Book review: "The Great Book of Amber" by Roger Zelazny

This is one of the best fantasy series I have ever read and I only lament about finding it so late. "The Great Book of Amber" is actually 10 volumes in 1. In order, they are "Nine Princes in Amber", "The Guns of Avalon", "Sign of the Unicorn", "The Hand of Oberon", "The Courts of Chaos" , "Trumps of Doom", "Blood of Amber", "Sign of Chaos", "Knight of Shadows" and finally, "Prince of Chaos". The series can effectively be sliced into 2 parts - each one taking 5 books. The first 5 volumes traces the adventure of Corwin from he woke up and not knowing who he was to his turning down the throne of Amber and creating a second Pattern himself. Volume 6-10 follows Merlin, Corwin's son, from his "education" in shadow Earth to his eventual succession to the throne of Chaos. Both are written from the first person's point of view and I have quite a soft spot for this style. Part 1. I think the story is simply fabulous. It was the creation of a new universe that revolves around Amber as the center (if you ignore the primal pattern). The concepts of shadow, Trumping, etc never cease to amaze. I feel the author milked them for what they were worth and he did it very well. It is also impressive how he managed to come up with so many versions of the story from different characters' points of view as the plot was revealed bit by bit by each prince and princess of Amber. One thing that did not quite go well with me was the way he described the scenery changes as Corwin manipulated shadow when traveling through worlds. He did it too often and spent too much time on it - so much so that I felt it was pointless to try follow through the visualization. I just needed to know the start and end point, and that Corwin was manipulating shadow. This was especially patience-testing in book 5. There was one thing I didn't quite understand. When Oberon repaired the Pattern in the same book, he predicted that a shadow storm will extend from Amber to the Courts of Chaos. That was why he sent Corwin ahead to the battle at the Courts of Chaos and had the Jewel of Judgment delivered to him. If that storm of chaos was indeed coming all the way from Amber to the Courts, how then did Oberon's funeral procession get on with such ease? If the storm was like a traveling entity instead of an enlarging one, then it followed that Oberon must have succeeded in repairing the pattern - otherwise, Amber would have already dissolved into Chaos. The characters were speculating about the outcome of the Pattern repair even after seeing the procession - so this was one thing I don't quite get. Another thing was that when "The Courts of Chaos" ended, hence concluding part 1 of 2, I felt like strangling the author. Though I am not Corwin and Corwin did turn down the throne voluntarily, I still feel cheated (for lack of a better word) somewhat that the unicorn chose Random as the next King eventually. It just screamed "WRONG! WRONG!! WRONG!!!" in my mind. I would still prefer it if the author just made up something and made Corwin the King. Part 2. Given that I hated the author for ending book 5 that way, I was not willing to indulge him for a good part of "Trumps of Doom". The suspense was irritating when I was trying to confirm who the character narrating the story was. Uncles were mentioned so this narrowed down the likely possibilities to be either Martin or Merlin. The latter definitely seemed more likely since Merlin has a dual heritage that could be better exploited for an interesting story. However, I would be lying if I say I like such father-son continuations. I hate it. I prefer the story to stay within the generation. Usually, books written about subsequent generations turn out bad. I have practically fallen in love with Corwin as I followed his character built-up through the first 5 volumes. I still want him; I don't want his son. :P The styles of writing are so similar that if you just look at styles per se, you would have thought it is still Corwin, and not Merlin. That said though, after finishing the entire series, I guess I like Merlin too lol. I love the introduction of the Logrus. Suddenly it seems that being an Amberite is not that cool after all. Without the Jewel of Judgment, ignoring the sorcerous skills Bleys, Fiona or Brand (not to mention Dworkin and Oberon) have, an Amberite can only Trump in and out. Yes, being practically immortal with wolverine-like ability is neat, and manipulating shadows is awesome, but that's that. Comparing the Pattern with the Logrus, the former seems to pale with respect to the magical prowess granted the initiated. In fact, everything that an Amberite can do, a Chaosite can too, and more. Frakir and Ghostwheel are very neat introductions too. Especially Ghostwheel, this machine AI construct is really adorable. I am jealous of Merlin though. He seemed to have everything handed to him on a platter. He was practically born with a silver spoon in his mouth and life really wasn't half bad for him. There are many other interesting characters too but I won't do a character analysis here. One thing that I find hard to accept is how the author "ruined" Corwin who was the hero of part 1. I can't accept that Dara basically imprisoned him ever since the Patternfall war. This is just so wrong. I was even hoping that Corwin would have an at least medium sized role to play in part 2. It is ridiculous that Merlin was the one who ended up rescuing him from his prison near the end. Why suffer Corwin to such indignation? The latter 6 volumes contain a lot of new information and I feel that not enough time was devoted to capitalize on it. I had the impression that the author was tired of writing and just want to quickly get things over with. Particularly, the ending for the last book, and ultimately the Amber Chronicles, is a real loser. Why the rush? If the same effort given to the first 5 volumes was to be given to the last 5, I think it would do the new juice more justice. There are quite a few over-stretched mini-plots in part 2 that make the story less credible - or more sloppy if you want to look at it this way. There are also enough glaring typo and grammatical errors that I am inclined to believe that the person proof-reading the books was not doing his job. In conclusion, the Amber Chronicles are a must-read. If you enjoy the fantasy genre, you *must* read these 10 volumes. In fact, I won't be surprised if you have already read them. Book 1 came out in 1970 - that's even before I was born. :P

