metaphorosis's review
4.0
reviews.metaphorosis.com
4 stars
Roger Zelazny deserves every bit of his status as a legendary SFF author. At his best (which he often was - see Lord of Light), his prose verged on poetry without ever losing its readability. His short fiction (gathered in several partial collections over the years) was as good, if not better. So, running across a complete collection of his short works is as exciting to an SF fan as finding that a (more) affordable version of the [Jack] Vance Integral Edition is being published. Zelazny and Vance were not only among the top SF writers, but were two of the absolute best for those who love good writing for its own sake.
Which is why the editorial policy behind this collection (published by NESFA) is so puzzling. Curious decisions include: - stories are not in chronological order, nor in series groups, nor in topical order. Yes, there's a general chronological sequence here, but stories are often presented out of order, for no evident reason. - Zelazny aspired to be a poet, and there's a lot of his poetry here. Ironically, for a writer whose prose was so beautifully poetic, his actual poetry is pretty poor. The poems are scattered throughout the volumes of the collection - often topically linked with the following story. It's a little hard to argue with the editors on this - several hundred pages of poetry in one place would have seriously weakened one of the volumes in the set. And if the poetry had just been left out entirely, you'd wonder about it, and how good it must have been. - Several excerpts from novels. Frankly, I just resent this. I have the novels - they're mostly available for purchase. I bought this set for the short stories. - One little quibble. One the inside back jacket, Michael Whelan gets as much space as Zelazny himself. Yes, he's a famous (if overrated) artist, but hey, he just did the one cover, not the six volumes of content.
Strange sequencing, etc. aside, the collection is well done. There is excellent information on publication dates and how the stories fit the various series. There are many previously unpublished (or underpublished) pieces. There are carefully collated comments from Zelazny about each story, and there are (over-) copious interpretive notes about the allusions in each story. Also, there's a nicely written biographical piece included in each volume. While they're all respectful of Zelazny's talent, they're not sycophantic in tone. There are also introductions by guest notables for each volume - some good, some that lead you to question why the editors selected people who clearly did not know Zelazny well.
Finally - the stories themselves. If you're a Zelazny fan, this collection is well worth your time. Otherwise, it's not your best introduction. Some of the underpublished (e.g. in a fanzine) stuff just isn't that good. And the strange sequencing ends up undercutting the effect of the really great stories that are also here. I'm a long time, committed Zelazny enthusiast, and I'm confident that this is not the collection I'd give my spouse in order to share my burning enthusiasm for Zelazny's work. If you're already a fan, though, this will satisfy your completist desires, and give you access to a lot of new work, uneven though it may be.
nwhyte's review
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1296094.html[return][return]This weighty volume of almost 600 pages covers the early work of the late, great Roger Zelazny (1937-1995). It is the first of a planned series of six volumes covering his entire literary career, published by the New England Science Fiction Association and edited by David G. Grubbs, Christopher S. Kovacs and Ann Crimmins. Together with volume two, it was launched at Boskone in February which was where I bought it.[return][return]I suspect that the book's main audience will be Zelazny fans like myself, hoping for 1) hitherto unpublished literary gems unearthed by the editors' diligence, 2) some insights into those aspects of Zelazny's life and background which made it possible for him to produce his work, and 3) a convenient volume including our favourite pieces. NESFA have delivered on all three. A lot of the uncollected pieces here are rather minor, but there were a couple which jumped out at me as memorable ('Final Dining', 'Circe Has Her Problems'). There is a decent amount of explanatory biographical material by co-editor Kovacs, Carl Yoke and a preface by Robert Silverberg. And this first volume includes 'A Rose for Ecclesiastes', 'The Doors Of His Face, The Lamps Of His Mouth' and 'He Who Shapes', Zelazny's best early stories, which is a powerful mixture.[return][return]Satisfying those three requirements would just about justify the hefty $29 price of this hardback. But there are several other positive points about it. First, a lot of Zelazny's early poetry is collected here, interspersed through the stories, certainly at a pace where I could appreciate it. Second, and probably deserving to be mentioned before this, there is a brilliant Michael Whelan cover which will apparently span the jackets of all six volumes. Third, each story and poem has, if available, a short epilogue from Zelazny himself explaining his own feelings about it, and also a glossary of literary references (most of which are accurate, though I wouldn't be surprised if the Miller whose writing has emetic effects is Henry rather than Arthur). [return][return]So, apart from its obvious appeal to existing fans, I think volume one at least is well-designed as a gateway book to encourage new sf readers to read more Zelazny and just to read more widely. 'A Rose for Ecclesiastes' is a really powerful story to begin with - consciously old-fashioned but doing something new as well. 'He Who Shapes', drawing as it does on Zelazny's own experience of car accidents and bereavement, is a good ending point for this first selection. The commentary keeps us going through the less memorable stories in the middle. I am looking forward to reading volume two, and to buying the rest as they come out.
abetterjulie's review
1.0
I'm glad he realized he'd never make it as a poet, because his poetry was awful. Clunky, jagged, and so vague as to be meaningless. It took me weeks to get through this selection of stories and poetry. There were a few stories that I wanted to like because the premise seemed fun, but the unnecessary references and symbolism kept me from enjoying (and sometimes comprehending) them. The last story in the book was 84 pgs in length and the Notes to help you understand terms and references you had just read was 5 pgs long. There is also a comment at the end of this one in which Theodore Sturgeon put all of my opinions on the matter much more eloquently. It was frustrating to mostly understand a story (finally!) and then have the ending make absolutely no sense.
I like some of his characters, such as the mutant seeing-eye dog. I don't care for his tone, but I understand that it was geared for his audience. Some of his experiments with writing were interesting as an exercise, but not interesting as a story itself. He has wonderful character development, but many of his characters are just the same person over again in different clothes, and himself I suspect.
I think that the ant queen story was interesting because it seems that Orson Scott Card lifted her almost perfectly from Zelazny.
I did not read the non-fiction articles at the very end.
I like some of his characters, such as the mutant seeing-eye dog. I don't care for his tone, but I understand that it was geared for his audience. Some of his experiments with writing were interesting as an exercise, but not interesting as a story itself. He has wonderful character development, but many of his characters are just the same person over again in different clothes, and himself I suspect.
I think that the ant queen story was interesting because it seems that Orson Scott Card lifted her almost perfectly from Zelazny.
I did not read the non-fiction articles at the very end.
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