Customer Reviews

Fugitives of Chaos (Tor Fantasy)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After reading the first book in the series (Orphans of Chaos) I wasn't very impressed. It was a good book, but I wasn't sure if the next book would be worth the effort.
Fugitives of Chaos is much better than the book before it. Even if you only kinda liked the first book, I recommend that you read this one. The technobabble is still there (but less of it), and the story goes a little smoother.

ORPHANS OF CHAOS introduced five boarding school students who discovered, beneath a physical and conditional facade, they were far greater beings than the awkward human teenagers they thought themselves. They were actually gods (as in Greek; as in thought to be mythical and thus unreal by twenty-first century earth dwellers; as in not unreal at all in this John C. Wright universe) taken hostage in a Titanic war! Spying on their "elders," the band of five learned of the Machiavellian motives for their forced confinement and amnesia. They fought their captors valiantly but appeared vanquished as Part One cliffhung.

FUGITIVES OF CHAOS portrays the fives' struggle to regain lost memory and powers, escape their god-too jailers, and penetrate the maze of politics and strategy underpinning the cataclysmic struggle between Cosmos and Chaos that holds the key to their fate.

Or perhaps it is the reverse, and the five "young people" hold the true key to the fate of the struggle between Chaos and Cosmos? They may also be mankind's and all life's only hope for survival!

Victor, the "robot" man; Amelia, the dimension-crosser; Vanity, the dream tunneler; Colin, the psychic; and Quentin, the witch (he may really be a she), all risk life and limb to breach the boundaries of the only place they remembered as home -- the old-fashioned school by a fishing village called Abertwyi. Believing themselves freed, they experience bits of the world such as hitchhiking, "Jerry's Fine Cafe" on Christmas, Paris stores, Vanity's magic sea craft, and luxury on "The Queen Elizabeth II" sailing for New York.

As in ORPHANS, FUGITIVES serves up a cornucopia of sci-fi/fantasy ideas. Since all five "teenagers" interpret the world from their own separate paradigms, they describe their perceptions differently. Amelia, for instance, is the geometrician of the group, while Colin reckons through the psychic's angle of personal responsibility. These differences require a great deal of group communication to enable understanding and cooperation.

Indeed, a large component of both CHAOS books published thus far is talk; the old writer's saw about showing rather than explaining isn't always observed. Not only "must" the five engage in long discussions with each other, but the sheer complexity of Wright's theme relegates other gods besides the teens to protracted explications. Although Amelia is the primary first-person narrator throughout the novels (so far anyway), other characters tell of adventures they had away from Amelia. Vanity, for instance, tells her companions about overhearing two Cosmos-camp gods -- Boreas and a Centurion Infantophage -- speculate at length about which Chaos god might try to seize the throne of "the entire sidereal universe." This dialogue means to enlighten the readers, along with the five, about the cast of potential threats in and the direction of the third volume of CHAOS. It does, but keeping track of all those gods (a single entity is often referred to by several monikers) is a bit mind-spinning for readers less conversant than Wright with mythology.

And since the young heroes of this trilogy are ostensibly teenagers, they retain that maturity level by and large. So, there is a lot of adolescent ribald ribbing and sexual innuendo (though serious sexual aggression is left to the "adults" and even then is more threat than act), as well as general silliness and cluelessness. Usually, this banter is welcome, but at certain crises stages where the five waste precious time debating and smart-mouthing, one wonders why their adversaries don't press full advantage to smartly subdue them! One wants to cuff the kids into faster action. At least, I did.

The concluding threat in FUGITIVES OF CHAOS is a beaut! The five do engage in a bit of their usual fumbling and arguing, but they spring to action pretty fast. And what action. Kudos to the author for a riveting springboard into TITANS OF CHAOS. I can't wait. April 2007 isn't that far away.

When I finished the first book, Orphans of Chaos, yesterday, I could hardly wait to start reading this second book in the series. I just completed this highly readable adventure! We find the "orphans" back at school, still determined to escape. Obviously, from the title, they do so. But what happens, and how it happens makes such a good story that I am just blown away!

We continue to learn more about the characters, and they finally seem to notice what was clear to the reader in the first book! Our sympathies lie with the orphans, but if their side "wins" all of humanity will be destroyed! What to do!! So this problem is explored more. And we also learn more about what powers the kids have, and poor Grendel Glum continues his R-rated quest for Amelia.

I hope everyone who enjoys a good fantasy reads these books and finds them as entertaining as I do!

In FUGITIVES OF CHAOS, the five godlike teenage hostages introduced in ORPHANS OF CHAOS once again elude their captors, and this time it looks like they might be successful. Spunky and (as everyone keeps telling her) sexy Amelia remains the first person narrator. Tension builds during the early part of the book, as she carefully plots her escape, all the while observing and deceiving the schoolmasters. Unfortunately, Wright has difficulty maintaining focus once the orphans are free, and particularly after Amelia survives another kidnapping attempt by the monster Grendel. They go shopping in Paris, they tool around in Vanity's magic boat, they take a cruise on the QEII, they philosophize, they banter, they flirt, ... and they nearly get eaten by an angry sea monster. Some of this is interesting, some of it is filler, and all of it says "be sure to buy book #3!"

