Lance

[threemonkeys]

When trying to describe his work, do you associate Roger Zelazny more with fantasy or science fiction? I suspect most fans would lean towards fantasy. Certainly the person designing the cover for The Last Defender of Camelot thinks so as it says "fantasy" on the spine for categorisation. But in fact, the title story in this collection is pretty much the only outright fantasy. Most of the stories pass the "I know it when I see it" definition of science fiction. Since most of his novels lean to the fantasy side, this makes for an interesting contrast.

The collection is taken from a long stretch of his career but excluding the early days. In other words, the come from the time when he was primarily writing novels to make a living and shorter works were a rarity in his output. Despite that he won a number of awards for his short fiction. As well he should - there is tremendous quality here. Match this volume with "The doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth" and you have comprehensive coverage of the skills of Zelazny.

I have a couple of thoughts about the science fiction verses fantasy balance between his shorter and longer works. The first is that there is a playfulness of style in these stories - experimentation in writing, form and setting including a few homages to other writers. Perhaps writing short stories was more of a fun activity and perhaps fun meant science fiction for Zelazny. Or maybe it is just that Bob Silverberg did the story selection for the anthology and this reflects his tastes. Or my personal choice - both. Whichever, it is worth the read.

Comments

[chrisbarnes.livejournal.com]

I associate him more with sceience fiction, bu he skates the border so gracefully. Lord of Light, for instance is rich science fiction wrapped in a fantasy candy shell.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Nicely put.

Mmmm - candy shell. I seem to be getting a craving for M&Ms - I can't help but blame you for that. :-)

[leebattersby.livejournal.com]

I always think of him primarily as an SF writer, but that's because the works I own are the more heavily SF-oriented novels like Lord of Light, Deus Irae, Isle of the Dead and Eye of Cat (My favourite Zelazny work). I haven't read a singel on of his amber novels, 4ex, so my perception of him is definitely of the 'screwy SF' variety.

As a short story writer, yeah, he's definitely somewhere along the 'Science Fantasy' spectrum, somewhere near the likes of Gropeboy Ellison, Norman Spinrad et al.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

That fits. It is the dominance that the Amber series has in sales and widespread impact that prompted my thoughts questioning his categorisation. If you haven't read them then you would surely get a different impression - the fantasy in the non-Amber books being at most lightly laced in stories that are basically SF in structure.

[leebattersby.livejournal.com]

I'm known locally for my dislike of Phat Phantasy novels, so the Amber series has never remotely attracted me. The wildness and sheer gonzo exuberance of his SF-nal works, tho', boy, that floats my boat :)

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

Amber is hardly typical of the "phat phantasy" series. Nevertheless I would go along with the idea that the others are at a higher level.

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

What do you guys mean by "phat phantasy"?

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

I don't share Lee's abhorrence for the species, but it is another "I know it when I see it" kind of thing. I was assuming he was referring to the multi-volume epic fantasy set in a pseudo-medieval world and involving lots of magic. Robert Jordan or David Eddings are usually mentioned as the classic examples. There are a lot of standardised tropes for this type of writing of which the Amber series only shares a smallish number.

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

He always seemed to me to write fantasy like sf and visey versey - for example Isle of the Dead and Lord of Light, which are kinda technically sf (techy paraphernalia, I mean) but have a strong mythic element, without which they would be utterly different.

Conversely, 'fantasy' stories like "The Last Defender of Camelot" have a very matter-of-fact discussion of the fantastical elements.

I've been re-reading Lord of Light, incidentally, since I was young, young enough not to know what a flashback was (so I got seriously confused near the start of the book), and it still has new things for me to enjoy, even if it's just a corny pun ("The fit hit the Shan"? *grooaaan*) or a new way of looking at a well-known scene.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

I meant to mention above that I have read many of these stories before and re-reading them lost nothing compared to the first time and may have even meant more. For me, a sure indicator of depth and quality.

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

He has written a few howlers in his time - Roadmarks just seemed to trail along into pointlessness, and Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming is awful.

But those are just a few aberrations in a long and fruitful career.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

I always blamed Robert Sheckley for Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming more than I blamed Zelazny. Sheckley is a wonderful short story writer but some of his novels just don't last the distance - they seem to have pretty much exactly the same flaws that this collaboration has.