Customer Reviews

Transformation (Rai Kirah)

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Are you tired of multi-book epics? Or of the naive, innocent character who saves the world while all the experienced people had no clue? Or of quick, nobody-gets-hurt solutions to huge problems? Well, I am. And so it was a wonderful discovery to find this book:

Both heroes are disillusioned, and make mistakes, and have a hard time even trying to do good. And their development through the book is believable, not too fast or easy. No relationships are instant, but they develop nicely and convincingly. The problems also are not obvious to everyone, and grow and develop nicely. And despite all this, this is not a long-winded, drawn out book. It goes so fast, you just keep returning to it and reading on whenever you can, the tension is so high, you want to know what happens next, and you find yourself peeking a few pages down to know that it turns out OK.

The writing is beautiful, Carol Berg draws unexpected pictures with her words, extremely readable.

Nothing in this book was run of the mill - I found myself again and again waiting for a rehashed plotline or thinking (well, of course, and now...) but I was always surprised. Absolutely wonderful book, all around.

And - just imagine! - it is finished after 400+ pages! There may be a sequel (who knows?) but it is not necessary, and I enjoy that. I do not want to be drawn into 1000+ pages every time, and so many fantasy authors just seem unable to stop.

Recomms: you might want to try Tanya Huff, Julie Czerneda, Roby James, Anne Bishop, Laurell K. Hamilton - each very different, but all with complex characters and unexpected stories.

I thought that the cover (by Kevin Murphy: a guy on a cliff-top above a stormy castle) represented the innards of the book rather well. The art itself is well-done, dramatic, dark, deep...but really, those pale green wings that look as thought they've been stuck on artifically? I thought the same of some aspects of Berg's story.

Her writing is very readable (feel free to skim the first couple of paragraphs), told from the point of view of Seyonne, currently a slave to Prince Aleksander, formerly a sorcerer committed solely to good. The magic system was a bit odd, if still acceptable, but the fact that Seyonne has wings simply boggles my mind. He's already established as a powerful sorcerer; did she really have to add this slightly corny touch? Add to this the bad guys of the book: demons, who care only for causing chaos and suffering. Rather one-dimensional.

What wasn't one-dimensional was her characterization. Even the minor characters are vivid and play critical roles in the plot. As for the major ones-- When we first meet Aleksander, he's a rich, powerful, clever (and he knows it, and makes sure everyone else does too), and spoiled heir to an empire that has conquered other nations, including Seyonne's. Toward his new slave he holds nothing but indifferent contempt. This changes, however, and soon he captures our sympathy, as well as Seyonne's, who must struggle out of the apathy he learned was necessary to survive as a slave.

Frankly, I think that the title refers to *this* transfomation, that of Aleksander from haughty prince to a decent man, and that of Seyonne from miserable slave to something more (I won't give that away). The ending was heart-stoppingly beautiful. Read it to watch the relationship between the characters, which compelled my interest far beyond the events of the plot.

This book is quite possibly the singular best fantasy novel I've ever read. The only books that come close are the Riftwar novels by Feist and the "Running with the Demon" trilogy by Terry Brooks.

Anyways, back to THIS book. I must start off by saying that it is an amazing first-person "account" of his lessons. Nothing is explained that doesn't need to be explained, and you can feel the narrators emotions, pain, joy, fear and disbelief are a few of these emotions. But perhaps the best part is that the author never has the need to explain sarcastic remarks. Because of the vivid display of emotions the narrator puts forth, you automatically know when he's being sarcastic. You can read his tone as well as you could the voice of someone you were speaking with.

The story itself, while one of self-discovery, is refreshingly fresh and poingent, very unlike the "post-adolescent boy farmer suddenly discovers he is long lost son of a monarch/has magical ability to save the world", which is the template for so many authors. And the character development itself is brilliantly done. Seyonne and Aleksander, the heroes, don't just "magically" meet and become friends, although it was certainly an twist of fate that brought them together. You can actually feel the character growth in these books - Not only that of the narrator Seyonne, whose pain and confusion is evident as his world is turned upside down by events beyond his control. But also that of Alekzander, as he grows from brash and uncaring prince to someone who realizes he might just have to grow up one day and take the reins of a country full of people who aren't just toys for his whims.

But perhaps the best character development is that between Seyonne and Alexsander as they shift gradually from Master and Slave to a wary trust, and are finally forced to forge a deep friendship based on trust and respect that will take them (litterally) into each others soul.

In closing, if you have a sentimental bone in your body, you will love this book for the raw emotions; if you are a student of the human condition, you will understand it for the lessons it delivers; or, if you're just looking for a good fantasy read to keep you busy for a few hours, I would recommend this book to you. I also feel the need to mention that I have several friends who NEVER read fantasy novels, but after I litterally forced it into their hands, they not only read it, but either bought or asked to borrow the sequel "Revelation", from me.

My husband's test for fantasy novels is to first look at the front cover. If that's relatively intersting, he readsd the blurb on the back, and if that catches his attention, he starts reading the first chapter. If the first chapter is engaging, he buys the book.

I applied this test to _Transformation_. I didn't think much of the cover art and the back cover blurb was a typical good versus evil story. But once I started reading, I couldn't stop.

