Product Description
Hell Tanner isn't the sort of guy you'd mistake for a hero: he's a fast-driving car thief, a smuggler, and a stone-cold killer. He's also expendable - at least in the eyes of the Secretary of Traffic for the Nation of California. Tanner doesn't care much for those eyes. You'd also never mistake Hell Tanner for a humanitarian. Facing life in prison for his various crimes, he's given a choice; rot away his remaining years in a tiny jail cell, or drive cross-country and deliver a case of antiserum to the plague-ridden people of Boston, Massachusetts...if anyone is still alive there to receive it, that is. The chance of a full pardon does wonders for getting his attention. And don't mistake this mission of mercy for any kind of normal road trip - not when there are radioactive storms, hordes of carniverous beasts, and giant, mutated scorpions to be found along every deadly mile between Los Angeles and the East Coast. But then, this is no normal part of America, you see. This is DAMNATION ALLEY...Amazon.com Review
You've gotta love to hate the 1977 movie Damnation Alley, a cheese-filled classic from sci-fi's cinematic canon. But there's at least one good thing you can say about this otherwise awful flick: it's prevented the movie's far superior source material from being forgotten. Roger Zelazny's post-apocalypse novel predates the George Peppard-Jan-Michael Vincent vehicle by about a decade and represents the fine storytelling talents of one of science fiction and fantasy's most daring writers (likely best remembered for his imaginative Amber series).

Speaking of vehicles: the coolest part of the movie--and likely,thankfully, the only part most people remember--turns out to be even coolerin the book: the flame-spewing, .50-caliber-bullet-belching,grenade-throwing, gigantic all-terrain vehicle that's responsible forgetting a crucial antiserum shipment from Los Angeles to Boston to stop adeadly plague. The driver, a despicable lowlife named Hell Tanner, has beengiven a not-so-difficult choice. He can either get the drugs to the East Coast intact, save humanity, and receive a full pardon for hiscrimes, or he can refuse and spend the rest of his life in a "zebra suit."So what's the catch? Thanks to World War III, Middle America is now anelectrical-storm-torn, heavily irradiated playground for dino-sized Gilamonsters, "freak spiders," humongous bats "that eat off the mutie fruit trees down Mexico way," and120-foot-long snakes as big around as garbage cans. And the native humansstill scrambling around the wasteland aren't much less dangerous.

Damnation Alley might not be Zelazny's best, but for reading on,say, a road trip, you can't do much better. Throw in some '60s-style, freak-out closing riffs, and a trip down the Alley becomes pretty hard to pass up. --Paul Hughes ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Glad I had a chance to read it.
I'm glad I read this, since it is considered a classic by some, but it definitely wasn't worth the hype.Except maybe the cheese factor hype.

And I didn't get the end at all.

Can you run the Alley?
I read this as a kid.I remember really liking it but not much else.

This Is a reread.I couldn't remember details so I reread it to reaffirm my 4 star rating.The rating stands.I enjoy Post-apocalyptic stories and the different paths they can follow.This is post nuclear and leans toward some of the scifi effects of radiation:lingering hot-pockets, mutations, altered weather, etc.

The US is split into different nations with most of the population on either coasts.The middle is essentially a dead no-mans land called Damnation Alley.Planes can't fly, the land roams with mutant animals and deadly weather, and the is no radio communication.

Liked it, but wish it were longer
Sometime after a nuclear apocalypse, there are two nations left in the former U.S. (perhaps in the world); the nations of California and Boston. All the rest is a wasteland of radioactivity, mutant beasts, super storms and violent gangs, known as Damnation Alley.

Word comes that a plague has struck Boston. California sends a group of their best drivers across Damnation Alley to deliver vaccine. To lead this group, they shanghai Hell Tanner: criminal, the last Hell's Angel and the best damned driver they have.

This was my first Roger Zelazny novel and it wasn't what I expected. The writing was quirky and more literary than I was expecting, given the pulpy storyline and the workman-like writing in so much old sci-fi. The post-apocalyptic setting, lack of details about the causes of the war and unspecified year of the story kept the book from feeling particularly dated (except for the late-sixties fascination with the Hell's Angels).

So I liked the writing (enough that I will pick up other books by Zelazny), but overall I thought the book was only so-so. For the bulk of the book, though we hear what a terrible place Damnation Alley is, it just doesn't seem so dangerous.

Once Hell reaches the Eastern Seaboard he is constantly being harassed by raiders (and this section was very well done), but the previous days' driving across the country seemed almost mellow in comparison. I think maybe the book would have benefited a little from a couple of extra chapters and a few more travails.

Still, even though I think the book is flawed, it is worth a read. It helped spark a whole sub-genre of post-apocalyptic fiction, as I'm pretty sure Walter Jon Williams Hardwired, movies like Doomsday and the Mad Max series and game worlds like Gamma World and Dark Future were all at least partly inspired by this book.

Hell and Damnation
Hell Tanner, the last of the Hells Angels, gets a pardon from the Nation of California - if he takes plague vaccine from Los Angeles to Boston.To make it, though, he has to go through Damnation Alley -- what's left of America after a nuclear war.It's a land of giant critters, volcanoes, biker gangs, and storms that drop boulders out of the sky.Along the way, murdering, pimping, thieving Tanner decides he may just like to have a go at being a hero ...

This is a fast-paced, very enjoyable adventure story told in prose colorful in every sense of the word.Zelazny himself preferred the shorter novella version.He was right.The added bits about life in plague-ridden Boston don't add much and a poetic, impressionistic section on the source and circulation of the winds that plague the world breaks up the pacing and tone.And, needless to say, there's little in the way of plausible science.Still, those are minor blemishes, and the story is worth reading in either version.

Hell's Angel's quest to deliver an anti-plague serum
Hell Tanner has never got anything. He gives a rat's what others want. The fumes of the exhaust pipes of his Harley Davidson is all anybody will get from him. He's the last Hell's Angel. In this post-nuke wastelands of US he got an offer. A complete pardon of all his past and future crimes if he would be willing to ride across the country in a gauntlet, armored 8 wheel vehicle, from Los Angeles to Boston. To bring a plague antidote for the surviving people. The convoy, motored group of 3, is sent across by land; to battle huge mutant insects, packs of survivors turned violent and feral, and brutal electrical storms that savage the already barren plains, to ravel through the desolate post-nuke wastelands.

Damnation Alley takes place in a post-apocalyptic nuclear war where most of the earth has been destroyed. Only a few pockets of humanity exist in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Boston. Tanner's experience as a smuggler makes him the best driver available. Tanner believes in impression but somewhere deep down he has something good. The reader is supposed to believe that Tanner changes during the trip just by psychoanalyzing his own thoughts. The narrative is mostly done through Tanner's eyes how he fights giant gila monster, bats, snakes. In a stop or two he meets a crazy biologist, warm surviving family who offer him a little rest in the long journey and Cornelia, a girl from a motorbike gang he had to slaughter. If Tanner is not talking to himself, he has his co-driver Greg, a Native American who's brains he trashed against the cockpit (at halfway of the book), or Cornelia (at the end of book), who gets killed just before they arrive to Boston. At the end City declares Tanner a hero and a statue is erected for him. Tanner isn't around to see these; he has split in the desert.

One (1) star. Written in 1969 the year of the Easy Rider road movie. The story resembles remarkably the movie; iced only with plague antidote delivery. The ramblings of bearded Tanner, who smokes in chain and kills without a second thought, takes a woman, present straight male-macho ideals put on words. The road ride is predictable and descriptions of the surroundings occupy most of the book. With the initial setting, in this radioactive hellhole, there could have been lots of possibilities but unfortunately all the terrain is abridged to monsters and the Road. The few encounters with the isolated people on the way are probably used for break effect in this otherwise monotonous trip diary. Indifferent read. ... Read more

Product Description
Charles Render is a shaper, one of a small number of psychotherapists qualified, by his granite will and ultra-stability, to use the extraordinary device that enables him to to participate in, and control, his patients' dreams. But this is a dangerous therapy for the therapist and only his armour-plated integrity protects Render from too deep an involvement in the mental worlds of the damaged people he seeks to help. But then, Eileen Shallot, another therapist who is blind, asks him to help her 'see' by transferring from his mind to hers a world of colour and light. Render agrees but suddenly finds himself obsessed with Eileen and drawn into fantasies which, she controls. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

My Favorite of this Author
I like most of the writings of Roger Zelazny that I have read.He is a student of the Qabalah and the Grail and embeds real knowledge of some esoteric spiritual practices in his entertaining stories.This one started out as a short story and expanded into a full book. The style is very condensed.It seems that not a word is wasted.Some paragraphs say a lot.The story is about a therapist who uses a machine to enter into the dreams of others and even make dreams for them.A physically blind woman wants to know what seeing is like.The therapist memorizes his day time experiences and shares them in the sessions, visits museums and has her join him in the dream of what he did during the day.The theme of our ordinary world being a dream is touched upon indirectly through this medium, with the therapist almost becoming a god for the blind woman as she gradually learns how to see and to visualize in this shared space.There are multiple themes playing out through the pages with Qabalistic themes used in the background, for instance a master of the tree of life does not merely ascend the middle pillar, but must be able to go up and down the tree of life.

Muddled Dream
Zelazny's prose is in fine form here and he displays a myriad of interesting ideas quite well. In fact some of the background filling in of the world is more interesting than the plot. In particular the mutated dog and his relationship with normal dogs and human society.

Prose aside, Zelazny manages to be at once all too clever and heavy handed. Calling the Dream Master "Render" and having his female patient be named "Eileen Shallot". Other references to classic myth abound as if Zelazny is telling the reader "Oh, aren't I/We so smart, catch the symbolism and foreshadowing here??"

The plot is fairly simplistic, and the ending heavily foreshadowed. For all that it still managed to get me a little engaged even though it was obvious how it was going to happen. Unfortunately, virtually all the characters are unlikeable, from Render, to Shallot, to his girlfriend DeVille and in particular his son as well as Shallot's dog.

Several interesting plot threads are developed and just left hanging. As this was an expansion of a short-story why not flesh out those plot threads. What's with Render's suicide obsession, and the suicides we see of people in the society? What's wrong with the mutated dog, why does he run off and torment normal dogs, is this normal or is the dog as broken as his Mistress?

The quality of writing and the ideas though save this from being a poor novel and pull it into the firmly average bracket. Zelazny fans, or those into novels of dreaming such as Lathe of Heaven may wish to give this a look.

Master of the Dream Castle
Ideas have always been the movers and shakers of science fiction. But because of this, all too often other aspects of good literature have been ignored or given short shrift by all too many authors. Zelazny does not fall into this trap.

