Prince of Chaos is the tenth and final book in The Great Book of Amber, and man, what a closer.I’ve had a lot of gripes with this series, ranging from stunted character growth to mediocre motivations and waffling plots, but I knew by Chapter Two of this book that they would all be forgiven. In fact, events in that chapter would have resolved me to a five-star rating, even if the rest of the book turned out to be more of the same. The rest of the book just kept getting better and better, however. Prince of Chaos is a great book. I would almost call it a perfect book for its genre. Almost. With the exception of the following paragraph:"Feeling, feeling my way now, down through the strata, single toe soft as a flashlight’s beam running along rocky surfaces, testing the pressures of one upon another, isostatic kisses of mountains beneath the earth, orogenic erogenies of slow movement, flesh caressing mineral in the darkest secret places––"That was just a little too much purple prose, even for me! But, with the exception of that, the book really is perfect. Perfect pacing, perfect character development, perfect, subtle resolutions and hints at a life beyond the book’s end. I haven’t been this pleased with the ending of a series since Six Feet Under on HBO. But enough gushing, let’s get to the story.Prince of Chaos picks up directly after end of the last book. Luke is installed as the new king of Kashfa and takes Coral as a wife. However, Coral, disturbed by becoming the holder of the Jewel of Judgment and the powers that now flow constantly through her, seeks out Merlin for comfort. Merlin, feeling the many favors and duties he owes to his friends and even enemies from the last few books, resolves to “get things resolved and live happily ever after”.There are many powers at play in this book, including the issues surrounding Coral, Nayda the ty’iga being trapped in her human form, the succession to the throne of Courts of Chaos, Jurt and Merlin’s rivalry, Corwin’s disappearance, Ghostwheel’s autonomy, Dara’s final motives and the reasons behind Merlin’s birth, a strange ring (no, not THAT ring), and an ongoing battle between the Logrus (Chaos) and the Pattern (Order). For 130 pages, that is a lot going on, yet Zelazny somehow manages to squeeze in emotional exchanges, Corwin-like analytics in the form of a much more mature and relatable Merlin, and several fast-paced duels.There’s not much more I can say on that end without major spoilers, and I don’t want to ruin this book for anyone.In the end, this book is perfect because Zelazny understood the sheer amount that needed to happen for this last book, and gave masterful treatment to the conclusion of each piece. He spent just the right amount of time on every arc, adding a few new ones that added a certain, nostalgic element to the whole work that really just left me reading the last page, and feeling that it really was the end of the story, but not the character’s lives, or the adventures they would have going forward.There were also a lot of fourth wall jokes that I got a kick out of, including:"Before we could depart, however, I heard voiced from that hallway. So we waited in the room [...] as the speakers approached. One of them I recognized immediately as my brother, Mandor; the other I could not identify [...]. In a badly plotted story they’d have paused outside the doorway, and I’d have overheard a conversation telling me everything I needed to know about anything."In short, this final book makes the entire series worth reading. It will stick with me for some time.A few final words about the edition I used to read this book:I am reading the omnibus printed by EOS Books (an imprint of HarperCollins). It is a massive book, 1,258 pages and using every single one, with very little white space. It was well formatted, but a bit unwieldy for reading or toting around. The binding is also pretty flimsy. A basic cardstock cover made it hard to balance.However, the individual books are now out of print, and an official ebook version has not been produced yet. In an attempt to be able to read on the bus and at work, I did download a facsimile scan of the book, but I do not recommend this file. There are entire pages and paragraphs missing, and with a book of this nature, missing any of those elements is enough to confuse and even change the story. So, there isn’t much of a choice except to buy this behemoth. If you’re set on buying the books individually, I suggest looking for them on Abe Books.
The second set of books from the Amber trilogy starts well, wanders to a catharsis, and then gives up. As we begin reading we awaken to Merlin, through whose story we learn of additional powers held by Amberites who are really Chaosites in the Yin and Yang that marauds us during the final three books.It seems that the story is intended to be a coming of age story set in an infinite universe where the only reason to come of age is to not die. Merlin does the latter very well, and so we find that he comes into his own - his own being some form of restoration of balance. But did he restore anything?Probably not.I enjoyed working my way through these books. The imaginary worlds are rich enough for the curious to explore further on their own and the cobbled together plot had enough of a current to push me to the end to find out what was really going on. As with the Corwin series of Amber, there were many unresolved questions at the end. I am not sure I have the wherewithal or desire to wend my way through another series that attempts to resolve the issues raised.If you like fantasy there is a lot to absorb in this series, but if you are not a fan of fantasy, this book will not turn you into a fan. I read the compiled Great Book of Amber which made the series seem a bit longer, but each of the ten books in the series is fairly short so picking up one and reading through it should not turn into a time sink unless you really get into them.Also, it might be work reading them backwards.
What do You think about Prince Of Chaos (1995)?
I almost entirely loved it. Overall I liked the Merlin saga even better than Corwin's stories. There was a much tighter and faster pace. Corwin's had more "magic" for me as a newly-discovered concept, but this series was more developed and exciting. I many ways it felt like book one and book two of a series, rather than the two sets of five books each, where the first book introduced a new concept and story and the second took it further, developing additional layers and ideas.That said, there were quite a few moments where I just didn't know what was going on. It felt like the author could picture things so clearly that he was assuming we could as well. I'm pretty bright generally, and I've read a lot of fantasy, plus this was the tenth book in a series, so these "what the heck was that?" moments did take away from my overall enjoyment. Also, there were a few items in this book that just didn't make sense. There is a sudden reconciliation and partnership with someone who's shown a pathological hatred for Merlin throughout the series. Even with a magical transformation, it just did feel right. Also, there is an item of magic which defies every aspect of the magical rules previously established, but it's origin and ability to function as it does is totally unexplained. Merlin accepts it because it works, but that didn't make me accept at. Perhaps this is something that was intended to be explained in further stories. I know that the author did complete a few before his death, but I haven't been able to track them down yet. Nevertheless, I would have preferred a method of resolving the major plot that didn't involve inventing a new kind of magic item that isn't consistent with any other part of the stories.Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book and the series. I'd highly recommend it for any fan of traditional fantasy.
—Cathy
So this is how it ends. I have mixed feelings.On one hand, to me, that ending was rather anticlimactic. And it felt rushed. All that build-up towards a fight that concluded in like 2 pages? No sense really. At one point I was checking to see if I skipped some pages and parts of the story. It really didn't feel like a conclusion of the whole story. More like the middle. As I understood, Mr. Zelazny intended to write more books but died before doing it. So that sucks. I would've liked to have some things better explained and to see the continuation of the story. On the other one though, it was such a wonderful journey. I got so easily immersed into this world and couldn't stop reading until I learned all about it. I loved the mystery and the fucked up family relationships and fighting for the throne. Some epic plans were thought of along the way. It was ridiculous and fun and annoying to see 'em all randomly eating and drinking and telling stories in the middle of the most chaotic times. Travelling through Shadows and basically being able to find everything your heart might ever desire is awesome. I wish I could do it. Makes you wonder if you actually live in a world that's just a Shadow of something else. All in all, this is a must for every fan of fantasy out there. Good-bye and hello, as always.
—Euryanthe
I had to finish this series against my persistent urge of not wanting to after reading mixed reviews with some of them being terrible. Not to mention the 1-star rating I gave the previous book in the series, but this one somewhat delivers, same as the rest of the series. Every ending has left me somewhat dissatisfied, including this one. I liked it, but I wouldn't recommend this series to anyone. Well, maybe someone who had read all the other better books in the prison library and these were still unread. I'd say read them. Otherwise, find something else..
—Michael
