The first time I read this, I remember being so disappointed that this second series set in the Amber universe featured a different protagonist from the first series. I also remember being told that the second series didn't really hold up compared to the first and that the critics viewed it far less favorably. Despite that, I still absolutely love this book.The first series focused on Order and was much more about that protagonist's single-minded journey toward capturing a throne that he felt was rightfully his. He is a man of action so the universe as presented through his first-person perspective is a backdrop to his tale of intrigue and revenge. The protagonist of this second series is a much more cerebral character. He is a representative of Chaos and is a student of the magical workings of the universe, therefore his tale naturally includes the fleshing out and explanation of the actual underpinnings of the universe that are only hinted at in the first series. I highly enjoy a well constructed fantasy universe, and I think a lot of the detractors of this series are put off by the relatively larger focus on the hows and the smaller focus on the whos as compared to the first series.The structure of this opening book is a nice rhyme to the opening book in the first series. We start on the shadow Earth with our main character trying to figure out who is attempting to kill him. His father is missing and presumed dead. There are family members nearby keeping an eye on him. The parallels continue but for the sake of remaining spoiler free I'll simply say that I enjoyed the poetry of the symmetry, especially since being inside a new character's head was quite a jarring transition after following an entirely different character for five previous books.Zelazny again crafts a compelling mystery and it's quite obvious that he did some serious planning for this series with all of the hints he plants so early on. His requisite cliffhanger ending makes its usual appearance, and it's a testament to his skill as a writer that this new narrator's voice doesn't sound like his old narrator's voice. This younger narrator is far less cynical, more naive, less droll, but still as compelling because of his unique background. The only thing I'm not really a fan of is the name of the book since it's never really seemed to be a good fit with the rest of the titles, but that's a quibble so minor that it's not even really a quibble.I probably still prefer the first book in the first series more than this one, but they're both extremely satisfying beginnings for entirely different reasons. I'm glad that this one has held up for me no matter how many times I've read it and I'll be forever sad that Zelazny died before he could write his third series that would have featured both of his main protagonists working together.
I was skeptical at first but I liked Trumps of Doom as much as any of the Corwin books. Merlin as a narrator is pretty similar to Corwin, but different enough, particularly by virtue of not being a prince in either Amber or Chaos, and thus not as deeply embroiled in family conflicts. I liked how this gave a different view of some of Corwin's siblings, especially Fiona who Corwin saw as enigmatic and dangerous but with whom Merlin has a much friendlier relationship. There were some issues in the writing, confusions with tense and pronouns (which Merlin does refer to jokingly on more than one occasion), and some overly-poetic descriptions of Shadow walks, with cheesy phrases like "the ocean sang my favorite song." Though on that last note, I did think it was interesting that Merlin kept mentioning (on the side) qualities of pitches and even melodies that he heard in the natural world - along with his initial reference to the few instruments he owns, perhaps it's a gift for music passed down from his ballad-writing and now-absent father. Anyway, there were also a few total eye roll moments where Merlin just casually breaks doors, kills hellbeasts, and pulls clean clothes and free beers out of Shadow because he's just so all-powerful, being from both Amber and Chaos. His confidence and facility does, thankfully, get checked at the end though. It's a typically quick and fun read with a cliffhanger ending. Bring on the next four!
Do You like book Trumps Of Doom (1995)?
As for the first five books, this review will cover the second five books for the Amber Chronicles, the Merlin Cycle. This series was written a little later and covers the adventures of Merlin, son of Corwin (main character from the first cycle). I had not read this cycle before.The overall story is very good. I enjoyed the twists and turns as Merlin (who is in fact a sorcerer) travels through worlds, deals with plots, and searches for his father. As usual, I hate giving away too much of the plot, but there is the Chaos vs. Order (Amber) theme going on. Those of Chaos are not evil, just as those of Amber are not necessarily good, but the idea of balancing the powers of the universe is key.Zelazny's creation of worlds and its creatures/mechanisms is a lot of fun. This was a little less like the Dark Tower series, but some of the basic concepts are there. In some ways the overall series makes me think of the world created by Coheed and Cambria.I'd say the first five books are slightly better, or at least I like that Zelazny took a little longer to end the series (write a conclusion) in the first series. Perhaps he thought he'd come back to this. He left me wanting to learn more about what happens next, and I wanted some mysteries explored more, but it was still well done.Wil Wheaton did a good job reading the books, but I think Alessandro Juliani (read the first books) actually did a slightly better job.
—Dave
I read this when it first came out and thought at the time that it didn't stand up to Nine Princes in Amber. That's still true.There are weird logical gaps -- Merle's ex-girlfriend gets killed in the morning, but when Merle shows up to interrogate her boyfriend that evening, the cops haven't been by? Even if her body somehow vanished, the apartment has been trashed and the window blown out into the garden. Someone would notice.A whole lot of time is wasted in traveling and traveling through Shadow. Since it doesn't have any impact on the plot, it's skimmable.And in the end nothing resolves.Makes me want to go read the Amber books again.
—Loren
Merle Corey's got several problems. He's secretly Merlin, a Prince of Amber. His father Corwin has been missing for years. Oh, and someone tries to kill him every April 30th for reasons unknown. The story starts with Merle getting ready to leave Shadow Earth behind and devote himself to working on his Ghostwheel when an old girlfriend he goes to say goodbye to winds up dead. The trail leads Merle to a conjurer and then back to Amber, where he learns he isn't the only Amberite whose had attempts on his life. But what does his friend Luke have to do with things?It took me almost a calendar year to finally start reading the second Amber seriers. So far, I'm liking it a lot. Having read the first series, it's a little easier to follow due to knowing something of Amber's workings already. The mystery of Luke was pretty well done. I like that the bullets Corwin had created in Guns of Avalon came back into play. I also like that Merlin isn't a Corwin duplicate.Like I said, so far I'm enjoying the second chronicles of Amber. It's like visiting with an old friend. On to the next one!
—Dan Schwent
