Rating: 
Summary: I like it!
Review: I like it. No, it's not RZ but then, who is? JGB never said that's what he was trying to be.I know there are quesitons left unanswered by the end of book one, but I also know that by the end of book three, they'll all be answered. I liked that Dworkin and Oberon aren't the people RZ presented. They shouldn't be. They're younger and haven't been through everything that the versions we know have been. As for the names, much as I love the original Amber, Eric, Luke, Benedict, Julian, Fiona, Forest Arden, Tir, and Oberon aren't exactly the height of originality as far as names are concerned, but I love them anyway. I will be buying the upcoming installments.
Rating: 
Summary: Elevated fanfic?
Review: I love RZ... let's face it, we lost a treasure when he died. I adore his Amber works. It has to be one of the most original, fun, diverse and interesting universes/concepts I've come across so far. The title of this book is misleading, I would have been happier with 'The Dawn of Amber' then in smaller print 'A novel set in the Amber universe' rather then splashing RZ's name about like he personally approved it. It ADDS many new concepts that RZ never touched on, and changed a few of the known standards of that universe. If you consider this as a commercial piece of fanfic - it's rather fun and interesting to see where Betancourt has taken it, though I can not put it next to my RZ books with confidence. Looking at it from someone who plays Amber Diceless - a role playing game co-created with RZ, it does alow for a lot more family variations that would be very interesting for gamers.
Rating:
Summary: not as good as the source material.
Review: I loved the original Amber series, I liked the second set of five books, but this book is not really nearly as good. I thought that the set up was weak, and the characterization was non-existant. I felt that this book itself was more like the first third of a novel than the first third of a trilogy. I didn't feel that there was really a conflict, and therefore no resolution. It was more like, here's all of these characters and a couple of settings and a back story, please come back next time for the actual story.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good Amber book
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It is as good as the firts Amber book (Nine Prices in Amber?) and much better than those in the second Amber saga (Merlin whatever???) I just ordered the second book in this series, can't wait to get it.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty darn close to original
Review: I'll admit I read this prepared to be disappointed and maybe that is why I was so pleased with 'The Dawn of Amber.' Betancourt follows the Zelazny Amber formula for the first half of the book, but I found myself really getting into the second half of the book and the ending was perfect (considering this the first of the trilogy).
Rating:
Summary: Fast paced - good start to a trilogy
Review: I'm not a such a purist as many Amber readers seem to be. I enjoyed this novel but I felt it was aimed at a younger audience than the original books. It's less demanding than the original works; more on a par with the work of Garth Nix.
I'll be interested to see if the plot thickens (and whether my suspicions about the identity of the traitor are confirmed).
I think the War Hammer generation may enjoy these books more than it's parents.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent start to the Amber prequel
Review: I've seen some of the other reviews. And it's true that Zelazny didn't write this one. So what?
If any fantasy series seemed to be left unfinished, it was Amber. Betancourt is a good author and I liked his book.
The plot is fine. Yes, Oberon's siblings seem very much like his children. Still, I don't see what's wrong with that. Yes, there are some discrepancies between what we see in this book and what we may have thought we saw in Zelazny's Amber. But most of them can be written off, given that they are only with what very untrustworthy characters said in Zelazny's Amber.
Finally, some people thought this trilogy started a little slowly. Well, that's just the way I like it. Oberon is a much larger-than-life character in Amber. We all wanted to know more about him. Now we do. And we all would have been frustrated to be introduced to him as a character of even more immense power and stature at the start of the first book! I think it's better when he starts out being a little confused about what to do and about what his siblings are really like.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty decent start
Review: Imagine your favorite dish from your favorite restaurant that only one chef in the world knew how to prepare. Then one day, that chef is gone. Years later, a new chef has the opportunity to go work at your favorite restaurant and bring back to life your favorite dish. Sure, he uses the same recipe and ingredients, but hasn't exactly mastered the final product... yet. This is the state of Dawn of Amber. There are two ways you can take it. The pessimistic side would be to think that nobody will ever match Zelazny's level using his world and they would only tarnish his legacy. Or you can take the side I've taken, which is, a world I loved has been resurrected. The storytelling might not be the same as before, but that doesn't mean it isn't good and can't get better. Dawn of Amber has a lot of parallels with "9 Princes" and "Guns", the first two books in the original series. An obvious rival, a hidden enemy, a somewhat harmless but friendly sibling, the typical Amber style family politics. All played out with impending war as a backdrop. To me, this was a thoroughly satisfying addition to the Amber family of books. The only noticeable shortcoming was towards the end when an epic battle was told in a way that felt almost miniscule. The build up was great, and the lead in to what is to become Amber has kept my interest for the next chapters.
