“I picked up Roger Zelazny’s “Nine Princes of Amber, Book 1” of the “Amber Chronicles” way back when I was in grade school simply because I fell in love with its high-fantasy cover —this lone knight overlooking a distant city, nestled on the side of a blue mountain behind ethereal clouds. I instantly fell in love with the book.
I picked up Book 2 shortly afterwards and that’s it (there are 10 books in total). I went to high school and completely forgot about King Oberon and his dysfunctional royal family.
I went to college, got into art, then moved to New York—to make more art.
There in the Big Apple I’ve been painting scenes of alternate universes, epic battles, doorways to other dimensions, and majestic cities nestled on the side of mountains—certainly the influence of Zelazny’s work permeated in my work, and in my day-to-day daydreaming.
Apparently the story of the one real world Amber and its monarchy, and the hidden powers of those with royal blood who can manipulate shadow realities (such as our Earth) by focusing on hand drawn cards with images depicting the many alternate universes, was embedded in my psyche.
Upon realizing this, I immediately ordered Vol. 1 (Books 1-5) on Amazon and, oh boy, what a giant tome it was. I brought it with me around and read it while waiting for the bus and on the subway. It was heavy, but it was awesome.
Soon afterwards I ordered Vol. 2, and it was just as heavy, just as epic as the first one. I finished halfway on Book 7, but I forgot why I stopped, maybe because of work or even videogames.
I flew back to Manila sometime ago. I left most of my books in my Brooklyn apartment, including Zelazny’s heavy tomes. Now I have been reading videogame manuals on my
smartphone, constantly amazed at how convenient it is to read vast amounts of text on a small device. So last week, I downloaded and started reading Book 6. As I focused on this handheld device—an entire world opened up in front of me, welcomed me again on a small backlit screen. Yes, it’s good to be back.
James P. Ong
Editorial director, Coconuts Media
I’m preparing for a Kyoto trip in April, so I got “Japan through the Looking Glass” by Alan MacFarlane, which is turning out to be a very scholarly yet fascinating read about Japanese society.
I’m still trying to finish “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt, which won the 2014 Pultizer Prize, but it’s such a tedious read I might opt for the Hollywood version, as it has been picked up by the producer of “Hunger Games” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”