Book review: "Vittorio, the Vampire" by Anne Rice

Having read several books written by the author, I must say that this one is one of the most disappointing. In fact, I would go as far to say that it is a rather shoddy piece of work. At less than 300 pages, it is a slim volume that has more fluff than substance. Don't get me wrong though. The language is just fine - what's lacking is the content. The book started off with Vittorio boasting how powerful he was when compared to the others (I wonder really - can anyone be more powerful than "my" Lestat? :P). He then went on to talk about bits and pieces of his history from just before he became a vampire. The story feels really stretched - even for Anne Rice. So, a girl falls in love with a guy and then it results in the obliteration of the entire cohort of vampires. Let's not forget the mentions of angels who helped him and were not sure themselves if it was God's will or not. As I read on, instead of believing it (like when I immerse myself fully into a story), I found myself thinking it was really some lackluster ravings of a deranged guy. When I read that part where the author said she went to Florence to receive the manuscript from Vittorio, I almost burst out laughing. She really got carried away. At the end of the book, she tried to add a moral of the story that seems really out of place. A spark in everyone? It doesn't even have any direct relevance to the story. Granted that this book was written in 1999, this idea of a spark in everyone should have already got stale even by then. A spark? My foot! :P And he/she has the audacity to end with "Let me pay the price for you instead." This is the icing on the blood-red cherry cake. Is this supposed to be a new martyr in the making? Besides if you think about it, he sucking the blood from people and living in enviable bliss isn't even half sacrificial at all. Anne Rice is one of my favorite authors but I have to steel my heart for once and give this book a thumb down. Having said that though, I would still read this book (speed-read) even if I had known how bad it is - since I am a fan of her writings. So there, this book is for fans only. Otherwise, I would suggest you turn to other books by Anne - they are much, much better.

Book review: "Labyrinth" by Kate Mosse

This is not the first fiction story written about the holy grail, and it is definitely not going to be the last. If the likes of King Arthur and Merlin were to be used as yardsticks, then there will be many more stories of the grail to come. Yet despite being neither first nor last, "Labyrinth" is certainly one that can pull its own weight. When I started reading the book, one thing made me really uncomfortable - the author's use of the present tense. It is rare for the present tense to be chosen since a narration already bound into a volume is definitely of the past. If the intention is for the reader to be an invisible observer who leeches onto the characters while they make their every move, it strikes me as weird when the tense changed after the prologue. It never did revert even when the storytelling changed from Alaïs' viewpoint to Alice's. Since it happened only in the prologue, it is somewhat understandable - but nevertheless uncomfortable for me. Together with this, the other thing that struck me first was that the author has a genuine flair for "painting". The scenes, people and surroundings were all described so vividly that I can literally forget I am not "there" but "here". The story itself is fast-paced enough and I found myself led along willingly as I flipped page after page. The moment I put down the book, I can feel myself tugged back. I love pretty much everything about the book, that is, till the ending - which I felt made the story drop from a 8/10 to 6/10. I don't like the ending. I don't like the "real" meaning of the grail. It seems quite ridiculous for the grail to continue existing just so that someone can bear witness to the real history of events. Put it plainly, forgoing the mystique, the grail in the story is just an elixir discovered by some ancient Egyptians, that is capable of prolonging life. So, the creators of this elixir decided that it should be kept from those who might use it for wrong ends (fair enough), and that someone should be charged with the burden of keeping history books true. When this "secret" of the grail was revealed near the end, I find myself quite disappointed. Does it matter to me if it was A who attacked B first, or if we were once ruled by donkeys? Not a whit, to be honest. Why would one version of the history matter more than another, regardless of which is true or false? The present *is* the present and it is not dictated by the future. What has happened, has happened. Telling the world that something actually happened another way will not change anything. After all, life goes on, no matter what. Check out the book, it's beautifully written. I would say it is worth a place in anyone's library.

