ROGER ZELAZNY'S THE DAWN OF AMBER -- John Gregory Betancourt

Book One of the New Amber Trilogy
ibooks, inc -- hc
New York -- ©2002 -- 299pp
ISBN: 0-7434-5240-2

A prequel to Roger Zelazny's Amber series, following Lord Oberon and his introduction to his family, and their first fight against hell-creatures.

The very first thing that strikes me as I read this is that this is NOT Roger Zelazny writing. In fact, if it were not for the fact that I recognize Betancourt's name, I would wonder if this was even a professional writer -- the opening chapter came across as very amateurish. Lot's of telling, and no "showing" -- no making us feel a part of the action.

While that sense of "low" writing never entirely vanished, I did become more engrossed in the story itself. Even there, however, I knew that I wasn't reading Zelazny. Zelazny could weave a story with intricate threads of characters and sub-plots and story lines. And if Zelazny was a master weaver, producing a solitary fine work of excellent quality, Betancourt is a machine producing a cheap replica that might satisfy those who can't tell the difference.

In general, I also dislike any series which requires one to purchase multiple books to get a sense of the story. Each book should be able to stand on it's own as a book. I don't believe this one accomplishes that.

I may read the others in the trilogy, but only because I'm curious about the story. I will most certainly seek out library books or used copies.