Fugitives of Chaos (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Five unusual students at an isolated English boarding school—Amelia, Vanity, Colin, Quentin and Victor—fought to uncover their true secret identities in Orphans of Chaos (2005), only to have their memories stolen (again) by their teachers, who are really their jailers. In this exciting sequel, Amelia remembers enough to convince her friends of their shared trouble, and together the five students set out to escape the school, regain their memories, rediscover their individual powers and remain free. Wright keeps the tension high as the students struggle to outwit the teachers and their minions, but never lets us forget his characters are teenagers, prone to all the usual teen troubles as well as the problems posed by their secret "higher" identities. With its focus on Golden Age genre tropes and quirky teenage romance, this fantasy adventure reads a bit like J.K. Rowling meets Roger Zelazny, and should be of particular interest to youthful fans looking for something less predictable than the usual YA fare. (Nov.)
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Review

“Wright’s myth-infused fantasy looks like something older Harry Potter fans might enjoy with its creaky British boarding school setting and its five ageless orphans—Colin, Quentin, Victor, Vanity, and Amelia each with a supernatural gift.” –Publishers Weekly on Orphans of Chaos

 

“Wright's Orphans of Chaos is a stylish roller-coaster ride through the best loops and swerves of science fiction and fantasy.  Zelazny lovers in particular ought to love this book as much as I did.” –Sherwood Smith
 
“A bit like C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia updated by half a century, but with more gusto.” –Locus on Orphans of Chaos

 

“I don’t know if John Wright’s intent for Orphans of Chaos was to write a Harry Potter for grownups. But that’s what he’s accomplished. . . .highly enjoyable.” --SFsite
 
“An exciting, unusual, and very satisfying ride through the author’s imagination, and the results are certainly going to make Wright even more of a hot property.” --Chronicle on Orphans of Chaos
 
“Start of a complex mythology-based series from the author of the astonishing far-future Golden Age trilogy . . . . Fascinatingly, dazzlingly…erudite fantasy that trends inexorably toward science fiction; addicts will pounce.” –Kirkus, starred review on Orphans of Chaos

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (November 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765314967
• ISBN-13: 978-0765314963
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #856,945 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the first book, March 15, 2007

By	Robert Stoffel (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A zinger Book Two of the CHAOS Trilogy!, December 13, 2006

By	K. M. "literary devotee" (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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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.

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Unpleasant Detour, December 5, 2006

By	J. Brian Watkins (San Dimas, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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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.