Book Review: “Magic Street” by Orson Scott Card

Mack is a nice first name. Street is a nice last name. Mack Street is one neat full name. But hang on, what's the title of this book again? Magic Street. How creative. What's in a name anyway? We have come across this question more than a few times and we have strong fire power on both sides of the argument. Granted that there is more to a book than its title, such as the author and the book cover, it just begs the question why the person who chose the title couldn't have come up with a more original one. When I was reading the first few chapters of the book, I had to refer back to the cover to make sure I remembered the title correctly. I thought I might have misread either “Magic Street” or “Mack Street”, and that they are really one and the same. Before you think I am slamming down the book given that I have dedicated three paragraphs to its questionable choice of title, it's far from it. I like the book, so much so that I went past my bedtime and slept at 6.30am just so that I can finish the book. That wouldn't do too good to my health so I just hope that Puck will do something about it – without twisting the outcome of course. I have to point out that I am not a fan of the original “A Midsummer Night's Dream”. I am also not terribly fascinated by fairy queens or slugs with wings. When the story first mentioned reference to Shakespeare the schoolboy and his writings, I must confess I was tempted to just put the book down. But then, I had read quite a bit already and it seemed an unforgivable waste to not run the book to its end. The story centres on Mack who is really the pristine goofy half of Oberon, the King of fairies. At the beginning when he was still growing up and walking around in diaper, I thought he sounded too old for his age. Then again, I shrugged it off given that he wasn't that normal a child anyway. But subsequently in the book, when he grew up to be a fine lad who was almost 18, he didn't sound much different from when he was 6. Since he had to relearn the alphabet and study like a normal human child, I have to assume that the manner of his speech will change too as he matures in the human realm. If this was factored into consideration, I have not been meticulous enough to notice. I quite like the character of Ceese. After all, he is the only human representative into fairyland and one has to give one's own kind a leg up. Cecil Tucker first appeared in the story with his friend Raymo. From his interaction with this cool-guy-who-forced-him-to-smoke-weed, it just didn't feel like he was too strong-willed. Therefore, it is quite remarkable that he, of all humans, was able to withstand the magical charm of Yo-yo a.k.a. the Queen of fairies. It was suggested that Ceese was more dull than not – though he might have been conditioned to think this way seeing how he turned out to be not that dumb after all as the story progressed. The bag man is one amusing character. The image portrayed when he first appeared to Professor Williams was a stark contrast to the mischievous Puck who was slave to Oberon but in love with his wife. I have to give credit to the creativity of the author for the exchanges between Puck and Yo-yo. The bantering between the two was refreshing and I enjoyed it. The impression I had of Yolanda was more of a motorcycle mum than anything. Her wit and vanity were apparent, but I cannot easily feel her stature as Queen or her love as a wife. Perhaps the hip-hop image was too irresistible when creating the story. I have a gripe about the ending. When Mack found himself to be more Mack than Oberon when they were made one again, that part just felt a little too hastily done. After “waking” up, the strongest feeling Mack had was anguish for the wrongs he did. At this point, he was evidently more Oberon than Mack. If Mack was indeed so much stronger than Oberon, I feel that the feeling would be more like a memory long buried than a wound freshly opened. If you don't agree, you won't arch your eyebrow then over the hasty way I am ending this review. I'll give “Magic Street” by Orson Scott Card 4 out of 5 stars. *wink*