Roger Zelazny discussion

Since we're starting this group partway through August, I don't suppose we can do one this month. What would you like to read together in September?

I would love to start with "This Immortal", which I believe I added to my ever-growing TBR after seeing it recommended in a post-apocalypse/End of the world thread somewhere.

Plus, it just looks really interesting. :)

I would like to throw Nine Princes in Amber out there as well. It's the first Amber, and one that i actually own already.

I have The First Chronicles of Amber which includes
Nine Princes in Amber and four other Amber novels. I've been wanting to read it for a while, but forgot it was on my shelves. Too many books, too little time. I'm game for Nine Princes because I'll wind up finishing the other four as well.

That would work for me... I already own that one too. :)

A series read & a monthly read would probably be too much, or would it? How about making 2010 the year of Amber - a different book each month with the stories &/or some other Amber books thrown in to round it out?

Just ideas. I don't know that I'd want to spend a year reading the Amber books. I have trouble putting them down.

I will probably end up reading them all the way through if I start, which is why I've been putting it off. It's so LONG!

I hope there are some more nominations. Right now we have:
This Immortal
Nine Princes in Amber

Either is fine with me, but it just doesn't seem right to only have 2 when the man wrote a couple of dozen novels besides the Amber series plus a bunch of short story books. I won't mention his poetry because I don't think either of those are readily available.

I'm nominating Creatures of Light and Darkness. I've been wanting to read this one so I can see where it falls in the Zelazny hierarchy of greatness. Plus I've already read This Immortal and Nine Princes in Amber.

You're eventually going to work through the whole list - I have no preference regarding the order you pick - I've read them all in their glory, and may or may not have the added time to plunge into a reread, though I will try.

"Creatures of Light & Darkness" is a wild ride. It has a famous prayer in it - The Agnostic's Prayer - said over a dead body.

"Insofar as I may be heard by anything, which may or may not care what I say, I ask, if it matters, that you be forgiven for anything you may have done or failed to do which requires forgiveness. Conversely, if not forgiveness but something else may be required to insure any possible benefit for which you may be eligible after the destruction of your body, I ask that this, whatever it may be, be granted or withheld, as the case may be, in such a manner as to insure your receiving said benefit. I ask this in my capacity as your elected intermediary between yourself and that which may not be yourself, but which may have an interest in the matter of your receiving as much as it is possible for you to receive of this thing, and which may in some way be influenced by this ceremony. Amen."

I voted for Nine Princes in Amber.

I want to see what his Amber books are all about. I avoided all the talk,synopsis about the story,characters.

I'm not good on set schedules, but I can commit to Nine Princes for September.

Vote early & often folks! It looks close. 3 for "This Immortal", 6 for "Nine Princes" & 5 for "Creatures".

When is the poll ending?

Welcome, Shorty. 19Aug, Wed, is the day I set for the poll to end.

I wouldn't mind Nine Princes winning... I own that one already, and considering that I just bought 7 new books yesterday, with plans for another 7 today... well, I think that maybe reading something I don't have to buy would be a good idea. :)

I actually voted for 'Creatures' but that was before I knew that Nine Princes could be read alone as a great story without having to read the entire saga right away.... Though, I don't know if I will be able to help myself after I read Nine Princes :)

I'm for This Immortal, but I've been trying to find some people to read it with for some time. I think will also be interesting to see what happens if we do read it. Jim (Dad) gave me a copy to read and I don't know if he has a second one.

I have another copy of "This Immortal" on its way. I have to buy a new one every decade or so anyway as they wear out or your brother swipes it, so no big deal.

Jim, what edition of This Immortal are you getting? Looking online, it appears that earlier versions were abridged. Looks like I'll have to find it used regardless of what version I find....

Hi Erin, pleased to meet you here!

I'm getting ISBN-10: 0441806961 through Paperback Swap now, Chris.

I think Erin's edition is from the 70's, which is typically what I get. I've never seen this cover before. I hadn't realized any were abridged & this doesn't say it is on Amazon or anywhere.

I'm kind of looking forward to reading "My Name is Conrad", the original novella or novellette or whatever it was some day.

My youngest son just called & he should join up shortly. He has an account here, but hasn't had a computer for a while.

I thought I had a second copy, but I wound up giving it to the oldest for Xmas. He liked it, too. Now if I could just talk my wife into reading it...

Jim, here is the bit I saw on Wikipedia that made me ask the question:

"Publication history
Most, but not all of the cuts made for the serialized version were restored for the first paperback publication by Ace Books and the title was changed by the publisher to This Immortal. Zelazny stated in interviews that he preferred the original eponymous title. The abridged version was novel length at over 47,000 words; the paperback version was over 58,000 words after the cuts were restored. However, it was not until a book club version was published in the 1980s that Zelazny realized that some cuts had not been restored to the book version; thus, earlier publications of This Immortal were still not complete. The abridged magazine version also contains 10 paragraphs of text not in the book version, starting from "And the long-dormant Radpol was stirring again, but I did not know that until several days later" and ending with "The days of Karaghiosis had passed." Also, the "Synopsis of Part One" that appeared in the November 1965 issue of F&SF (immediately prior to Part Two) is written in the first person and contains material about Conrad's character and backstory that is not in the main text of ...And Call Me Conrad nor the 1980s restored version of This Immortal."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...And_C...

