The Chronicles of Amber- Roger Zelazney

The Chronicles of Amber is my absolute, all time favorite fantasy series.  For those that know me that's saying something.
Amber was my first exposure to the genre and its a series that I can and do read over and over again.  Corwin, the main character, is my favorite of all characters.  Which is also saying something. 
The great thing about this series is its originality, a thing hard to come by in fantasy.  Roger Zelazney's style of writing is like a breath of fresh air to me to read.  His prose isn't wordy but he has a knack for description and for creating memorable moments and characters.  The Chronicles is made of ten books but each is only around 200 pages long as they were written before it was considered necessary for all fantasy books to be a minimum of 500 pages.  They've been collected together into The Great Book of Amber, which is the only way to buy them new as the original seperate editions are out of print.
So what's it about?
The story centers on the mythical world of Amber, the one true world from which all others take their shapes.  Specifically the royal family of said Amber.  It is told in the first person from the viewpoint of one Corwin, Prince of Amber.  In the opening of the first book in the series, Nine Princes in Amber, we meet Corwin waking up with amnesia.  From there it is a nonstop ride for the next five books as we progressively discover just what really is going on, as everytime Corwin and by extentsion, you, think you know you discover you don't.  The next five books, books 6-10, follow another character as we sort out what happens next.  That's the best I can do without breaking my "No Spoilers" policy.
I will say that I am more partial to the first five books then the last.  You can stop reading at the end of book five if you like and feel complete.  However if you want to understand this amazing world and its crazy royals further then the last five books are a must. Since they follow a different character however they feel different and it can be a bit jolting st first after spending so much time in Corwin's head.
If you are looking for an engrossing fantasy or are new to reading fantasy and want a good first read then The Chronicles of Amber is definitely for you! If you are looking for a fantasy with awesome characters, complex plots and without a lot of wand waving (or any as this is pretty devoid of magic) then this is most certainly your new favorite read.  Buy it, rent it, borrow it, whatever but just read this one. I promise you won't be disappointed!