As with Wright's earlier work, this book is at many points amusing and (in a positive way) provocative. I also found the sexual content in this volume less objectionable than that in the first, mainly because the pedophilic and sadomasochistic elements are much less present. Yes, Amelia and Vanity do a striptease dance for Colin and yes, the sexual banter that was so prevalent in ORPHANS remains. Still, the sleaze factor in FUGITIVES is a notch or two below that in ORPHANS. Also, unlike some of the other reviewers, I was generally impressed with Wright's discussion of the contrasting paradigms of the teens and their Olympian adversaries. His command of classical mythology, philosophy, and physics/cosmology is good enough seem plausible to a lay reader like me.

Recommendation: You can probably follow this book without reading #1, but you shouldn't try. If, however, you read the first book and found it half-way enjoyable, you might as well pick up #2.

P.S. The cover artist would have you believe that Colin gets his guitar in this book, but that actually happens in TITANS OF CHAOS.

After reading John C. Wright's first "Chaos" installment, I was impressed enough to check out the second part - Fugitives of Chaos. It was definitely worth it. While it took a while for me to get into the first book, I realize now that the characters and their motivations had to be fleshed out enough so you could somehow empathize with these otherworldy children. I'm glad Wright took the time, because I really enjoyed watching as the five main characters continued to mature over the course of this book. Actually, saying they were forced to mature is more appropos in this instance I think.

While the multiple names are still at times a bit confusing, there is a handy name reference chart in the front of the book (something that would have really helped with the first novel, though I completely understand its omission). And the fact that Wright has crafted characters you care more and more about as the story progresses really helps.

Another thing that I really liked is Wright's clever use of well-established myths and legends. He doesn't hit you over head with them, but for those familiar with them, a smile is sure to grow when you read their names. And if you found Beowulf a tiring introduction to Epics (not that I ever did), you're apt to find an new appreciation for that classic tale. I want to see what else Wright has up his sleeve, so I've short-tracked the final book in the series to the upper levels of my reading pile. Besides, with a cliffhanger ending like this book had, I have to know how the story ends!

Book two of the Chronicles of Chaos, Fugitives of Chaos, begins moments after the first book ends and continues the story of five boarding school students trying to discover who they are and which universe they inhabit. I've already reviewed book one, Orphans of Chaos, and this book continues the same themes and is every bit as enjoyable. The main characters make further progress in their quest for escape, going from orphans to fugitives from their Olympus overlords in the process. Along the way they continue to discover and explore their inner latent power as well as their budding sexuality. The second book is as meaty with mythology and science as the first installment, going even further to flesh out how the two are related and intertwined. I'm greatly looking forward to the third and final book of the series, Titans of Chaos.

I loved the Golden Age trilogy (was HIGHLY recommended by a friend) and I LOVE this series! His range and depth is truly impressive. Take the leap and enter the mythos!

-bigbirdtommy

Pretty apt title.

The four children, or teenagers, or ancient Chaos entities, however you prefer to think of them, are finally old enough and sure enough of themselves to decide that making a break for it is a good plan.

First they need to recover their memories, and abilities.

"You are thinking of these things as super-powers, aren't you?" ... "Like a mechanism you turn on and off. I don't think it works that way." opines Quentin.

Many mistakes, terrors, arguments about who should be boss and escapes follow.

Not to mention magic ships and cruises.

"The second most horrible moment of my life. My friends were doing experiments, fascinating new experiments, and getting new super-powers, all without me!" laments Amelia, on the downside of actually being the boss and putitng yourself in danger.

The five have to work out if the theories about the various Chaos powers and opposition are correct, and avoid being dragged into a world-destroying war.


3.5 out of 5

This was as good as the first book. I was kept interested in the resolution of all the problems, and he introduced new, interesting problems. The characterization was excellent, and the pacing was also good.

In Fugitives of Chaos, Mr. Wright has delivered his first disappointment of eight published works. In earlier reviews of Mr. Wright's books, I have stated that Mr. Wright could make compelling reading out of a plumbing manual. Despite his talent, however, this book lacks focus and discipline. Rather than provide the occasional frisson of sexual tension that would be appropriate in a coming-of-age tale, this book veers purposefully into the pornographic; disturbingly so for a work that is expected to reach the young adult audience.

Orphans of Chaos introduced us to five apparently young and immature immortals each discovering their unique and fantastic powers. The first book centered on the powerful adolescent desire to escape from the domination of the adults--who are also immortals from the mythological pantheon. However, as far as advancing the story, there was nothing new or noteworthy in this second volume. Our heroes basically run around a bit and flash the naughty bits. Worse, the salacious sections don't add anything to the story. OK, Grendel is bad and we can stipulate that the young men are attracted by the young women. This book has none of the wonder of the first, none of the sense of discovery or of adventure.

Though disappointed, I will continue to recommend the first book in the series. Hopefully this book represents a detour and can be put back on track with the third book. This second installment was just sloppy--Mr. Wright can do much, much better than this.