Cool. I'll have to see what else I can find around. Thanks for letting us know, Chris. Boy, they have everything on Wikipedia, don't they?

I've requested This Immortal and Lord of Light from PBS... I'm excited!

PBS? isn't that the network that carries Sesame Street?

Well, yes, technically. But in this case I meant Paperbackswap.com.

I love PaperBackSwap (PBS) & BookMooch (BM). It costs about $3 per book & I get some that aren't readily available elsewhere or else are really expensive. I recently got "Travels with Kathleen", a hardback nonfiction book by Donald Hamilton (best known for his Matt Helm series) for 1 credit. There was one copy on Amazon used for $80. Can't beat that.

They are great, aren't they Jim? :)

Hi Jackie!

Chris I thought of the station as well. Though I did join the site recently, but I'm more partial to bookmooch. They seem a bit friendlier. Dad got me on them cause I used up like 20 of his points the other night.

BookMooch doesn't work as well for me... I can never find what I want on there. :(

Wait are you saying the old 60s paperback This Immortal i have isnt as Zelazny wanted the book ?

How about the novella ? Its in the collected volumes im interested in.

Sounds like there are several versions to read to get the whole story of "This Immortal". The edition that I have always read has a cover not shown here on GR. It's here on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/This-Immortal-R...

Actually, that's wrong. I've read another edition or two over the years, but I don't see that cover either. This is tough.

Thats my version too. I picked the famous cover version randomly despite its not the version i have.

From what I gathered by that Wiki article is that if you have one from the 80's or newer, it has the full novel. The Vol. 2 of the collection series has the original novella, with the additions stuck in between that aren't in any version of the novel.....

But I could be wrong too. It's confusing...

I seem to recall reading the 10 paragraphs about his past, but am not positive. If anyone manages to track them down with an edition & page number, I'd sure appreciate it. Since it is one of my all time favorite books, I will purchase another copy just to have the entire story.

I set the poll to expire tomorrow. Having never done one before, I'm not sure if that means today or tomorrow is the last day. Anyway, if you haven't voted, please do.

Right now "Nine Princes in Amber" is the clear leader with 10 votes. There are 5 each for "This Immortal" & "Creatures of Light & Darkness".

If you have a clear winner then maybe just end it at midnight or whatever time is good for you. But if people start voting and it gets close, then maybe extend it to midnight tomorrow. Just an idea.

I'll let it run out according to its own rules. I'm curious as to when an 'expire on 19Aug09' actually expires, Erich.

I guess we'll see if the poll is still up tomorrow morning. Does it close at midnight tonight or tomorrow? Does it work? (Yeah, I have a lot of confidence in software...) Do you know? I'm new at this here.

Hmmm. I'm with you Jim, I am not sure when it actually expires and have no idea if it will even work. I guess we will just have to see; unless someone else has done something like this before and can say.

Well im happy the book i voted for is winning :)

Will the September read start 1 of this coming month ?

I guess that 1Sep09 is a good day to start the September read. There's a topic for it already & anyone is welcome to make more as needed, so go ahead whenever, I guess.

Let's just make sure spoilers are marked. Spoiler topic?

I'm glad too, it's been sitting on my shelf for a year, maybe two, and I had forgotten about it. I'm really looking forward to it.

Oh, you're going to kick yourself that you didn't read it sooner, Jackie!

;-)

Jim wrote: "Oh, you're going to kick yourself that you didn't read it sooner, Jackie!

;-)"

Amber definitely had that effect on me. The first five books, anyway.

I have the first five. I'm SO looking forward to it.

Well, it's official, Nine Princes in Amber is the September group read.

The poll did end on midnight of the 19th, not the 18th, so the software does work & ends them at the end of the day picked. (This is for future reference since the next one is a whole month away, by which time this info will have slipped through the cracks in my memory...)

Jim, please remind me when the time comes, I never know what day it is. Don't laugh, it's true.

I'll try to remember to send out a message to all group members on 1Sep09. Maybe the evening before since that will be the first day back after Labor Day.

In the meantime, the other moderators & I are discussing how to set up for the group read. If anyone has any ideas, we'd welcome them.

Should we title the folder 'GR - 2009-09 - Amber 1 - Nine Princes in Amber' or something like that so it sorts well in a year?

What topics should we start out with?
- 'I have read' - I never post in these & don't like them, but if you think it will help, we can do it.
- Themes
- Characters
- Corwin
- Shadows
Which should have spoiler topics?
Should spoilers be "This book Spoilers" & "Series Spoilers" or just mark each message as such?

I'm trying to think ahead for when we've read several books.
What do we do with the book of the month discussion topics?
Where would they be most useful for folks new & old to find, but not clutter up the joint?
We can't make subfolders, like have the Amber folder with a subfolder of 'Nine Princes' with subfolders under that for various topics, so just how do we deal with it?

Lots of questions, I know. Please let me know if you have any opinions on any. You can email me, if you'd prefer.