The driving idea behind this book is the ability, with the help of some fancy technology, of a trained neuroparticipant therapist to directly monitor and control his patient's dreams.There is a downside to this: the therapist had better be very emotionally stable himself, else he runs the risk of having the patient take control and impress his thoughts and emotional problems on the therapist. Zelazny takes this basic concept and wraps it first in truly excellent prose; much of this work reads almost like a prose poem. He adds two strong characters, Charles Render, the therapist, and Eileen Shallot, a blind-from-birth woman who wants to be a therapist herself, but must first get over the problem of how to deal with the sights and visions that her future patients will have. Render (and I believe the name is significant, though this is a literary device Zelazny did not normally use) is a tightly controlled person, carefully bulwarking his emotional walls from the pain of the death of his wife and driven to over-protect his brilliant son. Though repeatedly warned of the dangers, he finds the challenge of introducing Eileen to the world of sight irresistible. Thus the stage is set for a trip through the world of dreams, dreams that are perhaps both simpler and more comprehensible than the garden variety most people have, but described with such excellence that it is almost like seeing a sequence of pictures, watercolors and oils in vivid colors.

The side characters also have important roles to play, from Eileen's talking seeing-eye dog to Render's nominal current love interest, Jill DeVille. Their actions precipitate the final action of the story, and indicate that the story is both carefully plotted and has a thematic depth that can only be seen when the play of irony surrounding these events and the careful allusions to certain legendary characters is carefully examined.

This story was originally published in slightly shorter form as "He Who Shapes", which took the Nebula award for best novella in 1965. With this expanded form, I think the final irony is more sharply defined, his main characters better fleshed out, but perhaps there are places where some unnecessary verbiage has been added. I would be hard pressed to declare which version is better.

The idea is only the kernel. Roger's layers of wrapping with all the elements of good storytelling is what makes this story a worthwhile read.


--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

"Dream" on
Robert Zelazny wasn't quite in top form in "Dream Master," a rather jumbled SF novel that delves into the human mind. Zelazny writes with his usual minimalist poetry, but the finale and characters are definitely lacking. It's a nice read, but far from Zelazny's best.

Charles Render is a neuroparticipant therapist -- he taps into his patients' dreams and analyzes them to tell them what their undisclosed problems are. For example, he finds out that one man imagines enemies because the alternative is being ignored. His own problems go un-dealt with -- the death of his wife in a car crash, which has left him with some lingering guilt issues.

Then he meets Eileen Shallot, who wants the same kind of job he has. The problem is: she's been blind all her life, and no therapist of that kind has ever been blind because they get overwhelmed by the dreams. But he agrees to help Eileen gradually -- by letting her see through his eyes.

"Dream Master" was once a short story, and was expanded dramatically to make it into this novella. It's definitely a mixed blessing -- on one hand, Zelazny has plenty of room to paint strange dreamscapes and weird twists of the imagination. On the other, "Master" is definitely padded.

So long as "Master" sticks close to the interactions between Charles and Eileen, the story stays solid and sleek. But there are also a lot of scenes that do nothing except distract, like anything involving Jill DeVille (Charles' bland girlfriend) or the talking doggie.

Certainly Zelazny takes an unconventional and interesting idea -- psychotherapy using a "dream machine" -- and manages to wring a whole book out of that sole idea. His sparse prose really blossoms in the dream sequences, becoming lusher and stranger. They're not terribly strange as dreams usually are, but they're definitely interesting.

Charles isn't a terribly likable protagonist; he's a bit of a know-it-all. Okay, he's a doctor, but his condescension towards his patients comes across as arrogance. Eileen seems a little more likable, with her obsession with overcoming her disabilities. The other characters -- Charles' son and Jill -- are pretty much nonentities.

"Dream Master" makes up for lackluster characters with Zelazny's imagination and excellent prose. Just don't expect him to be in top form in this dreamy scifi exploration.

Zelazny, the dream master
First let me start off by saying that I am a huge Zelazny fan and that would most likely make me extremely biased. But I also like Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, and Lovecraft - so I think I can be fairly open-minded and am somewhat well-rounded. Contrary to most of the reviews on this book, I thought that 'The Dream Master' was very very good. True the characters could've been deeper, but Zelazny's writing style is captivating in and of itself. There is so much happening in this novel and is at the same time almost without purpose. This, I would say, is a novel for the Zelazny fan who has already read (and liked) his Amber Series and 'Lord of Light' (also check out 'Night in Lonesome October' for a new avenue of Zelazny thought) - because I think that this novel is more like 'basking in the sunlight' of the style of a truely ingenious writer. So in that respect it succeeds and if you appreciate a writer's style and ability to interest (even without a major plot!) then you would probably enjoy this one. ... Read more

Product Description
In the years following World War III, a new and powerful faith has arisen from a scorched and poisoned Earth, a faith that embraces the architect of world wide devastation. The Servants of Wrath have deified Carlton Lufteufel and re-christened him the Deus Irae. In the small community of Charlottesville, Utah, Tibor McMasters, born without arms or legs, has, through an array of prostheses, established a far-reaching reputation as an inspired painter. When the new church commissions a grand mural depicting the Deus Irae, it falls upon Tibor to make a treacherous journey to find the man, to find the god, and capture his terrible visage for posterity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

PKD: Gold Standard of Science Fiction
It amused me to no end reading all these reviews by confused Zelazny fans. "It's a bad acid trip!" "I don't like questioning theology!" To which I can only say "Shove off!" Philip K. Dick remains, long after his death, the only true artist in an ever more debased genre.

Deus Irae in particular illustrates this. It follows a phocomelus mural painter (something readers of Dr. Bloodmoney will be familiar with) as he goes on a "pilg" to directly experience the God of Wrath -- the man who pressed the big button on doomsday and nuked the world. Along the way, he encounters all the varied denizens of this post-nuclear war world -- including some friendly reptoids and an intelligent, malfunctioning factory responsible for a genuine laugh-out-loud moment -- and is further accompanied by the hideous follower of the laughed at and ignored Christian church.

Like all of Dick's best work, this takes the reader into scary philosophical and theological waters: How can people believe in an all-loving God in the face of so much suffering? And how much of the history of the big religions is truth, myth, or just some con-job from an old drunk in a barn?

No Answers Here
Here's a novel with important pieces missing.

That's not necessarily a bad thing.Most of us would probably prefer a novel with important pieces missing to one with everything spelled out.Then again, there's a fine line between making readers think for themselves and leaving them in the dark.In this case, the authors may have stepped over the line.Let's have a look.

In post-apocalyptic America, a new religion has come into being.They worship a new god, the Deus Irae, or God of Wrath.They believe that this god also has a human form (or maybe just a human servant) in the person of one Carleton Lufteufel, a former government official who gave the order that set off the nuclear devastation.Since this god's works plainly surround the people at all times, the Church of Wrath attracts a lot of followers, and the old Christian church is in a bad way.

The Church of Wrath commissions Tibor McMasters to paint a mural on one of their buildings - a wise choice, since he's the greatest artist of the age despite having no arms or legs.To that end, the Church sends him on a journey to find Carleton Lufteufel, take a picture, and include his genuine likeness in the work.A local Christian novice, Pete Sands, decides to go along.He tells himself he's doing this to protect Tibor from harm.He may have other motives - his church would clearly prefer that Tibor fail in this quest.And Tibor has some grave doubts about the whole thing.Will Tibor and Pete find Carleton Lufteufel?And more importantly, if they do, what will they do about it?

Not a bad setup, you'll agree.What's more, in their journeys Tibor and Pete encounter some nice freakish details, such as talking bugs and lizards, a carnivorous computer and a cranky automatic factory.Their encounters with these oddities are often funny, thank God; the factory, for instance, attempts to fix Pete's bicycle and instead produces a torrent of pogo sticks.

The writing is worth the time, too.I've said before that Philip K. Dick was not a great stylist, but he could be phenomenal when on his game.Roger Zelazny, his co-writer, had a deserved reputation as one of the best stylists in science fiction.Together, they produced a lot of wonderful passages here, such as when Tibor obtains a dog to keep him company.An armless and legless man in a poisonous wilderness would certainly be happy to have a dog - these passages in "Deus Irae" go one step further and make you feel his joy personally.

So it's all the more frustrating to read through "Deus Irae" and find yourself with so many unanswered questions.For instance, what in the world is so godlike about Carleton Lufteufel?At one point, Tibor encounters a powerful presence that descends on him from the sky, speaks to him, gives him arms and legs and then takes them away, so the God of Wrath is no mere specter.What's the connection between this powerful being and Carleton Lufteufel, though?Elsewhere we see Lufteufel himself, living in an old bunker with a developmentally delayed girl, in great pain from the metal shards that the nuclear explosions drove into his head - does this man turn into the God of Wrath periodically?Is he even aware that people consider him to be the God in human form?What the heck is going on?

More sticky yet is the novel's conclusion.Suffice to say here that an abrupt act of dreadful violence brings the whole quest for Carleton Lufteufel to a sudden halt.It's plain enough how this event might plunge Tibor into despair, but there's another witness who realizes at that moment how the event was supposed to play out, and sees that it has not done so.Well, if it had, what would the consequences be?And does the witness wish that things had worked out as planned?And why?In context, these are important questions, and the emotional pitch of the writing bites hard, but the answers are vague at best.Sorry, guys - no pass.

As I said, it's not an author's job to spoon-feed us everything, but this is going a little far.Without answers to some of these basic questions, "Deus Irae" reads like a series of unconnected episodes, and it obviously tried for more than that.The last few chapters, indeed, give some hints about what the authors wanted to achieve, and for that, the imaginative content and the quality of the writing, this novel may be worth a read.Too bad it isn't worth two or more.

Oddly enough, the flaws of "Deus Irae" do not generally appear in the rest of Philip K. Dick's work - his plotting was usually very clear and he rarely concluded his novels too soon.Those flaws are sometimes to be found, however, in Roger Zelazny's work.I read somewhere that PKD invited Zelazny's collaboration because he didn't know enough about Christianity.I'm not convinced of that, frankly - PKD's exploration of religion took up his entire life.I suspect it was Zelazny who suggested the road setting, and who may have allowed the story to run out of gas.

Oh well.It's a PKD story nevertheless.Anyone who has read "Dr. Bloodmoney" will recognize the postapocalyptic America, full of small towns and dangerous mutants, brought on by an evil scientist with a significant German name, and including a figure with no arms or legs.If PKD felt he needed a collaborator, for the second and last time in his career, that was his business.

I also read that when Zelazny learned of PKD's financial difficulties, he reduced his royalty share from one half to one third.I hope God blesses him for that, and I really don't care which God does the job.

Benshlomo says, Partnership is difficult, but worth it.

Worst Dick Novel I've Read
I have read over a dozen Philip K. Dick books and can say without a doubt this was the worse one I read, and maybe the worst book I have read in a long time. People have claimed that Dick's Vulcan's Hammer is the worst, but this has to be up there. I had enjoyed the posthumous collaboration between Alfred Bester and Roger Zelazny called Psychoshop and thought this would be the same caliber. Nope. This novel was aimless and boring. Yes, boring. I plowed through it hoping it would go over some hump and get good. Never did.

