Best Selling Books by Roger Zelazny

Here are strange, beautiful stories covering the full spectrum of the remarkable talents of the late Roger Zelazny, whose vivid imagination and fine prose made him one of the most highly acclaimed writers in his field.

“Vivid and elliptical... If you''ve ever asked yourself what would have happened if Philip Marlowe had been Odysseus... here is a clue to the answer.” —New Worlds THE HUGO AWARD-WINNING FIRST NOVEL EVER WRITTEN BY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE CHRONICLES OF AMBER! Conrad Nomikos has a long, rich personal history that he''d rather not talk about. And, as Arts Commissioner, he''s been given a job he''d rather not do. Escorting an alien grandee on a guided tour of the shattered remains of Earth is not something he relishes-especially when it is apparent that this places him at the center of high-level intrigue that has some bearing on the future of Earth itself! "Roger Zelazny [was] the compleat New Wave author, so daring he could pen nothing without perturbing some creaky icon... so strong a writer, so moving in the sweep of his plots and imagery."—David Brin

Awakening in an Earth hospital unable to remember who he is or where he came from, Corwin is amazed to learn that he is one of the sons of Oberon, King of Amber, and is the rightful successor to the crown in a parallel world. The details of the memory-challenged narrator''s life sprinkle slowly into view as Corwin bluffs his way back into his embattled, fiercely competitive family and Amber. Raging battles and a chess game of deceit and conquest within the clan, all accompanied by paranormal powers and fierce pride, flesh out the story.

Earth is long since dead. On a colony planet, a band of men has gained control of technology, made themselves immortal, and now rules their world as the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Only one dares oppose them: he who was once Siddhartha and is now Mahasamatman. Binder of Demons. Lord of Light.

The Road can go Anywhere. The Road can go Anywhen. Almost. Red Dorakeen has been on the Road for a very long time. For all of time, in fact. It stretches infinitely into the future and past, with exits that take him wherever, or whenever, he wants to go. But he can''t find the place he wants to be. He''s not the only one who can travel the Road, and as people join and leave, they can alter the past, or the future, to suit their whims. Exits close off, become overgrown, and working out what to change back to return to old timelines could take, well . . . forever. Fortunately, Red has all the time he could ever need. Roadmarks is a fantastically mind-bending novel from one of SFF''s most influential authors. It weaves together linear and non-linear narratives in a compelling tale full of mystery and magic.

After the fall of the Table Round, Launcelot DuLac fled England a broken man awaiting death. But death never came for him; instead, cursed, he has continued his search for the Holy Grail down through the ages, seeking a redemption that he fears he will never find. A chance meeting with Morgan Le Fay makes him question his curse and his destiny, for Merlin is about to awake and Launcelot will be called on one last time to defend the ideals of King Arthur and the Table Round, because he is the last defender of Camelot. By the author of the Chronicles of Amber! Roger Zelazny was a science fiction and fantasy writer, a six time Hugo Award winner, and a three time Nebula Award Winner. He published more than forty novels in his lifetime. His first novel This Immortal, serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction under the title ...And Call Me Conrad, won the Hugo Award for best novel. Lord of Light, his third novel, also won the Hugo award and was nominated for the Nebula award. He died at age 58 from colon cancer. Zelazny was posthumously inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010.

Centuries in the future, Francis Sandow is the only man alive who was born as long ago as the 20th century. His body is kept young and in perfect health by advanced scientific methods; he has amassed such a fortune that he can own entire planets; and he has become a god. No, not a god of Earth, but one of the panetheon of the alien Pei''ans: he is Shimbo of Darktree, Shrugger of Thunders. Yet he doesn''t believe that his personality has merged with the ancient consciousness of Shimbo, that he really can call down the skies upon his enemies. The time comes, however, when Francis Sandow must use these powers against the most dangerous antagonist in the universe: another Pei''an god -- Shimbo''s own enemy, Belion. And Belion has no doubt whatever of his own powers.... Roger Zelazny was a three-time Nebula Award and six-time Hugo Award-winning author of science fiction and fantasy classics, including the short stories "24 Views of Mount Fuji, by Hokusai," "Permafrost," and "Home is the Hangman." Zelazny was the bestselling author of the ten-volume Chronicles of Amber series of fantasy novels, as well as the novels Lord of Light, and Psychoshop (written with Alfred Bester). Zelazny''s novel Damnation Alley served as the basis for the 1972 cult film of the same name, starring Jan Michael Vincent and George Peppard. Roger Zelazny was a three-time Nebula Award and six-time Hugo Award-winning author of science fiction and fantasy classics, including the short stories "24 Views of Mount Fuji, by Hokusai," "Permafrost," and "Home is the Hangman." Zelazny was the bestselling author of the ten-volume Chronicles of Amber series of fantasy novels, as well as the novels Lord of Light, and Psychoshop (written with Alfred Bester). Zelazny''s novel Damnation Alley served as the basis for the 1972 cult film of the same name, starring Jan Michael Vincent and George Peppard.