This book is incredibly well-written in a voice that is honest, insightful and poignant. The narrator and main character has lived sixteen years as a slave and he gives such a harrowing depiction of his life and what it has made of him that it is impossible to believe that Berg didn't have those experiences herself. Because of the point of view, this book reminded me quite a bit of Mary Renault's _The Persian Boy_, but I thought the inside workings of a slave's mind and how slavery changes a person were even more well-drawn.

Everywhere, the realism in _Transformation_ is stunning. The characters, particularly Prince Aleksander, live and breathe in all their complexity. It is very easy to see how the characters could come to respect and even love the Prince, despite his capricious and sometimes abusive behavior. I know this is a hard thing to portray. I have never seen it done better.

I must admit to having a slight problem with the nature of the conflict. I'm not big on demon possession as a motivating factor , or on the idea of demons as a force for evil. To her credit, Berg depicted the demons as a natural force that just happened to feed on pain, not as an actual evil. But given that, it was hard to accept that this natural force would suddenly have politcal aspirations. When Seyonne wondered why the demons were acting that way, so did I.

There were some slow parts about 3/4 of the way through, and a typical "you thought it was over but it ain't" ending that, although it tied up a couple loose ends, I found less meaningful than I would have liked. But all in all, _Transformation_ was an exceptional read, one I'm happy to have on my shelf.

"Transformation" is a one-of-a-kind fantasy that is so believable, it almost falls into the category of historical fiction. The only book I can compare it to is Mary Renault's classic, "The Persian Boy" which is the story of Alexander the Great as narrated by his slave, Bagoas. Now, imagine Bagoas as transformed into the slave, Seyonne who was once a mighty wizard and Warden against demonkind. The 'Alexander the Great' character is Prince Aleksander who is heir-apparent to an Empire that could have been founded by Harun al-Rashid, and Berg's mixture of 'Arabian Nights', demons, and wizardry is darn-near perfect.

"Transformation" develops logically from the growth and interaction of its two main characters, Aleksander and Seyonne, but I wasn't noticing reviewerly items like 'character development' while I was reading it. Berg has crafted such an interesting world that I was reading purely to see what happened next. Magic flowed believably from character, which is the hallmark of a really good fantasy, and "Transformation" is one of the best I've read in a long time. A wonderful, wizardly love story is revealed as an integral part of plot, as the reader gradually learns more about the Wardens and their struggle to protect humanity from demonkind.

"Transformation" was published in August, 2000 and I can only hope that the author is hard at work on another, equally engrossing fantasy.

This book is a great read, and I want more! The story of Seyonne and Alexander is not what you typically find in a fantasy; their characters are believable, and you end up caring what happens. And Carol Berg has a delightful way with words--the images she created are vivid and lasting. It was a very satisfying book--I can't wait to read what she comes up with next.

The fantasy genre is not my usual choice, but this book is a treat for anyone who appreciates excellent writing. The story is masterfully told: the characters come alive; the settings are richly painted; the dialogs sparkle; enough twists and turns in the plot to hook me from page one to the end. I am left wishing for more!

This is Book One in a three book series. I took it to Hawaii on vacation, and just for the heck of it threw books Two and Three in my suitcase, never believing I'd get past Book One. Wrong! I couldn't put it down! I was glancing at volcanoes, then sticking my nose back in my novel! I don't usually like such moody, melodramatic writing (tortured souls), but Carol Berg does it extremely well and I totally bought into it, rather than rolling my eyes. The main characters are believable, flawed, and very likeable. I was routing for them from page one. The story starts with a bang and doesn't let up. I was completely caught up in the tale and couldn't stop turning pages to see what would happen. The "world" and magic are intriguing and unique. Book Two bogs down a little (as second books in a trilogy often do), but Book Three pulls it all back together with a bang. I closed the last page of Book Three with a deep sigh and half a tear. I strongly recommend this unique and powerful series.

This book was initially received skeptically by my book club, most of whom never read fantasy. After reading it, though, at least two members said that they would have to START reading fantasy, because they didn't know what they'd been missing. Carol's characters are strong and clear, very human, and the story keeps you engrossed. Although both of the main characters are male, there are also strong female characters. The only thing I would warn readers about, is that the first page drags a little, so do read more than the first few pages before you expect to be caught up in this multi-layered tale. I found myself teary at several points in the book, giving credence to the book's plot twists and characterization. You care about these characters and feel like you know them (or wish you did) by the end of the book. We had the good fortune to have the author at our book club the night we discussed this book, and everyone was thrilled to find that the author was as warm and likeable as the story was absorbing.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was a fresh take on fantasy, especially considering the main character was a slave. There wasn't alot of your typical fantasy with magic and battles as well as heroes that never seem to die. The characterizations were done well and the dialogue between the 2 main characters as well as watching their relationship grow really kept my interest.

And then the book changed...

Nearly at the midway point the story kicks into your typical fantasy fare. I won't reveal much, but you get a very predictable plot line that follows along the fantasy guidelines to where you can pretty much predict what is upcoming.

This was disappointing. I really liked the direction the story started and got through that in just a few days, but found it hard to read the 2nd half and to maintain my interest.