Royal Changeling

by John Whitbourn

1st edition paperback fine

Genres: Fantasy

Paperback

First published October 31, 2013

Reviews

[Scott Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book and I have an interesting history. I've probably owned it for 15 years, started it about a half dozen times and it's survived every book purge I've done. Something about the syntax always stopped me from finishing it. But, I finally managed to read it these many years later and I'm glad I never got rid of it. There's a certain charm the way Whitbourn writes and his use of fantasy elements is very non-traditional and refreshing. The pacing is bit strange, as I was nearing the last quarter of the book I had a vague feeling there was going to be a cliffhanger and a second book, but no, everything is resolved in a satisfying way. Good book. I particularly enjoyed the antagonist in King Arthur's ghost. Very cool idea.

[Andy Fletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Royal Changeling is John Whitbourn’s fourth novel, written and released during the same period as A Dangerous Energy, To Build Jerusalem, Popes and Phantoms and the Downs-Lord Triptych, all of which are excellent (especially Downs-Lord Dawn). The Royal Changeling relays events, characters, Kings and battles at the backend of the Stuart monarchy. However, strange occurrences are afoot. History increasingly entwines with mythology and fantasy, as is a common with the author’s works.

The book is good, albeit my least favourite of John Whitbourn’s novels to date. I don’t know whether that’s because I’m not overly interested in the history of the monarchy, or that I didn’t think the overlap with fantasy gelled quite as well as others, or maybe I’m just suffering from Whitbourn fatigue, having read so many of his works this year. It’s more likely just relative to the standard of his other works. You can’t hit a four or six with every cricket stroke.

I advise not reading the blurb on the back of the book before commencing, at least on the second-hand edition that I read, given it actually summarises a large part of the story, making the shortlist for biggest spoiler alert committed to parchment. That was irritating, although a fleeting reference to a historical namesake of myself that I've never come across before which was within the book, cheered me back up a bit.

While The Royal Changeling isn’t directly connected to his Downs-Lord Triptych, there are some threads that would suggest the author had either conceived or already started that piece of work. Indeed, a lot of John Whitbourn’s work contain recurring themes, races, references or places. Perhaps his collective works of fantasy occupy the same multiverse, and The Long Man of Wilmington is an equivalent to The Dark Tower or master ring? Probably not, but it’s on my list of places to go and visit at least.

I can equate how much I enjoyed John Whitbourn’s works to the length of time it took me to read each one. His “for Canadians” masterpiece, The Age of the Triffids, I completed on the day of opening (earning me a good telling off from my wife), BABYLONdon had me burning the midnight oil over just a few nights and the short story collections Binscombe Tales and Altered Englands I didn’t want to end, but end they most quickly did. The Royal Changeling took longest, but it’s still worth a read.

[Dan Sumption · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very singular book: basically the English Restoration, with elves, written in a prose style which could almost have come from 200 years ago. The story sticks very closely to actual history, but manages to shoehorn in a few elves plus King Arthur for good measure. I enjoyed it a lot, although it felt a little "so what".

[Steve Clark]

Paperback