Reading order
The Chronicles of Amber reading order
- Nine Princes in Amber1970
- The Guns of Avalon1972
- Sign of the Unicorn1975
- The Hand of Oberon1976
- The Courts of Chaos1978
- Trumps of Doom1985
- Blood of Amber1986
- Sign of Chaos1987
- Knight of Shadows1989
- Prince of Chaos1991
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10- 10 volumes
- Volumes
- 1970–1991
- Published
- about 40 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Classics#15
- Genre
Quick answer
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Publication order
10 volumes1970–1991Completed
- Ten books in two halves, and the halves are different books.
- The first five — Nine Princes in Amber through The Courts of Chaos — are Corwin's, narrated by him, written between 1970 and 1978, and they are one continuous story that ends properly.
- The second five are his son Merlin's, written a decade later, and they are lighter, stranger and end on a cliffhanger Zelazny died before resolving.
- Read the first five in order.
- Then decide: most readers who love Corwin find Merlin a different flavour entirely, and stopping at five is a complete experience.
A plan for the whole series
10 volumes, 2,107 pages, about 40 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 7 weeks.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: low
Stages
3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around December 28, 2026, 8 days later than in one go.
- Stage 118 habout 3 weeksby November 22, 2026
- Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.8
- Stage 216 habout 3 weeksby December 18, 2026
- Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.4
- Stage 34 h6 daysby December 28, 2026
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
Does the series hold up
Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.3 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.
Best volume: The Hand of Oberon (8.0, 138 ratings). Weakest: Nine Princes in Amber (7.7). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (7.9) scores close to the series average or above it.
How this plan is calculated
The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →
Every volume in order
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
The Chronicles of Amber books ranked, best to worst
- 1.The Hand of OberonBook 4 · 19768.0
- 2.The Guns of AvalonBook 2 · 19727.9
- 2.Sign of ChaosBook 8 · 19877.9
- 2.Sign of the UnicornBook 3 · 19757.9
- 2.Knight of ShadowsBook 9 · 19897.9
- 2.The Courts of ChaosBook 5 · 19787.9
- 2.Prince of ChaosBook 10 · 19917.9
- 8.Blood of AmberBook 7 · 19867.8
- 9.Nine Princes in AmberBook 1 · 19707.7
Extras, short stories and spin-offs
Not needed to follow the main story — read them after the series or skip them.
- Blue Horse, Dancing Mountains2003
Frequently asked questions
Which Chronicles of Amber book is the best?
By reader score, The Hand of Oberon (8.0/10). The lowest-rated is Nine Princes in Amber (7.7/10).
Which The Chronicles of Amber book is the longest?
“Knight of Shadows” is the longest at 256 pages; the shortest is “The Courts of Chaos” with 183 pages.
What should I read after The Chronicles of Amber?
After the main series: Blue Horse, Dancing Mountains.