Seven Tales in Amber: Stories from the Chronicles of Amber Saga

The Chronicles of Amber

by Roger Zelazny, Ed Greenwood, Warren Lapine (Introduction)

Contents:

 Seven Tales in Amber • interior artwork by James Zimmerman
7 • Introduction (Seven Tales in Amber) • essay by Warren Lapine
13 • Prologue to Trumps of Doom • [Amber Stories] • short fiction by Roger Zelazny (variant of Prolog (Trumps of Doom) 1985)
17 • A Secret of Amber • [Amber Stories] • (2005) • short story by Ed Greenwood and Roger Zelazny
23 • Salesman's Tale • [Amber Stories] • short story by Roger Zelazny (variant of The Salesman's Tale 1994)
37 • Blue Horse, Dancing Mountains • [Amber Stories] • (1995) • short story by Roger Zelazny
43 • The Shroudling and the Guisel • [Amber Stories] • (1994) • short story by Roger Zelazny
57 • Coming to a Cord • [Amber Stories] • (1995) • short story by Roger Zelazny
65 • Hall of Mirrors • [Amber Stories] • (1996) • novelette by Roger Zelazny

Amber is the one true world of which all others are but shadows. Collected here in one binding are seven tales of Amber. It was Zelazny's intent to use these short stories to tie up unfinished threads from his amazing Chronicles of Amber. This edition is sure to be a treat for the legion of Amber fans.

"A storyteller without peer. He created worlds as colorful and exotic and memorable as any our genre has ever seen." --George R.R. Martin

. . . his performance was never anything other than dazzling. --Robert Silverberg

Roger Zelazny's work excited me. It was intoxicating and delightful and unique. And it was smart. --Neil Gaiman

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Short Stories

86 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 5, 2019

About the author

Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels, best known for The Chronicles of Amber. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nominations) and the Hugo Award six times (also out of 14 nominations), including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel ...And Call Me Conrad (1965), subsequently published under the title This Immortal (1966), and the novel Lord of Light (1967).

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Amber stories. Love them a lot. This collection of stories does a decent job of filling in some of the gaps around the Merlin series.

If you love Amber, especially the Merlin series, this may be an enjoyable read for you.

[Matthew Mclaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as it pains me to rate ANYTHING Zelazny authored, especially works Amber-related, less than four stars, I’ve got to be honest here.

I discovered Zelazny when I was 13 years old: I bought an old copy (which I still own) of The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction volume 15, because it contained stories by Asimov and other authors I enjoyed. The lead was by someone who, in my ignorance, I had never heard of until then: Roger Zelazny. His “The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth” knocked my socks off, and I’ve reread it countless times since that first go. It stole the show, and I immediately took to the library to find more of his stuff. I came away with an omnibus of the Chronicles of Amber.

As I’ve gotten older, and reread the series, I’m always stunned that Amber isn’t more mainstream - it’s simply fun at times, incredibly deep at others (Zelazny’s notion of Chaos always makes me feel like he and Moorcock were tapping some sort of shared dream - or nightmare), and of course very well written.

The First Chronicles makes my top-five Fantasy/Sci-Fi list, and I also rate the Second Chronicles very highly, even if it’s not quite on par with the First.

Seven Tales is a disappointing 2 1/2 for me, but I rounded up because of the excitement I felt in learning I could a few new tales of Amber for the first time.

Why the low rating?

I have to mention the typos riddling the text (I have the Amber Limited cases book). These typos aren’t Zelazny’s fault, of course, but they certainly detract from the reading experience. I wish more care had been taken by the editor; there’s a typo in the third sentence of the second paragraph of the first story!

Secondly, these aren’t stories so much vignettes or deleted scenes, or under-developed tales that Zelazny never finished before his death. All the stories fill in gaps between the 10 novels, but there’s little in the way of informing a reader where in the series they fall; a short introductory note before each tale would have been helpful.

Still, for Amber completists there are gems here. The shared tale written back and forth by Zelazny and Ed Greenwood (creator of Forgotten Realms) was a joy to read and justified my purchase of this book on its own.

In closing: for Amber completists this is a must have, even if it may not be as revelatory as you’d hope. For casual readers curious about Amber, don’t bother unless you fall head over heels for Amber and MUST. HAVE. IT. ALL.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories set in Zelazny's Amber universe, and most of them were to be a larger collection to seemingly tell another volume's worth of storyline (though they jump between different characters' PoVs). Good stuff, and worth reading after wrapping up the "Great Book" collection, but less coherent or satisfying than the formally written novels.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you, as I did, found the end of Prince of Chaos a bit abrupt, these short stories do a nice job of smoothing it out. Read the other ten books first, obviously, but then read this.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

These short stories sell themselves to any Amber-phile. If you are the type that regularly googles when the Amber movie, or even better, a television series (which supposedly was being looked at by one the Walking Dead creators) will ever get made, this will scratch that Patternitch. So take a break from your PC emulator search to play Nine Princes of Amber and get your Zelazny shot with this brief collection.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, so bittersweet! This volume of short stories is some of the pieces that Rodger had come up with or was working on around the time of his death. It gave us glimpses of favorite characters, including Corwin, Merlin, and Luke. The stories were wonderful, but alas, much too brief.

