Nagan-4
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Don't touch Zelazny! If you liked Amber completely, but not his other works, it only means one thing – you have terrible taste. The later books in the Amber series were written only to make money; Roger himself didn't want to write anything anymore, and it's all made up. You definitely haven't read "Night in a Lonely October," have you? Read it, and then you can discuss how terrible a writer he is and what his style is like.
2 eXeCuToR.
Hey, good job! You wrote it clearly and concisely. Indeed, with the exception of the first part, which brought fame to the "Chronicles of Amber," the other parts of the chronicles, although interesting, are closer to pop literature. In my opinion, Zelazny's best works are...
1. "Lord of Light." An incredible book with many vivid characters exquisitely destroying each other. The highest level of description of duels, even not so much combat as verbal ones. And an unexpected story about the world.
2. "Jack of Shadows." From rags to riches, again, the writing style is excellent.
3. "The Island of the Dead." A trap for an oligarch. A tough mental fight. A lot of strong personalities in a small space; you understand it's a fairy tale, but you can't tear yourself away from the book until the end.
4. "This Immortal." I couldn't believe it was Zelazny. Beautifully written.
5. "Night in a Lonely October." As far as I remember, Zelazny wrote this at the end of his career. It's a little sad, but very interesting. It might be his best book; he wrote it with so much soul.
6. "To Die in Italbar," "Creatures of Light and Darkness," "Dilvish the Damned" – I just like these books; it's a matter of personal preference.
I read the Chronicles of Amber in one go – I don't remember how many books there were – 5 or 4? Then I started looking for other Zelazny books (you know, when you read something, you like it, and you want to read more by that author). But nothing else I read by him was good. It felt like different people wrote them. Or am I missing something?
I tried reading Zelazny – it turned out to be complete nonsense; I don't remember what. It's a parody of fantasy, and not a funny one. It seems like that's his style...
Unfortunately. First, Zelazny is very dependent on the translator; it's not like translating 225 Conan books in three days; the translator's intellectual level must be high. I've come across terrible translations several times that are impossible to read.
Second, you need to read carefully. In the first 2-3 pages of Zelazny's books, you might want to just skim to the end to see how it all ends. And then make conclusions about the book's mediocrity. You need to read carefully to appreciate it.
Third, yes, not all books are masterpieces; there are more mediocre ones, starting with "Lord Demon" and below.
But "Chronicles of Amber" – although the most famous – are not the best.
But still, in my opinion, he is the best fantasy author. You can read him here.
http://bookz.ru/authors/jelazni-rodjer.html
P.S. I didn't vote; on one side, there's Zelazny and Tolkien (fantasy), and on the other, Asimov and Saberhagen (science fiction). In the middle, there's Cook and Farmer. Everything is good.