The Nine Princes of Amber by Roger Zelazny*

The Nine Princes in Amber is the first book in the Amber saga. This starts the series of Corwin. In the series all worlds, including our own, are shades of Amber and those of royal blood have the power to shape these worlds to their own ends. They're basically gods. Corwin has been stranded on earth for centuries with no memory of his royal power or position. All he really knows is that he can't be killed by our mortal weapons. When he wakes up in a hospital and is informed that he was admitted by his sister, he goes out to find her and some answers to his heritage. He meets up with his brother Random, who he can tolerate, and together they reclaim Corwin's memory. They then race back to Amber in an attempt to gain the throne. The book is well written and enjoyed. There are five books in the original series, followed by a series about Corwin's son Merlin that also consists of five books. I could not get into Merlin's series. Another author, John Gregory Betancourt, was authorized to write some prequels to the original two series. I have not read these either.

The Wolf's Children Prologue

This is the prologue to my story The Wolf's Children. I would be interested in any comments that you have.

Prologue

            Orris fluttered over his master in concern, his little blue wings shedding gold pixie dust over the bed where the Earl lay. He turned slightly to face the elf prince that sat next to his nephew, the same concern lacing his fine features that lay in Orris' small face. "He is going to be all right, is he not, Your Highness?" the pixie asked anxiously.

            "I do not know," Prince Tristan said with a sigh. "That vampire's bite was deep. We have done all we can, but I fear that the leg will always be weak even if he does survive the poison."

            "But his lordship is strong; he will survive," Orris said with a determined look on his small face.

            "I certainly hope so. I just lost two of my favorite brothers-in-law, I do not want to lose my favorite nephew as well," Tristan said with another sigh. "Not my best friend."

            The tent flap opened briefly, "Is he awake?" a voice asked softly.

            Tristan turned in surprise to see Aine, the Queen of Summer, standing on the threshold of the room. "Uh, no. He is still trying to fight off the poison," he managed after a moment.

            "Here," she said, thrusting a goblet filled with some kind of warm, red, liquid in it. "According to Khione that will help him."

            Tristan lifted the goblet to his nose and sniffed. His senses were not as keen as his nephew's, but he instantly recognized the metallic smell of blood.

            He looked to the queen in surprise. "Khione said it would help," Aine replied. "If you do not feed it to him, I will."

            She stood and watched as he held Duncan's nose so he was forced to open his mouth and poured the liquid down his throat. The high prince then watched as the Queen of Summer exited the tent as softly as she came. He knew that as long as he lived, he would wonder what this day was all about.

Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan, the story of a boy raised by Apes in the jungle who finds out that he is really an English lord and falls in love with Jane. There are several books in the original series and many movie adaptations and parodies made of the books. For instance, the character George of the Jungle could easily be seen as a parody of Tarzan. In the first book, Tarzan leaves the jungle to be with Jane. Even though he is British, he learned English from a French man so speaks with a French accent. He is a strange combination of primitive Ape and sophisticated British lord and it is no wonder why he has remained a staple in literature for the last hundred years.

Harry Potter by JK Rowling

The first Harry Potter book was published in 1997 in Great Britain. It was titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and told the story about "the boy who lived". An orphan named Harry Potter that didn't know that he was the most famous person in the strange wizard other world existing alongside normal "muggle" London. Here in his first year he meets his two friends that will stick next to him during all the trials that he will face for the next 6 books, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley. He also learns that the evil wizard that he "defeated" all those years ago did not die completely and is out to regain a full life and kill Harry in the process. In this first book, He Who Shall Not Be Named (Voldermort) is trying to get the Philosopher's Stone. The Philosopher's Stone has shown up in numerous other literature besides Harry Potter. It's main properties seem to be its ability to grant immortality and turn lead into gold.

                When Harry Potter moved to America, American publishers didn't think its audience would know what the Philosopher's Stone was so they changed the name to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone instead.

                The movies are remarkably close to the book because JK Rowling kept tight control of the rights and had a hand in writing all the scripts. Some diehard fans still complain about some of the changes.

                All together both book and movie are great stories and a welcome choice for the fantasy reader. Now enjoy this music video set to the song Skyfall from the James Bond movie of the same name. This video has clips from the last movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and all the other movies in between.