Introduction

The introduction summarizes the response to Roger Zelazny’s premature death from cancer in 1995, noting the universally high personal regard in which he was held but also the all-but-universal consensus that his early work was his best. The introduction then traces the decline of Zelazny’s critical reputation, especially within the academic community, and summarizes the argument to follow: that Zelazny’s career is best considered not only in terms of such well-discussed elements as mythology, immortality, and sophisticated prose but also in terms of a consistent preoccupation with the role of the individual within the larger community, a preoccupation explored throughout his career within the often conflicting demands of the literary artist and the commercial writer.