Prince of Chaos

Going to share my thoughts on the whole Merlin saga now that I have just finished the last book.

Unlike Corwin, Merlin initially feels more like a "normal" Earth person who has occasionally visited Amber and the Courts but is happy enough just being a computer programmer.
This changes fairly rapidly. Whereas Corwin is basically superhuman and completely obsessed with Amber, Merlin is a sorcerer and uses the power of the Logrus and mostly reacts to various random and mysterious conflicts as they happen to him rather than having any real goal or direction for himself.

A lot more going on with this second series - different factions, unknown enemies, and as I had suspected, not always a clear distinction between bad guys and allies, with show more characters sort of switching to opposing or helping Merlin at various times.

Most questions raised were answered, some weren't entirely satisfactory.
The ending did seem to come a bit abruptly and I may need to chase down some of the later short stories just to get a better feeling of closure on this series. show less

The entire Merlin cycle is a meandering shaggy dog story of dropped plotlines, unfired Chekov's guns, endless tides of macguffins, sudden plot contrivance, and a general waste of the concept of Zelazny's setting.

I am so happy that his final legacy was A Night in the Lonesome October, and therefore he went out on a high note, instead of this.

Merlin pulled into the heart of the Courts of Chaos after King Swayvill's death, as his mother Dara and uncle Mandor conspired to make him the next ruler, maneuvering him past other heirs. Amidst political intrigue, Merlin must navigate deadly traps, reunite with his long-lost father Corwin, held captive by Dara, protect his friends like Coral, who holds the Jewel of Judgment, and resolve the cosmic conflict between Amber (Order) and Chaos (Logrus). It's an epic conclusion to the Merlin Cycle, focusing on Merlin's quest to achieve freedom and balance the universe.

Ok, I've now read all of the Amber books. I read them all at once (with a few breaks) -- which was a good plan, since the series wasn't compelling enough that I would have felt the need to go back to it had I stopped. I know it's a classic, but it just wasn't very fun, and if I'm reading non-literary fantasy than it damn well better be fun.

Too much of the plot in all of the books depended on a character saying something like, "I can't tell you this important fact right now," and or, Something happened & a wizard did it, no questions asked. There wasn't much space for characterization, and the plot is generally driven forward by more complex elements piled on top of each other. The series finally trickles out -- the books have a tendency show more to end in a way where going on to the next book felt more like just opening the next chapter.

There were parts in both the Corwin and Merlin series that weren't a chore to read, but I wouldn't recommend to anyone. show less

Het laatste boek krijgt van mij 3 sterren, net als de hele serie. Ik vond de tweede serie ietsjepietsje meer inlevingsgevoel geven, maar dat blijft toch de hele serie een dikke onvoldoende. De plot is echter zeer goed en heeft me door de serie gesleept, doordat ik geïntrigeerd bleef. Het einde is vrij open vind ik, maar wel passend bij de serie.

A reasonably satisfying conclusion to Merlin's story, but not as much as Corwin's in The Courts of Chaos

An excellent series capped by an OK book. I was a little confused going into the last 10 or 15 pages and there will still major issues unresolved. My confusion led to disappointment when most of those dangling threads were left with a concrete resolution. While I'm OK in general with leaving some plot lines and their completion to the imaginations of the reader, there were just so many threads left that I couldn't help feel a little cheated.