 The Chronicles of Amber — (1970-1991) These books are divided into two arcs called The Corwin Cycle (Nine Princes in Amber, The Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon, The Courts of Chaos) and The Merlin Cycle (Trumps of Doom, Blood of Amber, Sign of Chaos, Knight of Shadows, Prince of Chaos). You can purchase them in one omnibus edition. Publisher: Roger Zelazny's books have three things in common: a flawed hero who sometimes fails, endlessly surprising plot twists, and a blend of lyricism, literary allusions, and sly puns that makes the pages fly. The Great Book of Amber, collecting all 10 Amber novels, is vintage Zelazny. Despite some irritating typographical errors, it's invaluable for anyone who wants to read or reread the tales of Corwin and his son, Merlin. Corwin is a prince of Amber, the "immortal city from which every other city has taken its shape." All other worlds, including Earth, are shadows of that reality. Corwin has spent centuries on Earth as an amnesiac. But when someone in the family tries to kill him there, Corwin begins a search for his past. He quickly learns that his family has some very unusual powers. They can travel between Amber, its shadows, and Chaos by manipulating reality; use magical playing cards to communicate and travel instantaneously; and are able to walk the Pattern that created Amber. Corwin regains his memory, solves the mystery of his father Oberon's disappearance, and fulfills his destiny — only to disappear into Chaos. Merlin searches for Corwin and his destiny as a son of both Amber and the Courts of Chaos. His story parallels Corwin's, answering many questions about Amber, Chaos, and the next generation in the family.
 Manna from Heaven — This new collection includes all five previously uncollected Amber stories, plus the prologue from the rare limited edition of Trumps of Doom, and 16 other fantasy and science fiction stories (including a collaboration with Harlan Ellison).
 Amber
Roger Zelazny's Amber series is one of the best sci-fi/fantasy epics ever written. Not only was it highly imaginative and original when it was published (in the 70s and 80s), but it remains so — there's nothing else like it. Corwin and his brothers and sisters are clever, sophisticated, sarcastic, and extremely ambitious. They constantly scheme and plot to outmaneuver each other as they vie for political power. If you knew these people in real life, you'd probably hate them, but in Zelazny's hands they're charming (especially Corwin). Zelazny's writing style is solid: fast-paced, exciting, and witty. Plot twists and cliff-hangers make it hard to stop reading.
With all that praise, I must mention two little problems:
1. The Merlin Cycle is not as good as The Corwin Cycle. Corwin is just more interesting than his son.
2. The story never quite wraps up because Zelazny died before finishing it.
Bottom Line: Read The Corwin Cycle (the first half). If you're hooked, keep going. —Kat Hooper
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Stand-alone novels:
This Immortal — (1966) Publisher: Conrad Nomikos has a long, rich personal history that he'd rather not talk about. And, as arts commissioner, he's been given a job he'd rather not do. Escorting an alien grandee on a guided tour of the shattered remains of Earth is not something he relishes — especially since it  is apparent that this places him at the center of high-level intrigue that has some bearing on the future of Earth itself. But Conrad is a very special guy....
 This Immortal
The Earth has been mostly depopulated as humans have discovered more sophisticated and comfortable cultures elsewhere in the universe. Much of its infrastructure was destroyed during “The Three Days,” and most of the mainland areas are still “hot.” Genetic mutations have caused the birth of creatures previously thought to be only myth. Now Earth is a strange and dangerous place, fit only as a tourist attraction and a vacation spot for the Vegans.
But some people still love Earth, including long-lived Conrad Nomikos, Commissioner for the Arts. Conrad hates the Vegans, so he isn’t happy that he’s been assigned to be the tour guide for Cort Mishtigo, a rich Vegan who may be planning to buy up more of Earth. But even more interesting than Mishtigo’s plans for Earth is the nature of Conrad himself. Who is he?
This Immortal is a gorgeous novel and Conrad Nomikos makes a great hero, similar to Corwin from Zelazny’s later Amber Chronicles. Conrad’s love of Earth and, particularly, for his Greek heritage is full of beauty and passion:
You will pass, but the hills of Greece will remain, will be unchanged, with the smell of goat thigh bones burning, with a mingling of blood and wine, a taste of sweetened almonds, a cold wind by night, and skies as blue-bright as the eyes of a God by day. Touch them, if you dare… That is why I am refreshed whenever I return, because now that I am a man with many years behind me, I feel this way about the entire Earth. That is why I fought, and why I killed and bombed…
I listened to This Immortal on audio (Brilliance Audio) and fell in love with narrator Victor Bevine whose deeply resonant voice captured perfectly the strength and depth of Conrad, the tenderness of Conrad’s wife Cassandra, the alienness of the Vegan, the gentle deadliness of Hasan the Assassin, and even the zealous geekiness of George, the scientist whose curiosity and ambition makes him willing to experiment on his own friends, pets, and unborn child.
