The Changeling

The Fey #2

by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Years after a political marriage fails to bring peace to the land of Blue Isle, Jewel learns that the son she and her husband have been raising is a changeling and launches a rescue mission in the Shadowlands

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Magic

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is an award-winning mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy writer. She has written many novels under various names, including Kristine Grayson for romance, and Kris Nelscott for mystery. Her novels have made the bestseller lists –even in London– and have been published in 14 countries and 13 different languages.

Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction.

In addition, she's written a number of nonfiction articles over the years, with her latest being the book "A Freelancer's Survival Guide".

She has also published as:
Sandy Schofield (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kristine Grayson - romances
Kathryn Wesley (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kris Nelscott - mysteries
Kris Rusch - historical fiction
Kris DeLake - romances

Reviews

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook reread 2021:
2.5 stars rounded up. I love the introduction of the next generation but this suffers from the same narrator and its just tedious.

4 Star Review from 2017 reread:
So much better than the first book but does not stand on it's own outside of the series, which this author perfects in the Retrieval Artist series.

[Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not stop reading this book - slept late, skipped workouts... I needed to know what was going to happen next.

I was upset when Rugar stole Sebastian and everyone thought the changeling was the awful result of a Fey and human union, surprised and annoyed that King Alexander was assassinated by Rugar, then completely blind-sided when Jewel died about a third of the way through the book (got to that part on my way to work and was so stressed out!!). Like, what the heck!!! Fucking Matthais, I disliked him from the get-go and this book absolutely made it worse. I was also very disapproving of Nicholas flirting with Charissa, like excuse me? Look but no touchy, please. You are married. Ugh.

I thought that there were a few, too convenient plot holes (?). I wrestled with the fact that no one besides Solanda told Nicholas that Sebastian is a golem, and even then it seemed like Solanda was being so elliptical about her "explanation" of Sebastian's true nature. Was kind of surprised Jewel didn't suspect it or know. If someone's dropped a hint that my son was stolen and replaced by something else, even if it didn't seem like it, wouldn't you ask more questions rather than dropping it?

Or the fact that Gift knew he was stolen and his parents were alive (well, one of them now anyway), but stayed where he was - even after Jewel's death. There didn't seem any real curiosity to meet his real parents or sister physically. Or was it enough for Gift to just check in on Arianna now and again through Sebastian?

Some of these things felt like they were addressed in passing - Fey still see humans as inferior so couldn't be bothered to properly tell Nicholas that he's caring for a golem all these years, Gift didn't want to leave Niche and Wing... Which yeah, I guess??? But it all felt a bit unsatisfying and unconvincing.

I actually quite enjoyed the political wrangling (I normally don't) and ethical dilemma discussions, even though some of the dialogue did go around in circles - to be honest, real conversation does have a tendency to do that, especially in those areas, so I didn't mind too much.

I didn't really have a favourite character in the first book - Solanda I knew from the short I read in Midwinter Fae and adored, but she was in precious few pages. I'm so glad that she's in this book more - her scenes were great. When Rugar turned up at the nursery, I was so sure that was going to be the end of her, as per the Vision described in the short of her death, a bit shocked that Rugar was the one who died instead.

My goodness... I need book 3, but enforcing a break so I can actually do other life stuff. Bah.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the second book in this series. I wasn't too keen on the 1st book but I am very happy that I kept going with the sequels. The story is so beautifully written as two different cultures try to either work together or go back to war. I feel emotionally tied to the characters, which can be tough when the story unfolds to be so tragic. In summary, I can't wait to read the next book!

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great series by KKR.

[Dion Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally enjoying the series and the moral greyness of the characters and their decisions.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://bookcrossing.com/journal/12048...

[Mathew Walls · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even better than the first one. The situation in the first part of the book is quite unpleasant, and it seems so obvious that Rugar and Matthias are each going to make things a lot worse (and they do), but no one seems to be able to stop them. As with the first book, the various characters' actions make sense from their own perspectives and the things that go wrong do so because of all these people with conflicting goals and imperfect information, rather than there being any good guys and bad guys as such (although it's hard to feel much sympathy for Rugar or Matthias).

The book ends at a point where things are looking positive and the known problems have mostly been solved or made irrelevant, making it quite a satisfactory place to leave the story, but it's not entirely a neat ending and leaves plenty unresolved for the next book. Something Rusch seems to do well is making each book self-contained while still fitting neatly within the series.

