In Roger Zelazny's Amber universe, there is only one true world, of which all others are but Shadows. In the ten-book saga that he created, it is learned that Amber was not the first true world; rather, it was The Courts of Chaos. The saga chronicled the adventures of the royal family of Amber, culminating with a worlds-shaking battle between champions from Amber and from Chaos. Zelazny did not have the chance to create the origin of Amber and its royal family, or reveal other key information that is only alluded to, before he died. The Dawn of Amber trilogy will expand the "Amber" universe and answer the important questions left open, including how Amber was created, by whom, and why. The events in the trilogy will precede those in the existing novels, but follow some of the same, immortal characters. Finally, fans of the series will discover why it was necessary to create Amber, how Chaos and Amber came to be at war, and the true nature of the universal, sentient forces that Amber and Chaos represent.

In the nationally bestselling Roger Zelazny's The Dawn of Amber, John Gregory Betancourt began the epic exploration into how the world of Amber and all of its shadow worlds came into existence. The young warrior named Oberon, who is destined to found a dynasty and rule over Amber, was rescued from attacking hell creatures by his father, Dworkin, and introduced to his brothers and sisters—and his heritage as a Prince of the Courts of Chaos. But the shadow world called Juniper, the home of Dworkin and his kin, came under deadly attack by unknown and overwhelming forces. After sending the rest of the family to distant shadow worlds for their own safety, Dworkin and Oberon, and Oberon's half-brother Aber, traveled to the center of the known universe and the lair of their enemies, the Courts of Chaos, to put an end to the undeclared blood feud. In CHAOS AND AMBER, the story picks up with the arrival of the fleeing trio in the shadow world closest to the Courts, known as "the Beyond." The Courts of Chaos are hostile to Dworkin and his kin, and potentially deadly to Oberon—who barely survives several attempts on his life. Dworkin disappears after leaving for a meeting with King Uthor, ruler of the Courts. This leaves Oberon and Aber to uphold the family's honor on their own. But with the Beyond so close to Chaos, they know that their enemies are nearby and probably spying on their every move. Rumors are rampant the King Uthor is about to brand Dworkin a traitor, making it open season on him and his family. Oberon seeks allies among those family members who have political ties to the Courts, little realizing that every alliance comes with a price. In this case, it is a betrothal to a distant, monstrous cousin, and a knife fight to the death with one of the Courts most powerful princes.

As Oberon takes up the reins of leadership to build a new empire on the foundations of that laid by his father, he confronts a host of challenges as he deals with old and new enemies, political intrigue, power-mad siblings, assassins, a mad father, and the King of Chaos. Reprint.

"Fans of the late Roger Zelazny's popular Amber series should flock to this.... Betancourt captures the fantastic nature of the original and peppers his story with Amber-familiar terms such as Logrus, that mystical gift which enables its holders to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks and travel vast distances instantly; Trumps, the illustrated cards that assist those with Logrus to travel and even to foretell the future; and Courts of Chaos, the center of this pre-Amberian world." -Publishers' Weekly "Betancourt creates a thrill-a-minute series ... that should appeal to longtime fans of the previous series." -Library Journal At last, Dworkin has created the magic Pattern, and Amber has been established with its own myriad of shadow worlds. Now, King Oberon works on repairing Castle Amber after winning his epic battle with the forces of Chaos. And his world is at peace ... until he is attacked by a nightmare creature that refuses to die, while everything in its path withers and turns to dust. Oberon leads the monster away from Amber, on through an almost infinite number of Shadows, and still the creature presses ever closer. At last, Oberon travels to the world of the Pattern itself - his source of power - to make a stand against it. His fight, from the center of the Pattern, rips the world asunder - even damaging the Pattern itself. But Oberon manages to defeat the deadly monstrosity ... and the Pattern repairs itself. Still, much time has passed, and much damage has been done. Among other things, when Oberon returns to Amber, his father tells him that the Pattern has been magically transported to the bowels of the castle. Further examination reveals that the original Pattern remains where it was drawn, and Castle Amber now possesses its identical double. But more damage than that may have been done. In a single evening, Oberon discovers that Amber hosts another race of creatures - a whole civilization living beneath the ocean in a mirror duplicate of Amber. He learns that it, too, has had a copy of the Pattern appear in its depths, that the Queen of the undersea kingdom knows all about him and desires him to get rid of the Pattern from her realm; and that she has plans for him ... and the powers to perhaps make her wishes real. JOHN GREGORY BETANCOURT is an editor, publisher, and bestselling author of science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. He has had over 36 books published, including the bestselling Star Trek novel, Infection, and three other Star Trek novels; a trilogy of mythic novels starring Hercules; the critically acclaimed Born of Elven Blood; Rememory; Johnny Zed; The Blind Archer; and many others. He is personally responsible for the revival of Weird Tales, the classic magazine of the fantastic, and has authored two critical works in conjunction with the Sci-Fi Channel: The Sci-Fi Channel Trivia Book and The Sci-Fi Channel Encyclopedia of TV Science Fiction. ROGER ZELAZNY authored many science fiction and fantasy classics, and won three Nebula Awards and six Hugo Awards over the course of his long and distinguished career. While he is best known for his ten-volume Chronicles of Amber series of novels (beginning with 1970's Nine Princes in Amber), Zelazny also wrote many other novels, short stories, and novellas, including Psychoshop (with Alfred Bester), Damnation Alley, the award-winning The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth and Lord of Light, and the stories "24 Views of Mount Fuji, by Hokusai," "Permafrost," and "Home is the Hangman." Zelazny died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in June 1995.