Merlin finds himself summoned back to the land where he was raised, the Courts of Chaos. He finds himself enmeshed in political intrigues and schemes, and himself much closer to the crown than he believed possible, or wants. He encounters a variety of old acquaintances, and finds himself fighting with both his wits and his magic to avoid the snares laid for him, to help his friends, and to discover his father's fate.
Reception
Kirkus Reviews called the novel "Glum, talky, and threadbare."[1]Publishers Weekly wrote that it "still fails to capture the spirit that rendered the five original Amber novels so enjoyable."[2] John R. Alden of The Philadelphia Inquirer called the novel the "kind of book that gives fantasy a bad name" and wrote that the writing "is the literary equivalent of a magician's chatter."[3]
