AMBER

Here is the first novel in Roger Zelazny's classic Amber series.  Amber, the one real world, of which all others - including our own Earth - are but Shadows...

NINE PRINCES
IN AMBER

Amber burns in Corwin's blood.  Exiled on Shadow Earth for centuries, the prince is about to return to Amber - to make a mad and desperate rush upon the throne.

From Arden to the blood-slippery Stairway into the Sea, the air is electrified with the powers of Eric, Random, Bleys, Caine and all the princes of Amber whom Corwin must overcome.  Yet his savage path is blocked and guarded by eerie structures beyond imagining... impossible realities forged by demonic assassins... and staggering horrors to challenge the might of Corwin's superhuman fury.

"ENGROSSING, FANTASTIC... A BELIEVABLE FANTASY"
Science Fiction Writers of America Journal

"A ROUSING GOOD TALE!" Village Voice

HE WHO RULES
amber
RULES THE ONE TRUE WORLD.
HE WHO THWARTS AMBER
INVITES THE WRATH OF

amber
betrayed.

An unseen enemy of immense strength has seized a Prince of the Blood, and now threatens the perfect kingdom by striking at the very core of its power - the secret knowledge of Shadow.

When Corwin summons forces to defend the throne, he finds himself challenged by royal conspirators, hideous demons, weird supernatural patterns - and the ominous Unknown, in a bizarre vision that suddenly transcends all he ever suspected about the true nature of Amber.

KING OBERON
HAS VANISHED AND
shadow
MENACES THE
PERFECT REALM OF
amber.

Family blood has been spilled on the magic pattern that created Amber.  To save themselves from the dagger-wielding hand that stabs across the nebulous boundaries of the parallel worlds, the remaining Princes - led by the superhuman Lord Corwin - must find the murderous traitor in their midst... and discover the source of the black road that unites the one true world of Amber with the multi-dimensional realm of Shadow.

A UNIVERSE OF MANY UNIVERSES
UNITED BY MAGICAL THREADS,
Amber
FACES FINAL DESTRUCTION
FROM THE WORLD BEYOND THE
SHADOW WORLD,
The Courts
of Chaos

The cosmic Pattern that sustains the world of Amber lies in shreds; reality itself is on the verge of disintegration; and Corwin, heroic madman, uncrowned prince of the perfect realm, must face shapeshifting assassins, an alluring woman, and the multi-dimensional terrors of Shadow in his pulse-racing quest to save the kingdom.

Here at last is the crowning finale to the incredible Amber saga, an action-charged adventure that plunges from realm to realm to unlock the mysteries of a breathtakingly imagined world.

"QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST
SWORD-AND-SORCERY
FICTION EVER."
The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Front flap:
THE CHRONICLES
OF AMBER VOLUME I
by ROGER ZELAZNEY

Here, together for the first time, are the complete CHRONICLES OF AMBER: Nine Princes In Amber... The Guns of Avalon... Sign of the Unicorn... The Hand of Oberon... AND the long anticipated final book, The Courts of Chaos - in a handsome two volume set.

Amber is the one real world, casting infinite reflections of itself - Shadow worlds that can be manipulated by those of royal Amberite blood. Unfortunately, the royal family is torn by jealousies and suspicions. And the disappearance of the clan patriarch, Oberon, has intensified the conflicts by leaving Amber's throne apparently up for grabs.

The CHRONICLES begin in a hospital on the Shadow Earth, where a man is recovering from a freak auto accident. Since he is also suffering from amnesia, and has been for some time, he has no idea that he's Prince Corwin of Amber - until his memory receives a succession of jolts:

He meets a sister who speaks in riddles of plots and counterplots... and a brother who abruptly involves



Back flap:

him in a life-and-death battle against pursuers from a fearful Shadow world.

He discovers a deck of tarot-like cards, with himself, his sister, and strangers whom he guesses to be other relatives, pictured on their faces. Only lingering amnesia keeps him from grasping the full significance of the find: the cards are the Greater Trumps of Amber, used by his family to communicate across vast distances, and transport one another through Shadows in an instant.

Then comes the most shattering jolt of all... Corwin's confrontation with an intricate design created by a master manipulator of reality - the Pattern. By walking the Pattern, those of the blood royal gain the ability to control Shadows. But the slightest hesitation or misstep during the trial means death.

