Sign of Chaos

The Chronicles of Amber, Book 8

By: Roger Zelazny

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

Sign of Chaos is the eighth book of The Chronicles of Amber; an epic fantasy series written by six-time Hugo Award winning and three-time Nebula Award winning author, Roger Zelazny.

The ten books that make up the series are told in two story arcs: The Corwin Cycle and the Merlin Cycle.

Narrator Wil Wheaton, who won the 2012 Audie Award for his engaging performance of Fuzzy Nation, brings this classic series to a stunning close by giving voice to Merlin, Corwin’s son, in the final five books of the series.

Following the cliffhanger ending of Blood of Amber, Merlin is stranded in surrealistic Alice in Wonderland-esque bar where the Mad Hatter serves cocktails. Managing to escape, Merlin meets new family members--one of whom is intent on killing him. As events escalate, Merlin finds himself surrounded by his worst enemies including his ex-girlfriend--back from the dead.

©1987 The Amber Corporation (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

best narrator ever!

The narration is excellent. No falsetto for female characters. each character is easily distinguished . excellent diction. speed and excitement when called for. Never heard better!

Merle wises up, mask unmasked, plot unstuck!

This second Amber series gets progressively better each book. Two changes in the writing I noticed in this one. In the last book there was a hell of a lot of recap. Holy crap! Like one full chapter at the beginning and a long passage midway. Plus characters telling each other what happened in previous chapters. Also, Merle continued in his obtuseness through the entire second book, and it was essentially his blindness to events and forces around him that drove the plot. In this one, however, Zelazny starts in the middle of the action and then works in a short recap in a less objectionable fashion. After that, it's off to the races. And there are overt references made to Merle getting his head out of his ass and starting to think things through rather than being so gullible. So the writing, pacing, and plotting are notably better. Some of the mysteries start to unfold, which is a welcome change after two books of setting them up. Seems like Z likes this five books format with the middle one being a sort of bridge/turn.

On a different note, I have been remiss in mentioning that Wil Wheaton narrates this second series. The narrator for the first Amber series (Alessandro Juliani) was a complete ham! So terrible. Every voice had a different accent/nationality, and all of them were goofy caricatures of the real world thing. (A drawling westerner, a feisty scotsman, etc.) So maybe I just love Wil here because he is not Alessandro. But I listened to his reading of Agent to the Stars a while back and was pleasantly surprised. He is a damn fine narrator, actually, and I think he is the perfect personality for this series. He keeps a sort of light/fun tone that works well with the material.

Wheaton Nails it Again!

Listening to Merlin brought to life by Will Wheaton is a masterpiece atop what is already legendary writing. He is bringing such deep thinking and calculating depth to his mindset which is so fitting!

Great series

Every time I hear Will Wheaton say Greys wander rather than Grey swan deer, I wanted to kick a puppy, sadly this was only the most repeated mispronunciation, not the worst.

Merlin's adventure continues

I think a slightly higher male voice as narrator would have made Merlin his youth more apparent, for he is, in Amber terms, a younster.

This Series is Coasting

I feel like this series has coasted into mediocrity. I loved the first three or so books of the Corwin cycle, but then it coasted and I feel like the Merlin cycle started on a downward drift already in progress.

Granted, they’re not terrible, but it feels like my interest has dropped to the point of me designating this series as something to play in the background as I do something else more interesting.

Also, it occurred to me at one point, that all of the characters feel like snobs who are caught up in political games and really do nothing for one another unless it benefits themselves to a high degree. Which kind of makes it hard for me to care about any of them; when none of them really care for each other.

Well...goodnight.

Wheaton and Zelazny are back!

I LOVE this series. I read it decades ago, in the all-in-one version. Wil struggled to voice the characters in book 7 but all is well in book 8. Maybe that is a director issue? I am uncertain. Sign of Chaos has a great story line and cast. This is worth owning!!

excellent read!

With things heating up for Merlin he'll have to escape peril and make alliances with unexpected magicians. Enjoy this well read book. I certainly did.

Formulaic, but still a fun read.

I first met Zelazny's Princes in Amber books a long time ago. By the 7th or 8th book they became a little too formulaic, but still enjoyable. Much, much better than the recent spate of twinkling vampires and ethical werewolves. I'd love to see these books rewritten in the depth of "Tales of Ice and Fire", or "Harry Potter'. Zelazny has the mythology charted, but his palette, however entertaining, is a bit narrow.