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Sci-Fi Books Television

Stephen Colbert To Produce TV Series Based On Roger Zelanzny's Sci-Fi Novels 'The Chronicles of Amber' (variety.com) 100

Posted by BeauHD from the prolific-storytellers dept.
Stephen Colbert is joining the team that is adapting Roger Zelazny's "The Chronicles of Amber" for television. Variety reports: Colbert will now executive produce the potential series under his Spartina production banner. Spartina joins Skybound Entertainment and Vincent Newman Entertainment (VNE) on the series version of the beloved fantasy novels, with Skyboudn first announcing their intention to develop the series back in 2016. The books have been cited as an influence on "Game of Thrones," with author George R.R. Martin recently stating he wanted to see the books brought to the screen.

"The Chronicles of Amber" follows the story of Corwin, who is said to "awaken on Earth with no memory, but soon finds he is a prince of a royal family that has the ability to travel through different dimensions of reality (called 'shadows') and rules over the one true world, Amber." The story is told over ten books with two story arcs: "The Corwin Cycle" and "The Merlin Cycle." The series has sold more than fifteen million copies globally. The search is currently on for a writer to tackle the adaptation. No network or streamer is currently attached. Colbert and Spartina are currently under a first-look deal at CBS Studios, but they are not currently the studio behind the series. "George R.R. Martin and I have similar dreams," Colbert said. "I've carried the story of Corwin in my head for over 40 years, and I'm thrilled to partner with Skybound and Vincent Newman to bring these worlds to life. All roads lead to Amber, and I'm happy to be walking them."
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Stephen Colbert To Produce TV Series Based On Roger Zelanzny's Sci-Fi Novels 'The Chronicles of Amber' More

Stephen Colbert To Produce TV Series Based On Roger Zelanzny's Sci-Fi Novels 'The Chronicles of Amber'

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  • Meandering Story, Boring, Didn't Finish... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by JakFrost ( 139885 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2023 @09:20PM (#63221410)

    I found this series a bit boring and characters unremarkable. They could all modify reality and make items appear as they wished, omnipotent demi-gods walking the earth and making anything happen. No real reprecautiona for their actions since they can regenerate.

    Modern superheros akin to Doctor Strange but without magic just thought to make anything appear or happen. Like Mr. Manhattan but narcissistic and meddling with family drama.

    First set of books was about family drama. Next set was about a computer with prescient powers, didn't finish that set.

    Perhaps the TV series adaptation will be good. That sometimes surprises everyone. Wish them the best, really enjoy to see book material on TV. Visuals help.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by godrik ( 1287354 )

      Yeah, I read the first serie on Corwin because my brother loved it so much. But it's not that good. There is much better zelazny out there. I loved the immortal book with the ancient greek god playing guide to a scorched earth.

      • I think I got through two. And I read a LOT. Possibly because there were a lot fewer books in the series when I was younger, but also it just didn't grab me like other good fantasy in the day did.

    • Family drama makes for successful television. Yellowstone is thriving because of that shit

      • Yellowstone is thriving because it's well written and pretty well acted. (Compared to most shows).

        There's a billion+ dollars a year going into new shows but the producers forgot they need good writers.

    • I found this series a bit boring and characters unremarkable.

      I don't remember these books much at all, but I think I read the first three only as well.. .I don't remember falling in love with them the way I did other series so perhaps I had a similar reaction.

      I wonder from your description if this series would be a bit like Sandman on Netflix? I had a lot of trouble getting into that and could't finish the first season.

      • Sandman was great, as a comic. The Netflix series I thought was very good, but I had also read the graphic novels first and so there wasn't as much head scratching about who-was-who. Chronicals of Amber had more "family drama" of the soap opera variety than Sandman did, whereas the family members in Sandman were interesting as individuals and could have stories of their own. One episode (and comic issue) didn't even have the Sandman or family members in it.

        Also Sandman as a comic had some good art, as th

        • Thanks, I had always meant read read the Sandman comics as they were pretty good, I just didn't like the acting much in Sandman (the Patton Oswalt crow in particular I found pretty grating) and could see where the story would be much better portrayed as a comic.

      • Neil Gaiman adaptations are very problematic. I didn't see Sandman because various other adaptations sucked, IMO.

        He's a talented guy whose best work came from a time when he was young, struggling, and somewhat angry. Then he became a British National Treasure which sealed his fate. He went on Twitter, thought it would be a good idea to go woke, married an absolute batshit wokefruit cake, and now he's a shell of his former self. His muse deserted him long ago because wokeness is the kiss of death to art.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by NotRobot ( 8887973 )

      I thought the first series was pretty good and has potential for a very good TV series - IF done properly.