The end of This Immortal wraps up a bit too quickly — I wanted to stay longer with Conrad on our devastated planet. I hope everything turns out okay… —Kat Hooper
Lord of Light — (1967) Publisher: Earth is long since dead. On a colony planet, a band of men has gained control of technology, made themselves immortal, and now  rules their world as the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Only one dares oppose them: he who was once Siddhartha and is now Mahasamatman. Binder of Demons. Lord of Light.
Lord of Light
The scholar Brian Attebery in his book Strategies of Fantasy writes that works of science fantasy can be divided into two categories: the beautiful and the damned. No middle ground to be had, technology and the supernatural remain relative to the era, and combining them is disastrous to the point of comedy or successful to the point of being a mind-opening experience. Falling into the latter category, Lord of Light, unlike many of Zelazny’s other works of science fantasy, is a flawless blend of the archetypes of science fiction and the mythologies of Hinduism and Buddhism. The result is simply the peak of imaginative literature.
Working with Indian history, particularly the time of Buddhism’s rise to rival the teachings of Hinduism, Zelazny plays off this opposition to tell the story of Sam, the man who was a god but wasn’t. One of the original members of a spaceship crew stranded on an unknown planet, Sam rejects the totalitarian ways of the crew who have made themselves out to be gods, ruling the populace with superior technology while satiating their own desires for worship and power. Forming alliances with demons and gods, Sam brings the Hindu pantheon to life in his fight against it, the Buddhist doctrine of right to life for the masses emphasized in his attempts to crash the gods’ party. Sam does not always survive the epic battles, but then again reincarnation is just a matter of technology. The novel is divided into several sections that do not follow upon another logically; this cyclical story of Sam’s triumph must be pieced together like mythology itself, the story unable to be told another way.
In short, everything about Lord of Lightworks. The vivid imagery, the narrative structure, the dialogue, the use of Buddhist and Hindu folklore, the character motivations, the colors, the crackle, the connection to culture — everything propels Lord of Light into the highest ranks of science fantasy. Quite simply, it’s a masterpiece that anyone calling themselves a fan of speculative fiction must read. —Jesse Hudson
FanLit thanks Jesse Hudson of Speculiction for contributing this guest review.
The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth: And Other Stories — (1971) Publisher: Here are strange, beautiful stories covering the full spectrum of the late Roger Zelazny's remarkable talents. He had a rare ability to mix the dream-like, disturbing imagery of fantasy with the real-life hardware of science fiction. His vivid imagination and fine prose made him one of the most highly acclaimed writers in his field. Three times he won the Nebula Award, and six times the Hugo Award, for excellence in novels and short fiction. Roger Zelazny possessed a unique, dazzling talent; his visions of the future, of other worlds and of other realities  are, by turns, enchanting and disturbing, and always memorable.
 The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth: And Other Stories
My experience with Roger Zelazny has been hit or miss, and while I consider The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Moutha miss, it’s not terrible. The main fault of these fifteen stories is that characterization remains uniform throughout. The same cigarette-smoking, coffee-drinking, detective noir Joe Cool hero populates the main character role of seemingly every story. Though the type is likeable, this lack of variety gets monotonous. Secondly, the outcome of every story has the hero victorious and triumphant, albeit in occasionally surprising ways, and this general predictability likewise undermines the integrity of the collection. Smoking butts, throwing never-miss left hooks, and having the suave line for the ladies are par for the course of this short story collection.
There are strong points, however. Zelazny excels as a stylist. The dialogue is wonderful, and emotion is fully shown rather than told. The predictability of the plots can be overlooked due to the ease with which the narratives develop. The thematic content is also respectable. Ideas routinely touched upon in the stories include the long-term evolution of culture and societies, man vs. the elements, and the social motivation for individuals’ major life-changing decisions.
In the end, I would say that if you are already a Zelazny fan, The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth will undoubtedly be of interest. Every story is fully in line with the other works of his I’ve read. If you enjoyed some of Zelazny’s works, but not others, then this book will probably not open your eyes to anything new. And if you’ve never read anything by him, then it would probably be best if you started somewhere else. Taking full advantage of his strengths as a writer, Lord of Light or ...This Immortal are among the best science fiction produced after WWII, and are a better starting place. —Jesse Hudson
FanLit thanks Jesse Hudson of Speculiction for contributing this guest review.
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