I would recommend reading just about any Philip K. Dick book over this one. If you need recommendations I'd say go: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, The Man In The High Castle, The Divine Invasion, VALIS, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Radio Free Albemuth, Scanner Darkly, Now Wait For Last Year, Ubik, Martian Time-Slip, Time Out of Joint, Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said...before even thinking about reading this book.

Last snub, what's up with the Vintage cover art for this title?

I love Zelazny, don't like Dick, gonna quit reading Dick now
A disclaimer: Like a previous reviewer, I will read anything Zelazny wrote, because he's a true master. Amber! Lord of Light! Amazing stuff. He died far too young.

Philip K. Dick, on the other hand, doesn't float my boat. I've read three of his books now, and didn't like any of them. I'm gonna quit. I should have quit before this one.

Bottom line: If you loved Canticle for Liebowitz and Lord of Light, you'll like this. I loved Lord of Light, but Canticle is as far as I want to go into questioning Christian theology, so this one gets three stars, mainly for Zelazny's influence.

Good Collaboration, a tightly-woven tale.
I always wondered how two writers collaborate to write one novel.Does one start and write til he's stuck, then send it over to the other?Or is one responsible for the dialogue, the other plot and exposition?Do they trade chapters back and forth?

Deus Irae is immediately recognizable Dick.God & theology theme, wacky mutants, and dialogue that cause you think about and examineour basic Christian beliefs.Why not a God of Death and Retribution?

I can't say I've read any Roger Zelazny, so I don't recognize his style, plotline, or contribution to the book.However, if he was responsible fortoning down the paranoia and rambling to which Dick sometimes succumbs, I guess it was a good mix. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Almost great stories
My name is legion is a collection of three stories by Roger Zelazny.

* The Eve of RUMOKO - three stars
* Kjwalll'kje'koothai'lll'kje'k - four stars
* Home Is the Hangman - five stars

The stories revolve around a mercenary secret agent that has erased his identity and makes a living doing dangerous investigative jobs using fake names. He can basically assume any identity (legion--many names).

The first story is set in the year 2007. The technology in 2007 is quite astounding with cities on the Ocean bottom, advanced space exploration, and the existence of truly intelligent super robots (the hang man). At the same time as the story is referring to tape drive and punch cards. Predicting the future is difficult. This is a little funny from a 2008 perspective. However, this is to expect. When people attempt to make predictions they typically extrapolate current technology and make the assumption that existing technology will be extremely advanced in the near future (in the 30's people said all cars would be flying by the 1970's). At the same time it is near impossible to predict entirely new technologies.

In the first story the agent is trying to solve a mystery regarding terrorist attempts against the project RUMOKO in which nuclear bombs are used to blast holes in the Moho layer below the Ocean bottom to create artificial volcanoes that will create new land (like Surtsey, Iceland) to mitigate earth's over population problem. Even though the story itself was not bad, I had a few problems with its context that I could not easily accept.

First, creating artificial land by having magma bubble up from the Ocean bottom is most likely counter productive since the magma below the Ocean surface is likely to push away enough water to reduce the coast line land area in excess of the tiny land you gain from the new Islands. To gain land the average depth of the Ocean must actually increase (because the Ocean water will not vanish). Let's make a calculation.

If we put 100 cones that are 5km tall and has a bottom radius of 50km in 4km deep water (crust is thin in deep water, like the Atlantic crust) then the amount of water pushed away is 100*(50^2*5*pi/3 - 10^2*pi/3) = 1,298,525 km3 of water. 50km radius at the bottom makes a steep slope (10%) so this is probably an under estimation. Reality would likely be worse. The Ocean surface is around 361 million km2 so we get that the Ocean rises 1,298,525/361,000,000 = 0.0036km = 3.6 meters. According to GIS statistics the World's coast line is around 900,000km. Since it is flat coast land that will be flooded, not the fjords of Norway, it is the flat coast land we should consider. If we assume 200 meters rise on 100 km for flat land (actually not very flat) we get 0.15 degrees. 3.6 meters (12 feet) divided by the sine of 0.15 yields 1.375km and assuming half of all coast line is flat land we get a land loss of 1.375 * 450,000 = 619 thousand km2 (size of Texas). If we use the formula for the lateral surface of a cone (the 100 volcanic cones we added) we get that we just added 100*315.7 km2 of land area to the world which is about 20 times less than what we lost on the coast line.

Secondly, exploding nuclear bombs on the Ocean floor and allowing massive amount magma to flow up into the Ocean cannot be good for the eco system of the Ocean, and the people living on the Ocean bottom (the Ocean bottom cities) are likely to complain.

Thirdly, you can much more easily create new land by building floating cities which will not push away lots of water, and you can irrigate the Sahara desert and other deserts. New volcanic islands have to be made fit for life anyway. Allowing this to happen naturally will take a very long time. These other approaches would be cheaper, quicker, safer, and not likely to be counter productive (in the sense described above). So why would anyone choose this silly and dangerous approach? I don't buy it. I say three stars.

The second story "Kjwalll'kje'koothai'lll'kje'k" was beautiful, thought provoking, and philosophical. This story revolved around the sentience of dolphins and whether they can compose ideas or music or have a concept of spirituality, and also whether they are capable of murder. If you love Dolphins you will love this charming story, but I found the story to be a little bit too "dreamy" and speculative for me. If you love Dolphin salad you will not like this story (since it humanizes Dolphins).

The third story "Home Is the Hangman" was my favorite story. The "Hangman" was a space robot possessing what seemed to be "real autonomous intelligence" and perhaps self awareness. Having worked in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence myself I had a few objections, but not anything that most readers would care about. The story was believable (if set in the year 2057 or 2107 instead of 2007), and very exciting. The story took a few unexpected turns that took me by surprise, and explained the story at a deeper level. I love that sudden moment of dawning comprehension that explains what is going on and makes the story better. It shows that the plot was very well thought through.

Overall this was a good book, but not good enough to go on my list of favorite classic Science Fiction, and the author does not match up to Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, James Blish, and Robert Heinlein in my opinion. Well, I have only read one Zelazny book, so far, so that may be a hasty judgment. The book is recommended to hard core Science Fiction fans but not recommended to those looking for only the best of Classic Science Fiction.

A spy story with no messages that I could puzzle out!
I don't mind admitting it! "My Name is Legion" is a bit of a puzzle for me. I haven't been able to decide if there was a message of some kind that I missed or whether Zelazny was just having fun writing a few short stories in a spy vs spy mode built around a character with no name.

Nobody who has read science fiction is under any illusion about the loss of privacy we are suffering with the advent of the internet, computerized databases and national identification programs. Long before any of that came along, Zelazny prepared a story about a murky hero (or is it anti-hero) who managed to destroy his punch cards (what does that tell you about how long ago this story was written?), eliminate his credit cards, destroy his birth records and passport and simply drop out of society and into the mists of living by his wits taking on mercenary government jobs from time to time under different aliases for every case.

"My Name is Legion" is actually a collection of three novellas separately written and related to one another only to the extent that the man with no name is the hero in each of the stories.

The first in the collection, "Rumoko" revolves around the rather frightening prospect of the use of nuclear bombs blasting a hole in the Moho layer to create artificial volcanoes. The idea is to release magma to create artificial land surface which can then be made habitable in an attempt to deal with earth's apparent population problem. Some pretty exciting stuff for those sci-fi lovers that like their plots hard and tech-oriented!

The second story (with a title that is quite unpronounceable) moves to the far opposite end of the hard-soft sci-fi spectrum - we're talking here about the sentience of dolphins; whether they dream, compose music or are capable of murder; and even whether they have a concept of philosophy and religion!

The third and final story in the collection, "Home is the Hangman", was, in my opinion, the most interesting story of the three. Dealing with artificial intelligence and robotics, it broached that always interesting subject of a robot's possible self-awareness, whether it could be capable of murder and whether it could feel emotion of any kind. Unlike the rather pretentious feel of the philosophy in the central dolphin story, Zelazny's use of Gödel's unprovability theorems and Turing's Test for artificial intelligence made "Home for the Hangman" a much more convincing story. I suspect that Asimov who virtually made a career out of writing about robotic behaviour would agree.

Three stars for "Rumoko", two stars only for "Kjawlll'kje'k'koothai'lll'kjr'k", and four stars for "Home is the Hangman". Overall rating averaged out at three stars.

Recommended.

Paul Weiss

Dark, action-packed, builds and builds
I didn't know what to expect with this book, but I certainly enjoyed reading it.This book is actually three related stories revolving around the same character who has erased his identity and makes a living doing odd jobs for a private investigation agency, while using faked names to get through life.Each story is better than the previous, with the third story, featuring the Hangman, being the most powerful, and Zelazny at his finest.There are plenty of good, quotable lines in these stories and the ending is just awesome.

I enjoyed reading the story as well because the technology used in the books reflects the 1960's with the tape run all the way to the end.Tape drive technology is still used here, despite supposedly being 2007.It is enjoyable seeing a snapshot of how people viewed technology in Zelazny's day.

As other reviewers have pointed out, this is a lighter book than say the Amber Series or Lord of Light, but it's a great weekend read, and well worth the purchase.Enjoy!

3 Stories, quality varies
This book is made up of the three novella's published elsewhere. They all involve an unnamed protagonist who has no record of his existence. The first one, "The Eve of Rumoko" is an entertaining suspense story which introduces us to the hero and gives us a thrilling plot without sacrficing style or depth of character. The second, "Kjawlll'kje'k'koothai'lll'kjr'k," is by far the weakest of the stories a not very intriguing mystery not really comparable to the other two. However "Home is the Hangman," the third story is excellent despite it's B-moviesh plot (killer robot from outer space). Zelazny manages to use this set to explore the nature of the human psyche while being thrilling and exciting at the same time.

want to quit the system?
You're a computer employee hooking up every network on earth to fashion the International Data Bank--only to realize it will become the ultimate invasion of human privacy.What will you do?Something creative,invisible, and dangerous... this book was written decades before theInternet got going. ... Read more

Product Description
The last in a six-volume series Volume 6: The Road To Amber, the last in the series, covers the final five years of Zelazny's career in the early 1990s, when he reached for new ideas and continued familiar themes with stories such as "Godson" and "Godson: A Play in Three Acts," two more Wild Cards stories ("Concerto for Siren and Serotonin" and "The Long Sleep"), and a linked sequence of five Amber stories leading to planned but unwritten Amber novels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Zelazny Rules
I have the entire set, the books are wonderful insights into one of the most prolific and brilliant minds ever to grace ANY genre of literature.I am enjoying them thoroughly, recommend them often and freely to my friends and family and have given two books as gifts.(Bought extras, will not part with mine!)In short, great books, good value and excellent service.Thank you Amazon!!!

