It is the second book in the Cycle of Merlin, and in typical Amber fashion, the intrigue is stacking up. Merle begins the story trapped in a crystal cave by his friend Luke (relationships being complicated in Amber, and who is one day your friend may the next have a vendetta against you). Throughout the book, other curiosities are revealed, including a strange entity that seems intent to protect Merle from harm, yet is unable to speak on the matter or explain its motives; odd blue crystals that seem to work as both a dampening field and a tracking device; Luke's mounting motivations to destroy Amber; a wolf-like fiend tracking Merle throughout the novel, and last, but not least, Mask, a mask-wearing sorcerer who enjoys attacking Merlin with flowers, among other things (no, really).This was another book that was hard for me to get into. At 139 pages, it's a fairly short read, yet I found it dragging, especially in the first half. Large chunks of space are taken up with shadow walks, and extraneous information that at times made me forget what I should actually be focusing my attentions on. However, I did greatly enjoy the sort of guardian angel character that, for the want of no spoilers, has no name I can mention here. Once this character was introduced into the story, I found it quite engaging.Unfortunately, this was another book that lacked any significant conflict. Wikipedia summarized the book as follows:Merlin escapes from the crystal cave, and decides to gain leverage over Luke by rescuing his mother from the Keep of the Four Worlds. He spars with the sorcerer who now controls the keep, and who seems to know him. He escapes with the petrified Jasra, and returns to Amber where an unusual Trump summoning imprisons him in the Mad Hatter's tea party.While this is an accurate summation of the story contained, it is important to note that basically all of what is summed up there happens in the last twenty pages of the book. The rest is basically a ramble, and typical of Zelazny for this series, setting up the breadcrumbs for the next book (which may or may not be remembered by the time you read the next one).Finally, while I found the "climax" of the book entertaining, it couldn't exactly be taken seriously, even given the decade in which it was written. And the final moment (the Mad Hatter's tea party) came up so quickly that I had a hard time accepting that it really was the end of the book. All in all, this installment on the Cycle of Merlin feels more like a weekly episode in a drama, complete with teasers at the end.Blood of Amber, interestingly, was first printed in a limited batch of 400 signed and numbered copies in 1986. It has had 33 other editions since then, including the omnibus I am reading.
I felt like this book was focusing more on thickening plots rather than action itself, and although it doesn't end with any kind of closure, it is my favorite book in the series so far. Just like the first 5 books, the plot progresses at a fascinating pace, you never really know who's a friend and who's the enemy, except this time there are twice as many characters to suspect, and a few who seem to be just sitting back and waiting to step into the action some time later. What I love most about these books is that there's no ultimate evil entity, in the end pretty much every character has a good and a bad side, everyone has their own vendettas and ambitions, most of them understandable.I feel that the author hasn't wasted a single line with irrelevant conversation in this book, every chapter in the plot thickens, and every little remark, flashback or picture on a trump is important to the story and will eventually come back. The family also seems to be growing each chapter.I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that Merlin seems MUCH more powerful than Corwin. I mean, he can summon any object he wants out of Shadow, he can create Trumps at any time, he can go invisible, and he can destroy anything he wants with the power of his mind by using the Logrus. I don't think he's as good with a sword as Corwin, but who needs that when you're a sorcerer and got amazing killer spells. My hopes for the next books are that Corwin will show up soon (and not completely mad), that we'll know a bit more about Dara and Merlin's brothers at the Courts, and that Luke will actually turn out to be a good guy.
What do You think about Blood Of Amber (1995)?
I had started reading the 'second' of the 5-books series Zelazny did with regards to Amber, with the full knowledge most people consider it inferior, and I have to say, that while I have, thus far, preferred the original series, which stands as one of my favourite series of all time, this series is not bad, in fact compared to plenty of other's it's damn well fantastic, but it does suffer a tad in comparison to it's predecessors.Merlin is a likeable protagonist, in some ways more likable than Corwin was, and he is different enough to seem like a different person, though still 'his fathers son' as it were. This book has the same level of intrigue of 'what the hell is going on' that the earlier books often had, with conspiracies, multiple suspects, and no knowledge of who to trust. I ahd been hopping this series would delve more into the Court of Chaos, as Merlin originates from there, but what we've been getting so far are mere hints and brief snippets.Anyways, I would still recommend the series up to this point, and I'll just have to see how the next couple fair.
—Wise_owl
Going into Blood of Amber and tens of pages into it, it felt like this was going to bring the second five book set back on track and move towards answering the various questions the series was bringing up. For a quite a while the story was really good, with less of the 'filler pages' that plague some of the books in the series and more interesting ideas. It carried itself well, resolving one of the big mystery characters in a good solid reveal.And then ... I don't know. Somewhere in this book it became aggressively difficult to keep reading, as each turned page never went anywhere. I put it down for a while, came back, struggled with it and then a month later finally finished the last third in two sittings just to get it done. The end result is the last quarter of the book is flat out terrible, unenjoyable and not at all what I was hoping for.I'd rate it lower but it is unfair to evaluate the totality of a novel against the terrible last pages, but in terms of an average, they sure do drag the whole of it down.
—Iain
Well, that took forever.Merlin is boring. His life is boring; his problems are boring. And now he's in Wonderland. WTF Zelazny? How's the LSD?Seriously. I will keep reading the series, because potential. And completion. But I miss Corwin I think more than Merlin does. I like the potential of sorcery, but I really think this thing is being dragged out for no damn reason. Why were the first five books so much more engaging and fantastical? Even the 900th trip through Shadow held my interest better than this.Well, not everything can be perfect. Carry on.
—Elisabeth
