Our world is just a Shadow of the one true reality, Amber. It is for the throne of Amber that nine brothers plot and scheme. Throw in a hero with a strong sense of duty and a sarcastic wit, colorful and engaging secondary characters, with twists and turns on almost every page, and you have the complex and fantastical story that is The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.
I love a good fantasy. It is what I read when no other genre appeals to me, especially beloved stories that have been around for years. The Chronicles of Amber (specifically the Corwin Cycle), is just as good now as it was twenty years ago when I first read it. First began in 1970, there is a timeless appeal about these stories of a Machiavellian family with the ability to travel through different realities. You never know who is friend and foe until then end, and not even then!
It was Corwin, the narrator, who really drew me into the story. When you first meet him he has lost his memory and is trying to figure out who and what he is. We learn about Amber and his family with him, watching Corwin change and mature in his duty to Amber.
One of my favorite parts is where we meet "Roger" — a cadaverous, grinning, pipe-smoking guard in Amber's dungeon who is presently writing a "philosophical romance shot through with elements of horror and morbidity."
If you haven't read Amber, I recommend you do. There is nothing else quite like it out there right now.