Rating: 
Summary: Would be good... if there was a plot.
Review: In general, I didn't hate it. Granted, I also have a lingering fondness for the Merlin series despite all the evidence against it. I found the depiction of a pre-Amber universe at least conceivable and believable. While it did not fit my own view of what it would be like, it seemed plausible. And, it in fact sort of answered questions I myself hadn't come up with answers that satisfied me. Like "Why is Dworkin's universe so unlike the Courts of Chaos?" In general the feel of the book reminded me of Michael Stackpole's "A Hero Reborn". There were a handful of things that I did not like about it, however. I'll present them roughly in order of occurance to me. - Printing quality: While this is generally a ... quibble, I think it's very valid in this case. Amazon bills it as being 416 pages. It's not. It's 299, consisting of large print and spacing, and inch-plus margins. Printed at a reasonable size, the book would be about a hundred pages. - Lack of Imagination: While I could have cared less about the names, there was very little I found new and innovative regarding this book. While torturing one of Dworkin's sons and using the blood as a scrying device was interesting, there was little else in the way of imagination. Fire-breathing horses, snake men, bat people and the ever-so-poorly named "hell-creatures" are things that I could find in a Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual. I wanted something a bit fresh and interesting. - Inconsistent with Amber: While there wasn't a whole lot of interaction with the events in Zelazny's books to conflict with, there were a couple of things that didn't quite mesh. The first was that the Logrus, defined as something that "alters itself somewhat constantly", is alluded to being something with a fixed form in the books. Dworkin and his brood are noted as having inborn reflections of the Logrus that are warped and cause them difficulty in initiating into the Logrus. Which doesn't jibe with the Logrus being a mutable thing. However, Betancourt may have something in the upcoming books that may define a middle ground between popular fan opinions and his own work. The second is that Dworkin's children are apparently ignorant of their ability to shapeshift, despite them having all gone to Chaos at least once to walk the Logrus. Only Dworkin and Oberon seem to be aware of the potential. Whereas Zelazny stated in his Amber series that "All whose origins involve Chaos are shapeshifters." That being one of the most fundamental aspects of the Courts of Chaos in the Merlin series, I was quite disappointed by this apparent contradiction. - Lack of Plot: The biggest disappointment after reading through the sparse 300 odd pages was that there was quite simply no plot. There was the beginning of a plot. But there was no complete plot. Oberon is rescued from a threat to his life in Shadow, he is taken back to Dworkin's home and learns of Shadow and Logrus and the Courts of Chaos, he meets a bunch of relatives he never knew he had, an assassin tries to kill him, armies come in to attack Dworkin's house, and they all think of a sneaky way to flee. That's it. No conflict, not even some major stumbling blocks along the way. Just, Oberon going from one place to another, meeting some people, and occasionally fighting things. I'm almost wondering if this is iBook's fault. The online descriptions of the book implied that this book would ultimately be about Oberon going into the Courts of Chaos and facing intrigue there. "To achieve his legacy of power and become a player in this deadly game whose rules he is yet to discover, Obere must journey into the serpent's lair, the home of his enemies...the Courts of Chaos." But this first book ends with them getting ready to leave for Chaos. If my estimation of 100 pages is correct, then another 300 pages would have been sufficient to turn this mere weak introduction into a book with room for character development and an intrigue filled plot. My bet is that iBooks decided last minute to turn this trilogy into a longer series to milk it for more money, so they chopped the first book off at the knees to give it a "cliffhanger" ending, and left Betancourt looking like an ... Ultimately, this is what cripples the book. If it wasn't cut off here, if it went on through the Courts of Chaos, there would be a plausible plot and possibly more character development. Instead, you've just got a crippled critter that is interesting, but not particularly good.
Rating:
Summary: it's a tall order to follow zelazny, but fantasy expert john
Review: john betacourt triumphs in his effort. this is not a sequel, but a prequel to amber, making it easier to accept as a work on its own. fast-paced and not a drag.
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