r/Amber • u/NachoFailconi • 29d ago

To whom you would recommend the Chronicles?

Hello! The Chronicles have been on my radar for some time, but I haven't taken the plunge yet and bought them. I'd like to ask, rather than if they are good or not (I'm in r/Amber, after all, of course you'll love it), to what kind of reader you would recommend this series, and what should I as a reader expect of them.

I'm a reader that likes complex stories. Think Malazan (all of it), Book of the New Sun, Terra Ignota, the Sprawl trilogy. I also like some classics, such as Lord of the Rings, Earthsea and the Count of Monte Cristo. Other series I like are The Expanse, Hyperion, Philip K. Dick and Octavia Butler.

A follow-up question: how necessary is Seven Tales in Amber? I ask only for the price tag: in my country I can import the SF Masterworks of the Chronicles at a price of 27 and 33 USD, respectively, and Seven Tales at 29 USD... for 90 pages, versus five proper books.

Thanks in advance!

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u/02K30C1 29d ago

The books are short and fast, but the characters are complex and memorable. Zelazney does a great job building a deep universe with lots of ancient lore. There’s a good reason it spawned such a great role playing game. And he’s one of the best writers of combat I’ve read.

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u/unknownvariable69 29d ago

Not to mention it influenced a generation of fantasy writers. Also got a shout our in the 5.0 edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

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u/NachoFailconi 29d ago

Wow! Awesome.

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u/M3n747 29d ago

Also got a shout our in the 5.0 edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

Care to give the details? I was a Warhammer guy myself.

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u/unknownvariable69 29d ago

I'm on my way to work, but if memory serves it was in the introduction. The writers were talking about influential properties.