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dantastic's review
3.0
Merlin continues on his quest to find out who has been trying to kill him for years and why. Along the way, we find out more of his backstory, in particular the bits involving his half brothers Jurt and Mandor. More illegitimate spawn of the Amber family pop up, as does Merlin's mysterious body-swapping aide. What do all of these things have to do with the Keep of Four Worlds?
I'm over halfway through the second Chronicle of Amber and I have to say I'm not as captivated by it as I was the first five books. While I find aspects of Merlin's mystery as interesting or more intersting than Corwin's, such as the Ghostwheel and the pattern Corwin created, I feel like the first five books are getting watered down. Too many people are walking the Pattern and too many are able to create trumps.
That's not to say Sign of Chaos is a bad book. It's full of the intrigue that makes the Amber books great. Merlin isn't a carbon copy of his father, which is refreshing. The Amberites are true to form in their double dealing. Despite some minor gripes, I'm ready to find out what happened to Corwin and what will happen to Merlin, Julian, Mandor, and the rest. On to book nine!
I'm over halfway through the second Chronicle of Amber and I have to say I'm not as captivated by it as I was the first five books. While I find aspects of Merlin's mystery as interesting or more intersting than Corwin's, such as the Ghostwheel and the pattern Corwin created, I feel like the first five books are getting watered down. Too many people are walking the Pattern and too many are able to create trumps.
That's not to say Sign of Chaos is a bad book. It's full of the intrigue that makes the Amber books great. Merlin isn't a carbon copy of his father, which is refreshing. The Amberites are true to form in their double dealing. Despite some minor gripes, I'm ready to find out what happened to Corwin and what will happen to Merlin, Julian, Mandor, and the rest. On to book nine!
bkoser's review
4.0
I think the consensus is that the second Amber series is inferior to the first. This far in, I agree, but this one is still worth a read.
peapod_boston's review
3.0
Not as strong as it's predecessor, but still a cut above most current fantasy adventure. Why can't people write like this anymore? Lovely prose, stories that rocket along, mysteries, magic, adventure, and all under 300 pages. If Zelazny wrote this now, they would have published the whole series as one 1000 page book or a trilogy at least. The shorter format keeps things tight, events swarm on events, and economy (and beauty) of prose is the watchword.
Two excellent sequences here--Luke and Dalt's fight in the dark and snow between two armies and the wizardly battle for the Keep at Four Worlds (fast-paced action with magic that isn't whole world destroying; reminds me of some of Cook's stuff). I'd love to see both of them filmed for different reasons (the first, moody and artistically shot violence of a "Bourne Identity" style, intimate, grainy; the second, more like the scenes at the end of the "The Avengers" with Cap, Hawkeye, and Widow on the ground, lots of movement, action, energy and flow), but I'm content with the versions in my head.
Two excellent sequences here--Luke and Dalt's fight in the dark and snow between two armies and the wizardly battle for the Keep at Four Worlds (fast-paced action with magic that isn't whole world destroying; reminds me of some of Cook's stuff). I'd love to see both of them filmed for different reasons (the first, moody and artistically shot violence of a "Bourne Identity" style, intimate, grainy; the second, more like the scenes at the end of the "The Avengers" with Cap, Hawkeye, and Widow on the ground, lots of movement, action, energy and flow), but I'm content with the versions in my head.
nithou's review
5.0
Énormément de clins d'oeil dans ce tome et la saga reprends du poil de la bête, les personnages s'approfondissent tandis que l'on en découvre de nouveaux, l'univers d'ambre continue à s'étendre et à devenir de plus en plus intéressant alors que la fin de la saga se rapproche...
brettp's review
3.0
Finished "Sign of Chaos" by Roger Zelazny. This one took us from the White Rabbit and other acid-induced sights to the Keep of the Four Worlds. Of all the books, this seems the least complete. Interesting things happened, yes, but mostly seemed to be transitioning the story to move forward.
jakemcc's review
2.0
At this point in the series I'm almost simply reading just to see what happens next without particularly enjoying the books. Luckily the books are short and make good filler between reading other more interesting books.