My favorite all-time fantasy read is Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Even though I was somewhat disappointed with Peter Jackson's second movie,
I'm still looking forward to the third. But that's not really the topic of
this month's review.
My second most favorite fantasy series is the one involving Roger Zalazny's
"Amber." Roger, alas, is no longer with us. Frankly, I never thought that
anyone else would ever be able to write a real Amber story. Mr. Betancourt
has now proven me wrong twice.
Although I started looking for Chaos and Amber back in July, my bookseller
still did not have it by November. I finally gave up and went looking for it elsewhere.
It was worth the trouble. This is book 2 of a new Amber trilogy written by
John Gregory Betancourt. The first, The Dawn of Amber, was almost like coming home.
You had to wonder if it was a fluke. Now we know the truth -- Mr. Betancourt really has
got some "cosmic connection" with the late Zelazny.
This story picks up where the last novel left off. Dworkin and Oberon have fled to
a shadow world of Dworkin's not far from the Courts of Chaos. The mere proximity to the
Courts has put Oberon in a coma. Dworkin struggles to rouse him. As soon as he awakes,
the king's soldiers arrive to search the house.
And so we go haring off again on another adventure full of plot twists, assassination
attempts, mysterious creatures, palace intrigue . . . all of the elements that so endeared
one to the original Amber novels. If you remember waiting forever for the next Amber
novel, then get that old feeling one more time. We can wait together for the last volume,
To Rule in Amber, to come out sometime next Summer or Fall.
'Til Next Month,
Happy Reading
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