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The Changeling King
At the height of the Age of the Alvor a changeling was born into the noblest of houses. Deformed and doomed to insanity, he was abandoned in the mountains. Fifteen years later, he rode out at the head of terrible army to destroy the empire of the Alvor. Now, torn by a hundred years of war, the land of Kryllon lies under the shadow of the Trollking and the people look to the heavens for salvation.
When four teenagers disappear at a Pennine lake in England, everyone believes it to be a tragic accident. Only Adam knows different. He was there. He knows that they were taken . . . and that he’s next.
Nathan and his friends find themselves in a strange land, prisoners of the Alvor. If Nathan is to ever get his friends home, he must outsmart deceitful allies, battle murderous enemies and venture into the very heart of the Trollking’s stronghold.
But the trials of their individual journeys are nothing compared to what lies at journey’s end . . .
When four teenagers disappear at a Pennine lake in England, everyone believes it to be a tragic accident. Only Adam knows different. He was there. He knows that they were taken . . . and that he’s next.
Nathan and his friends find themselves in a strange land, prisoners of the Alvor. If Nathan is to ever get his friends home, he must outsmart deceitful allies, battle murderous enemies and venture into the very heart of the Trollking’s stronghold.
But the trials of their individual journeys are nothing compared to what lies at journey’s end . . .
- GenresFantasy
257 pages, Paperback
First published June 15, 2011
2 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Noor A. Jahangir
4 books22 followersNoor A Jahangir was born and raised in Lancashire, England. He recently completed his Doctorate in Education and holds a whole bunch of splendid qualifications. The Changeling King was his first book. He finished the first draft aged 14 and the final draft aged 30. He is currently working on an Arabian Nights themed trilogy.
Follow me on: @noorajahangir.bsky.social
Subscribe to my podcast Fantasy & Faith on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Follow me on: @noorajahangir.bsky.social
Subscribe to my podcast Fantasy & Faith on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 23, 2011
I wrote this book so maybe this isn't the wisest thing to do. I mean, can an author give a balanced and objective review of their own work? There are times when you hate your work and at the same time, you are the one that bought the damn thing into the world. Whatever its worth, here is my honest and objective(ish) review of the Changeling King.
The story follows the adventures of six teens and told from the perspectives of three of them, but also from the POVs of other characters too. It starts from the POV of Vasch (I'm a member of the Vasch fanclub), a troll who has been sent to Earth by the Trollking to assassinate Adam Phelps, a 13 year old boy, because of who he will become in the future. Through Vasch's eyes we see Earth as an alien place. The pollution in the air, Earth's proximity to the Sun, the level of ambient noise, all attacks Vasch's senses instantly. But he isn't alone. He has a war-band of trolls with him to help complete his mission. The trouble is that certain members of the war-band want to lead the mission themselves.
Nathan Celic and his brother Logan have planned to spend the day out in the country with their girlfriends, Salina Phelps and Katrina Standbridge. Nathan's day isn't going as well as he hoped because Salina's little brother, Adam is tagging along too. Then whilst they are swimming in a country lake, a gateway between worlds, buried beneath the lake for centuries is reactivated by the surge of energy created by Vasch and his war-bands arrival on Earth. Nathan, Logan, Salina and Katrina get sucked through. Adam is the only one left behind.
Nathan and the others wake to find themselves on another planet (Eridani), captured by strange elfin creatures called Alvors and are told that their only way home is in the very castle of the Trollking. They have to get passed him and his horde of trolls, goblins and traitor humans and alvors if they want to go home.
Back on Earth, Adam realises that he is being hunted by Vasch and his warband. Detective Karen Rainbow, a hard-nosed cop, is the only one who can protect him.
The other POV character is Sultan, a young Mughal prince who witnesses his father's assassination and then flees into the wild. He is trained in the mystical path of the Sufi, and manages to accidently transport himself to Eridani, only to be captured by the Trollking's minions. Regardless of time and space, their destinies are tied together.
The book was originally pitched at the 13-18 age group, but at times the language used may have adults reaching for a dictionary. Also, there is violence in the book, though it is shown to be reprehensible. Perhaps the book is more appropriate for 15+ readers? Also, the sentence structures can seem a bit abrupt, perhaps due to the constraints of fitting what should perhaps been a longer novel into a more acceptable length.
Early on in the book, the chapters alternate between the three main plot lines, i.e. Adam's story, Nathan's story and Sultan's story, but later on start to merge together until their is only two major plotlines running. Some readers may find the jumping around between POVs distracting as much YA is written from a single perspective. But I felt that a multiple POV strategy fit better with the epic setting of the plot. The characters are likeable enough, even when they are acting like douche bags, mostly because they are afraid or insecure. My favourite characters are Vasch and Sultan (so don't be surprised if they feature heavily in future volumes).
