Re-reading a master

While I have spent a lot of time reading the new and amazingly talent crop of indie authors out there, I do from time to time, pull out some of the older fiction.  Over the past week I have been working my way through Roger Zelanzy's Chronicles of Amber books.

Now anyone who knows these series, knows that it is one of the very best written bits of fiction out there.  There is political intrigue, back biting, fantasy creatures, magic of a type not commonly seen, religion and a whole lot of other things that make series great.

The first five books of this series are from the point of view of Corwin of Amber.  One of a dozen or more brothers and sisters who are heirs to the throne of Amber, which is the center of all reality.  It starts off with him not knowing who he is and we are taken through a lot of ups and downs and confusion as he learns who he is, where he belongs and just who should be the kind of Amber.

He father is missing, the magician who was both tutor and master of the courts is rumored to be mad and is also missing.  Everything to drag you along into a world that is rich and well written.

While it has been well over a decade since I last read the series I found myself pulling for Corwin and really interested yet again in the mechanization that the brothers and sisters go through in these books. There are parts that drag to me and they did drag in the first reading way back when but they don't distract from a masterful telling of these interconnected books.  If you are a fan of fantasy you really should pick up these books and read them.  There is a reason that he was considered a master and this book series is it.

Now I am currently reading the second series of the Amber books.  This time the main character is Merlin, Corwin's son.  We met him literally at the end of the first series of books and here we find that Merlin is facing a lot of the same things that his father did.  There are forces outside of Amber this time that want to destroy the kingdom and we get to meet other relatives that we did not know about before.  It seems that this family is more twisted than even the family we see on Game of Thrones.  So folks, do yourself a favor, pick up all ten books and settle back for a wild ride through Shadow.