Power & Light;The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny

The best feature of volume 2 is the original magazine version of ...and call me Conrad, that Zelazny expanded into This immortal. Other very good stories include The furies, For breathe I tarry, The moment of the storm and The keys to December. Death and the executioner was written as part of Lord of light. It seems amazing that Zelazny was not convinced that the novel would sell so he prepared it as a series of connected short stories. The first Dilvish stories are here and good fun. In the notes to one of the stroies Zelazny reveals that he liked the Black the horse more than Dilvish, which makes good sense to me. There are a number of small and minor previously unpublished and uncollected stories that are interesting but not more than that. The biography and articles round out the volume.This volume finishes with stories published around 1968. From about 1964 up to this point he had been producing both high quality and great quantity at shorter lengths and, in later part of this time, novels. By the end of this period he had produced his best novels - This immortal, Lord of light, Nine princes in Amber, The dream master and Isle of the dead.From about the end of 1970 the quantity of short fiction declined. He continued to have short bursts of output followed by periods where he would concentrate on novels. He had already produced most of his best the short fiction. There are a few high points in the following years but the first two volumes of this series capture most of his best work. It is worth reading the whole series to fully appreciate the various styles and themes that Zelazny pursued across his career, but for me the first 2 volumes have the highest consistent quality and contain most of the short work that made Zelazny great.

Volume 2 of a planned 6-volume set and Zelazny is getting into his stride. This volume contains a feast of brilliant Zelazny fiction. Of particular note is the shorter magazine version of This Immortal as And Call Me Conrad, a self-contained extract from his masterpiece Lord Of Light, and other wonderful stories like The Furies, For A Breath I Tarry, the first four Dilvish stories and many more, all presented in order of publication.Following the pattern of volume 1 are essays by his peers, Zelazny's own comments on the stories plus notes, poems, autobiographical pieces and non-fiction writings.This beautifully and meticulously produced series is an essential purchase for any fan of Science Fiction.

Not only are the stories collected here a joy to read, but they also have commentary and references catalogued for each.

Rather than going into analytical discussions into the "where & how" of me getting switched off while reading these stories, I would like to state that I am deeply regretting the whimsical decision taken about purchasing the first couple of volumes of collected shorter works of this very-very highly regarded author without sampling some of it first. In American coloquolism, it is the absence of this "rain check" that forced me to try to read some highly literate, and yet exquisitely boring (and in case of the fantasies, much-much worse than the masters like Leiber and even Moorcock) stuff, because after paying good money I had no option other than trying to read them.If you prefer your science-fiction or fantasy to be action-oriented and plot-driven, rather than being ratiocinations about religion & philosophy in high language of the exalted, DO NOT GO FOR THESE BOOKS. If you wish to establish yourself as a "cool dude" who reads "real heavy stuff", the pleasure is all yours!