Trumps of Doom

The Chronicles of Amber, Book 6

By: Roger Zelazny

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

Trumps of Doom is the sixth 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.

Trumps of Doom begins the Merlin Cycle, with Alessandro Juliani handing over his narration duties to customer favorite Wil Wheaton, who won the 2012 Audie Award for his engaging performance of Fuzzy Nation. Wheaton brings this classic series to a stunning close by giving voice to Merlin, Corwin’s son, for the final five audiobooks.

©1985 The Amber Corporation (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Wil Wheaton does an amazing job.

if you're this far in the books, then I need not explain anything. If you're coming here first, I highly recommend seeking out book 1.Things will make more sense and this book contains spoilers for the first 5.

the pacing is nice, characters are distinguishable for the most part and Wil does a good job. the books are masterfully written in my opinion, though they feel short after book 3. Zelazney built a great universe and always starts with world ending problems and spends many books telling you how it comes to be concluded. if you're looking for epic fantasy of a modern tone, look no further than Nine Princes in Amber and you'll be here soon.

Really liked it but not the narrator

Roger Zelazny is a great storyteller and I like this “Merlin” series as much as the “Corwin” series. However, I think Will Wheaton should have listened to Alessandro Juliani’s narration of the first 5 books of the series. It was excellent and a tough act to follow. Mr. Wheaton makes Merlin sound angry and that’s not a correct portrayal for the most part. It’s also difficult to tell which character is speaking sometimes because his voice seldom changes. As I said above, I’m way more impressed with Mr. Juliani. The narrator can make or break a good audiobook.

Maybe the Best Action-Adventure Fantasy Series

When I read these books nearly 20 years ago, I remember feeling sad that there were only 10 of them. I'm starting to feel the same way as I work my way through the audio versions. After finishing Book 5, I hesitated before jumping into Book 6. I had grown even more attached to Corwin in the audio version than I had in the print version. But I am so glad I started the Merlin series! Merlin is fascinating in his own way, and Wil Wheaton does a very good job with him. Yes, he mispronounces the occasional word, but he has a wonderful grasp of Merlin's wry wit and dark humor. I once heard an old recording of Zelazny himself reading one of his books, and honestly, no one can ever hope do better than that anyway. But, Wheaton does a creditable job here. If you've read the first five books, go ahead and dive into Book 6. Merlin is a different character than Corwin, and he has his own way of approaching things. It's not simply more of the same character with a different name. There's more of Amber, this time with a dash of technology. There are more plots and schemes, and many of the familiar family members make reappearances (plus some new ones). Lots of fighting, problem-solving, wit, humor, weaponry, and creatures from other worlds. I love these books!

good but not QUITE good enough for $130

I love the Zelazny Amber series and Wil Wheaton does a great job of brining it to live as Merlin.
The only catch is, while this series is excellent, it's just two expensive - 10 volumes as $12-$15 (members) and 6 hours each is an astronomical price, and there is no bulk discount. I bought the first 6, but will read the rest on paper in the library and save my credits for longer books.

Favorite Series - Good Narration - Great Storyline

I have read this series several times over the past 20+ years and never tire of it. Zelazny is imaginative and spices the dialog with just the right amount of reflective commentary and occasional humor. The only lulls in the story are the infrequent, but detailed, descriptions of passing through shadow. While this might be great for someone who jumps into the middle of the series and only reads one book, I didn't benefit from its repetition. They give the reader/listener a good feeling for what Zelazny was visualizing. But, for those who are progressing through the series, these periods of "shadow manipulation" dialog become a down-draft when you'd rather be soaring.

Regarding narration, I prefer Alessandro Juliani's performance to Wil Wheaton's. This is not to say Wheaton's performance detracts from the story; not at all. It's the comparison to Juliani's performance for the Corwin Chronicles that elicits my opinion. Juliani has a good command of voice specialization and identification for each character and manages these identities extremely well. Once you make the connection of the voice to the character you no longer need Corwin said, or Julian said, or Random said. Wheaton's voice is rich and easy to listen to; it's just not what I was used to after the Corwin Chronicles and Juliani' versatility.

I'm 60 now and I plan on listening to this series several more times before I pack it in. Over the years, when asked what I like to read and what my favorite books are, this series is always part of my response.

If you like fantasy, action and a good story-line you will find this series a pleasant escape from the more mundane activities of daily life.