Rating: 
Summary: The Amber prequel gets into high gear!
Review: After a slow introductory book, there's a little more action in this one. That makes sense, given that Oberon has to transition into a truly powerful leader to make it consistent with what we see in the Zelazny Amber series. I think Betancourt did a great job of dealing with the need to describe Chaos and the significance of the Pattern. He's a worthy heir to the Zelazny mantle.
Rating: 
Summary: Plenty of information for us Amber Fans--but not Zelazny
Review: After escaping an attack that nearly destroyed his family, Oberon wakes up in a near-shadow to Chaos. By the time he has fully recovered consciousness, his father has left for an audience with the king of Chaos and Oberon is left in the care of his brother, Aber. Oberon's magical talents are still developing but he knows that he has to do something--before the evil mage who holds one of his brothers captive destroys their family and all of their dreams. Hunkered down together in a family palace, Oberon and Aber discuss family, demons, responses to the threat, and a bit of the history of Chaos and Shadows. Because the shadows are a relatively recent event. Although Chaos always cast shadows, these had been few and faint until a strange storm hit Chaos--and Oberon's father has been implicated in the storm and in the creation of shadows. Since the shadows appear to drain much of the magical energy from Chaos, Oberon's father is a distinctly unpopular man. Roger Zelazny's original Amber series, especially the opening book, NINE PRINCES IN AMBER is a classic and author John Gregory Bethancourt's prequel series is an enjoyable addition to the universe which Zelazny created. But although Bethancourt introduces plenty of information and tells the story of leading to the creation of the great maze of Amber itself, for my tastes, CHAOS AND AMBER was too much talking and not enough action. More than half the book took place in a family palace inhabited by Oberon, Aber, assorted servants, and a door. In the second half, when things actually started to happen, Oberon was too much an observer rather than an actor. True Amber fans will want to add this to their collection. If you aren't an Amber fan, you'll definitely want to start with the Zelazny originals.
Rating: 
Summary: Tripe
Review: Here's what they claim: Oberon get's entangled in the politics of Chaos! You finally get to see something besides the little castle that Dworkin owns in Shadow. What really happens? Oberon spends well over half the book inside Dworkin's estate, doing very little. A couple token attempts on his life. He gets up his chutzpah and goes out to confront his enemies at one ball that he arranges, and then he kips off into shadow with Dworkin, where Dworkin deletes Pattern 1.0 and makes Pattern 2.0. This is superior to the first book only in that there's the vestige of a plot in this installment.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable addition to the series
Review: I enjoyed this book. Betancourt's first Amber novel, "The Dawn of Amber" *was* different from Zelazny's works, and many of Oberon's family that Betancourt described were one dimensional creations who lacked depth. In his second Amber novel, "Chaos and Amber", the characters introduced have greater depth, and he develops those which were treated poorly in the first novel. The plot develops, but is also 'revealed' by some rather direct actions by Oberon (and an enemy who very nicely spills the beans and tells him what is going on). Betancourt's descriptions of Oberon's experiences in Chaos are great fun, and he is rather novel about Oberon's mishaps. In many ways, this book is very much a tale of Oberon's blunders and coming to terms with what is really going on with some inspired direct action (which I won't spoil). You can start to see some of Freda's foretelling that Oberon will challenge Dworkin in this book. My major criticism of this work is that unlike Zelazny's novels, Betancourt feels the need to tell us what happened in the previous novel for about the first 50-100 pages. And to make it worse, nowhere on the cover does it say that this is the Second Novel of Three. So the publishers probably feel that the recapping is justified, but I don't. It's a waste of sapce. Secondly, I am beginning to feel that the story is being rushed - it could be drawn out a lot more. The last 150 pages of the book shine, with Oberon driving the plot rather than being a passive player. I also liked the character development, as Betancourt fleshes out of a number of his brothers and sisters. We are given more description, and more information about their pasts. Suddenly Taine, Locke, Isadora etc become three dimensional characters which is great plus. (They were just names before) I like the transformation in Aber too - he goes from being the 'useful sidekick' to (well, I won't tell you, you'll have to read and see). Betancourt is definitely setting up Oberon to face off against his brothers and sisters, and against Chaos itself. I just hope Betancourt doesn't rush things in his third novel. For such a story arc, it's a real pity that he couldn't write it over five novels.
Rating:
Summary: Typos!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Betancourt seems only a few shadows removed from Zelazny's excellent prose, and this is a welcome addition to the Amber series. I highly look forward to the next book in the trilogy.
And I looked up the word 'thoroughly' in the dictionary to make sure I spelled it correctly. Someone should give the proofreader of this book a dictionary and a book on grammar. I agree with the other reviewer who found the numerous typos in this book annoying. There is even a typo on the jacket copy!
I have been a reader for most of my 50 years, and it seems more and more books have more and more typos as time goes by. I hope this is not a trend that will continue, or books 20 years from now will be totally incomprehensible!
Rating:
Summary: Just so disappointing
Review: I was just so disappointed with this book. Betancourt seems to have missed all of the opportunities afforded to him with this brilliantly realised universe. Gone are the interesting characters, gone is the sense of a deep and dangerous plot, gone is any semblance of the world that Zelazny wrote of. So much could have been made of this series -instead we seem to have Conan story or a Star Trek book by numbers. Utter rubbish
Rating:
Summary: Why so expensive?
Review: Just curious as to why the Hard Cover is so pricey?
Perhaps for a signed first edition from the original series or the later 'Trumps'... But a unauthorized (RZ is dead afterall?) prequel as part of some licensing deal?
Get real.
Rating:
Summary: It was alright...
Review: not up to the amber brilliance but still enjoyable
Rating:
Summary: What's that sound I hear?
Review: Oh, that's poor Roger, spinning in his grave... Betancourt is a hack. I've read better "fan fiction" on the Internet. I wish Zelazny's estate had honored his wishes, or at the very least, found a decent author to continue the legacy. I recommend that fans of Roger's style check out the tribute collection "Lord of the Fantastic".
Rating:
Summary: I think he found his stride...
Review: The first book was not something your average writer should brag about. If not for the avid fandom of many readers, the second book would probably not even be looked at, however, that would be a diservice.
This second volume is a VAST improvement over the first volume. It has a nice Zelazny feel, feeding you only little pieces of information at a time. The characters are taking on more depth which is greatly appreciated.
I have two complaints though. The books is full of typos, enough to the point of distraction it look slike someone just gave spell check free-reign and never looked back. The other complaint, it seems as though Betancourt is trying to tell a four or five book story in three. There is enormous room to expand on what he tells us. If we are lucky the final volume will have a greater amount of text than the two previous contain.
| 