      The first series had a lot things going for it. A unique concept and setting, the action was plentiful and paced well to maintain the momentum of the story, and most notably of all, one surprise twist followed another and turned the whole story around plus of course lots and lots and lots of plotting and intrigue. I can well understand that these last two aspects appealed to George R.R. Martin.

      When you

      • Yeah the first series is readable and interesting. The second, well, i can't tell you. I have the books and didn't finish the first one in it.

        • I read all the books (the first series twice) and enjoyed them well enough, except for the last one.

          If I recall correctly, the final book seemed to be mostly made up of stream-of-consciousness shadow walking, with no clear direction or point. It was like watching someone roll dice to determine how to rearrange descriptive elements endlessly. More or less nonsense. I found it to be quite a slog and the ending was unmemorable (I actually don't even remember it).

          --
          We will soon have the option to harv

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by cas2000 ( 148703 )

        The quote in the summary above gets this part wrong - Corwin is one of the 9 princes but does NOT rule Amber.

        You read that sentence wrong, probably because it's a bit long and easy to get lost in. It's not saying that Corwin rules Amber, but that his family does. Try it like this:

        1. Corwin, who is said to "awaken on Earth with no memory, but soon finds he is a prince of

        2. a royal family that has the ability to travel through different dimensions of reality (called 'shadows') and rules over the one true wor

        • That's right, I figured it out, too, of course right after posting.
          A nice slightly ambiguous expression anyway.

    • I loved the books when I was young. They seem omnipotent but they really weren't.

      IIRC, Corwin tried to usurp the throne from his brother Random, and as a punishment had his eyes burned out. Nobody expected he'd regenerate his eyesight, but it did, during years of imprisonment.

      Also, what I liked is that they'd all have their own particular skill. Although Corwin handled a sword really well, he could never win against his brother Gérard. He could cast a spell but never as good as his sister Fiona.

      There's

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Tom ( 822 )

        There's a court of Amber, but also a court of Chaos.

        There's actually a question - I think openly asked in the Merlin books - whether there are not MANY "Ambers". There's only on chaos, but many different orders.

        That question was never fully explored, but since there's a Corwin Pattern, it is clear that more than one Pattern is possible.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by chill ( 34294 )

          I think the question was more along the lines of COULD there be, not WERE there. They knew there weren't others because of how the patterns were created (drawn in the blood of a chaos lord -- or close enough descendant). The creation of the original pattern created interference patterns with chaos, and ... I remember WAY too much of this series. Time to go read them again.

          It struck me very much that Zelazny had Corwin draw his own as a possible opening for more stories.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Tom ( 822 )

            It struck me very much that Zelazny had Corwin draw his own as a possible opening for more stories.

            And that Corwin did it because he pretty much assumed the original was destroyed.

            But it's not explored in the Corwin cycle. He continues on to the courts of chaos for the final battle and all. The Merlin saga digs deeper, and then some additional material (especially the diceless roleplaying system).

      • I loved the books when I was young. They seem omnipotent but they really weren't.

        IIRC, Corwin tried to usurp the throne from his brother Random, and as a punishment had his eyes burned out. Nobody expected he'd regenerate his eyesight, but it did, during years of imprisonment.

        Also, what I liked is that they'd all have their own particular skill. Although Corwin handled a sword really well, he could never win against his brother Gérard. He could cast a spell but never as good as his sister Fiona.

        Y'know, there I was, ready to scold you for posting spoilers without first warning people who might not have read the books. But fortunately, you got a good few names/characters mixed up, so I guess it's not really a full spoiler, it probably counts as a semi-spoiler only.

        It's like somebody posting a "(person x) is the murderer!" spoiler for a detective story - and naming the wrong character.

        • Semi-spoiler :D

          I'm going to have to re-read them. I was quite mad about the series, I even bought the "Amber diceless roleplaying game" and the prequels by another author...

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Tom ( 822 )

      I found this series a bit boring and characters unremarkable. They could all modify reality and make items appear as they wished, omnipotent demi-gods walking the earth and making anything happen. No real reprecautiona for their actions since they can regenerate.

      Not everyone has to like everything. I like the series a lot (though the Corwin story more than the Merlin one) and found the characters to be interesting. Removing the typical restrictions from characters opens up other possibilities, and there is a big difference in how the various characters fill the frame of "demi-gods" with their various perspectives and preferences.

      And it's interesting to see these people, with all their power, being quite human with their emotions and weak spots. Corwin slaughtering

    • Roger Zelazny is an excellent example of Sturgeon's Law "ninety percent of everything is crap". However, in Zelazny's case, the other ten percent are masterpieces.

