Roger Zelazny

Zelazny had a rare gift for conceiving and portraying worlds with plausible magic systems, powers, and supernatural beings. His captivating descriptions of the nuts and bolts of magical workings in his imagined worlds set his writing apart from otherwise similar authors. He was a prolific writer, and with the exception of the Amber novels (and the pairs Madwand/Changeling and Isle of the Dead/To Die in Italbar, which are related), created a completely new setting for each book.

Amber Novels

The first five describe the adventures of Prince Corwin of Amber and comprise:

• 1970 Nine Princes in Amber
• 1972 The Guns of Avalon
• 1975 Sign of the Unicorn
• 1976 The Hand of Oberon
• 1978 The Courts of Chaos

The second series, published several years later tell the story of Corwin's son Merlin - a wizard and a computer expert.
These volumes are:

• 1985 Trumps of Doom
• 1986 Blood of Amber
• 1987 Sign of Chaos
• 1989 Knight of Shadows
• 1991 Prince of Chaos

Other Significant Books

• Creatures of Light and Darkness (1969)
• Isle of the Dead (1969)
• Damnation Alley (1969) (also a film)
• Jack of Shadows (1971)
• Doorways in the Sand (1976)
• Roadmarks (1979)
• Madwand (1981)
• The Changing Land (1981)
• Eye of Cat (1982)
• The Black Throne (1990) (with Fred Saberhagen)

• The Millennium Contest series (with Robert Sheckley):
  • Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming (1991)
  • If At Faust You Don't Succeed (1993)
  • A Farce to Be Reckoned With (1995)

• Flare (1992) (with Thomas Timoux Thomas)

Eye of Cat (1982) was arguably the last of his best work. Later collaborative works appear to be primarily the work of the other author. The last few Amber novels are disappointingly formulaic.

External links

• A bibliography of Roger Zelazny's work
• The two most comprehensive websites available, including bibliographic and personal information:
  • http://www.roger-zelazny.com
  • http://zelazny.corrupt.net

Referenced By