contains numerous and varied entries about most of the major people, places, things, and events described in Roger Zelazny's 'Amber' novels. Although there are some glaring omissions, Zelazny is said to have approved and personally edited this material before publication; Zelazny's involvement certainly gives the book legitimacy, although its degree of 'canonicity' is up to the individual reader.

The best parts of this book are arguably those dealing with Amber and its immediate surroundings ('Amber,' the city, and 'Amber,' the region). There are extensive notes on language and history. The book also provides colorful background on enigmatic subjects that Zelazny mentioned casually in his fiction, such as the Moon-Riders of Ghanesh, or the deaths of Osric and Finndo.

I think that a lot of the negative feedback I've seen about this book is because it challenges individual preconceptions about things dear to the hearts of Zelazny's loyal fans. Krulik also peppers his encyclopedic entries with original quotations or dialogues from Zelazny's characters, which occasionally get too cute to stomach. There also seems to be undue attention paid to extremely minute or obscure details (sheet music for Corwin's "Ballad of the Water Crossers?") while more obvious topics go unexplored. All in all, though, I thought that this was a great reference for the serious 'Amber' fan.

Rating:
Summary: The best 'Amber' reference to date, but not without faults.
Review: Krulik's "Complete Amber Sourcebook" is a lot of fun. Arranged in encyclopedic format, it contains numerous and varied entries about most of the major people, places, things, and events described in Roger Zelazny's 'Amber' novels. Although there are some glaring omissions, Zelazny is said to have approved and personally edited this material before publication; Zelazny's involvement certainly gives the book legitimacy, although its degree of 'canonicity' is up to the individual reader.

The best parts of this book are arguably those dealing with Amber and its immediate surroundings ('Amber,' the city, and 'Amber,' the region). There are extensive notes on language and history. The book also provides colorful background on enigmatic subjects that Zelazny mentioned casually in his fiction, such as the Moon-Riders of Ghanesh, or the deaths of Osric and Finndo.

I think that a lot of the negative feedback I've seen about this book is because it challenges individual preconceptions about things dear to the hearts of Zelazny's loyal fans. Krulik also peppers his encyclopedic entries with original quotations or dialogues from Zelazny's characters, which occasionally get too cute to stomach. There also seems to be undue attention paid to extremely minute or obscure details (sheet music for Corwin's "Ballad of the Water Crossers?") while more obvious topics go unexplored. All in all, though, I thought that this was a great reference for the serious 'Amber' fan.

Rating:
Summary: A good sourcebook
Review: Okay, so the author probably took a few liberties here and there...this is still a darned good sourcebook for any Amberphile. The topics are pretty extensive and what liberties that are taken do not seem to contradict, but rather enhance the experience of reading the books. Now if only someone will come out with an Amber tribute series of shortstories...

Rating:
Summary: Good reference, but not the definitive work.
Review: Theodore Krulik takes on the daunting task of compiling the people and places of Roger Zelazny's Amber into a reference work. While filled with detail, the work suffers from Krulik's apparent 'invention' of history and details -- there is no mention of specific discussions with Zelazny, so these speculations are far from being canon -- and a few curious omissions.

However, Krulik does shine in his notes on Thari, the tongue of Amber, also mentioning R. McAllister's The Secret Languages of Ireland (available through amazon.com!).