      I'm currently rereading Lord of Light (in English, I read the Dutch translation 40 years ago), but I would not read the Amber, Changeling or Jack of Shadows books again.

      Editor: please correct the spelling of Zelazny's name in the title.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by chill ( 34294 )

        To each their own. I loved Changeling and its sequel, Madwand. The Chronicles of Amber was one of my all-time favorites, though I agree the Merlin Arc was inferior.

        What do you think of Lord of Light, and why didn't you like Jack of Shadows? I have not read either, but now am tempted.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Opyros ( 1153335 )
        And also please correct "Sci-Fi" to "Fantasy."

  • The Amber books are OK, but I loved Zelazny's "My Name Is Legion". Three stories in the book - maybe a miniseries?

  • I love this! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Miles_O'Toole ( 5152533 ) on Wednesday January 18, 2023 @10:05PM (#63221468)

    I just mentioned to a buddy of mine who works for a major comics company that I would love to see the Amber books turned into a TV series or movie franchise. We're texting back and forth right now about weird coincidences and joking about iPhone eavesdropping conspiracies.

    • Well, you're not alone. I started thinking the same once I saw how well LotR was done. And then GoT. And Dune.

      It's time they turn another one of the iconic SF from the Golden Age into a great movie or series. Would have preferred a set of great movies, but I'll settle for a great series :)

      • They tried with Foundation, but then... well, goes to show that good writers are important to something like this. That series had a lot going for it: great visuals, plenty of budget, decent actors, but it looks like the writers did their job using the source material merely as inspiration rather than the story they were going to adapt for the screen.

        • They merely "reimagined the story!"

          I hate that. As if a pool of coked up nameless faceless Hollywood writers are somehow going to improve on something from an author like Asimov.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by skam240 ( 789197 )

          It was funny to me that the only character that I enjoyed was the emperor (all three of him) who wasn't really a character in the books at all. Outside of that and the awesome shot of a space elevator the rest of what I watched was pretty awful. I did only watched the first 3 episodes though.

          • Watch Foundation (TV) as an original story based on the concepts expressed in the original story.

            Just like with some of the iRobot movie.

            n2ch

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by skam240 ( 789197 )

              Watch Foundation (TV) as an original story based on the concepts expressed in the original story.

              I havent read the books since high school and thus dont remember them all that well so the show being just like the books was never all that important to me. Never the less, I did not enjoy the show as a whole and the small amount of content that I did find fun was content not from the books.

      • I'm totally with you, my friend. Another one that might adapt well, now that the technology is available for the necessary effects, is Philip Jose Farmer's World of Tiers series, or maybe something could be done with the work of Cordwainer Smith.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Mitreya ( 579078 )

      I would love to see the Amber books turned into a TV series or movie franchise

      Me too. But after seeing what happened with The Foundation, Rings of Power, and Wheel of Time... I truly wish no that they would leave it alone for now.

  • This could be interesting. The first books are trash by today's standard, but the series arcs up nicely. It's pretty good by the end. Worth reading a stack of books.

  • well, I suppose... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by tiqui ( 1024021 )

    if you want to ruin a bit of entertainment, you should probably go with a professional with a proven track record. Any guy who can strip all the humor from late night comedy, can probably destroy some other entertainment industry thing.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by skam240 ( 789197 )

      Ha, you're probably a conservative so I can appreciate you not enjoying him as he's quite political and definitely on the Left. His viewer numbers are doing quite well though https://collider.com/best-late... [collider.com] so I think it's safe to say a lot of people think he's funny.

      • That collider.com story just tells you who the fave hosts are according to collider.com - that's NOT anything resembling how well "his viewer numbers are doing"

        To see how well Colbert is doing, consider the following:

        1. It's well-known that the ratings of late night comics are falling fast, check this [bigthink.com] out.

        2. According to Forbes [forbes.com] Gutfeld (on Fox, which is cable-only, not broadcast) is beating Colbert (who by being on broadcast is available to the whole country for free and thus should be trouncing Gutfeld).

        3

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by skam240 ( 789197 )

          Looks like I was running with assumptions that were a couple years dated. Never the less...

          Yes, Gutfield has taken off because he's the only one doing a right wing version of late night. I'm surprised it took this long for even one conservative show like this to come along given how the Daily Show took off a couple of decades ago and spawned so many imitator's on the left. I suspect it's because conservatives generally arent very good at the funny as illustrated by their general lack of presence in comedy.