A 'must' for any science fiction library already strong in Zelazny titles
Concluding the multivolume collected stories series is Volume 6, the last, including writings from the final five years of his career in the early 1990s. Stories such as 'Godson' and two more Wild Cards stories join a linked sequence of five Amber stories leading to planned but unwritten Amber novels, creating a unified synthesis of his works. David G. Grubbs, Christopher Kovacs, and Ann Crimmins edit this excellent series which should be a 'must' for any science fiction library already strong in Zelazny titles. ... Read more

Product Description
Imagine Clypsis, an entire solar system designed as the most awesome racetrack in the history of the sport.
Imagine personality-implanted robots, whose knowledge and influence can make or break a racer's career, and fusion-fueled ships that move at extraordinary speeds.
Imagine a young hero from Earth, braving the unknown to reach Clypsis, where his dream of being a faster-than-light racer can come true.
Enter the imagination of Nebula and Hugo Award-winner Roger Zelazny. Share the dream of Mike Murray as he makes his way from the racing pit to the cockpit of the universe's most dangerous and exhilarating challenge.
Roger Zelazny and Jeffrey A. Carver launch a sensational series with technical blueprints of the racing ships by visionary automotive designer Hayashi.

A Byron Preiss Book
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A very well thought out creative Science-Fiction escapade.
This great book by Roger Zelazny focuses on a teenager fugitive from earth trying to earn a name for himself in Clypsis: an entire system devoted to histories most exciting sport, racing in the stars! Alright that sounds dumb, I admit, but it really is a killer book. ... Read more

Product Description
Returning to Shadow Earth to investigate a threat against his life, Corwin discovers that the Jewel of Judgment has been stolen by his traitorous brother, Brand, who plans to use the enigmatic gem to reshape the universe. Reissue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Beware of this one in the Omnibus - you could have a misprint!
My first comment is a complaint - I own, what is apparently a misprint omnibus, since it is missing pages 443 - 474. Which quite ruined this particular book for me. While the ending was exciting ( a cliffhanger, as usual!) I know that I am missing a significant part that I can only hope is summarized in the next book. Still, the saga continues to interest and intrigue me.

Another strong entry in The Chronicles of Amber.
...And on into the fourth book of The Chronicles of Amber. It's been a pleasant journey, as the series keeps getting better. (I started out not particularly liking the first book.) This is fun, escapist fare, chock full of melodrama, scheming, betrayal, and cliffhangers. What more could you want from this kind of read? There are some dry patches during which characters explicate at length -- too much telling, too little showing, as I used to hear in creative writing class. But then things pick up again, and by the time this book ends I'm yearning to pick up book five and find out what happens next!

Not Free SF Reader
Corwin and Random discover a problem with the Primal Pattern, and set out to work out what happened to it.Corwin needs Dworkin's aid for this, and contacts him.

At the end, he realises things have been fitting together way too neatly, and discovers what Oberon has actually been up to.

Not Free SF Reader
The second Amber pentology is about Corwin's son, Merlin.He has been developing a reality altering computer named Ghostwheel, in Shadow, while living on Earth studying computing.

King Random doesn't like the Ghostwheel develops meant, and orders it disabled, but Ghostwheel has other ideas, as do enemies of Merlin.

Corwin has a solid team with him now
In section four of the Amber series, Brand emerges as a major character and villain.Brand is the brother who had been imprisoned for so many years, and finally in this book we learn why, and Corwin regrets ever releasing him from his prison.

Which raises a question for me.Why didn't Fiona tell her brothers and sisters about the danger that Brand brought with him?Why didn't Fiona explain why Brand was imprisoned?It really isn't enough to just say that Fiona didn't trust her siblings.

Zelazny is a master of storytelling in certain ways.He can keep us very interested.He can tell us a story from various perspectives.He can mislead us by telling the story from a villain's devious point of view, and then re-tell it from someone else's.He is the one to determine what we know and what we don't know.

This reminds me of what he does in the first book of the series, when he tells his story through Corwin, and Corwin has amnesia.It is Zelazny's way of controlling what Corwin knows, and what we know.Zelazny does it again here, telling us a story as narrated by Brand to Corwin, and then telling us the same story, only "the truth" this time, by a more honest sibling than Brand.

Throughout this book and previous books I found myself wondering about Ganelon.He's stronger and smarter than Corwin.He protects Corwin from a stronger brother.And here I thought that the sons and daughters of Oberon were so much more powerful than mere humans like Ganelon.Not so.Ganelon kicks some serious butt, against a sibling of Corwin.And it is Ganelon, all along, who is coming up with all the ideas and analysis.At the end of The Hand Of Oberon, this seeming flaw in the story is more than explained, and it is no flaw.When something doesn't seem to make sense, there is a reason.

I don't like the way Zelazny resolves his conflicts.One minute there's a whole heck of a lot of trouble, and the next minute it's over, something magical has intervened, problem is solved, thank you very much.The magic arm does WHAT?Oh come on.

It reminds me of something in the Lord of the Rings movies.One moment the good guys would be surrounded by bad guys, and it would be looking very bad for them, and the next moment the victory has been attained, the bad guys routed, and the good guys none the worse for wear.Remember when King Theoden was surrounded by wargs?Poof, battle over, no more wargs, we win, break out the champagne.Zelazny does that too.Hey, poof, we win, don't worry about it guys.

Another of Zelazny's tricks is to switch good guy - bad guy on us.This fellow is a good guy.No he's not, he's a bad guy.This other bad guy is a good guy now.Son of a gun.

Anyway, this series has finally graduated from three stars to four, as Zelazny's storytelling outweighs the things about his writing style that I don't like.What I dislike most is when he goes on and on telling us about shifting worlds as we travel "through shadow" or the incomprehensible style he uses when describing the ghost world.All the incomprehensible stuff leaves me cold. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Surprisingly good.
Though the cover of this book may fool some readers into thinking the book tells the story of a man who designs covers for the band "Yes" before selling out to paint collectible plates, this book is actually about a near future society in which telepathy has been proven to have some validity and several thousand known telepaths practice their gifts professionally.

One such telepath, the son of two telepaths, turns out to be so powerful that he is able to pick up signals from all around the world and even throughout time, and becomes overwhelmed by all the voices in his head, ultimately becoming driven by them into catatonia.He parents move him to a remote area of northern New Mexico to lessen the invasive voices, and then even go so far as to relocate him to--well, just read the book.It's a great twist.

What's cool about this story though, is that it turns out that this kid is a major player in a sort of intergalactic war over the fate of earth--against a race of aliens who basically created humanity with the intention that humans would populate and then destroy the earth for the aliens--since the aliens' ideal environment is basically a nuclear wasteland.Aiding the main character is a "dark man" who's using the book's main character and various figures throughout history, et cetera, to fight off the alien beings.

There's a lot going on here, and overall, it's really enjoyable, one of the better pulp sci-fi titles I can recall reading, though the ending takes the story a bit further than maybe it should have.The main character's parents are nicely drawn, particularly the casually philandering father, as are most of the side characters, a seeming rarity in the sci-fi genre.

The book is a real page-turner once you get through say, the first twenty pages or so, and it really made me want to check out more of Roger Zelazny's work.I really liked it.

Zelazny's style, technique, ideas, save a fairly weak plot
In a future world where telepathy is a rare but known phenomenon, Dennis Guise is a young boy whose unprecedented mental power is not a blessing, but a curse.Unable to control the myriad external thoughts and personalities that flow into his consciousness, the constant influx of telepathic information leaves him in an autistic state, from which he only very rarely awakens.His therapist, Lydia, herself a telepath, seems to have some limited success in helping Dennis filter out the powerful minds whose thoughts span across time and distance. After acquiring, (and eventually dispelling) the personalities of a number of strong-minded individuals (including some famous ones), Dennis finally grows up to realize his purpose on Earth - to serve the mysterious stranger called The Dark Man in his fight against alien invaders.Peculiarly, Zelazny doesn't tell us much about the invaders, except that they are secretly manipulating mankind into turning the world into the kind of post-industrial wasteland that is their natural habitat, and they don't even appear in the novel until the very end.A smattering of interludes where we get to see the invaders at work might have made this novel more entertaining, although admittedly it might also have been a little too confusing in this already convoluted story.

The most interesting sections are in the middle, where Dennis' young mind is repeatedly being taken over by the thoughts of others, although while reading it, it's very difficult to see exactly where this unusual story is headed, and that can make the reader feel that the plot is progressing rather slowly, or, one might even suspect, not really progressing at all, but merely delaying the ending.Some of the personalities are just fragments, and many of them only last a few pages before being put to rest and then dropped from the story altogether, having served no real purpose except to show how utterly bewildering Dennis' situation is.Fortunately, there are also some gripping chase sequences that shake up the otherwise very cerebral story. As is too often typical of Zelazny's novels, the book feels like a short story that dragged on past its ideal length.The conclusion seems a little too pat and too simple, and too abrupt after the long and elaborate buildup (spanning the Earth, Luna, and also several millennia), but that doesn't keep this book from being a fascinating read.Rabid proponents of environmentalism might find this story particularly to their liking.

One of his better works
I first encountered Roger Zelazny in the late 60's when I picked up a paperback copy of "Lord of Light". After a whirlwind reading of this marvelous novel, I attempted to acquire every book he wrote. I came to the conclusion that Roger Zelazny's books will either be astonishingly good, or somewhat disappointing. This book falls under the "good" category.The setting is a distant future with the current Mafia generation being comfortable and conventional. When violence begins to ravage its ranks, it is clear that more ruthless previous ancestors are needed to cope with the situation. This is able to be accomplished by means of the Family fortress/ gagetry. The tale is Zelazny at his most inventive.It is unfortunate that this, and other RZ novels are out of print, though there appears to be a comeback underway. If you stumble upon this book, buy it. ... Read more

Product Description
The fifth in a six-volume series, Volume 5: Nine Black Doves contains Zelazny's short works from the 1980s, when Zelazny's mature craft produced the Hugo-winning and Nebula-nominated stories, "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai" and "Permafrost," and other entertaining stories such as "Kalifriki of the Thread," "Dilvish, the Damned," and his first two Wild Cards stories about Croyd Crenson, "The Sleeper" and "Ashes to Ashes." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This volume focuses on writings from the 1980s and includes his first two Wild Cards stories
NINE BLACK DOVES is the 5th volume of the collected short fiction of Roger Zelazny which includes every poem and short story written by Zelazny, including all of his Hugo and Nebula nominated and winning stories. This volume focuses on writings from the 1980s and includes his first two Wild Cards stories about Croyd Crenson, and will enhance any library obtaining the entire series. ... Read more

Product Description
The Dawn of Amber trilogy expands the Amber universe and answers the important questions left open, including how Amber was created, by whom, and why. The events in the trilogy will precede those in the existing novels, but follow some of the same, immortal characters. Finally, fans of the series will discover why it was necessary to create Amber, how Chaos and Amber came to be at war, and the true nature of the universal, sentient forces that Amber and Chaos represent. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Bland and disappointing
I remember first reading Zelazny's Amber series as a teenage. If fact, I I checked out each of the books a few times from the library back then. I loved the originality and the sense of true wonder that they gave me.

