Sign of Chaos
Book Eight of the Amber Series
Rating: 7
Our hero, Merlin, son of Corwin, continues his adventures in trying to deal with the warped personalities of both Chaos and Amber, and struggles to find his place in the greater scheme. As is often the case, the story begins with our protagonist unsure of where he is and what he is doing. Amber readers up to this point will be well acquainted with how the shadow worlds work, and with the fact that all things exist, somewhere in the shadow worlds. If it can be imagined, it exists. But imagine your creative mind being heavily influenced by drugs. And then imagine what kind of world you would imagine and going there. That is how the book begins, with Merlin’s “friend” Luke on an extended LSD trip to his imaginative world. Merlin has joined him inadvertently and experiences a bit of chaos, himself, just trying to figure out where he is and why he is there. Not just any world would do, but what better world than Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland complete with the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, and Humpty Dumpty. Before Merlin can escape, he must survive the attack of the Bandersnatch and avoid the Jabberwocky.
Once clear from the LSD-induced imagination world, Merlin finds himself in the familiar role of determining just who is trying to kill him and whom he can trust. A new wrinkle is introduced this time however, one that will undoubtedly take us through the end of the series. It seems Merlin, being the son of Corwin and Dara, is in line for the thrown of Chaos, albeit it fourth or fifth in line. And since he has ties to both Amber and Chaos, he is in a unique position to bring the proper balance between the two. So who doesn’t want to see that happen? Therein lie the mystery and the intrigue.
After the last disastrous entry in this 10-book series, (Blood of Amber) Roger Zelazny has made a good comeback with this one. Where the author appeared to have been experimenting with style and form in Blood of Amber, he has now returned to the story-telling technique and charm that is traditional Amber. Back to mystery, intrigue, political shenanigans, and mistaken identity. And, of course, a shocking conclusion as the one known as “the mask” is uncovered. We make considerable progress in this book, advancing the overall plot arc well down the road for this second group of five novels.
I rated this novel a seven because I enjoyed it overall but, at the same time, felt like I had seen most of this before. There are a lot of rehashed themes that the author has used in previous books in the series, and even though we are seeing different characters this time, the originality has suffered. And, to be honest, there have been so many characters introduced, and many who are not what they claim to be, that I found myself needing a scorecard to keep up. That, in itself, is not so bad; I enjoy a complicated plot. But having so many characters tends to lead to a lack of character development. And Merlin, himself, I am finding to be a clone of Corwin in how he speaks and acts. His status as a contender for the throne sure seems familiar as well, and would seem to be a predictable plot for the next two books. I shall soon see.
by Roger Zelazny
Paperback Reissue edition (October 1995)
