Customer Reviews

The Changewinds (Baen Science Fiction)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am not exactly a fan of Jack L. Chalker, or at least I wasn't before I read The Changewinds. In fact I didn't even know who he was before I read it. But now I realize that I had been missing out on one of the more unique fantasy minds of our time. Chalker created a unique and enchanting world, which challenges the laws of physics and Probability, filled it with more races and lands than no one person should be allowed to concieve, and gave it a political situation that many people in this world have first-hand experience with. He then plopped two ordinary teenage women into it, mumbled something about one of them being important into their ears, and left them to their own devices.

Or so it would seem. By the end we learn that even the infinity of Probability can be predicted and tampered with.

Through the eyes of Charley and Sam, we, the lucky readers, discover the beauty and variety (and cruelty) that is Chalker's world of Akhlar. There are no illusions here, save those the inhabitants create. Cruelty, kindness, pity, jealousy, compassion, love and hate, good and evil are all present and accounted for. As are the bureaucracy and the underworld. Sure, there are fantastical creatures and magic and sorcerers and kings and queens and those sorts of things, but it is tempered with a reality and a believability that I have never seen anywhere else. As is most often times not the case, I can see myself in this world, because Chalker leaves nothing out of it.

And this is not a book about the setting, either. Chalker's plotline is twisting and complex, yet manages to keep the reader's attention even when it seems there's not really all that much going on. The introduction of new characters, the resurfacing of those thought dead or vanished, and the continuous metamorphosis of the two protagonists are enough to rivet even those who think fantasy is bunk to their seats.

The main characters themselves go through enormous changes, both of body and mind. They are possessed by demons, taken control of by numerous wizards and evil people of all types, and had their memories wiped clean at least twice that I can remember. Through all of this they are transformed from two ordinary teenagers into strong, self-assured women who are able to do the tasks that they were brought into Ahklar for in the first place.

There are two distinct types of fantasy novels nowadays -- those who follow in the footsteps of previous works and those who forge their own paths. I have never read anything so unique as this book, and I have never been so riveted to a certain plotline as I was when I read it. Chalker is creative and witty even in the mundane aspects of his world, and helps us to rekindle a little of our own inner imagination as he takes us on a whirlwind (or is that changewind?) tour of his world.

Coming from a person who's read every single Jack L. Chalker series I would have to declare this one one of his best. Mr Chalker uses all his aquired writing skills to make the characters realistic, their reactions realistic, and the world trully come alive. When I read the book first it was in 3 parts and that gave it real flair. When you are done with one it is almost compulsory to read the next. The book is increrdibly hard and painful to put down when done with. And the resolution is incredibly pleasing, finally a book that ties all ends up and satisfies the reader. So this is a book both for the Chalker fan and also for those not familiar with his style for this book exemplifies it perfectly...

When this book first came out, I found it at my local library.. The size of it put me off a bit, but I took it out anyway... O_o! This book gave me terrible grades in school for about 3 weeks, because I would stay up until 3:30 in the morning reading it (I was 13, so sue me. :P) and sleep through my classes. About 3 months ago, I got the urge to read it again or buy it, and wouldn't you know it, the library no longer has it. ::grrr:: After searching bookstores for months, I finally found it here. Do NOT pass up the chance to read this book, believe me. Excellent story, great characters, and a nice ending, too. :) I always wanted to get the butterfly tattoos..

I remember reading the "Changewinds" saga in three books several years back. I've never forgotten the story. The adventures of two young women in alternate universes makes for a compelling read. There are some contovesial elements including sexual identity and the very brutal treatment the girls endure during their journey. But, I do recommend the book. It's one of the few novels I remember describing in detail to a friend

Riders of the winds is a sequel to Where The Change Winds Blow which I as a teenager found so thrilling I spent 7 years hunting down the next two books. Riders kept the story going and kept my attention but it couln't capture me the way the first book did. The book follows Charlie and Sam into the deasert on separate paths exactlty where the first book left off but the two girls don't meet up again until the third book. If you read the first book you should definatly read all three it is good for light reading, and passing time.

Being the first Chalker book I read, I was quite impressed with it. It's quite tough to put into words. It is a literary masterpiece in line with Bridge on the River Kwai or Ben Hur. The epic scale is extraordinary. Highly recommended.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this book. However, it didn't have the usual kick that Chalker always has that makes his books so enjoyable. But that alone didn't take it down from a five star rating. What got it demoted was the fact that I couldn't get into caring about the main characters. All the characters that I liked either died or there was not enough of.

I read bad books all the time but rarely is there one I can not finish. This is one I couldn't. The characters are boring whinny and constantly forgetting the things they just learned. The world the story takes place in is interesting but that is not enough. It's one of those books where the characters are constantly being redescribed. The book seems to be written as a self help book for teenagers with body image problems. Maybe it would be therapeutic for some. Otherwise total crapfest.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but as far as I'm concerned this is a sick, sick book. I had previously been made aware of the degree to which Jack Chalker's sexual fantasies influenced his writing, but I had taken the statements given as comical exaggerations, and I certainly had no idea as to the nature of the fantasies in question. I'll admit it, I didn't get all the way through--I stopped after one of the many rape scenes, and couldn't bring myself to start again. The funny thing, though, and the reason why this book gets two stars instead of one, is that the main characters are not themselves sick--I kept reading as long as I did out of affection for them, and even their worst or most obviously "sexy" actions left me wishing they were in a book by anyone other than Chalker.

I was reading Jack L Chalker in my mid-teens, probably 14-16 or so - that was when I had read the first book in this series.

As I have been going through re-reading books, I've been picking up the missing links to flush out my trilogies. As far as the trilogy and this books place in the trilogy go, it fits in wonderfully with Chalker's story.

The series as a whole is probably intended for your older, but still young adult audiences. I don't know if I, as a parent, would approve of my child reading this book before they were nearing 18.

The series as a whole is set in an interesting world, but Chalker uses the world to examine moral issues beyond the battle of good and evil, and there is a lot of drugs, sex, 'potions', hypnosis, and mind control in these books. They are certainly sexually explicit... and very morally gray. At times, I was unsure if the author himself realized how gray the moral landscape of his Changewinds saga really is.