| Nine Princes in Amber | |
| Author: | Roger Zelazny |
| Cover Artist: | Amelia S. Edwards |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Series: | The Chronicles of Amber |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Doubleday |
| Release Date: | June 1970 |
| Media Type: | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages: | 175 |
| Isbn: | 978-0-380-01430-9 |
| Oclc: | 88150 |
| Followed By: | The Guns of Avalon |
Nine Princes in Amber is a fantasy novel by American writer Roger Zelazny, the first in the Chronicles of Amber series. It was first published in 1970, and later spawned a computer game of the same name. The first (Doubleday hardcover) edition of the novel is unusually rare; the publisher pulped a significant part of the original print run in error when the order went out to destroy remaining copies of Zelazny's older book Creatures of Light and Darkness.[1]
In the story, Carl Corey wakes up in a secluded New York hospital with amnesia. He escapes and investigates, discovering the truth, piece by piece: he is really Prince Corwin, of Amber, the one true world of which the Earth is just a shadow. He is one of nine men who might rule Amber, if he can fight his way past the armies of his older brother Eric.
Corwin wakes up from a coma in a hospital in New York with amnesia. He soon discovers that he is part of a superhuman royal family who can wander among infinite parallel worlds (called "shadows"), and who rule over the one true world, Amber. He meets members of this newly rediscovered family, and then later is shown and walks in the Pattern, a labyrinth inscribed in the dungeons of Castle Amber which gives the multiverse its order. Walking in the Pattern of Rebma (a city in Shadows that mirrors the true city of Amber, down to the smallest detail, including the pattern) restores Corwin's memory and his abilities to travel through Shadows. In alliance with his brother Bleys, he attempts to conquer Amber, which is ruled by his elder brother Eric. Eric took power after the disappearance of their father, Oberon. Their attempt fails. Bleys falls from the side of the Kolvir mountain and Corwin is captured, blinded and imprisoned. Thanks to his genetic regenerative ability, his eyes regrow, and he regains his vision. Dworkin Barimen, the mad sorcerer who created the pattern, enters Corwin's prison through the walls of Corwin's prison cell, and eventually draws on the wall the door through which Corwin escapes.
See main article: article and List of characters in the Chronicles of Amber. The Machiavellian royal family of Amber is headed by Oberon, the former king, now absent. His five daughters are Florimel, Deirdre, Fiona, Llewella, and Coral (who doesn't come into play until book 9) but the major players of the novel are the nine princes of the title:
A three-part comic adaptation was done by Terry Bisson in 1996.[2] A film adaptation was first planned in 1998, with Mark Canton and Akiva Goldsman producing and Ed Neumeier adapting.[3] In 2016, the creators of the Walking Dead TV series announced that they were producing a TV adaptation of The Chronicles of Amber,[4] and in 2023 it was announced that Stephen Colbert will be an executive producer, via his Spartina Productions company.[5]