Shapechangers - Introduction

[kalinara]

So, okay, I know I SAID the next book will be Dragonsong. And I do intend to continue with the Pern series, no question. But then I happened to stumble onto the Goodreads page for Jennifer Roberson's "Shapechangers", which is the first book in the Chronicles of the Cheysuli, and I saw that it had FOUR FUCKING STARS. And no, no. That will not do. I NEED. NEED. To tear this shit apart.

At least if it's as bad as I remember.

So here's the backstory. As a pre-teen, I was really really into the Chronicles of the Cheysuli. I'd stolen the second book from my dad, devoured it, and slowly managed to find the rest of the books at various bookstores. Oddly though, I could never find the FIRST book.

It didn't really matter. The second book held together reasonably well, and I really liked the developing generational saga. Even though even back then, I kind of thought there was a LOT of rape and cousin-fucking going on. But I was into the story. As it turns out, Shapechangers was the last book I found and read. And I remember being very disappointed.

So maybe five or ten years back, I found my copy of the book and nostalgia inspired me to give it a try. In ORDER this time. (I like reading things in Order.) And gentle reader? I started reading...and I threw it across the room.

Three times.

Oh, oh, it was bad. I remember it being very very bad. Possibly one of the single worst things I've ever read. Was it the racism? Was it the way it was clearly a thinly veiled Native American themed captive fantasy? Was it the unlikeable protagonists? Was it the fact that the character who I'd always held to be my favorite in Book 2 actually was an irredeemable would-be rapist in Book 1?

Now Kal, you may be thinking, these are fantasy books. Are you sure they're supposed to be Native Americans? If you've cracked open one of the books, you may have noticed in fact that the names of the Cheysuli are all Scottish or Irish: Finn, Duncan, Donall, Ian, Niall, Sorcha and so on.

Even granting the Celtic naming scheme, I'm pretty sure that these are meant to be fantasy Native Americans. And I think the publisher is too, because this is the cover:




So let's keep that in mind during this recap.

Now, it is very possible that my memory of this book is harsher than it deserves.  I will attempt to keep an open mind as I read.  But I'm not terribly optimistic about that.

Shapechangers - Book One - Chapter One and Two

[kalinara]

So, let's start this shindig.

So, normally, I wouldn't bother talking about the teaser blurb. It's just the lure to start reading the book after all and we'll get there eventually. It's not in every printing. But I feel like it's worth sharing in this case:

Alix jerked around and saw the man at the edges of the forest;
leather-clad in jerkin and leggings, black-haired and dark-skinned.
For a moment she stared speechlessly at him, astonished, then
her eyes widened as she saw the heavy gold bands on his bare
arms and the gray wolf at his side.

"Carillon!" she cried, backing away from the man. She heard
the hissing of Carillon's sword as he drew it from its sheath, but
saw only the streaking gray form of me wolf as it hurtled silently
across the space between them. The animal's jaws closed on
Carillon's wrist.

Alix turned to run but the stranger caught her easily. Hands
grasped her shoulders and spun her, she stared wide-eyed into a
laughing face with yellow eyes.

Beast-eyes! she cried silently. "You are Cheysuli!"

Oh yeah, this bodes well.

( When that's the TEASER, you know this will be...something )