Author: Roger Joseph Zelazny

Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series. He won the Nebula award three times (out of 14 nominations) and the Hugo award six times (also out of 14 nominations), including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel ...And Call Me Conrad (1965; subsequently published under the title This Immortal, 1966) and then the novel Lord of Light (1967).

In his stories, Roger Zelazny frequently portrayed worlds with plausible magic systems and/or casually supernatural beings. His novels and short stories often involve characters from myth, depicted in the modern world. Zelazny was also apt to include numerous anachronistic present-day elements, such as cigarette-smoking (see below) and references to various drama classics into his fantasy and science-fiction works. His crisp, minimalistic dialogue also seems to be somewhat influenced by the style of wisecracking hardboiled crime authors, such as Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett. The tension between the ancient and the modern, surreal and familiar was what drove most of his work.

from Wikipedia