What if our reality isn't just one universe among many, but is just a shadowy reflection of the one true reality? And what if the ultimate reality is ruled by really terrible people? That was the premise of Roger Zelazny's Amber series. There was nothing like Amber when our younger selves discovered these books, and it's still distinct in the world of fantasy. Or fantasy where our world is also real. Or whatever you can call these books.

Family intrigues! Multiversal wars! Plot twists! Unicorns! Demons! Philip Marlowe as a fantasy protagonist! It's all here.

Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of culture. We were geeks before it was chic!

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© 2025 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

Ancient Geeks episode 42: Roger Zelazny's Amber series