Customer Reviews

Threshold - Volume 1: The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny

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This is one I have been looking forward to for a long time. I picked up the first volume of The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny and was not disappointed. Roger Zelazny continues to astound me, even though I have already read most of his major works. The true gems in this collection is his poetry, which are otherwise nearly impossible to come by, but are pure pleasure. The book has comments after every story (most of the time made by Zelazny himself) about the piece, which sheds extra light on already amazing stories. This collection is a must for any Zelazny fan or a great place to start if you want to read of the the greatest Sci-fi / Fantasy writers of all time. For only $29 each, these hardcover books are a great read.

If you are going to produce a complete collection of the short stories of one of Science Fiction's greatest writers then this is the way to do it. This is the first of four volumes of a 6-book series, with the final two due to be published next year. They are printed on high quality acid-free paper with a cover by Michael Whelan with each volume progressively revealing more of one long painting packed with allusions to Zelazny's work. The spines also match up to appear as one single image which looks great on the bookshelf.

Apart from the stories, there are introductions by other writers, notes by Zelazny on each story (and poem, for they are there too), notes on the stories by the editors explaining various references, essays by Zelazny, plus a variety of other material `-curiosities'-, unclassifiable bit of Zelany writing- original publication details, biographical and autobiographical pieces. It would be churlish to criticise this book for putting too much in, though not everything will be of interest, though that point should be noticed. Although I like the poetry of Zelazny's prose, poetry itself is not something I have much interest in.

The stories.

They appear in order of publication which is not synonymous with the order in which they were written. I was amazed to learn that the story he wrote first was A Rose for Ecclesiastes but which he held back from submitting due to his being insecure about science already making the story implausible. As if that mattered! Some of the stories have never been collected before but that doesn't mean they are bad stories, rather they are minor ones in the Zelazny canon though this is not synonymous with `without interest'. A few stories in the later volumes are collaborations.

I tend to think that Zelazny works best at novelette or novella length and there are many examples of this including the original magazine versions of The Dream Master as He Who Shapes, and This Immortal as And Call Me Conrad, plus the stories which make up the My Name Is Legion sequence, and many more.
Some authors improve as they get older. Sadly, this wasn't the case with Roger Zelazny. He exploded into action in the 60's and, I'm afraid, never bettered, or even matched, his initial splendid outpourings. He maintained a high standard, of that there's no doubt, and it's arguable but plausible that his later short fiction did reach a higher level than that of his later novels which were, by the standard of his earlier works, a touch pedestrian. No matter, these stories were, are, and will remain a high watermark of Science Fiction.

This is simply an amazing work. NESFA have done the late author very proud indeed and provided a service to his many fans. The editors -David G. Grubbs, Christopher S. Kovacs, and Anne Crimmins- surely deserve some kind of recognition at the 2010 Worldcon for this labour of love.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

If you are already a fan of Roger Zelazny, you will want these books for your collection. They are beautiful and all-inclusive. If you don't know Zelazny, there's plenty here to sink your teeth into.

My favorite things about these books, at least in terms of things I hadn't seen before, are the new introductions by people who knew Roger Zelazny. We gain some wonderful insights into the man and the writer through the eyes of his friends and associates. Highly recommended.

These new volumes of Roger Zelazny's prose/poetry (it doesn't really make much sense to seperate the two when considering Zelazny)are beautiful editions of great value to all who value his writing. Zelazny's work will stand the test of time and that's the only real definition I know for classic. His language shines with a more-often-than-not dark light that illuminates more in a few phrases than a merely good writer can take pages, chapters or entire books to convey. He wrote like a great jazz player who makes improbable, improvisational leaps while knowing that those who are really in tune with what he's doing will jump right along with him to always surprising conclusions... conclusions that are never so much endings as multiple forks in the road ahead. Roger Zelazny never typed his words and images, he played them beautifully.

This is a fantastic look into his work. This book is the first of 6. At $30 each, it may seem steep, but they're worth every penny. I've got the first 4 now & am reading the second. It's hard to put down.

There are excellent notes about allusions & metaphors in the stories as well as personal notes from Zelazny & other authors at the end of each story. When & where the story was published is also included. The order the stories are presented in is quite well done, too. It's not chronological by writing or publishing. They flow well.

Many of the stories are unpublished or not readily available any more. As a whole, the work promises to include every short that he ever wrote. These are many of his early ones. A couple are partials, but most are complete & as Zelazny preferred them. There is discussion about Zelazny's versus editorial preferences.

There is also a lot of his poetry, much of it previously unpublished. Several poems were published incorrectly, even in the hard to get, "PussyWillow" or "Views of Mt. Fuji". You'll find the corrected versions in this set.

If you're a Zelazny fan, I think this is a must read. I have almost every book he's ever written or edited & there is a lot of material here I've never seen.

"Threshold" is the first volume in the six-volume set of "The Collected Stories of Roger Zanny" which pulls together all of Zelazny's short works together with commentaries from friends and colleagues and biographical material tracing Zelazny's life and career.

