mburnamfink's review
4.0
Changer is an urban fantasy with an interesting idea that is an enjoyable read, if not quite a classic. The athanor, an immortal race of beings with supernatural powers live among us. Their presence in history is the source of myths and legends. Changer, one of the oldest athanor, is living as a coyote in New Mexico when an unknown adversary kills his mate and all but one of his pups. He seeks the aid of Arthur Pendragon (yes, that Arthur Pendragon) in gaining revenge, which brings him into contact with a plan by Loki to overthrow the reign of Arthur and the current policy of non-interference in human affairs.
Changer is pleasant enough on a chapter-by-chapter basis, but the overarching plot has a lot of threads and sidetracks, including South American eco-radicals, Merlin's second head, the king of the seas, and Sasquatches tired of living on the fringes of society. The closest comparison is American Gods, but American Gods is about mythological figures who are people, and Changer is about people who happen to be mythological figures. The four star rating has a bit of rounding up, but hey, a fun book is a fun book.
Changer is pleasant enough on a chapter-by-chapter basis, but the overarching plot has a lot of threads and sidetracks, including South American eco-radicals, Merlin's second head, the king of the seas, and Sasquatches tired of living on the fringes of society. The closest comparison is American Gods, but American Gods is about mythological figures who are people, and Changer is about people who happen to be mythological figures. The four star rating has a bit of rounding up, but hey, a fun book is a fun book.
evakristin's review
2.0
This book started with a really good and interesting idea: The characters from myths and legends are real, and some of them still live among us. I’m sorry a story with so much potential didn’t occur to a better writer.
Jane Lindskold does a lot of things right, but she also does a lot of things wrong. To me, the worst fault was that she is awfully long winded. Sentences like “The King comes down to the kitchen, dressed casually in khaki trousers and a cotton button-down shirt, and finds Eddie seated at the counter watching the news and eating a bowl of cold presweetened cereal.”, makes it take forever to get to the point. How about “The King comes down to the kitchen, and finds Eddie eating breakfast.”? I suppose she is trying to make it more believable that her mythological characters live in our modern world by adding details like this, but to me it just got tiring to read.
I think this story could be told, and told better, with half the amount of words. With this never ending up building, the ending was a resounding anti-climax that left me feeling like “That’s it? Ok. Whatever.”.
Jane Lindskold does a lot of things right, but she also does a lot of things wrong. To me, the worst fault was that she is awfully long winded. Sentences like “The King comes down to the kitchen, dressed casually in khaki trousers and a cotton button-down shirt, and finds Eddie seated at the counter watching the news and eating a bowl of cold presweetened cereal.”, makes it take forever to get to the point. How about “The King comes down to the kitchen, and finds Eddie eating breakfast.”? I suppose she is trying to make it more believable that her mythological characters live in our modern world by adding details like this, but to me it just got tiring to read.
I think this story could be told, and told better, with half the amount of words. With this never ending up building, the ending was a resounding anti-climax that left me feeling like “That’s it? Ok. Whatever.”.
rainstormdragon's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
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