The surface of the Amber novels suggests just another sword-andsorcery epic — battles, intrigues, and magic set in some fantastic landscape — an unoriginal work redeemed, to some extent, by Zelazny's wit and gift for characterization. A closer reading, however, reveals a more thoughtful work in which spectacle is actually subordinated to concept and character development.

Amber is, for its inhabitants, the only real world — the source of an infinite number of "Shadows," worlds (including the earth) which reflect some aspect of Amber and have their own histories and mythologies. The rulers of Amber can manipulate these "Shadows," traveling from one to another and even creating new ones, but ultimately all these "Shadows" depend on Amber for their very being.

Or so it seems. The crux of the five novels is the growing recognition on the part of the princes and princesses of Amber that...