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Submitted by mike 
(Dec 08, 2009)I bought all three of the amber wizard books because I like this genre so much I rarely find books I cannot finish. The first of the series annoyed me because the "most powerful" wizard somehow couldn't manage to find his butt with both hands. I understand that in creating drama it is necessary to make the foe (evil, if you will) seem so ultra powerful that no one can hope to beat it. But facing that off with a hero that is supposedly the best at all things, including magic yet who cannot manage even a whimper when facing evil and is dependent upon luck, the enemy's enemy and his sister's willingness to die was not a fun read.
Still I finished it, only a bit surprised that the "foe" was defeated in volume one while volume 2 and 3 remained. I concluded that the real foe hadn't appeared yet (or if it had, it was somehow behind the foe that shows up in each book - other than being called the Adversary, of course).
And I went on into Volume 2 and made it all the way past the appearance of another foe that couldn't be beaten and who then sent 2 people off to yet again capture the hero for its own needs (identical to the plot in Vol 1 I noted and didn't much like). This time I had momentary hope as the hero was able to beat off the first attempt to capture him, but only through his companions and not at any usage of his abilities. Still it was better than being a toy for whatever wanted him whenever it managed to find him. Then the second "hunter" waltzes into and out of a royal palace and not only kidnaps the crown prince but has him do her bidding against his wizard trainer, because - wait for it - once again the hero is incapable of resisting his foe.
In each case it was written that the enemy's magic was unknown by the hero and his friends and could not be stopped in any way shape or form but somehow their own magic (also unknown by their foe) had no effect whatsoever.
As I reached the point where the prince was compelled to fight his friend and then help them all escape from the castle after the wizard's magic had no effect on the hunter, I literally threw the book across the room. I do not intend to read any more of this nor will I read volume 3. I am certain that good will triumph over evil through some junction of luck, friends who sacrifice themselves, and a God created prophecy. In the case of the latter, I wondered as I always do why the "God" doesn't just make it so rather than make his puppets (er subjects) dance for his amusement. To be fair, I loathe the concept of prophecy that WILL be attained no matter what in every book I have read (no matter that I usually actually finish them), so take that bias of mine for what it is worth.
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