I didn't read Betancourt's first three Amber books until after they were all published, if fact I've had all three for a few years before I read them. Earlier in the year, I reread all ten of the original Amber books and now I've finished with all three of Betancourt's books. Frankly, it's night and day. The Betancout books seriously miss the mark for me. I found them uninventive, uninspired, and downright boring!The storylines were bland and predictable and the characters were scripted and stiff.Betancourt's Oberon and Dworkin were very different from how Zelazny described them. There were literally no suprises for me as I read these books and that's a shame.

Now I'm easily entertained, I enjoy a good easy entertaining read such as the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series. However, this trilogy was downright juvenile! I'm certainly no writer myself and not a great storyteller either, but I felt as if I could have easily written this myself and probably even better.

I also have a major gripe with the publisher. My first problem is with the typos; there are quite a few in each book.I rarely see typos in novels but to have at least 3-4 in each book?That's just unacceptable!My second issue is the huge font size and page spacing of all three books. I was literally finished reading each book in less than three hours! I'm not a speed reader but I'm not slow either.This "trilogy" could easily have been combined into one book, two if you want to stretch it out, but three...now you're really milking it. I feel as if I've been ripped off and that's all on the publisher.

So in my opinion, save yourself the money and the frustration and just avoid these books. If you need an Amber fix, go reread the original series again.But if you must read these then at least try to pick them up cheaply second hand or at the library.You'll probably still be disappointed in the content but at least you won't have overpaid for them.

Not Free SF Reader
I would suggest that you would have to really like Amber to bother with these and want to fill in more parts of the story.I am not sure I would bother with much more.That being said, however, while it is not the original, this is not a bad book.Basically average, and if you are really into the Amber thing, it is more than likely you will enjoy this to some degree or other, so don't let that put you off.

In the tradition of the original series
If you enjoyed the original Amber series by Zelazny, you should like this one.

Amazon won't ship
I'vehad this book on order for over 6 months, and Amazon keeps shifting the delivery date.Don't bother ordering it.

amberaholic
I am sorry to see that john has gotten such bad reveiws for the Amber books. I have read all of the Amber series up to this one(including Zelanzy's) and I can honestly say it is the best series I have ever read. I like Amber because it is a series different than any other Fantasiesand its a place that I feel very comfortable in. I think that John has done a remarkable job at keeping these books along the same lines that roger Zelanzy drew in his Amber books. I hope that more people will give his books a chance because honestley I would like to read a thousand more books of amber. ... Read more

Product Description
Accepting the responsibilities as ruler to the world of Amber, Corwin finds himself the target of sibling treachery, and must seek guidance in a land of visions, where a sinister prediction foretells his doom. Reissue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

More deaths, a return, secrets and stories revealed...
** Some SPOILERS ahead, if you haven't read the earlier books **

And if you haven't, what are you doing reading this review?As I mentioned in my review of Nine Princes in Amber, the first book in the series - and as any review ought to note, the first AMBER series is really just one novel broken up into five short convenient chunks - one narrative.So if you've come across this review by chance but haven't read the first two books, STOP NOW!

With that out of the way, SIGN OF THE UNICORN seques easily into being a book almost entirely concerned with the past intrigues of the various brothers and sisters, and how they may involve the danger now besetting the One True World.As The Guns of Avalon ended with the death of Eric - narrator Corwin's major rival for the throne left by departed or dead father Oberon, UNICORN begins with another brother dead - and Corwin believed responsible for it.But there's no proof of anything, and it mostly serves to make all the siblings even more uneasy about the mysterious and deadly goings-on.Corwin is allowed to use the Jewel of Judgement - the mystical weather-controlling talisman wielded by the ruler - and both he and others spend the book trying to find answers.

Much of the narrative is broken up by back story information filled in by three of Corwin's siblings, the longest by Random - who can be seen by a careful reader by this point as much more serious and important than he first seemed.The narrative just spans a couple of days (Amber time) and is set almost entirely within the Eternal City - just a brief (unexpected) jaunt to the shadow Earth, and memories of other places break the closed-in feeling, which helps to increase the paranoid attitude on display.Amber is clearly beset from both within and without - but what the interior and exterior forces have to do with each other remains unclear, even after the return and revival of yet another long-lost brother halfway through the book.

Being the centerpiece of the whole novel-structure, SIGN OF THE UNICORN actually asks more questions than it answers.It's claustrophobic in some ways, filled with tension, and so the short forays outside the hermetic world of Amber come as a relief from the problems at hand.And while Zelazny's talent for plotting remains supreme, there are some (slight) shortcomings in his characterizations when he has people other than Corwin narrating - they don't sound all that distinct, necessarily.Still, Random's shadow journey is one of the more memorable scenes in the whole series, and in general UNICORN lives up to the standards of the earlier books.

The Third Book Improves The Series
Well, the author sure has a knack for ending books on cliffhangers! The mystery and intrigue is certainly deepening as this saga progresses.The plots have twists and turns and the characters are strong. As each one progresses, I am more and more interested in this unique story.

The Amber series starts to shine...
With Sign of the Unicorn, the third entry in the Amber series, Zelazny's creation truly begins to get off the ground. I thought that the first book was mediocre, and the second held more promise but still wasn't compelling. Finally, here, Zelazny writes with authority and a sense of clarity about the characters he portrays. We have a lot of people to keep track of, with Corwin and his brothers and sisters involved in an intricate series of shifting alliances, schemes, and deceptions. We must rely on Corwin, our protagonist, to filter what is happening into something that makes sense. And, with patience, this does happen.

I'm very bad at reading stories with a large number of characters who come and go. I tend to forget what I've read about someone by the time they reappear later on. Somewhere along the line as I read this book, I lost track of exactly who was allied with whom, and when I reached the end of the book I had only a vague notion of what was going on. I considered giving up on the series, but I'd honestly begun to enjoy Zelazny's writing -- so instead, I went back and reread a couple of key chapters, forcing myself to pay closer attention to the various motivations, suspicious and confessions of the characters. And this time, I finished the book looking forward to the next one, wanting to know what will happen next.

Not Free SF Reader
After the death of Eric, Corwin loses yet another brother, and gains an ally in his brother, Random.He is beginning to get to the heart of the plot, and starting to use the weaponry at this disposal, such as the Pattern, and his sword, Grayswandir.

He also makes an important discovery about their Pattern.

Good story, but lacking in clarity
Roger Zelazny is a confusing and frustrating writer.He is tinkering with a gold mine here.He has a great foundation for a story.But what he does with it is frustrating.

I love the concept of a god-like family in charge of everything, and I love the idea of introducing all of these characters to us.The part that troubles me is that the writing is so unclear.We really don't know what in the hell is going on half the time.

What is all this about reality shifting?What is all this about a ghost place?I feel like grabbing him by the arm and shouting hey! come down to earth for a moment and tell me just exactly what in the hell you are talking about.

The parts of this story I felt the most comfortable with were the parts where we get an explanation of the relationships between the siblings, who is who's full sibling, which ones had this or that mother, who came first, who came next.This categorization, this overall organization, this explanation of the cast of characters, should have come a lot sooner than it did.We should have been given a family tree right up front.

When someone is just riding down a road, and suddenly the trees are thicker than they are supposed to be, and the sun is larger than it is supposed to be, and one of the characters says "hey look at that sunset!", and we realize they are now on another world, that's about the time I'm saying hold it, where's the space ship and what in the hell is going on here.What are the laws of this universe?

The law seems to be that the author can do whatever he damn pleases whenever he damn pleases, and can confuse us with ghost scenes and shadows any time he has a whim to do so.I want to know what his reality is, and he is not telling.I consider that a major flaw.

It has been written that good sci fi fantasy changes just one thing, and makes the rest believable, and concrete.Well, that sure isn't happening here.This series takes us for a ride anywhere it has a mind to go, and I'd like the ride a lot better if I knew what the rules were.

Oh, there's a magic unicorn.That's nice.Oh, there's another Amber, a real one this time, oh that's nice.Whatever.

And please stop getting poetic on me!Stop writing in your ghost style.It sucks.Write English. That will do just fine.Write clearly.Tell us a story, and tell us what in the hell is going on.Don't get too cute. ... Read more

Product Description
The third in a six-volume series, Volume 3: This Mortal Mountain contains Zelazny's short works from the late 1960s and early 1970s, Zelazny's breadth of interests developed into a variety of styles displayed in such rich stories as "This Mortal Mountain," "The Steel General," "Damnation Alley," "The Man Who Loved the Faioli," and the Hugo and Nebula-nominated "The Engine at Heartspring's Center". The stories in this series are enriched by editors' notes and Zelazny's own words, taken from his many essays, describing why he wrote the stories and what he thought about them in retrospect. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Fantastic Continuation
Another fantastic, well done continuation of the collected works & the life of Roger Zelazny.NESFA really did a fantastic job with this as they have with the others in the collection.The amount of research & documentation they did is staggering.They collected comments & old correspondence from Zelazny's friends & peers.The sheer number of authors that he interacted with is amazing.A list of them reads like the Who's Who of the SF & Fantasy community.The insight into that community is wonderful.

The stories were fantastic, as always.They were also well documented, each with a summary explanation of the allusions made & with related comments either by Zelazny, his editor or peers.Exactly what I've come to expect from the previous works.More fantastic was the corrected conversation between Morningside & Jack from "Jack of Shadows".It never seemed to be quite right & now I know why.There was also a deleted scene from "The Guns of Avalon" that was interesting, but not critical.

I had one complaint with the book, the lack of a few pictures.In the previous books, once or twice it was mentioned that Zelazny wrote a story based on a picture.In this volume, it was mentioned several times fairly close together.Often enough that I put the book down & tried to find them on the Internet without any luck.Even thumbnails would have been nice.A fairly minor complaint, but a real one. If I could knock off a 1/4 star for it, I would. I've heard that early in 2010, there might be a 7th volume that will correct this.

All told, this is another fantastic effort by NESFA.I highly recommend it to anyone, but it's a must if you're a fan of Zelazny's work, as I am.

More masterpieces of Science Fiction from the great man.
Arriving at volume 3 of the complete short stories of Roger Zelazny, we find the title story followed by The Man Who Loved The Faoli, plus the magazine version of Damnation Alley, a self-contained extract from Creatures of Light & Darkness, collaborations with Harlan Ellison and Dannie Plachta and the proverbial 'many more'.

As always with this series we have celebrity introductions, one of whom this time around is Neil Gaiman, non-fiction writings, comments on stories, biographical and autobiographical pieces, and curiosities including a deleted sex scene from The Guns of Avalon.

See my review of Threshold (vol.1) for a fuller overview of this unmissable series.

A 'must' for any serious, definitive science fiction library
Any definitive science fiction library needs the 4-volume series of collected stories by Roger Zelazny. These include every short story and poem written by Zelazny, including all of his award-winning nominations and stories. Volume 1, THRESHOLD covers early years through the mid-1960s with such works as 'The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth'. Volume 2, POWER & LIGHT covers the mid-1960s, his most fruitful period, and includes 'The Moment of the Storm' and his novel 'And Call Me Conrad'. Volume 3 runs from the late 1960s to the early 70s with stories such as 'Damnation Alley' and 'This Mortal Mountain'. Volume 4, LAST EXIT TO BABYLON covers the late 1970s and early 80s with works such as 'Unicorn Variations' and 'Home is the Hangman'. Edited by David C. Grubbs, Christopher Kovacs, and Ann Crimmins, these are a 'must' for any serious, definitive science fiction library charting the course of the early master authors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Excellent Short Stories, Not a fan of the Novellas
This is the 1980 paperback edition of this anthology, which has been reprinted a number of times.It contains Zelanzy's own thoughts about each of the stories, a mini-introduction to each.