As Corwin sets foot upon that coldly glowing inscription, memories come flooding back to him... more and more with each step. And finally, knowing his true identity, he acknowledges his true ambition - and resolves that the crown of Amber will be his.

But unknown to Corwin, there are dark forces massing against Amber... and before too long he will discover just how great a burden a king's crown can be...

Front flap:
THE CHRONICLES
OF AMBER VOLUME I
by ROGER ZELAZNEY

Here, together for the first time, are the complete CHRONICLES OF AMBER: Nine Princes In Amber... The Guns of Avalon... Sign of the Unicorn... The Hand of Oberon... AND the long anticipated final book, The Courts of Chaos - in a handsome two volume set.

Amber is the one real world, casting infinite reflections of itself - Shadow worlds that can be manipulated by those of royal Amberite blood. Unfortunately, the royal family is torn by jealousies and suspicions. And the disappearance of the clan patriarch, Oberon, has intensified the conflicts by leaving Amber's throne apparently up for grabs.

The CHRONICLES begin in a hospital on the Shadow Earth, where a man is recovering from a freak auto accident. Since he is also suffering from amnesia, and has been for some time, he has no idea that he's Prince Corwin of Amber - until his memory receives a succession of jolts:

He meets a sister who speaks in riddles of plots and counterplots... and a brother who abruptly involves



Back flap:

him in a life-and-death battle against pursuers from a fearful Shadow world.

He discovers a deck of tarot-like cards, with himself, his sister, and strangers whom he guesses to be other relatives, pictured on their faces. Only lingering amnesia keeps him from grasping the full significance of the find: the cards are the Greater Trumps of Amber, used by his family to communicate across vast distances, and transport one another through Shadows in an instant.

Then comes the most shattering jolt of all... Corwin's confrontation with an intricate design created by a master manipulator of reality - the Pattern. By walking the Pattern, those of the blood royal gain the ability to control Shadows. But the slightest hesitation or misstep during the trial means death.

As Corwin sets foot upon that coldly glowing inscription, memories come flooding back to him... more and more with each step. And finally, knowing his true identity, he acknowledges his true ambition - and resolves that the crown of Amber will be his.

But unknown to Corwin, there are dark forces massing against Amber... and before too long he will discover just how great a burden a king's crown can be...

The Classic Anber Series Continues
TRUMPS
of
DOOM

In the first new Amber novel in five years, Roger Zelazny begins a new series set in this wonder-filled world. Trumps of Doom stars Merlin, the son of Corwin, that prince of Amber who was the central character of the first five books in this popular series.

Amber, the real world, of which all others, including our own, are only Shadows, is ruled now by Random, Corwin's brother and one of the survivors of the original Nine Princes. Corwin himself has disappeared and is believed to be insane or dead.

And Merlin, a young man living in San Francisco, has grown up living in our world but is heir to Corwin's great powers, especially to his creative inventive genius. A computer programmer and designer, Merle is content to live here and pursue his creative interest: designing the ultimate computer, one that will not work on Earth but which will work in another and different Shadow, where the laws of physics are somewhat different.

But someone is trying to kill Merle. Once a year there has been an attempt on his life, regular as clockwork, and he knows that the time is fast approaching again. A beautiful woman is dead. A student of the occult has developed real powers and evidently has outside help. Suddenly Merle's life is seriously threatened and he must fight his way back to Amber across the worlds of Shadow.
(continued on back flap)

(continued from front flap)
A complex plot has been set in motion and the mysterious royal family of Amber is once again in contention, subtle and bloody. Merlin must claim his heritage and his independence but he is enmeshed in the web of intrigue in Amber and elsewhere and his first priority must be to survive.

Zelazney's fans everywhere have been waiting for this major major writer to return to his most famous and popular world. The stories of Amber have created an enthusiastic nationwide following, even to the founding of an Amber Society and convention, that has met for more than a decade.  Now, after five years, at last they are rewarded by Trumps of Doom and the opening of the trilogy of Merlin's adventures which begin herein.

ROGER ZELAZNEY is one of the greatest names in contemporary fantasy and science fiction.  He is the author of the Hugo Award-winning classic, Lord of Light, the Nebula Award-winning novel, This Immortal, and numerous well-known novels, as well as several Hugo and Nebula Award-winning stories over the last 25 years.  For the Last decade, his major achievement has been the Amber Series, which has brought him to the pinnacle on international popularity.

He lives with his wife and children in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he is at work on the next Amber novel.