Fans of Amber will enjoy the short pieces, but it will always feel incomplete. It's a shame that we'll never know what Roger intended to do with his beloved Amber series.

[Timothy Grove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roger Zelazny died too soon. I know that there had to be more stories set in Amber, just because of how the second 5 books ended, the things that were added, etc. now we will never know how he was going to finish them.

[Andrew Mongue · Rating 4 out of 5]

a quick read that I enjoyed in a bittersweet way. The most salient recommendation I have is not to read this book unless/until you have finished the full Chronicles of Amber.

These aren't merely random short stories from the same universe. They skew towards the Merlin cycle and within that towards the later books. In fact these feel like excised subplots from the main book series.

I call them bittersweet because they do a decent amount to set up continuing intrigue that will never be resolved since Zelzany has passed on. Still, for Zelazny/Amber completionists there's one last bit of fun to be had here.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am huge fan of Roger Zelazny, but this collection of short stories greatly disappointed me. The only one I truly liked was Prologue to Trumps of Doom. Most of the others felt like sections of the series that were properly edited out or efforts on Zelazny’s part to lay the groundwork for a new Amber series. I would have loved to read a third Amber series, but I found this collection of short stories to be a disappointing tease.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories in this collection look like drafts that are far from what Zelazny would have released in a final form. In addition, some of them look like ideas to be incorporated in a larger work. A couple of them really aren't very good while others are better developed. Overall, they are little bits and pieces that won't interest anyone but the most ardent of Zelazny fans. Otherwise, reading them isn't worth the time.

[Charl · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Tales" is a bit of a stretch. These are all scenes or short passages that feel more like a "deleted scenes" reel than anything else. It's been a while since I read the books, so I couldn't tell for sure just where most of them fit into the saga. It was interesting, and I think they may have filled in a few details, but I don't feel like it actually enhanced the series for me.

Note: do NOT read this if you haven't read the Amber books; there are several mild to medium spoilers in these.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It nice but short. Helped fill in a few gaps from the Merlin cycle but also hinted at what might have been in store for the next set of Amber books Zelazny had planned but never got to write. His estate has refused so far to let others use his outline. Anyway, a fitting farewell to the Amber series and Roger.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always regretted that Zelazny never had the opportunity to write any more books in the Amber series. The end of the tenth book (Prince of Chaos) always seemed to indicate there more to come to me. This collection provides a tantalizing, albeit incomplete, glimpse into the author's thoughts on what the next arc of the Amber saga might have been.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Further tales of Corwin, Merlin and Luke

The Chronicles of Amber have been with me for many years, and it was great to see these related tales in one collection. You are much missed, Roger Zelazny.

[Wade Cleveland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting as vignettes, but not as much more. They are entertaining, but are obviously pieces of an unfinished whole. That being said, it is always a pleasure reading Zelazny, and dipping your toes in the Amber Univei.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ties up a few loose ends.

Afterthoughts . The chronicles were such large stories , that a lot of little stories were left untold. The first story of how Merlin walks the logrus is a paraphrase of what appeared in the chronicles.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous, so glad I read it and filled in a couple gaps in the Amber series. I was worried it would be a ghost writer or fan fiction and not do justice to the story, but it was a great addition to the series.

[Arref Mak · Rating 5 out of 5]

These 7 were the beginnings of the next full novels of Amber

Shifting in tone and focus, Zelazny weaves a stranger mystery in poetic chunks of point of view between royals we know and scoundrels as well.

Alas, poor Roger, you graced us far too briefly.

[Tim Pickrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Coda to the Amber Series

Outstanding, but all too fleeting. This short volume recalled all the magic of the original stories. Mr. Zelazny, you are sorely missed.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to visit Amber and Chaos again

These stories fill in some gaps. Worth the read.
Although doesn't really wrap everything up.
Wish there was more!
RIP Roger

[Glenn Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Well done brought back my good memories of reading the series when I was a teenager,another example of the depth of Roger and his tale telling

[Sctechsorceress · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories were genuine Roger Zelazny Amber stories I had never read before. What more can I say? The man was a master, and we may never see his like again.

[Jim Sanderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a tease

Fragments of more from Amber... it was good to be back. I guess I shouldn't be greedy. That said, there was the making of something really good...

[M. E. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Big fan of Amber but this is a bomb!

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. What a waste of time and money! Ugh. Yuck. Blah. Blah. Pure garbage. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Barf.

[James Zimmeeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of the last Amber stories by a Roger Zelazny

[Zane S. Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not to be copied

Most of the post Roger stuff has been dreck but this so adroitly shows the hand of one of best of the western writers. I will have to reread Amber again

[Howard Brazee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zelazny's amazing.

But if you haven't read his Amber novels, you should put this book aside until you have.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

These 7 tales hint toward further tales of Amber and Shadow which Zelazny never was able to accomplish.

[Mike Kartoon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth the time

Story about meeting zelazny for joined writing was nice the rest quite weak. not too interesting , not good stories

[Mer · Rating 3 out of 5]

my review https://hardcover.app/books/seven-tal...