The more modern edition, Last Defender of Camelot (Ibooks Fantasy Classics), is missing some of the content in this volume.

The stories contained inside are

Passion Play ** like his first story
Horseman! ** felt incomplete
The Stainless Steel Leech ***, remember more about his intro anecdotes than the story
A Thing of Terrible Beauty, ****, interesting doomsday approach
He Who Shapes (novella) *** too psychologically artsy for me
Come Now the Power -- *****, my favorite of this collection
Auto-Da-Fe' -- *****, mechadors = original concept, truly wonderful tone and word choices
Damnation Alley (novella) -- ** didn't like the main character
For a Breath I Tarry -- *****, asks 'What is the nature of man?'
The Engine at Heartspring's Center -- *** tragic love
A Game of Blood and Dust -- **** neat concept of timelines
No Award -- *** an assassination
Is there a Demon Lover in the House? -- **** Jack sees a movie
The Last Defender of Camelot -- *** relies too much on Arthurian mythos for my taste
Stand Pat, Ruby Stone -- *** really alien
Halfjack -- *** needed to be longer, but got the point across

As far as short stories go, this collection was superior.

Zelazny Anthologies
This is another of Roger Zelazny's anthologies, of a medieval romance type. Great read. 5 stars

Not Free SF Reader
A collection that just about gets a 4 out of 5, and would bet 3.75 if such a thing existed, rounding up, however a few ordinary stories here.

Apparently there is a collection some 20 years or so earlier with the same title, with mostly different stories, too, just to be confusing.

This is for the 21st century Ibooks edition, which happily includes the fantastic Home Is the Hangman

Last Defender of Camelot : Comes Now the Power - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : For a Breath I Tarry - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : The Engine at Heartspring's Center - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Halfjack - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Home Is the Hangman - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Permafrost - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Loki 7281 - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Mana from Heaven - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : 24 Views of Mt. Fuji by Hokusai - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Come Back to the Killing Ground Alice My Love - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : The Last Defender of Camelot - Roger Zelazny

Mind block.

3 out of 5


Big machine needs a hobby.

3.5 out of 5


Bork Bork borked.

3 out of 5


Cyborg bodyglove = get no love.

4 out of 5


Telepresence party prank has terrible results, robot killer wrongly represented afterwards, but does his duty despite detective.

5 out of 5


Leopard stiff story.

3 out of 5


AI assistance plot.

3.5 out of 5


Power shortage.

3.5 out of 5


Japanese introspection ending.

2.5 out of 5


"All the death-traps in the galaxy, and she has to walk into mine."

4 out of 5


Lancelot, the Wandering Frenchy is still around when he runs into Le Fay fortunetelling, and Merlin's arrival 1000 years later. That's about enough of the Arthurian stuff for most of them.

4 out of 5




3.5 out of 5



This is for the version from the 1980s, and whenever else it was reprinted.

A quite good collection here by Zelazny, a 3.44 average, with 4 particularly good stories to be found.

Another bonus is that the author gives introductions to each story as to when, where and why he wrote it, in general, for those that like that sort of thing.

Last Defender of Camelot : Passion Play - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Horseman! - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : The Stainless Steel Leech - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : A Thing of Terrible Beauty - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : He Who Shapes - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Comes Now the Power - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Auto-da-Fé - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Damnation Alley - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : For a Breath I Tarry - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : The Engine at Heartsprings Center - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : The Game of Blood and Dust - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : No Award - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Is There a Demon Lover in the House? - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : The Last Defender of Camelot - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Stand Pat Ruby Stone - Roger Zelazny
Last Defender of Camelot : Halfjack - Roger Zelazny


Car death and rebirth.

3.5 out of 5


Prefer Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny to this apocalyptic bunch.

4 out of 5


Monsterbots.

3.5 out of 5


Personal gate-crasher atomic audience.

3 out of 5


Psychiatric seeing rather stupid.

3.5 out of 5


Mind block.

3 out of 5


Careodor.

4 out of 5


A post-apocalyptic action story. A criminal is given the standard two choices, really bad things now, or very very possible really bad things later, and, of course, takes the later.

The later in this case is a trip across the country to deliver vital medical supplies. He has a few more problems than the standard cracked by snow and ice cheapish US highways though. In this world, they don't call it Damnation Alley for nothing.

3 out of 5


Big machine needs a hobby.

3.5 out of 5


Bork Bork borked.

3 out of 5


Two opponents duel using past history as their gameboard.

3.5 out of 5


Killer telepathic brain split plan.

3.5 out of 5


Knifejack.

2.5 out of 5


Lancelot, the Wandering Frenchy is still around when he runs into Le Fay fortunetelling, and Merlin's arrival 1000 years later. That's about enough of the Arthurian stuff for most of them.

4 out of 5


Reproductive ritual end.

3.5 out of 5


Cyborg bodyglove = get no love.

4 out of 5

quirky
This guy is one of the best Science Fiction fantasy writers ever.(he wrote the Amber series -- about 9 brothers and sisters who hate, love,ally withand betray each other for supreme mastery of a multi-universe)In this book this is a collection of his short stories. It's really quirky you never know what's going to happen next.

The Last Defender of Camelot
"The Last Defender" is an excellent collection of some of the master's best stories, including "24 Views of Mount Fuji," and one previously uncollected story.Zelazny did more than just write science fiction; he captured the essence of human emotion, even when writiing about computerized intelligences in the distant future (see, for example, "For A Breath I Tarry." ) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (51)

Unusually Fun Book From a Master Sci-Fi Writer
Master science fiction writer Roger Zelazny, best known for his (Nine Princes of) Amber Series takes an unusual romp in this lighthearted farce.

The month is October, and all the cliché Victorian and Romance era horror characters (eg: Dr Frankenstein, Jack the Ripper, Count Dracula, etc.) have come in the days before All Hallows Eve for a huge battle over the future of mankind...as narrated by Jack the Ripper's pet dog! Just spooky enough to be fun for Halloween; just light enough for adults and older children.

This audio book version is a pleasant surprise: recorded in 1996 by the author himself shortly before his death, and for a long time thought lost, now restored. The audio quality is good, and the reading good, too, but this book really needs to be adapted into a radio play.

Best Halloween Read
This book is my all time favorite Halloween read. And now it is available on cd (read by the author). Give yourself a treat this Halloween and listen to this quirky and delightful story all told by Jack the Ripper's dog.

Definition of Fun = Jack the Ripper and the Wolf Man having coffee and talking shop.
In the spring of 1995, my girlfriend (now my wife) and I had just finished watching a movie and stopped at the Books-a-Million next to the theatre. In the bargain aisle, a thin hardback book caught my eye. The cover had a curious scene with Count Dracula having a conversation with Sherlock Holmes while petting an old hound dog. In the background, Frankenstein's monster fumbled around as Rasputin sat locked in passionate conversation with an attractive, raven-haired witch.

The old saying suggests that a book should never be judged by its cover, but the exact opposite is true for A Night in the Lonesome October.

The story is narrated by Snuff, a grizzled old watchdog who just happens to belong to Jack the Ripper. He tells his tale over the course of thirty-one chapters, each representing a single day in the month of October. Snuff and his infamous master are charged with keeping an ancient portal to ultimate evil closed. There are other players in the game, but whether they seek to open the portal or keep it closed is a mystery.

The participants slowly reveal themselves during the month, jockeying for advantage and killing off other players when the opportunity arises. The characters are instantly recognizable from literature and popular movies: the good doctor and his brutish creation, the great detective, the vampiric count, a witch, a druid, a sadistic clergyman, a mad monk, and the wolf man Larry Talbot.

The colorful cast and story directly influenced by H.P. Lovecraft are complimented by Snuff's cheerful narrative when interacting with the other players and their animal companions. When a writer crafts an enthralling story and truly enjoys writing it, that joy is passed on to the reader. Roger Zelazny must have had a blast writing this tale. One comical illustration per chapter by Gahan Wilson adds to the whimsical fun.

A Night in the Lonesome October is a fun and furious romp through the world built by 19th and 20th century literary and film masters. If you find this forgotten gem on an old library or bookstore shelf or floating around on eBay, pick it up. Unless the idea of Jack the Ripper and the wolf man having coffee and talking shop bores you, you will love this book.

A Comment Rather Than a Review
In answer to a question in the lengthy review above that raises the question of whether the cat Greymalk's travelogue about Lovecraft's dream world is from Lovecraft's "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" or is a summary, it's definitely the latter.The thumbnail description she gives is the distillation of almost a hundred pages of Lovecraft, although Zelazny, may he rest in peace, is absolutely true to the original in his descriptions.

One comment, since I hadn't seen it in any other review: the witch Crazy Jill, whom the story implies afterwards hooked up with Jack in spite of her being an Opener while he is a Closer, is one of the book's more intriguing figures, but I found myself wondering whether her name was not chosen just for the purpose of letting Zelazny sneak in a terrible pun in the book's last lines!

Playing 'The Game'
If the late Roger Zelazny's semi-comedic novel 'A Night In The Lonesome October' had been published in the UK in the early twenty first century as a children's novel, chances are that it would've experienced success of Harry Potteresque proportions. Unfortunately, it wasn't. It was published in nineteen ninety-three, two years before Zelazny's death, and was doomed, inexplicably, to languish in obscurity. This is a pity because there are not many novels which manage to throw a cast of characters including Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein (and `Creature'), Gregory Rasputin, Jack The Ripper and Sherlock Holmes into a complex battle of wits, the result of which will prevent or unleash, according to their architect's persuasions, Lovecraft's elder gods upon the face of Victorian England.Even more entertaining is the fact that the whole story is seen through the eyes of the various combatant's animal familiars and is narrated by Jack The Ripper's canine companion, Snuff. Sound off-kilter ? It is. Delightfully so. Consider this your formal encouragement to seek out a copy with all due haste. ... Read more

Product Description
Amber is the one real world, casting infinite reflections of itself -- Shadow worlds, that can be manipulated by those of royal Amberite blood. But the royal family is torn apart by jealousies and suspicion; the disappearance of the Patriach Oberon has intensified the internal conflict by leaving the throne apparently up for grabs.In a hospital on the Shadow Earth, a young man is recovering from a freak car accident; amnesia has robbed him of all his memory, even the fact that he is Corwin, Crown Prince of Amber, rightful heir to the throne -- and he is in deadly peril . . .The five books, Nine Princes in Amber, The Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon and The Courts of Chaos, together make up The Chronicles of Amber, Roger Zelazny's finest work of fantasy and an undisputed classic of the genre. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

What can I say...I reread it every 10 years or so....
I have read this series about 3 times (about once every 10 years.) Which mean that aside from that fact that I am 30 years older since I first read it, It still captivates me. I am so sorry Zelazny is gone. I really love his work! I remember when I first read this series, I would walk to work after school, and arrive 45 minutes before my shift began. I did not mind at all..I was in Amber for 45 minutes...and it was soooo cool!
My original copy was the double volume SciFi Bookclub edition, but they wore out through the years...so I purchase it again from Amazon -used.

A wonderful story that should not be missed! I wish just once that I could walk the pattern!( I would not mind being as long lived as Corwin either....)

Nice copy for its time
This is the first of a two volume set containing that part of Zelazny's Amber serieswhich deals with Corwin, one of the princes of Amber.This volume contains the first two of the series, "Nine Princes in Amber" and "Guns of Avalon".It's nice to have both in hardback, but there is a new edition which has all 10 of the Amber novels written by Zelazny, so I would recommend that instead. ... Read more

Product Description
On a devilish sabbatical in Europe, Azzie discovers that morality plays are all the rage. He decides to strike back by producing an "immorality play", in which seven nondescript human pilgrims will be allowed by magic to attain their hearts' desires. But the forces of Good are determined to close the play before it opens. New characters suddenly start roaming the stage, such as a Grateful Dead-listening Cyclops, and Azzie's own protagonists begin changing their hearts' desires on the slightest whim. This is one theatrical production that could do without an angel - and there's even worse news waiting in the wings... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

This book is really a mess.
I barely managed to struggle my way through this book. Frankly, it's a mess. It is in desperate need of editing. It lurches unsteadily and introduces new themes and characters on a whim for no apparent purpose. The Mongol horde mentioned in one of the blurbs provided here at Amazon is a good example of this "kitchen sink" mentality. The way "the seven" end up sitting around waiting for a meaningless ceremony in the end also highlights the basically unorganized and ill-conceived nature of the story. There's really very little to recommend this book to anyone. Even farce and satire needs structure and a cohesive thread. I really don't understand how this book got published in this form.

There certainly could have been a decent story here (as there can be with any premise really) but it doesn't seem like there was any attempt made to tighten up the story and string it together properly. It read like a very early draft meant to demonstrate a couple of key points rather than assemble them into an entertaining story.

An awful piece of work.
I just finished 'A Farce to Be Reckoned With' by Roger Zelazny and Robert Sheckley.I've read a fair bit of Zelazny--the Amber novels and Lord Of Light and some others.This book looked more light hearted, but I figured I'd give it a try.

I was sorely disappointed.There's no plot.Or, rather, there is a plot, but it makes no sense.Plot turns are introduced (like the Greek gods getting free) and then dropped, willy nilly.There's a character called Peter Westfall who gets Pandora's Box at the beginning, but we never hear from him again.And at the end, we have a fight scene that is a total deus ex machina--the end of the book comes with no explanations.

Normally, you expect characters to have reasons for things they do.They can do weird things, but they should justify it to themselves, and have the actions be a natural outgrowth of their past.This is called characterization.Characters in this book have one sentence justifications for absurd actions.We have a nun who decides to deal with the devil, and an angel who is ordered to spy.There's a set of religious pilgrims headed toward Venice during the Middle Ages.A demon joins them, proves himself to be a demon, and they don't even run away from him.

The dialog is wretched.Everyone converses in a stilted manner.The description is campy; the authors apparently decided to focus on the clothing of women--there are attractive wimples and red low cut blouses galore.

It feels like this book has been subjected to random editing.Or perhaps worse than random, as I feel that there may have been malicious intent at confusing the reader.Characters pop up, disappear for a while, then pop up again with no explanation (an example is the young lady named Priscilla [or Puss]).

But you know what?All of the above flaws could have been forgiven if there had been any scene, any scene at all, that was funny.I wanted to forgive the flaws--I wanted to laugh--I read the entire book, didn't I? But I didn't even crack a smile the entire book.There were times I put it down and thought to myself, 'Why are you wasting your time?' I will admit, I finished the book (I think for the same reasons that folks slow down to look at a wreck on the highway).

Don't buy this book.If you want some funny fantasy, read 'A Night in the Lonesome October' (which is great!) or anything by Blaylock.Don't buy this book.

The best Zelanzny book you will ever read.
A Farce to Be Reckoned with is the best book that I have ever read. Even though the book starts out slow the fast chapter breaks make it a book that needs no bookmarks. I have read the complete Chronicles of Amber threetimes and the comedy that he displays in this book can only be compared tothe duel with the sphinx. It's a book that will entertain and make youthink at the same time.This is a must buy for any Zelazny fan!

Abso-bloody-lutely wonderful.
This series (Bring Me The Head of Prince Charming, A Farce to be Reckoned With, and If at Faust you Don't Succeed) are, along with A Night In the Lonesome October, the polished works of a master.

I believe that when hewrote these, Zelazny knew he was dying. The writing is sparse, the plottingtight, the works polished before pen went to paper - or that's how theyread, anyway. Beautiful, beautiful work.

Put them back in print, dammit!

Just excellent book
I read this book in russian translation. And very disappointed that an original one is out of stock ... Read more

Product Description

The mass-market edition of the first in a trilogy of all-new prequel novels set in Roger Zelazny's "Amber" universe, fully authorized by the Estate of Roger Zelazny!

"John Betancourt has boundless enthusiasm and genuine passion for every project he undertakes -- and the imagination to back it up."

-- Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times Bestselling author

"The spirit of Zelazny lives on in Betancourt's prequel. Roger Zelazny's works in the years he wrote the first Amber books were perhaps the best in SF and Fantasy of the 20th century. If you've read the Amber books, this book is a must. If you haven't, this book is the best place to start."

-- David Bischoff, author of Aliens vs. Predator

"John Betancourt channels Zelazny? However he got it, he has the gift, and now there is a new Amber trilogy that will delight a legion of fans eager to learn how Amber came to be."

-- Tom Easton, Book Reviewer for ANALOG Magazine ... Read more

Customer Reviews (51)

Ethical?
This is not, strictly speaking, a review of the book, "The Dawn of Amber" alone. You might wonder, then, why I'm writing a review right here. Others have already reviewed this book sufficiently, and I agree with most of what's been said (Christopher Kindred's review is excellent).

I just want to ask this question, fans of Amber: is it ethical to write this prequel (and four others like it) when Roger Zelazny made it known on numerous occasions that he did not want anyone to write anything on, in, about, around Amber, ever?

The only exception he made was for fan fiction in places such as Amberzine, but these were not professional writers making money off Amber (even though their level of writing was above Betancourt's on most occasions), but genuine fans expanding their universe.

Here's one example where Zelazny states he does not want professional writers meddling with Amber (it's from Neil Gaiman's introduction to volume 3 of The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, by NESFA press, page 14):

"That was the time Steve [Brust] asked Roger if perhaps he would consider a short story collection set in the Amber universe. Roger said no, that other things he had made could be played with by others, but that Amber was his. I understood how he felt."

Did Zelazny say he was against people writing about Francis Sandow, or Dilvish, or Conrad, or any other of his characters and universes? No. He specifically said he did not want Amber to become the plaything of other writers. And he said this to two very well-regarded, now world-famous writers in their own right, Steven Brust and Neil Gaiman.

Which leaves us with several questions:

1) Did Betancourt not know of Zelazny's wishes concerning Amber when he accepted writing these prequels? Not likely. Betancourt has been around the SF&F scene for quite some time now, and I do not believe for an instant that he was unaware of Zelazny's position on Amber.

2) If Betancourt knew that he was going against the wishes of the creator of Amber, why did he do it? For money?

He says, in an interview on [...], that Zelazny is about to fade from public memory because publishers have ceased producing new editions of his classics, and he does not want Zelazny's legacy to be forgotten like other greats (cites Blish and others).
In other words, he is doing this as a favor to Zelazny's memory and his fans. Superbly altruistic, isn't it? Of course, reviving Zelazny's work and making it more visible again in bookshelves could be achived in a variety of ways; the Zelazny estate could work actively with publishers and editors (many of whom still have a great admiration and fondness for Zelazny and his work) to re-publish the classics. There's little logical connection between someone else writing in the Amber universe and a sudden Zelazny revival, especially if that someone else is a career-series writer of no consequence in literature whatsoever.

3) Let's say that he truly believes in what he does; does Betancourt think he is a better candidate for reviving Amber than far more established, talented, skilled, and recognized writers like Gaiman or Brust? He must have asked these questions of himself when he accepted this job. The answer must have been, "yes, I am the best candidate to revive Amber." And perhaps he also thought: "If I hadn't done it, someone else would have." (A line of thinking applied to a great many atrocities in history.)

4) Would any self-respecting author accept a job like this, knowing full-well that it went against Zelazny's wishes? Surely, Brust or Gaiman, among others, with their influence and reputation, could at least have attempted such a thing, after Zelazny's death, right? They did not, for a very good reason. Betancourt did. What does that tell us?

5) If this legacy had to be looted by the Zelazny estate despite the man's crystal clear wishes, did it have to be a minor Star Trek series writer? Who in that estate was qualified enough to make a decision like this? Does the Zelazny estate even care about the man's legacy if it can so obviously cast his wishes aside?

Ultimately, people, my point is this: I am not against derivative work, I am not against the serializing of classics where appropriate. The quality of this prequel series leaves much, much to be desired, to be sure, but even that I could let by. We should not expect Zelazny's level or style when reading something written by Betancourt, that's unfair to both of them. What really bothers me, however, is what kind of writer accepts writing this series, when he knows perfectly well that this is unethical, in no uncertain terms?

Would you have done it? No? Then why support this act with your money?

Not Free SF Reader
A young Oberon, going by a different name, is living in Shadow and unaware of his true heritage.Soon, he meets the mysterious Dworkin, and he begins to learn what is going on.This is a prequel series to Amber, exploring its origins.It is nowhere near as good, however, and the editing is a bit dodgy.

Going from bad to awful.
The WRITING STYLE of these books would have killed even a much better plot and much more interesting characters.This is simply bad prose, clumsily written and ineptly edited.Stilted language and unimaginative settings make the flat, unengaging characters andthe meandering story line even worse than they could have been.The 2nd book out of three is somewhat better than the first one and gave me hope that Betancourt was finally learning how to write.It even encouraged me to reread the original two Amber series.But Betancourt's third book was a disaster!It was difficult to finish.The language was even more stilted than in the first book, while the story and the characters lost any depth and luster they seemed to start developing in the second book.Don't waste your time or money.

horrid, horrid book
Perhaps the worst book I have ever read. I figured that with Zelazny's notes to follow, at least a credible attempt would come of it, however I would sooner gouge my eyes out with a dull nail file than read any of betancourt's work again after reading this novel, yes sucker that i was read all three of them to see if it got better, thinking it may have been a buildup to getting into the midset to write about zelazny's creation....trust me folks, dont waste your time or money, search the web for fan art of zelazny's works, and contact zelazny's estate holder and scream bloody murder about greed and terrible books advertising his name.