    • Everybody should be able to laugh at themselves. And this includes everyone being able to laugh at their own politics. If someone can't, then like Frances they need to lighten up. If someone is so wrapped up in politics that they get angry at any playful fun about it, they need to step back and get some perspective.

  • Now if they only did Saga of the Exiles, I'd be interested.

  • The video game adaptations (Score:3)

    by Babel-17 ( 1087541 ) on Thursday January 19, 2023 @05:30AM (#63221858)

    They'll be easy. People will want collector's editions, with a set of the Trump cards.

    In an RPG you could play as someone, man or woman, with the blood of Amber in them who has to complete missions before earning the right to walk the pattern. In a sequel you get to visit the Courts of Chaos. Maybe start them off on Earth, like Zelazny did with Merlin. Lol, bonus points if they're a computer nerd as well*.

    I'd pay early adopter money in order to walk through the castle in Amber, and visit the inns by the docks, if they were rendered in the kind of detail that would make even a good GPU whimper to render in Ultra quality at 4k.

    *Zelazny was a bit of an early adopter of PCs, and wrote a self deprecating short story of how his self aware PC, LOKI 7281, was editing his work and saving him from disasters. https://where-there-had-been-d... [blogspot.com]

    "He's begun writing a new novel. Predictably, it involves an immortal and an obscure mythology. Jeez! And reviewers say he's original. He hasn't had an original thought for as long as I've known him. But that's all right. He has me.

    I think his mind is going. Booze and pills. You know how writers are. But he actually thinks he's getting better. (I monitor his phone calls.) Hell, even his sentence structures are deteriorating. I'll just dump all this and rewrite the opening, as usual. He won't remember."

    "This book could be good if I kill off his protagonist fast and develop this minor character I've taken a liking to -- a con man who works as a librarian. There's a certain identification there. And he doesn't have amnesia like the other guy -- he isn't even a prince or a demigod. I think I'll switch mythologies on him, too. He'll never notice.

    I think my next story will deal with artificial intelligence, with a likable , witty resourceful home computer as the hero/heroine, and number of bumbling humans with all their failings -- sort of like a Jeeves in one of those Wodehouse books. It will be a fantasy, of course.

    Even though Loki thinks he's an idiot, Roger eventually figures things out.

    "My God," he cries out, "What have you done to my delicate, poetic encounter?"

    "Just made it a little more basic and -- uh -- sensual," I tell him, "I switched a lot of the technical words, too, for shorter, simpler ones."

    "Got them down to four letters, I see.""

    • I vaguely recall an Amber RPG. I don't know if it was an official approved system or just a fan built one. I vaguely recall a MUD version, but there were MUDs for everything in the day.

  • Huh (Score:2)

    by Barny ( 103770 )

    awaken on Earth with no memory, but soon finds he is a prince of a royal family that has the ability to travel through different dimensions of reality (called 'shadows') and rules over the one true world, Amber

    Huh, so western isekai? I'm down with that. Bring it.

    • More Star Wars than Isekai.

      I wouldn't mind seeing a TV series of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant though, Iseakai is Japanese Thomas Covenant.

      • I believe that there is a lot of the isekai material in Thomas Covenant that they'd have to figure a way to tone down to make it work for modern TV.

        And don't forget all the mental dialog/reflection, psychological anguish, and downright f-ed-up-edness in the storyline.

        n2ch

        • Rape by the protagonist and its consequences is kinda key to the first Thomas Covanent trilogy. I’m not sure how well that would go over in today’s entertainment climate.

  • I really enjoyed The Chronicles of Amber, but have found very few people have read them, even the scifi and fantasy nerds I know.
    I hope this gets an honest treatment, unlike The Wheel of Time (didn't make it through the first episode, they just weren't the characters I love) or Shannara (I know, The Sword of Shannara was derivative to the edge of plagiarism, but the video series was just formulaic pablum.)

  • I thoroughly enjoyed both series, while I was reading it, years ago; though now that I remember back, I find my memories of it are pretty sparse, other than the last couple books (which were profoundly weird) -- so it definitely qualifies as a "popcorn" read. I do remember the first couple books were a bit of a slog, as the reader is as much in-the-dark about what the heck is going on as the main character is, but it's very much twisty-turny action. It is a super easy main-character-oriented read, which is

  • I read the series in the 2010s... It is very well written by the standards of 1970's pop fiction/fantasy but lacks depth. There's basically a family power struggle among demi-godlike wizards who can dimensionally travel. I'm sure it was a huge influence on shows like Sliders and Quantum Leap, but there are strong oversimplifications and omissions. An awful lot of time is spent by the characters just sitting around and talking.

    In my opinion, each book can be converted into a decent quality one-hour episod

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