The only real problem I have, and it's a minor one, is how none of the Fey will tell Jewel or Nicholas that Sebastian is a golem. It seems like it had to happen that way in order for the events to play out as the author wanted rather than being justified on its own merits. The explanation that the Fey believe you don't deserve to know something if you can't figure it out yourself doesn't seem to be supported consistently. The payoff may be worth that small amount of clunkiness though.

[Peter Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as much as I did the first in the series (The Fey: Sacrifice). The only real complaint I have is with one awkward (and pivotal) scene where characters seemed to act in a way designed to let the author make a point, if that makes sense. In other words their actions seemed artificial and contrived. In the same scene another character made a startling transformation that pushed the limits of my suspension of disbelief. It's odd how one scene can so influence my reaction to a book. Would've been 5 stars otherwise.

Rusch is a ruthless author, not afraid to kill off characters we've come to know and possibly be fond of. I have this image of her and George R. R. Martin sitting at a bar laughing maniacally at each others' "how I killed off such and such a character" stories. :)

Once again this isn't really an action-packed book and it only covers a few weeks (there's a gap of a few years between books 1 & 2). But the characters and world are compelling enough that I never felt bored. It's the kind of book where it's hard to say who is 'good' and who is 'evil' because the situations are so complex.

Basically, you want to read the first book first of course, and if you liked that one, you'll like this one.

[Werehare · Rating 4 out of 5]

7,5/10

[Recensione cumulativa per i libri dal 2 al 5 della serie]
Il primo e l'ultimo libro della serie sono, IMO, i peggiori: mentre nel primo l'autrice si prende il suo bel tempo per delineare l'ambientazione e mettere le basi per l'avventura (e nel frattempo il lettore prende sonno), e nell'ultimo cade nella tentazione del deus ex machina paraculissimo che lascia con l'amaro in bocca, nei tre volumi centrali fa centro con una storia che non ha niente da invidiare - anzi, IMO ha qualcosa da insegnare - alle Cronache del Ghiaccio e del Fuoco: un intreccio di varie linee narrative che convergono nel finale, un cast eccezionale di personaggi sfaccettati e ben caratterizzati tanto che sarei in difficoltà ad indicare chi è il protagonista e chi l'antagonista, e colpi di scena e morti a volontà (una in particolare mi ha spezzato il cuore). Anche l'ambientazione fa la sua figura, con un sistema magico al contempo semplice e versatile che gioca un ruolo determinante in diverse svolte della trama.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good sequel although full of tragedy. This book reminds me a bit of the Thrones books by George R.R. Martin written realistically although in a magical fantasy realm. Sometimes people you like die and sometimes people you hate live.

I wish I'd read it years ago. It isn't amongst the very best books I've read, but it is certainly one of the better books/series I've read.

Rusch makes characters you like and hate equally well. Her world is interesting and based on Earth myths with her own twists. The Fey are not a happy-go lucky lot of people; they are cruel, ruthless, and use methods that would turn our stomachs in order to do their magic.

I look forward to the next book.

[BobA707 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: This book moves the story on nicely explaining the mixed children and killing off the main Fey characters

Plotline: Some really good ideas and plot twists

Premise: Some of the magic is a bit bizarre, but well thought through and on the whole this works.

Writing: Excellent, clear, simple, descriptive

Ending: Satisfactory ending ... all should be peaceful until the black king comes

Pace: Never a dull moment

[Ian Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the one with all the game-changing bits in it. There's a real sense of peril and unpredictability here with everything that goes on. Also, it's great to see how characters are viewed by others which Ms Rusch does very effectively, making you question the reliability of some POV characters as narrators.

[Dallas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of two cultures trying to survive.

This second book of the Fey is intriguing in its own right. It is hard to tell where the will take the story as surprises abound. The two cultures in the book are existing in fear of each other but changes are leading to a mixture of the two cultures baby step by baby step.

[Kyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book examines a world and the politics in that works when they're influenced out faxed with magic. Really good story. You should read the first book first, but this one was better. Excited for book three.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all-time favorite fantasy series!

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like this nearly as much as the first one.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put this book down in the middle for a while and just picked it up again. It is marvelous and I can't think how I was able to put it down before.

[CD]

Great series.

[thehappyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really Great Book

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

23hrs.33mns.

[Sara Handlovics · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book

Love every book in this series. She is am amazing author that always gives me a fantastic reading experience ^.^