Despite the various POVs and the epic nature of the plot, the story is fast-paced and there is rarely a senior-citizen moment of navel-gazing or overly flowery descriptions. This is very much a plot driven novel, but has a surprising number of layers and themes built in. I don't want to have to point them out here because part of the fun is working them out (absent parent, coming of age, homesickness, meaning of life, etc, etc). ahem. sorry.
I give this book a 5/5 because I wrote it, but its probably only worth a 4/5 (am I being too generous?), because it works at many levels, which will probably only become apparent after multiple read throughs. So go ahead and download it, read it, review it and tell me if I'm wrong.
The story follows the adventures of six teens and told from the perspectives of three of them, but also from the POVs of other characters too. It starts from the POV of Vasch (I'm a member of the Vasch fanclub), a troll who has been sent to Earth by the Trollking to assassinate Adam Phelps, a 13 year old boy, because of who he will become in the future. Through Vasch's eyes we see Earth as an alien place. The pollution in the air, Earth's proximity to the Sun, the level of ambient noise, all attacks Vasch's senses instantly. But he isn't alone. He has a war-band of trolls with him to help complete his mission. The trouble is that certain members of the war-band want to lead the mission themselves.
Nathan Celic and his brother Logan have planned to spend the day out in the country with their girlfriends, Salina Phelps and Katrina Standbridge. Nathan's day isn't going as well as he hoped because Salina's little brother, Adam is tagging along too. Then whilst they are swimming in a country lake, a gateway between worlds, buried beneath the lake for centuries is reactivated by the surge of energy created by Vasch and his war-bands arrival on Earth. Nathan, Logan, Salina and Katrina get sucked through. Adam is the only one left behind.
Nathan and the others wake to find themselves on another planet (Eridani), captured by strange elfin creatures called Alvors and are told that their only way home is in the very castle of the Trollking. They have to get passed him and his horde of trolls, goblins and traitor humans and alvors if they want to go home.
Back on Earth, Adam realises that he is being hunted by Vasch and his warband. Detective Karen Rainbow, a hard-nosed cop, is the only one who can protect him.
The other POV character is Sultan, a young Mughal prince who witnesses his father's assassination and then flees into the wild. He is trained in the mystical path of the Sufi, and manages to accidently transport himself to Eridani, only to be captured by the Trollking's minions. Regardless of time and space, their destinies are tied together.
The book was originally pitched at the 13-18 age group, but at times the language used may have adults reaching for a dictionary. Also, there is violence in the book, though it is shown to be reprehensible. Perhaps the book is more appropriate for 15+ readers? Also, the sentence structures can seem a bit abrupt, perhaps due to the constraints of fitting what should perhaps been a longer novel into a more acceptable length.
Early on in the book, the chapters alternate between the three main plot lines, i.e. Adam's story, Nathan's story and Sultan's story, but later on start to merge together until their is only two major plotlines running. Some readers may find the jumping around between POVs distracting as much YA is written from a single perspective. But I felt that a multiple POV strategy fit better with the epic setting of the plot. The characters are likeable enough, even when they are acting like douche bags, mostly because they are afraid or insecure. My favourite characters are Vasch and Sultan (so don't be surprised if they feature heavily in future volumes).
Despite the various POVs and the epic nature of the plot, the story is fast-paced and there is rarely a senior-citizen moment of navel-gazing or overly flowery descriptions. This is very much a plot driven novel, but has a surprising number of layers and themes built in. I don't want to have to point them out here because part of the fun is working them out (absent parent, coming of age, homesickness, meaning of life, etc, etc). ahem. sorry.
I give this book a 5/5 because I wrote it, but its probably only worth a 4/5 (am I being too generous?), because it works at many levels, which will probably only become apparent after multiple read throughs. So go ahead and download it, read it, review it and tell me if I'm wrong.
March 5, 2012
The Changeling King is the kind of old school YA fantasy you grew up with. The kind of story that made you pick up books in the first place.
The storytelling is fast-paced from the outset, the characters and settings believable. The numerous POVs are handled well, and the writing is tight and to the point.
TCK is a solid debut novel and well worth a read. I recommend this book to anyone, especially all you Tweens and Teens out there. Five Stars.
The storytelling is fast-paced from the outset, the characters and settings believable. The numerous POVs are handled well, and the writing is tight and to the point.
TCK is a solid debut novel and well worth a read. I recommend this book to anyone, especially all you Tweens and Teens out there. Five Stars.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews