Not trying to condemn you or something, but just curious. I know that
if I liked a story enough to -want- to write in that universe, I would
respect the author's wishes in this regard.
--
R (remove @stuff to reply)
We pushed on, and there was blood on every
step as far back as I could see. There's a
moral there, somewhere.
-- Corwin, 'Nine Princes In Amber'
Hi, John! Thanks for hanging out on usenet; hope us great unwashed
don't end up driving you off ;)
May I ask if you're planning to mimic Zelazny's style? Or to develop
the same kinds of themes that he usually focused on? Or are you viewing
this as a chance for you to do your own take, in your own style, on his
world and characters?
Curious,
--
-Matt (mat...@hotmail.com)
Angband in action! Constant escalation to new depths to find angrier,
meaner letters and more punctuation!
I, for one, am glad to hear that. I do have my doubts, and feel that you
have some mighty big shoes to feel.
Still, I will buy at least the first one to see how well you do.
I think that it's fair to remind everybody that Zelazny did approve the Neil
Randall Crossroads Adventures (although it is also fair to say that Zelazny
did get to oversee that). I never got through Seven No Trump myself. I
just didn't get engaged with either the writing or the concept (it's been
too long and I can't remember which). I did find it for a buck fifty at a
flea market and picked it up for the second time. I might give it another
try, but I finally picked up a copy of Psychoshop and it's keeping me busy
for a while, not to mention the fact that I haven't found time to read
Summer Queen by Joan D. Vinge yet, or American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I have
more faith that those books will keep me engaged from start to finish.
>
> >Not trying to condemn you or something, but just curious. I know that
> >if I liked a story enough to -want- to write in that universe, I would
> >respect the author's wishes in this regard.
>
> Zelazny's wishes have nothing to do with whether these books get
> written. And my opinion doesn't matter -- whether I write them or not,
> they will get written.
>
> -- John
I love a good feel of some big shoes.... :) Does that make me a heel?
--
Roger
Remove the cork to reply....
Oh - you have no sole! :)
> The nice thing about writing a prequel series (the first book ends
> with Dworkin tracing Amber's pattern and creating Amber as we know it)
> is that it's not really in the familiar Amber universe that fans know.
> There's a lot of room for new work.
Are you going to use mainly Zelazny's characters or create your own? Will you
create your own mysteries or develop at least some of the unfinished
plotlines hinted in the Amber books, that were never really explained? Are
you going to write in the epic scale of events that affect the whole
multiverse as it is known? And finally is there a website about the new books
where I could have found all the information I'm asking?
RZ would be proud... After the fit hit the Shan. ;)
~bob
Oddly enough, I reached that part of LoL last night (yes, its time for
another reread of the classics). Although the RZ pun that made me groan most
was "It was just one dammed thing after another...." (apologies for any
misquotation). :)
--Corwin
cor...@gazebo.org
(and yes, I was given that name at birth and I am 35, go figure)
John Betancourt wrote:
> On Wed, 21 Nov 2001 17:09:17 -0700, "Max" <wils...@netscape.net>
> spoke thusly:
>
>>And did Zelazny leave any notes with his agent about Dworkin, the Pattern,
>>etc. that he didn't share with the general readership? Or do you have to
>>create it from the vague hints we know?
>
> I am recreating from the vague hints...I have been given no previously
> unseen reference material.
>
> -- John
BTW I will probably buy the books, although I prefer paperbacks, so there
will be a little delay before you get any revenue from me.... sorry :-)
"corwin" <cor...@gazebo.org> wrote in message
news:9tufe6$5l1$1...@nntp2-cm.news.eni.net...
Chris
Yes, I am Old Git :-)
Thanks a lot for that. I read the post where you introduce yourself rather
well. I will have to hassle my local bookseller to get a printout of what
books you have available, as there are none off-the-shelf in England :-(
Not good.
Do you have a web site set up yet?
If not I would like to help you get one set up. (although my web skills are
not top notch, I must admit)
Mark
Wayne
"John Betancourt" <noe...@here.com> wrote in message
news:694v0ugcqe47kflbc...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 01 Dec 2001 16:26:24 GMT, cwmo...@earthlink.net spoke thusly:
>
> >Don't screw this up. OK?
>
> That has never been my intention.
>
> -- John
So, instead of making a new collection, ibooks is changing what was in THE LAST
DEFENDER OF CAMELOT. Why?
patrick
>In article <6vg21u8vqi8kb4u43...@4ax.com>, noe...@here.com
>says...
[snip]
>>Just finished typesetting a new collection of Zelazny stories (well, a
>>reshuffling of old collections, under the title THE LAST DEFENDER OF
>>CAMELOT) for ibooks; Robert Silverberg selected his favorite Zelazny
>>stories for the book, so I'm fully reimmersed in Zelaznyness for the
>>moment.
>
>So, instead of making a new collection, ibooks is changing what was in THE LAST
>DEFENDER OF CAMELOT. Why?
No, they're "just" reusing the title... and I'm guessing that this
might be for an online e-text publication - ibooks?
But if not... John, if you have any say in the matter, it's this
fan's opinion that this is a bad decision. It may be a good title,
but it makes no sense to create this kind of publication confusion.
If whoever with the rights ever wanted to republish the original Last
Defender of Camelot... they'd then have to change the name?
I know that Zelazny's collections were named after particular stories
in the collection. Isn't there another one among Silverberg's
selection that would qualify? _For a Breath I Tarry_, if it's
included, for instance? (Zelazny's forward says that it was his
favorite novella, at the time The Last Defender of Camelot was
published.)
Chris
Thanks...
Dan.
In article <g8m41ug1lpe4b2llb...@4ax.com>, John Betancourt
<wild...@bungox.com> wrote:
>Table of contents includes a selection of stories from the original
>LAST DEFENDER OF CAMELOT, UNICORN VARIATIONS, and FROST AND FIRE, plus
>a previously uncollected novella, "Come Back to the Killing Ground,
>Alice, My Love" (from Amazing Stories).
Yay! The second Kalifriki story finally gets into a collection!!! :)
~bob
> Hi John...since you might be in "the know" about such things, do you know if
> there is a chance there might be a collection of the Amber short stories that
> Roger did? I've managed to find 3 of them, but the other two have been
> difficult at best. I think most Amber fans would be interested in buying all
> 5 in one collection...
>
> Thanks...
>
> Dan.
>
Dan, the last I heard, neotiations we on-going about getting the Amber
shorts into a collection. I know a couple of groups are interested in
doing them, things just have to be worked out with the estate.
> In article <g8m41ug1lpe4b2llb...@4ax.com>, John Betancourt
> <wild...@bungox.com> wrote:
>
> >Table of contents includes a selection of stories from the original
> >LAST DEFENDER OF CAMELOT, UNICORN VARIATIONS, and FROST AND FIRE, plus
> >a previously uncollected novella, "Come Back to the Killing Ground,
> >Alice, My Love" (from Amazing Stories).
--
Scott Zrubek
Spring 2000 in Australia: http://www.itmm.com/australia
Zelazny & Amber: http://www.roger-zelazny.com
What's next, a short story collection called LORDS OF LIGHT.
patrick
>
>Table of contents includes a selection of stories from the original
>LAST DEFENDER OF CAMELOT, UNICORN VARIATIONS, and FROST AND FIRE, plus
>a previously uncollected novella, "Come Back to the Killing Ground,
>Alice, My Love" (from Amazing Stories).
>
>-- John
>Wildside Press: http://www.wildsidepress.com
I agree with the other posters- use the title of one of the other stories,
or call it Zelazny Collection 1, but NOT the title of an existing book.
Please , please, use your influence and refer to us here on the ng if need
be!
Roger Connor
Zelazny Fan since 1960.
John Betancourt wrote:
> On Sat, 08 Dec 2001 06:03:33 GMT, ccam...@email.com (Chris Camfield)
> wrote:
>
> >No, they're "just" reusing the title... and I'm guessing that this
> >might be for an online e-text publication - ibooks?
>
> ibooks publishes trade paperbacks.
>
> >But if not... John, if you have any say in the matter, it's this
> >fan's opinion that this is a bad decision. It may be a good title,
> >but it makes no sense to create this kind of publication confusion.
> >If whoever with the rights ever wanted to republish the original Last
> >Defender of Camelot... they'd then have to change the name?
>
> I have no say in the matter; I think it's a bad (and confusing) idea,
> but who listens to typesetters? :)
>
Agreed, but let's hope for GREAT new stories in the Amber world, rather than
mediocre stuff that might lead people to expect that from Zelazny's Amber and
other stories...
Offering to do illustrations, RavensZim ? ;)
I honestly think that considering the small amount of stories, the vivid
descriptions with short text, that these tales would work great with an
assortment of illustrations...
Absolutely. Now, if we can get permission to do the book.............
Although I must applaud Borders here in Oxford for having LOL, The
Chronicles of Amber, This Immortal, The Dream Master and Psycho shop(sp?) at
the last count. I'd recommend their SF section (got some Alfred Bester as
well :)) Still no copy of Creatures though....
Make that two.
No offense intended, John...Just curious
Your impression was correct.
I was sickened and dismayed to hear about these books, rather than simply
surprised.
Roger did not mind creating worlds and characters for other writers to play
in; witness his ALIEN SPEEDWAY franchise and his contribution to WILD CARDS.
However, Amber and Corwin were special to him. He regarded Amber as his and
his alone, and said several times, in no uncertain terms, that he did not want
any other writers writings about Amber. Ever.
Of course, he's dead now, and there's a buck to be made.
Those of us who were lucky enough to be Roger's friends in life will not be
reading these books, out of respect to the man, his memory, and his clearly
expressed wishes.
George R.R. Martin
Now some of you have been down-right venomous about the new books. If you
don't like it that much, don't buy it, don't read the threads, don't bother.
It's not like it's John's "fault/idea" that there are more books being
written. We all know that when push comes to shove, money wins out more
often then not. And it's not like John is a shabby writer. He has some
very telling credentials.
To sum up: John, I hope you do well in your endeavor on this. Personally,
it means a lot to me that it matter this much to you and that you're trying
this hard. And don't listen to the nay-sayers too much, after all, it may
be Roger's idea, but these are YOUR books.
Knock 'em dead.
-- Roger's wishes should have been respected.
Our creations are part of ourselves. It's a violation when they're used
against our wishes.
-- S.M. Stirling
>Now some of you have been down-right venomous about the new books.
Actually, I would say that there's been very little venom. The discussion has
generally been polite.
> If you
>don't like it that much, don't buy it, don't read the threads, don't bother.
Of course, you're not saying that people shouldn't be allowed to express their
opinions? Are you?
> Of course, you're not saying that people shouldn't be allowed to express
their
> opinions? Are you?
Oh, and if you meant to be half as smarmy as it sounded, you should be happy
to know I took offense at that. An opinion is truly personal, and in that
spirit, everyone has one. I believe I could never write half as good as
Zelazny, so while I truly want to see these books written, I know I could
never do it, so I'm glad someone with writing credits I can respect IS
writing it.
>But some of the criticism hasn't been expression.
This means what, exactly?
>I mean, half the crowd has
>been encouraging and the other half has had nothing better to say then it
>shouldn't be done.
There's nothing wrong with saying it shouldn't be done. That's their opinion.
It shouldn't be done. Roger's wishes, expressed over and over again, should be
respected in this regard. Get it?
>Oh, and if you meant to be half as smarmy as it sounded, you should be happy
>to know I took offense at that.
I don't care what you take offense at. My advice is to grow a thicker skin if
you took offense because a sentence I wrote sounded "smarmy" to you.
> An opinion is truly personal,
Yes.
>so while I truly want to see these books written,
And others truly DON"T want these books written (including Roger); what you're
still saying is that you don't want people expressing this particular opinion.
Too bad. It's been expressed. Very politely, too. At least, I can recall no
flames regarding this. Deal with it.
I don't know how one can be "constructive" about something like this...
especially since "the deal is done."
The most constructive suggestion I was able to come up with, when I first
learned of this outrage, was to suggest that these posthumous Amber books be
scrapped in favor of sequels to some of Roger's other worlds or franchises.
He would not want anyone to do a sequel to LORD OF LIGHT -- in fact, he turned
down some big money offers to write such a sequel himself during his life --
but there were other properties, like ROADMARKS, that would lend themselves to
continuations. I don't think Roger would have minded that. Not Amber, though.
Amber was special to him.
<< Now I know not respecting a dead man's wishes is kind of suspect, but gez,
accept reality.>>
"Kind of suspect?" Well, maybe he's just "a dead man" to you, but to some of
us he was a friend, and it hurts deeply to see his wishes being disregarded.
<< The ink is dry, the deal is done, the
books are gonna be written. >>
Maybe if there was enough outcry, some of the parties concerned might step back
and say, "You know, this is wrong, I am not going to do this after all."
I know, I'm naive.
Roger himself, during his lifetime, finished books from fragments left behind
by Philip K. Dick and Alfred Bester... but I will tell you one thing. He would
NEVER have taken on those projects if he thought for a moment that Dick or
Bester would have been opposed to them. Not for all the money in the world.
George R.R. Martin
I know I'm splitting hairs here, but... I assume the PK Dick book
you're referring to is _Deus Irae_. Didn't RZ finish that book while
Dick was still alive? I thought I remembered reading that Dick gave
him the book because he'd gotten stuck and didn't know how to proceed
with it, so he thought he'd give RZ a crack at it... But I could be
misremembering.
~bob
A part of ourselves that lasts beyond our own mortality. That legacy
can be watered down into a grotesque parody of itself when someone
else gets his hands on it. Why is Roger's wish being ignored? Money.
Come on. Why does Roger's legacy have to be destroyed for such a
puerile reason? Imagination dried up? Can't think of anything on your
own? "Well, shoot, why not rob someone's grave? He cain't say anythin'
about it."
Bah.
TEngland
> It looks like Darrell Schweitzer, Warren Lapine, and I will be editing
> a new collection of Zelazny material for ibooks, pulling together as
> much uncollected material as we can. Working title is NINE STARSHIPS
> WAITING.
>
> Question: does anyone know anything about a story called "Conditional
> Benefit"? It was being serialized (in 2 parts) in a fanzine called
> THURBAN #3, Aug 1953. The 2nd part was apparently never published. We
> would like to see the whole work, if extant somewhere.
>
> Otherwise, the book will include:
>
> "The Borgia Hand"
> "Circle Has Her Problems"
> "Come to Me Not in Winter's White" (Collaboration with Harlan Ellison)
> "The Drawing"
> "Final Dining"
> "He That Moves"
> "Heritage"
> "The Injured"
> "King Solomon's Ring"
> "The Last In on the Road" (Collaboration with Dannie Platcha)
> "The Malatesta Collection"
> "The Man At the Corner of Now & Forever"
> "Mine is the Kingdom"
> "The Misfit"
> "Monologue for Two"
> "Moonless in Byzantium"
> "Nine Starships Waiting"
> "Of Time and the Yan"
> "On the Road to Splenoba"
> "The Salvation of Faust"
> "Song of the Blue Baboon"
> "The Teachers Rode a Wheel of Fire"
> "Threshold of the Prophet"
> "The Year of the Good Seed" (Collaboration with Dannie Platcha)
>
> Plus at least one interview and a few essays.
>
> -- John
John,
How long were you in talks with Roger's agent before this deal came
through?
>As John Miller said, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and that's
>my 2 pennies.
Not an unreasonable opinion.
You should recognize, however, that Amber did indeed die with Roger, as
unfortunate as that is. John can do a stupendous job with the new books, but
it will not be Amber because Amber came from Roger and Roger alone and no one
will be able to duplicate it. It's a sad thing, but, really there will be no
new Amber books, no matter what they're called (all due respect to John).
I agree...
All you have to do is look at the Conan pastiches, and ask the common reader
what he thinks of Conan stories, and you can see the damage bad pastiches can
do...Most readers never separate the campy stories from robert E. Howard's
great tales...
But, as I pointed out in an earlier post, Amber gaming stories have been around
and a huge following of that game has created a big audience for "watered down"
Amber ...the encyclopedia, the games, the illustrated guide, ect....
Put it this way...the deal may be done, but these new stories will be no more a
true "Amber" story than any game players' game log will be....my 2 1/2 cents
worth
When the discussion turned to finishing a late writer' work at a convention, at
a question and answer session, I asked Mr. Zelazny if he kept an outline on the
Amber series, in case he left a character in a particular cliff-hanger
ending...I used the "trapped in a blue cave" example...I think he said that he
didn't like to work with an outline on Amber, and that if he'd be gone, he'd
just leave it up to "some other capable hands..." I remember the question,
because i didnt realize he was ill at the time, and i feel bad that I asked
that question in retrospect...
The fact is, the series is hardly left on a cliff-hanger ending..just a
living world with all sorts of possibilities...
> You should recognize, however, that Amber did indeed die with Roger, as
> unfortunate as that is. John can do a stupendous job with the new
> books, but it will not be Amber because Amber came from Roger and Roger
> alone and no one will be able to duplicate it. It's a sad thing, but,
> really there will be no new Amber books, no matter what they're called
> (all due respect to John).
Perhaps someone who knew Roger Zelazny can clairify something that has
baffled me since this discussion began. It is said that Zelazny requested
no one write more Amber books after he died, on the other hand, while he
was living Zelazny authorized Phage Press's AMBERZINE--of which 80% is what
amounts to Amber fan fiction. While Amber was Zelazny's, and was his to do
with as he pleased, this seems a curious attitude to take.
While I might consider buying some non-Zelazny Amber books, I'll be looking
at them as essentially Amber fan fiction that someone got paid for. In
other words, possibly interesting stories, but no more a continuation of
the "real" Amber than my Amber DRPG campaign. (Note this is _not_ intended
as a criticism of John Betancourt's writing skills.)
Who knows, perhaps Zelazny was tickled by the idea of "shadows" of Amber...
--
Carl Henderson carl.he...@airmail.net
Top 300 Report Archive http://j_carl_henderson.tripod.com/
RAC/RACM FAQ http://www.enteract.com/~katew/faqs/miscfaq.htm
>On Sun, 16 Dec 2001 20:07:19 GMT, "Jennifer Martin"
><jennif...@home.com> spoke thusly:
>
>>To sum up: John, I hope you do well in your endeavor on this. Personally,
>>it means a lot to me that it matter this much to you and that you're trying
>>this hard. And don't listen to the nay-sayers too much, after all, it may
>>be Roger's idea, but these are YOUR books.
>
>Thank you.
>
>Actually, the objections here have been much less than I would have
>expected, and overall quite polite for Usenet.
I got the impression they suddenly got more polite after your first
post, but I might be wrong.
>
>If anyone has a problem with new Amber books, the person to address is
>not me but the agent and whoever authorized the books on the estate's
>end.
While they are the people to address, you are one who accepted the
job, so you are now part of this, for better or for worse.
> They are the ones who guard the Roger Zelazny name and the
>integrity of Roger's wishes. However, it should be recognized that
>real, day-to-day financial needs are often more important to families
>than respecting the wishes of someone who has passed away. With that
>in mind, I'm sure Roger was practical and pragmatic enough to want his
>loved ones living in comfort, even if it meant some compromise to his
>desires. (That's certainly how I would feel.) That said, I have no
>special knowledge of their situation or the thought process which went
>on behind the decision to authorize more Amber novels.
Perhaps. He had a lot of other material to draw on, some of which he
did open up, and if a choice other than Amber had been pursued, it
would not have offended so many people.
But this is not just about his wishes (even though I feel that is a
very important issue)
>
>And, on that note, I am done explaining what I am doing: read the new
>books if you're interested, skip them if you're not.
I haven't read any of your books, when I saw the list of titles it
became clear to me why, it's not the kind of books that usually
attract me. So I have no opinion on your writing. I have no way of
knowing whether or not you're a mastercraftsman. I have no way of
knowing whether or not you're as well read as Zelazny obviously was.
All I have is your postings here. I think the choice of viewpoint
character was totally wrong. Even at the end there, when Corwin
understands so much more of reality than he did before, and has
learned a lot about himself and about his father, he still says of
Oberon that they never really understood all of his powers, and Oberon
makes some interesting implications, and it's not important what he
implies, it's important that they're made, that there's this something
bigger here.
> It doesn't matter
>to me. I'm enjoying working on the first book immensely, and I write
>for my own enjoyment.
I'm sure you are enjoying it. There are many ways to write a book as
part of a dialog with another book, or the ideas in that book. A
prequel, or writing in the same world, is not necessarily the best way
to go about it, not even the most interesting way. From your postings
it is obvious that this is not the motivation behind this project.
>
>I will continue to be here and answer questions which I feel are
>appropriate and on-topic.
>
>And let me leave you with one thought: I also strongly suspect that
>these new books (and future Amber novels) will go a long way toward
>keeping Roger's own work in print and available for years to come.
>It's hard to keep any backlist titles in print without some sort of
>frontlist support.
Someone else made on this thread made a similar point, something along
the lines of what would become of Amber without those new books.
"The Great Book of Amber" was published just last year, and I
understand it sold quite well. So Amber does sell itself. Classics do.
I was pleased to George R R Martin's post on this thread. It was
needed.
Thanks,
Uri
>
>-- John
Alas I never knew him but through his stories. However, in my mind
there is no other who -can- make Amber but Zelazny.
If I want to I could make a history for Oberon and Amber, however they
would be just my opinion of it and not true Amber. That is how I see
the new books which are going to be written by John Betancourt.
No matter how 'good' they might be, they won't be Amber, they would be
his impression of Amber... and I for one don't really care to read
someone elses impression of it.
I won't be reading these books.
--
R (remove @stuff to reply)
We pushed on, and there was blood on every
step as far back as I could see. There's a
moral there, somewhere."
-- Corwin, 'Nine Princes In Amber'
The book came out in 1976 and Dick signed copies of it before his
death in 1982. So you are indeed remembering correctly.
Chris
[substitute @mun.ca for my main address]
As a last resort, you might try SUNY at Syracuse -- Some of Roger's
papers ended up in their Science Fiction special collection:
Author: Zelazny, Roger.
Title: Papers,
Dates: 1954-1991.
Description: 5.5 linear ft.
Location: Bird-Spec Coll, Manuscripts
Bird Library
http://libwww.syr.edu/index.html
Reference Desk
http://libwww.syr.edu/information/isd/index.html
Regards,
Kevin Miller
I am absolutely delighted to hear that a collection may finally
happen. In the permanent absence of new Zelazny material, the next
best thing to me is old Zelazny works that I have never read before.
By the way, I have been puzzled by the ABSENCE of John Betancourt's
messages on the different servers that I use. Both google and the
university server that I use seem to ignore John's messages, such that
there are posts replying to messages that don't exist. Not sure why
this is. I noticed that many of his messages appear on the AOL
server, by why not the others is strange. That's why I'm replying to
Scott's message here and not John's, because John's doesn't appear.
Chris
[change to @mun.ca for my main address]
Oxford is quite good for books, but for a real treat the missus and I head
off to Hay-On-Wye for the second hand shops!
So you're keeping an open mind, right? I'm only a lowly short fiction
writer, not a fully fledged author and editor, but I had always had
the idea that FIRST you read something, THEN took cheap shots at it.
If the books suck, you'll hear about it soon enough. Chill out,
Spartacus.
And don't tell me the editor of the *Wild Cards series* for God's sake
is uncomfortable with the idea of milking a concept to death.
Cordially,
-BJD
An excellant suggestion. Many of the worlds he created are fertile
ground for many more stories. The worlds of MADWAND and DILVISH come
to mind as well. In fact, I always assumed there was to be another
novel in the MADWAND series. MY NAME IS LEGION would be another great
property.
> << Now I know not respecting a dead man's wishes is kind of suspect, but gez,
> accept reality.>>
>
> "Kind of suspect?" Well, maybe he's just "a dead man" to you, but to some of
> us he was a friend, and it hurts deeply to see his wishes being disregarded.
>
It is a shame that Mr. Zelazny's estate was not specifically required
to maintain his wishes in this area. It is sad that his heirs are not
following his wishes. At least, that's how it appears. Shame on
them.
> << The ink is dry, the deal is done, the
> books are gonna be written. >>
>
> Maybe if there was enough outcry, some of the parties concerned might step back
> and say, "You know, this is wrong, I am not going to do this after all."
>
> I know, I'm naive.
Well, Sir, you should know the industry better than most of us here.
What do you think? The almighty dollar strikes again.
> Roger himself, during his lifetime, finished books from fragments left behind
> by Philip K. Dick and Alfred Bester... but I will tell you one thing. He would
> NEVER have taken on those projects if he thought for a moment that Dick or
> Bester would have been opposed to them. Not for all the money in the world.
>
> George R.R. Martin
True ethics are hard to find in this day and age. Yet another reason
to respect RZ.
Lee
(OT - speaking of sequels, are you planning anymore TUF stories?)
>Roger Zelazny can clairify something that has
>baffled me since this discussion began. It is said that Zelazny requested
>no one write more Amber books after he died, on the other hand, while he
>was living Zelazny authorized Phage Press's AMBERZINE--of
>which 80% is what
>amounts to Amber fan fiction. While Amber was Zelazny's, and was his to do
>with as he pleased, this seems a curious attitude to take.
Well, I would clarify if I could but I'm afraid I'm totally unfamiliar with
AMBERZINE. My best guess is that Roger had a soft spot in his heart for his
fans, and couldn't say no sometimes. That's just a guess.
John Miller
I thought it was just me. Kind of ironic that arguably the most
important posts on the group are the ones that google choose not to
notice. Unless google happen to be all diehard fans of the
"suffer-thou-not-the-fanfic" variety, that is...
-BJD
Oh, goody, I may *not* be going crazy, after all... ;)
Thanks,
bob
Seems to me GRRM has every right in the world to disapprove of the
books on principle alone, without having read them. After all, he
*was* lucky enuf to be a personal friend of RZ.
~bob
The quality of the books is not the issue. The issue is that Roger's wishes
are being disregarded.
>And don't tell me the editor of the *Wild Cards series* for God's sake
>is uncomfortable with the idea of milking a concept to death.
Roger was free to "milk" Amber as much or as little as he liked. It was his.
He did not want it franchised, and those who care about it should respect that
wish.
Actually, in John Betancourts headers, it says "X-No-Archive: yes", which tells
google not to archive the posts...
--
--Arcum
"Horrors and monsters are creatures of the night that have no business being up
and about on a bright, warm, sunny morning, or so most think. Few stop and think
that should evil rest between dawn and dusk it would be a far simpler and less
dangerous place." (Jack Chalker: The Messiah Choice)
Ah, that would probably explain it. Of course, had I been able to see
the header, this might have become apparent to me also. Is this how
wars start?
-BJD