I would recommend something I am reading, but nothing on the current list that is spectacular. And so I have been re-reading some favorites. The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny, was a childhood favorite of mine. When I was twelve or so I began the process of raiding my dad’s bookshelves and came across these books. I read through them quickly, the sort of book you just do not put down. And have since read them numerous times over. I can’t imagine anyone who loves fantasy who has not read this series, but if not, then you should get to it. If you have then remember it is always a series that can be enjoyed over and over again. I very much enjoyed this series because of the world created. The sibling conflicts and depth to characters. Corwin, who is the main character in the first series, is close to an anti-hero with some serious flaws and that makes him all the more interesting. While I am at it, I will recommend ‘Jack of Shadows’, while not in the Amber series, it was quite an enjoyable book.
For the entire collection go to Amazon.com — Great Book of Amber
In the first series, we meet Corwin, who from the beginning of the novel suffers from amnesia. In order to survive some ambitious siblings, he needs to remember his past. The world Roger Zelazny has created centers around the realm of Amber, and from Amber, there are an infinite amount of shadow realms, reflections of Amber to some degree. The royal family of Amber has the ability to travel through these shadow realms. They can also communicate or travel long distances through family tarot cards. Corwin’s father has gone missing and in his absence, there is a battle for who will rule Amber. I will not go into details on the plot, but the later books have to do with Corwin’s son Merlin, who can travel between the order realms into chaos realms due to his bloodline.
Author facts and such…
“Roger Zelazny was born in Euclid, Ohio. He received his M.A. in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama from Columbia University in 1962. Zelazny briefly enlisted with the Ohio National Guard and then worked for the Social Security Administration in Cleveland, Ohio, and Baltimore, Maryland. Zelazny’s first published story was ‘Passion Play’ which appeared in 1962. Before becoming a full-time writer in 1969, Zelazny concentrated on short stories and novellas. At the age of 38, he moved to Santa Fe, where he lived until his death.
The Chronicles of Amber included Nine Princes in Amber, The Guns of Avalon (1972), Sign of the Unicorn (1975), The Hand of Oberon (1976) and The Courts of Chaos (1978). Trumps of Doom (1985) opened a follow-up starring Corwin’s son Merlin. The series included Blood of Amber (1986), Sign of Chaos (1987), Knight of Shadows (1989) and Prince of Chaos (1991). The first five novels were collected together as The Chronicles of Amber (2000). Two further related works were A Rhapsody in Amber (1981) and Roger Zelazny’s Visual Guide to Castle Amber (1988, with Neil Randall).”- Roger Zelazny
The Wyrd 