Title: Orphans of Chaos

Series: Chronicles of Chaos, Book 1

Author: John C. Wright

Genre: Scince Fiction

Okay, I pursued obtaining this book (and not only this book, but the entire trilogy) after finishing Wright’s Golden Age trilogy and loving just about every second of it. Wright combines truly visionary creativity with compelling characters set in rather peculiar but completely intriguing situations. All these elements come together for books that are not only intricate in their complexity, but also unrelenting in their character development, the pace of the narrative, and the utilization of very abstract concepts to add layers of complexity to the already inherent tensions and conflicts of the story.

That previous paragraph describes every book of his I’ve read. This book, in particular, launches yet another visionary and truly creative trilogy. Five orphans of an orphanage begin to discover that they are not, in fact, normal in any sense of the word. Four of them realize abilities of four opposing paradigms of power/perception/reality, while the fifth’s powers and abilities lie as far from and against the powers of the others as theirs do against each other’s. This only begins to explain why the teachers of this orphanage outnumber the students – and these teachers are all mythological demigods. In the end they are not orphans at all, but rather captives – not only from their homes and families, but from who they truly are and the powers and abilities which come with that identity.

Some readers might be disturbed by a specific “spanking” scene, as another reviewer has noted. Cultural differences could probably be designated as the root of this discomfort. That said, the scene did not seem to me to be inconsistent with either the characters involved or the cultural and sociological context of the narrative.

An advanced understanding of fourth dimensional physics as well as a thorough grasp of mythology would probably complement any reading of this book, as Wright never shirks from diving headfirst into rather deep scientific or mythological explorations – but such learning isn’t essential to enjoy and partake of the story in general. But be forewarned, sometimes the intellectual waters can get deep rather quickly, so be ready to drink in and digest some rather abstract and intellectual concepts.

So if you are in any way a fan of science fiction and/or fantasy, don’t hesitate to pick up this book. I’d just advise trying to get my hands on all of ‘em first – Wright truly can’t write a novel-size story (I think is creative vision is just too big), so his publishers break his stories down.  If you only have this book, you are going to be extremely frustrated when you reach the last page – the story doesn’t end or conclude, it just stops. It stops at a logical break in the storyline, mind you, so there is some level of resolution, but only on a minor level which only drives the narrative forward even more.

Overall, an incredible book written by an amazing author. I really do not hesitate to recommend this book/trilogy.

Worldview: pantheistic

Recommended age: I would hesitate for anyone younger than the later years of High School to pick this up. Not necessarily because of the subject matter, but more for the depth of scientific, mythological and theological concepts which are explored and the story is based upon.