With Game of Thrones gearing up for its final two seasons, there’s a ticking clock to develop another science fiction and/or fantasy television epic to take its place. The Hollywood Reporter suggests that Roger Zelazny’s The Chronicles of Amber could be next, as The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman is adapting it for the small screen with Skybound Entertainment (who brought The Walking Dead to AMC as well as its prequel series Fear the Walking Dead).
Zelazny’s ten-book series, published between 1970 and 1991, also concerns royal family politics over a throne. But in this case, our hero Corwin awakens on Earth with amnesia. He comes to discover that Earth is just one of many “shadows,” or parallel worlds, that exist between the two true worlds of Amber and the Court of Chaos. As a prince of the royal family, it is Corwin’s birthright to rule Amber and fend off the forces of chaos.
Skybound CEO David Alpert said:
Chronicles of Amber is one of my favorite book series of all time, and one of my main inspirations for working in film and television. Getting to produce this project is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. I can’t wait to share this amazing story with a new generation of fans.
In Zelazny (who passed away in 1995), A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin found both an inspiration and a friend. As he wrote in an in memoriam post in 1995,
Lord of Light was the first Zelazny book I ever read. I was in college at the time, a long time reader who dreamed of writing himself one day. I’d been weaned on Andre Norton, cut my teeth on Heinlein juveniles, survived high school with the help of H.P. Lovecraft, Isaac Asimov, “Doc” Smith, Theodore Sturgeon, and J.R.R. Tolkien. I read Ace doubles and belonged to the Science Fiction Book Ciub, but I had not yet found the magazines. I’d never heard of this Zelazny guy. But when I read those words for the first time, a chill went through me, and I sensed that SF would never be the same. Nor was it. Like only a few before him, Roger left his mark on the genre.
Kirkman and Skybound are still searching for a writer and haven’t shared a sense of the actual timeframe of putting together this series. While we wait for more news, refresh your memory with our The Chronicles of Amber Reread.
What do I have to do to audition for Random? I’ve been waiting for 30 years. Just tell me what to do
This is amazing! Also – I have that exact cover on my original copy I own!
Defiant @2, those are the same editions I have.
I have my fingers crossed that this will work out well. This is one of my favorite series of books, and perfectly suited for the long form of a TV series. Very compelling adventure, fascinating characters and solid world building.
Those were the editions I was checking out from the public library; years later, when I got my own set, I specifically sought out those ones again.
(Ditto Zelazny’s other books that were released with the same cover style.)
All I can hope is that they do it a good retro 70s/80s (like when the books were written) – certain plot elements simply are irrelevent in the age of smartphones (ie, trying to get a hold of someone and not being able to call them). Although, ironically enough, our phones can sort of superficially resemble the trumps…
I will only watch The Chronicles of Amber if Michael Fassbender is in the role of Corvin