The Complete Amber Sourcebook [Paperback]

Theodore Krulik (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This spring, two useful reference/sourcebooks are appearing that should delight sf and fantasy aficionados. New York teacher Krulik has compiled a wonderfully detailed encyclopedic guide to Roger Zelazny's Amber universe, a ten-volume fantasy series. Prepared with the cooperation of the author, who died in 1995, this sourcebook covers characters, themes, settings, and situations in an A-to-Z format that will help readers new to the series navigate through any volume. Essential for libraries with the Amber books. St. James offers an A-to-Z compendium of major fantasy writers. Each entry consists of a brief biography, a complete list of published works, a signed critical essay, and comments from some living authors on their work. The work is comprehensive, with decent two- to three-paragraph treatments and useful title and nationality indexes. A second volume covering horror, ghost, and Gothic writers is due out soon. An essential reference purchase for libraries with fantasy collections.
Susan Hamburger, Pennsylvania State Univ. Lib., University Park
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Avid fans of Roger Zelazny's complex Amber world will find this the definitive sourcebook which covers everything Amber, from customs and laws to dangerous creatures and extensive plots of events. Use this as a resource to understanding the ongoing history and creation of Zelazny's fantasy world. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 494 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager; 1st edition (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380754096
• ISBN-13: 978-0380754090
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #986,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The best 'Amber' reference to date, but not without faults., October 9, 2003

By 

LVX "rosy-cross" (North America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Amber Sourcebook (Paperback)

Krulik's "Complete Amber Sourcebook" is a lot of fun. Arranged in encyclopedic format, it contains numerous and varied entries about most of the major people, places, things, and events described in Roger Zelazny's 'Amber' novels. Although there are some glaring omissions, Zelazny is said to have approved and personally edited this material before publication; Zelazny's involvement certainly gives the book legitimacy, although its degree of 'canonicity' is up to the individual reader.

The best parts of this book are arguably those dealing with Amber and its immediate surroundings ('Amber,' the city, and 'Amber,' the region). There are extensive notes on language and history. The book also provides colorful background on enigmatic subjects that Zelazny mentioned casually in his fiction, such as the Moon-Riders of Ghanesh, or the deaths of Osric and Finndo.

I think that a lot of the negative feedback I've seen about this book is because it challenges individual preconceptions about things dear to the hearts of Zelazny's loyal fans. Krulik also peppers his encyclopedic entries with original quotations or dialogues from Zelazny's characters, which occasionally get too cute to stomach. There also seems to be undue attention paid to extremely minute or obscure details (sheet music for Corwin's "Ballad of the Water Crossers?") while more obvious topics go unexplored. All in all, though, I thought that this was a great reference for the serious 'Amber' fan.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good sourcebook, June 15, 1999

By 

S. Rhea (Hendersonville, TN. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Amber Sourcebook (Paperback)

Okay, so the author probably took a few liberties here and there...this is still a darned good sourcebook for any Amberphile. The topics are pretty extensive and what liberties that are taken do not seem to contradict, but rather enhance the experience of reading the books. Now if only someone will come out with an Amber tribute series of shortstories...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good reference, but not the definitive work., July 6, 1998

By 

R. Lai (SF Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Amber Sourcebook (Paperback)

Theodore Krulik takes on the daunting task of compiling the people and places of Roger Zelazny's Amber into a reference work. While filled with detail, the work suffers from Krulik's apparent 'invention' of history and details -- there is no mention of specific discussions with Zelazny, so these speculations are far from being canon -- and a few curious omissions.

However, Krulik does shine in his notes on Thari, the tongue of Amber, also mentioning R. McAllister's The Secret Languages of Ireland (available through amazon.com!).