Roger Zelazny was unquestionably one of the finest American science fiction writers of the last half of the 20th century. Delete the words "science fiction" and the statement is still true. Although widely praised are such such novels as "Lord of Light", many readers felt that his genius shone brightest in short stories, novellas, and novelettes. All of those published (and some unpublished) stories -- every one of them -- the well-known and the obscure -- are contained in this magnificent collection, with comments (often from the author) placing each work in context. The stories are arranged in approximate chronological order, with stories from the early Sixties in the first volume, "Threshold". Even at that early stage, Zelazny demonstrated an amazing mastery of his craft, his tales illuminated by language of great poetry.

While the contents themselves would be more than enough to make this collection a "must have", the physical quality of the books is an additional inducement. Each volume contains over 500 pages of superbly legible text printed on hiqh quality acid-free paper. The six volumes are linked together into a single continuity by their dust jackets which together form a single image capturing many of the themes pouring out of Zelazny's words. The set makes an extraordinary handsome addition for any bookshelf.

Any definitive science fiction library needs the 4-volume series of collected stories by Roger Zelazny. These include every short story and poem written by Zelazny, including all of his award-winning nominations and stories. Volume 1, THRESHOLD covers early years through the mid-1960s with such works as 'The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth'. Volume 2, POWER & LIGHT covers the mid-1960s, his most fruitful period, and includes 'The Moment of the Storm' and his novel 'And Call Me Conrad'. Volume 3 runs from the late 1960s to the early 70s with stories such as 'Damnation Alley' and 'This Mortal Mountain'. Volume 4, LAST EXIT TO BABYLON covers the late 1970s and early 80s with works such as 'Unicorn Variations' and 'Home is the Hangman'. Edited by David C. Grubbs, Christopher Kovacs, and Ann Crimmins, these are a 'must' for any serious, definitive science fiction library charting the course of the early master authors.

This review applies to the first 3 volumes of the set (haven't read the others yet)

Roger Zelazny deserves every bit of his status as a legendary SF&F author. At his best (which he often was - see Lord of Light), his prose verged on poetry without ever losing its readability. His short fiction (gathered in several partial collections over the years) was as good, if not better. So, running across a complete collection of his short works is as exciting to an SF fan as finding that a (more) affordable version of the [Jack] Vance Integral Edition is being published. Zelazny and Vance were not only among the top SF writers, but were two of the absolute best for those who love good writing for its own sake.

Which is why the editorial policy behind this collection (published by NESFA) is so puzzling. Curious decisions include:
- stories are not in chronological order, nor in series groups, nor in topical order. Yes, there's a general chronological sequence here, but stories are often presented out of order, for no evident reason.
- Zelazny aspired to be a poet, and there's a lot of his poetry here. Ironically, for a writer whose prose was so beautifully poetic, his actual poetry is pretty poor. The poems are scattered throughout the volumes of the collection - often topically linked with the following story. It's a little hard to argue with the editors on this - several hundred pages of poetry in one place would have seriously weakened one of the volumes in the set. And if the poetry had just been left out entirely, you'd wonder about it, and how good it must have been.
- Several excerpts from novels. Frankly, I just resent this. I HAVE the novels - they're mostly available for purchase. I bought this set for the short stories.
- One little quibble. One the inside back jacket, Michael Whelan gets as much space as Zelazny himself. Yes, he's a famous (if overrated) artist, but hey, he just did the one cover, not the six volumes of content.

Strange sequencing, etc. aside, the collection is well done. There is excellent information on publication dates and how the stories fit the various series. There are many previously unpublished (or underpublished) pieces. There are carefully collated comments from Zelazny about each story, and there are (over-) copious interpretive notes about the allusions in each story. Also, there's a nicely written biographical piece included in each volume. While they're all respectful of Zelazny's talent, they're not sycophantic in tone. There are also introductions by guest notables for each volume - some good, some that lead you to question why the editors selected people who clearly did not know Zelazny well.

Finally - the stories themselves. If you're a Zelazny fan, this collection is well worth your time. Otherwise, it's not your best introduction. Some of the underpublished (e.g. in a fanzine) stuff just isn't that good. And the strange sequencing ends up undercutting the effect of the really great stories that are also here. I'm a long time, committed Zelazny enthusiast, and by Volume 3 of the collection, I'm confident that this is NOT the collection I'd give my spouse in order to share my burning enthusiasm for Zelazny's work. If you're already a fan, though, this will satisfy your completist desires, and give you access to a lot of new work, uneven though it may be.

I have just acquired the 6-volume set of the Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny (Threshold, Power and Light, This Mortal Mountain, Last Exit to Babylon, Nine Black Doves, The Road To Amber) from Amazon. They contain many stories I have previously read elsewhere. Re-reading them is like greeting old friends again. The bonuses are the comments by Zelazny, the clarifications of some (most) of the allusions made in the story, and the comments by the editors on other aspects of the stories. I hereby thoroughly recommend these to Zelazny fans as well worth the effort, even if they duplicate material you've already read, and to SF fans in general for some really outstanding material!

Good collection of his early work my favorite early story being 9 Starships Waiting. But it is his early work and as such not as polished as his later work.