Trumps of Doom
core novel 1985 Chronicles of Amber
Record
| First published | 1985 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.06 (16,563 ratings, collected 2026-08-06) |
| Page count | 184 |
| First-edition ISBN | 0-87795-718-5 |
| First-edition date | 1985-05 |
| Internal chronology | 6 |
Synopsis
The sixth Chronicles of Amber novel shifts its focus to Merlin, son of Corwin, who has spent years living quietly on Earth studying computer science while secretly building Ghostwheel, an ambitious magical computer powered by trump and Pattern magic. With the project finally complete and showing signs of becoming self-aware, Merlin sets out to uncover who has been trying to assassinate him every year on April 30th, an investigation that turns urgent when his ex-girlfriend Julia is found murdered, apparently by interdimensional creatures. Complicating matters further, his old friend Luke resurfaces with an agenda of his own, and King Random orders Merlin to shut Ghostwheel down entirely, even as the computer proves capable of defending itself against interference.
Where it sits
- Universe: Chronicles of Amber
- Series: The Merlin Cycle core; position 1 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Roger Zelazny
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1986: won; The only outright award win in the Amber saga.
Notes
- First edition: Arbor House (1985).
- From the series record (The Merlin Cycle): Narrated by Merlin, Corwin's son. Publication order = internal chronological order.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Merlin Cycle: position 1 of 5: next Blood of Amber (1986)
- Internal chronology, within Chronicles of Amber: position 6 of 10: previous The Courts of Chaos (1978) · next Blood of Amber (1986)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trumps_of_Doom
- https://www.sfadb.com/Roger_Zelazny
- https://www.isfdb.org
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