Ahmed Writes

Book: MY NAME IS LEGION Writer: Roger Zelazny Del Rey, May 1978 - Third Printing The cover of this edition of the book is quite unattractive. The book itself consists of 3 novellas, losely connected by the fact that they have the same protagonist. He, like almost all Zelazny protagonists, is a larger-than-life character. His real name is not known to anyone, including the readers. He appears under a different name in each story. The stories are told in first person. The first novella is titled "The Eve of RUMOKO". It is an interested read except that I detested the ending. I have found that other than larger-than-life characters, unsatisfactory endings are quite common in novellas and novels of Zelazny. However, he writes so well that most of his stories are worth reading in spite of unsatisfactory endings. This story made me look up more details about undersea drilling of earth's core. I found out about the American Miscellaneous Society and about project Mohole. I...

Book: ISLE OF THE DEAD Writer: Roger Zelazny Ace 1969 - First Edition This is not one of the best Zelaznys but, written in first person, it has his usual larger-than-life characters, poetic settings and thought-provoking inner monologues. In fact, my reason for selecting this book to include in the Bookscan blog series is one such monologue. Starting on page 61 and continuing on to page 62, I found this gem of thought: Inwardly, I wept for thee, Mother Earth, and the prodigees wrought upon thee. A government is born, it flourishes, strong is its nationalism and great its frontiers, then comes a time of solidification, division of labor unto specialization, and layers of management and chains of command, yes, and Max Weber spoke of this. He saw beaureaucracy in the necessary evolution of all instituions, and he saw that it was good. He saw that it was necessary and good. While it may be necessary, put a comma after that word and after the last one add "God" and an exclam...

Book: THE DREAM MASTER Writer: Roger Zelazny Paperback, Ace, 1966 - First Edition This novel incorporates Zelazny's Nebula Award winning novella, "He Who Shapes". This book displays Zelazny's signature writing style - poetic and complex - but in spite of it (or because of it?) it is a smooth read. The main character, Render the Shaper, is a psychiatrist who tries to help his patients by shaping dreams for them - dreams that have the potential to aid the patient in coming to terms with reality. There are some very interesting, and even insightful, passages in the book. For example, at one point, Render muses on the rising rate of suicides: The power to hurt has evolved in a direct relationship to technological advancement. Man's potential for working simple mayhem has been multiplied by mass-production; his capacity for injuring the psyche through personal contacts has expanded in an exact ratio to improved communication facilities. This passage took me on a ...