Hell Tanner isn''t the sort of guy you''d mistake for a hero: he''s a fast-driving car thief, a smuggler, and a stone-cold killer. Facing life in prison for his various crimes, he''s given a choice: Rot away his remaining years in a tiny jail cell, or drive cross-country and deliver a case of antiserum to the plague-ridden people of Boston, Massachusetts. The chance of a full pardon does wonders for getting his attention. And don''t mistake this mission of mercy for any kind of normal road trip-not when there are radioactive storms, hordes of carnivorous beasts, and giant, mutated scorpions to be found along every deadly mile between Los Angeles and the East Coast. But then, this is no normal part of America, you see. This is Damnation Alley....

Isle of the Dead: Centuries in the future, Francis Sandow is the only man alive who was born as long ago as the 20th century. His body is kept young and in perfect health by advanced scientific methods; he has amassed such a fortune that he can own entire planets; and he has become a god. No, not a god of Earth, but one of the panetheon of the alien Pei''ans: he is Shimbo of Darktree, Shrugger of Thunders. Yet he doesn''t believe that his personality has merged with the ancient consciousness of Shimbo, that he really can call down the skies upon his enemies. The time comes, however, when Francis Sandow must use these powers against the most dangerous antagonist in the universe: another Pei''an god -- Shimbo''s own enemy, Belion. And Belion has no doubt whatever of his own powers.... Eye of Cat: A retired hunter of alien zoo specimens, William Blackhorse Singer, the last Najavo on a future Earth, is called upon by the World Government to aid in protecting an alien diplomat from a powerful and hostile member of his own species. Singer, in turn, seeks the aid of a shape-shifting alien known as "Cat" in carrying out the mission. Cat accepts, with one condition: when the mission is over, he wants a return bout with the man who captured him -- a chase with Singer as the hunted instead of the hunter....

This two-in-one edition includes "Changeling" and "Madwand" by award-winning author Zelazny.

ufeff“A dark acid curio, brisk, fast, memorable, a rare improvisational duet from two of our best.”—Greg Bear “Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction.” —Harry Harrison, author of Adventures of the Stanless Steel Rat “Let there be light, and let there always be Roger Zelazny.”—Philip José Farmer, author of To Your Scattered Bodies Go From Publishers Weekly: This odd novel, left incomplete when Bester died in 1987, was finished by Zelazny, who himself died in 1995. In his introduction, Bear refers to Bester (The Deceivers) and Zelazny (Donnerjack) as masters of SF jazz, geniuses of improvisation, and the book has that feel to it. The plot is full of bizarre twists and turns. Neat ideas surface and disappear in an eyeblink and characters transform radically from one page to the next. Alf Noir, an investigative reporter, is sent to Rome to look into the mysterious Black Place of the Soul-Changer and its enigmatic proprietor, Adam Maser. Alf discovers that Maser is a Psychbroker, a sort of pawnbroker of the spirit, dealing in emotions, talents and psychological traits. Want more courage, the ability to see into the infrared, an understanding of ancient Persian? Maser will trade it to you for your mind-reading ability, or a rare coin, or perhaps for the secret of the collective unconscious. Alf discovers that Maser isn''t human, but a highly evolved cat from the far future. Nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted, not even Maser''s sexy assistant, an evolved snake with whom Alf has an affair. There''s much fun to be had here, but the book doesn''t represent either writer in top form. Bester''s style in the first part of the novel seems dated, and things don''t gel until Zelazny takes over halfway through the book. Vintage has brought Bester''s finest work back into print, and for this it deserves praise, but this novel is most likely to appeal to Zelazny''s much larger readership.

The disappearance of a star-stone model, a reproduction of an alien artifact, leads to rivalry between interstellar communities.

In ancient times he was a powerful wizard known as the Phoenix. But much like oil and coal Mana, the fuel for magic, was a finite resource. Through the ages wizards have fought duels and nations have fallen protecting the limited supply of Mana. Only a handful of wizards have survived into modern days. These wizards keep their identities secret and hide from one another to keep the small amounts of Mana that they posses secret. But another wizard has been trying to kill Phoenix. He has to find out who it is and stop them before his entire supply of Mana is exhausted. Roger Zelazny was a science fiction and fantasy writer, a six-time Hugo Award winner, and a three-time Nebula Award Winner. He published more than forty novels in his lifetime. His first novel, This Immortal, serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction under the title ...And Call Me Conrad won the Hugo Award for best novel. Lord of Light, his third novel, also won the Hugo award and was nominated for the Nebula award. He died at age 58 from cancer. Zelazny was posthumously inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010. "A storyteller without peer. He created worlds as colorful and exotic and memorable as any our genre has ever seen." -George R.R. Martin ". . . his performance was never anything other than dazzling." -Robert Silverberg