Nine Princes in Amber

The Chronicles of Amber, Book 1

By: Roger Zelazny

Narrated by: Alessandro Juliani

Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Nine Princes in Amber is the first of the 10 books that are The Chronicles of Amber; an epic fantasy series written by six-time Hugo Award winning and three-time Nebula Award winning author, Roger Zelazny.

The ten books that make up the series are told in two story arcs: The Corwin Cycle and the Merlin Cycle.

The Audible audio rendition of this classic sci-fi/fantasy series is kicked off by 2012 Audie Award nominee, Alessandro Juliani, who reads the first five books that make up the Corwin Cycle and whose narration vividly brings the world of Amber to life.

Amber is the one real world, of which all others including our own Earth are but Shadows. 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 Pattern deep in Castle Amber which defines the very structure of Reality, Corwin must contend with the powers of his eight immortal brothers, all Princes of Amber. His savage path is blocked and guarded by eerie structures beyond imagining impossible realities forged by demonic assassins and staggering Forces that challenge the might of Corwin's superhuman fury.

©1970 Roger Zelazny (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Good series

Great story that is very well narrated. The only thing I don't like about this series so far is that it is made up of many short books (read: more credits). I have listened to the first book multiple times and will revisit the second and third before I go on to the fourth. Even though they are short, they are pretty detailed. I realized I missed a couple things on the first listen.

Loved it as a kid, love it still

I loved this series as a teenager and hearing it again doesn’t fail! Amazing story and great storytelling

Excellent job

The narrator does fantastic voice work, really bringing life to the characters.

I'm a long time fan of the Amber series, so I'm obviously biased here, but it's a top-notch story for sure.

enjoyable nostalgia trip, terrible reader

read these 35 years ago. fun and imaginative story, but audible did a truly terrible job of choosing a reader. it's amateur hour. this guy makes all of the most obvious mistakes. he abused too much of his own lame attempts at creating character by trying to act the story through different voices for each character. the gruff voice for one character is laughable and the kind of thing you would expect from a 10 year old playing with action figures. she also does terrible, pointless faux "Scottish" (?) accents and faux "French" (?) accents and ridiculous female accents. I guess I have heard worse but not by much. whoever did the casting of the reader for this book ought to be fired. he literally sounds like an inexperienced 19 year old.

The Best

These books will ruin all other fantasy short of LotR’s. A masterclass in storytelling. Amazing!

All Roads Lead to Amber

"If danger was the price of memory and risk the cost of opportunity, then so be it. I'd stay."
- Roger Zelazny, Nine Princes in Amber

Let me throw my biases out in front. I am not a fan of fantasy. I have a sister-in-law who reads a lot of fantasy and has shelves and shelves of elves and elves and I mock her almost to tears about it. I view a lot of the genre filled with derivative crap. But, I have found a couple gems. I loved Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, White's The Once and Future King, and Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun. Anyway, I was asking a bunch of friends for their recommendations for BIG BOOKS and one of my friends recommended The Great Book of Amber. My first impulse was to say no, but he asked why not? I respect this friend and figured I'd at least give the Corwin books (the first five books of the Amber Chronicles) a shot this year.

So, Nine Princes. It was interesting. Not great, but Zelazny has an almost Hemingway/hard-boiled way with dialogue and prose. The structure of the book (amnesia of the main protagonist) was a novel way to introduce the series and allowed the world/universe to unfold gradually. These books are obviously creative genre pulp, and probably very good fantasy. I'm not sure yet, however, if I would say they are GREAT literature. But so far, I'm intrigued enough to read the next several. If for no other reason than it does what trash/pulp novels are supposed to do. Entertain, without too deep or hard a commitment. Under that consideration, it was a success.

Narration is well done

This is my among my top favorite science fiction series. This is Roger Zelazny's best work and he is a well known inspiration amount other top selling authors. I have heard Zelazny's reading of this book and bought this version primarily to see how Alessandro Juliani would pull it off. I still think Zelazny made a better Corwin, but Juliani's version of Random was more mousy and fitting. There was also a better distinction and animation of the other characters as well.
Only for Zelazny would I buy a book twice. So, if you haven't read/listened to this yet you are missing out.

Not disappointed!

I read this series when it was first published and have re-read it at least twice since. Lately I have little time to actually sit down with a book so have become an audio book adict. For nearly the full six years I've been an Audible member I've wished they had this series so I could enjoy it again. As soon as I saw the notice that it was finally available I downloaded and listened to this first in the series. Alessandro did a fantastic job bringing the world and characters to life. If, like me, you're a fan and have been waiting for the Audible version you will not be disappointed. If you've never read them, don't wait any longer. As for me... I'm off to listen to the next book in the series.

A great performance for a fantastic series.

I've been a fan of Roger Zelazny's Amber series since I discovered it decades ago, and was delighted to discover this new, unabridged adaptation of his masterwork. Alessandro Juliani does a great job as narrator, capturing Corwin's voice and personality well, and while some of his vocal choices for the rest of the family take a moment's getting used to, he manages to imbue each character with a distinctive voice and manner that draws you into the tale. Listening to the opening volume once more, I remember again why I was so drawn to this world, and can't wait to work my way through all ten books in the series. This one's definitely a must-have if you're an Amber fan, and if you're unfamiliar with the tales of the immortal city at the heart of all things, you're in for a treat.

Think Gaiman.

If you could sum up Nine Princes in Amber in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining Insane Ride

What was one of the most memorable moments of Nine Princes in Amber?

The moment when things turn fantastical and Corwin hurls an armchair across a room.

Which character – as performed by Alessandro Juliani – was your favorite?

Random. The voice, combined with the author's writings, combines to make a great character, if a little weasly.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Gold may glitter, but nothing shines like Amber.

Any additional comments?

This is a great example of surreal fantasy.