Trumps of Doom

Merle Corey (aka Merlin of Chaos, son of Corwin of Amber) has a fan. Not a fan like gushing girlie groupies. More of a fan like Robert DeNiro was a Fan of Wesley Snipes. This fan keeps trying to show his appreciation by attempting to kill him every April 30th. The attempts have been clumsy and unsuccessful in the past, but Merle has had to admit that they are getting better. This year, though, things have gotten personal - they killed Merle's old girlfriend, Julia, and a hack wizard and a succubus both got pretty close to doing him in. And things just keep getting worse and worse. A friend of his may not be who Merle thinks he is. He may or may not have a guardian angel keeping an eye on him. His mother may or may not have sent someone show more to help him. Amber itself may or may not be in danger. And his pet programming project, Ghostwheel, may or may not be sentient and out to kill him. And why is everyone interested in Ghostwheel? All questions and no answers. show less

I've put off reading the second series of Amber books for a long time because I heard they just aren't as good as the originals. After reading the first book, that seems true to me, but Zelazny is a master and Trumps of Doom is still a great, quick read.This series follows Merlin, Corwin's son, and while he shares a lot of Corwin's personality he's simply not as compelling a character at this point in the story. A huge part of the first Amber book was finding out together with Corwin what exactly was going on. Merlin already knows the game, so a lot of the more fantastical elements are lost here.

The plot also feels like a bit of a retread, but the final third really ramps up and the ending, while not satisfying on its own, is a great show more jumping-off point for the rest of the series. These are really quick reads, all 5 books together are about the length of one regular fantasy doorstopper, so you definitely can't complain about the pace. I'm glad I decided to jump in with Merlin; Zelazny hasn't disappointed me yet. show less

In The Trumps of Doom, Roger Zelazny's sixth installment in the Chronicles of Amber shifts the focus to a new hero, young Merle Corey, a computer programmer and Prince of both kingdoms Chaos and Amber. He lives on shadow earth where every April 30, somebody tries to kill him. After 7 or 8 years, Merlin finally decides this is getting a bit personal, when a former girlfriend is slaughtered in her home. The prince will go after the killer. He soon becomes embroiled in the snarled family politics of Amber, where more of Oberon's children are mysteriously dying, and each sibling is introduced as a suspect with probable cause to murder. Merlin has created an interdimensional computer called the Ghostwheel, that reads a slice of each Shadow show more world, and processes that data.
I've found Zelazny's Merle Corey a much more appealing character than Corwin, maybe because he comes closer to mensch than übermensch, thus more identifiable to the author's geeky reader core (reviewer included. No clamoring to kill me, folks). You get the feeling that despite his powers, he runs the chance of getting the poop kicked out of him at any moment. Although he possesses some of the requisite "magical" powers of the Merlin of Arthurian Lore, it's only a name borrowed from our Western European historical past. There may be another reason for the attraction to the character, since he's no more fully developed than Corwin of the first five Amber novels. Where Corwin was taciturn, Merlin seems much more a social creature; while Corwin was part of the family, Merlin has to sense his way though the social dysfunction that comprise the Amberite clan.

The writing is solid and well plotted. I have a feeling the five books that comprise the Merlin arc of the Amber stories could hold up as a single book: this novel (Avon mass paperback edition) is a mere 180 pages. Several cliffhangers will either nauseate fans, or cause them to return to the next novel. I noted a few mentions of 80s personal computing subculture: "If Apple takes off," a character said at one point in the book. I must take exception with the title itself. The Trumps of Doom? Aside from its profound lameness, it has no real bearing on the novel itself, at least yet. Still reeling at that one. Trumps of Doom... I guess you can make just about *anything* scary, if you put the words "...of doom" at the end of the sentence. (Checkered thermos of DOOM! Yep. I was right.)

In all, Trumps is a solid start with a promising premise. I believe I will like the second five Amber novels, and also Zelazny's young magician Merle, much more than Corwin. I enjoyed the book. My fingers are crossed in hopes of an excellent Book Seven (Blood of Amber). show less

Jumped straight into this series after finishing the original Amber series.
Trying my best not to compare it too much.....

In Nine Princes of Amber, although Corwin starts off in a "normal" Earth hospital with amnesia and revisits it a few times, Corwin quickly became aware that he was a Prince of Amber and very much acted the part for the remainder of the series, with everything revolving around Amber and his mind definitely centred there.

Merlin almost seems the opposite. It feels like he is based in our world and is just an occasional visitor to Amber and not particularly interested in all the intrigue, except for when he is somehow directly involved in it. This feels more like an Urban Fantasy than a Fantasy World fantasy like the show more original series.
I'm not complaining, actually prefer it to not be too similar to the original.

What I like about this story is all the questions being raised. Who is trying to kill Merlin? Why? How many different parties are there and how many are directly against Merlin, or indirectly against him or secretly helping him, or will be at least temporarily aligned with him?
One thing I loved about the first series was that all the questions raised were eventually answered. Even if it was 4 books later. I have confidence in Mr Zelazny that the same thing will eventuate here.
Can't wait to continue with the rest of the series. show less

I jumped right into this series. I do miss Corwin, but I like his son Merlin. It is a good thing I read the first series; otherwise, I'd be a bit lost, as the author assumes the first five books have been read. Merle (Merlin) has a foot in both Amber and the Courts of Chaos, so I expect to learn more about the Courts as I go on.

Yes, there is a mystery. The pacing is a bit slow, as it often is for the first book in a series. But it was a quick read, and it is off to the next book for me.

Recommended for fans of the Amber series.

Couldn't put it down, pulls you in with mysteries faster than the first set of novels. Unfortunately it's hard to judge the quality of the book overall because it is very much incomplete, basically just the prologue to the new Amber series.

Interesting. Somewhat confusing at the start, though I kept waiting for him to explicitly mention Amber - it doesn't come out until a good halfway through the book, I think. I like Luke, but I agree with Bill that Merle is way too casual about him. And the late revelations are...very interesting! It's most definitely part of a series - you'd be seriously confused if this were your first encounter with Amber, and nothing gets resolved at all. But as part of a series, it's good. And I like Merle a lot better than Corwin - his actions and motives are a lot more comprehensible.