The Zelazny Estate Got Greedy!
The title of this piece is the only possible explanation for the existence of this novel.

This book violates the history established in the Amber novels written by Roger Zelazny in more ways than it follows them.

In this novel, Dworkin saw the pattern -- thinking it a second Logrus -- when he walks the Logrus.In the original novels, the Unicorn brought him the Jewel of Judgement/Eye of the Serpent, and he saw it within the Jewel.

That's the first of a double-dozen pointless and essentially stupid changes.

Oberon is born to Dworkin hundreds of years before Amber is created.Oberon is attuned to the Jewel before the Pattern is drawn.The Logrus is just another Pattern, not a shifting maze of hazardous death, not a physical expression of Chaos, survivable only by a shapeshifter.

I can't go on.It makes me ill.

The Zelazny Estate should have either gotten someone who knew and loved the original source material -- or they should have left it the devil alone!

And John Gregory Betancourt should have refused the job (or never asked for it, I don't claim to know if he asked or was offered), since he obviously didn't really care about the source material.

If he had cared, he might have *followed it!* ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Enjoyable fantasy, though not Zelazny's best
For those of us who have read and re-read the Amber stories, Lord of Light, Doorways in the Sand, Isle of the Dead, and Roger Zelazny's other masterpieces, this light collection of fantasy stories comes as a welcome stopgap. Written in much the same frame of reference as the Amber series, "Dilvish, the Damned" is a set of 11 separate tales about Dilvish, a master swordsman reputedly of Elfish blood, who has escaped from Hell and rides a magical steel horse called Black. Four of the stories were originally published in the 1960s, and the others a decade or so later, so it is not surprising that they are only loosely connected. Personally, I don't usually read fantasy because I feel it is not a disciplined enough genre - authors are always free to produce some deus ex machina to rescue their heroes (and their plots). But I make an exception for writers as good as Zelazny, because they impose their own discipline. Even though "Dilvish the Damned" is full of sorcerers and demons, zombies and vampires, magic and spells - as well as the ever-present sword and sandals - it all holds together remarkably well. True, there is no discernible common theme - how could there be when so many of the stories were independently written? - but each is entertaining enough, and the characters of Dilvish and a handful of friends (and foes) are sufficient to bind the collection together. It's best not to read straight through, however, but treat this like a box of chocolates - sample one or two, then put the lid back for a while.

One of the better examples of this style of writing
Title: Dilvish, The Damned
Author: Roger Zelazny
The edition reviewed is the Del Rey paperback of Nov. 1982 which collectes all seven of the Dilvish short stories: Passage to Dilfar (c 1964), Thelinde's Song (c 1965), The Bells of Shoredan (c 1966), A Knight for Merytha (c 1967), The Places of Aache (c 1979), A City Divided, The White Beast (c 1979), Tower of Ice (c 1981), Devil and the Dancer, Garden of Blood (c 1979), and Dilvish, the Damned.

Dilvish is the last of his house which had been stricken from the peerage because of several generations of inter-marriage with Elf-kind. Bereft of his lands,he turns his hand to many occupations. At a time when he was soldiering and had just finished participating in a great battle, he comes across a situation he must try to correct. Being of the High Blood, he is not killed when he breaks Jelerak's circle trying to rescue the girl being used in a sorcerous rite. But he is sufficiently weakened that Jelerak is able to turn his body to stone and imprison his spirit in Hell for over two centuries.

The first story picks up Dilvish at his defeat at Portaroy where he had returned from Hell and also introduces us to his companion Black, a demonic metal horse. The last story ends with a young woman rushing from the woods, imploring Dilvish for help. Black is warning Dilvish "the woman will stab you in the back" and Dilvish is replying "Damned if you do, damned if you don't" as he goes to help her. In between, there is plenty of action as Dilvish leads an army in defense of the city of Difar, encounters Cal-den, his old tormenter in Hell, stays a while with a vampire, tries to win the game forced on him by two sorcerers, and other adventures on his quest for vengeance against Jelerak.

This is one of Zelazny's sword and sorcery series of stories. The remaining story in the series is a novel called The Changing Land. If you enjoy sword and sorcery, I think you will enjoy this book and The Changing Land. The style of writing reminds me more of the writing in EC Tubb's Dumerest or Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series or that of John Brunner in The Traveler in Black than it does of the tales of swashbuckling exploits of violent, amoral swordsmen like that of Robert E Howard, Lin Carter, et. al. As I've mentioned before, I re-read and this is one of the books I'll keep around to read again just because it is, IMO, one of the better examples of this style of writing.

Sometimes confusing but always cool
Dilvish was one of RZ's favorite characters because he kept writing stories about him for nearly 20 years.

This collection of short stories centers around Dilvish's quest for revenge against the sorcerer who sent him to Hell.The stories are arranged in chronological order rather than publication date and good thing too because it almost feels like a standalone novel.

The best and worst thing about this book is that you follow him and his comrade Black through one adventure and perilous spot after another, get almost to the point wherte Dilvish is to meet his mortal enemy in combat and the book comes to an end.Argh!

This book is a prequal to "The Changing Land" & I highly reccomend you read them in series to find out how it all turns out (so you won't go mad)!

Better than Amber?
Superficially in the form of a novel, this is actually an episodic and open-ended series of sword and sorcery yarns, all featuring Dilvish, a more-or-less decent hero, and his smarter companion, a demonic iron horse named Black, and his ongoing quest for revenge against the evil wizard who once banished him to Hell.The focus, however, is neither on the origins of his quest nor its resolution, but rather upon the adventures along the way.

This was first published in novel format in 1982, so it is sometimes called a "prequel" to 1981's "The Changing Land", which also features Dilvish.I would object to that characterization.These stories were written and published first (as individual stories).Moreover, I thought the ending here was perfect.In my view this is *the* Dilvish Book, and the inferior novel "The Changing Land" is strictly optional.

Zelazny is better known for his AMBER series, but I liked this better.As here, the AMBER books are highly readable, with a good-natured and humorous vibe, but I thought the AMBER series ultimately collapsed under the dreadful weight of Zelazny's too-intimate interest in reality-bending and reality-denying sorcery.I much prefer these stories, more in the style of traditional sword-and-sorcery, wherein the hero himself is not really much of a magician, such that the fantasy remains anchored to a relatively normal center.Dilvish is more interested in slaying wicked sorcerers than emulating them, and even revenge must take a back-seat to rescuing damsels in distress.

Better Than Amber?
Superficially in the form of a novel, this is actually an episodic and open-ended series of sword and sorcery yarns, all featuring Dilvish, a more-or-less decent hero, and his smarter companion, a demonic iron horse named Black, and his ongoing quest for revenge against the evil wizard who once banished him to Hell.The focus, however, is neither on the origins of his quest nor its resolution, but rather upon the adventures along the way.

This was first published in novel format in 1982, so it is sometimes called a "prequel" to 1981's "The Changing Land", which also features Dilvish.I would object to that characterization.These stories were written and published first (as individual stories).Moreover, I thought the ending here was perfect.In my view this is *the* Dilvish Book, and the inferior "The Changing Land" is strictly optional.

I liked this better than Zelazny's AMBER series, which I enjoyed for Zelazny's breezy and friendly style (also present here), but which I thought ultimately collapsed under the weight of Zelazny's too-intimate focus on reality-bending and reality-negating sorcery.I much prefer these stories, more in the style of traditional sword-and-sorcery, wherein the hero himself is not really much of a magician, and seems generally of the opinion that they ought to be done away with.But AMBER and its reality-bending super-sorcerer heroes are what Zelazny is most famous for, so perhaps many Zelazny fans will feel differently on this point. ... Read more

Product Description
Oberon takes on the reins of leadership, and he carves an empire from the new universe created by his father. Enemies new and old lie in wait, and creating a kingdom for himself and his heirs requires delicate political maneuvering, a will of iron, and the might of a born warrior. Power-mad siblings, a madman for a father, assassins, and the King of Chaos are just the beginning of his troubles. Oberon must learn to master them all, if he is To Rule in Amber. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Predictable and dull
I remember first reading Zelazny's Amber series as a teenage. If fact, I I checked out each of the books a few times from the library back then. I loved the originality and the sense of true wonder that they gave me.

I didn't read Betancourt's first three Amber books until after they were all published, if fact I've had all three for a few years before I read them. Earlier in the year, I reread all ten of the original Amber books and now I've finished with all three of Betancourt's books. Frankly, it's night and day. The Betancout books seriously miss the mark for me. I found them uninventive, uninspired, and downright boring!The storylines were bland and predictable and the characters were scripted and stiff.Betancourt's Oberon and Dworkin were very different from how Zelazny described them. There were literally no suprises for me as I read these books and that's a shame.

Now I'm easily entertained, I enjoy a good easy entertaining read such as the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series. However, this trilogy was downright juvenile! I'm certainly no writer myself and not a great storyteller either, but I felt as if I could have easily written this myself and probably even better.

I also have a major gripe with the publisher. My first problem is with the typos; there are quite a few in each book.I rarely see typos in novels but to have at least 3-4 in each book?That's just unacceptable!My second issue is the huge font size and page spacing of all three books. I was literally finished reading each book in less than three hours! I'm not a speed reader but I'm not slow either.This "trilogy" could easily have been combined into one book, two if you want to stretch it out, but three...now you're really milking it. I feel as if I've been ripped off and that's all on the publisher.

So in my opinion, save yourself the money and the frustration and just avoid these books. If you need an Amber fix, go reread the original series again.But if you must read these then at least try to pick them up cheaply second hand or at the library.You'll probably still be disappointed in the content but at least you won't have overpaid for them.

Gives a lot of depth to the first two books!
In the third installment of the series, Betancourt reveals the depths of the treachery in the Courts of Chaos and their lasting effects on the hero of the series, Oberon and the very universe.The book begins where Chaos an Amber left off just following the creation of the new Pattern. The results of Oberon and his father Dworkin's actions and their part in a much larger plot that threatens to see a new ruler in Chaos and to destroy the very fabric of the universe are revealed.As the plot unfolds the reader is treated to a front row seat for the creation of the what is to become their new family home, Amber itself, and for the development of Oberon into its eventual King.

Betancourt seems much more comfortable with both Zelazney's amazing universe, and with his own characters in this installment.Many things that seemed unclear or unlikely in the first two books are explained by the plot as it takes shape before our eyes.Betancourt's characters really come into their own in this book and are certainly reminiscent of Zelazney's own inspirations.

The book is a wonderful read, a definite page turner, and I would highly recommend it to fans of Zelazney's novels and the Amber universe.

An improvement.
Though better than the first two installments, especially in terms of meshing with the Amber cosmology. It is still generally lacking. The whole story seems generally rushed and fails to really explore anything to any depth. The protagonist remains uninteresting, alternating between ineptitude and over-competence for no clear or identifiable reason. ... Read more