Transformation by Carol Berg

Solidly written, with a pair of pitch-perfect lead characters.by PhoenixFalls

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October 05, 2009: This is a book the likes of which I have not come across in some time. It grabbed me within the first few pages and did not let go until I finished it. It hasn't quite let go of me yet, actually -- it was almost physically painful to stop myself from immediately picking up the next book in the series to instead come to the computer and write this review.

It was such an all-encompassing experience, as a matter of fact, that it's hard for me to summon up the distance to write a good review. Trying to think about it objectively, I don't think it was anywhere near a perfect book. The pacing was uneven, and the ancillary characters were no more than cardboard cutouts moving the plot along. Some of the more important ancillary characters' motivations were terribly unclear, and I didn't buy the small romance subplots for either Seyonne or Aleksander.

But none of that matters to me, because the heart and soul of the novel is Seyonne and Aleksander's relationship, and that is realized pitch-perfectly. They are both complex men with everything in the world working against any potential relationship they might develop and the fate of the world resting on the fact that they must learn to trust each other and work together. And wonderfully, they manage to do this, with neither useless angst nor unrealistic protestations of affection. Berg summoned some significant magic into this novel, and I am greatly looking forward to reading its sequel.

I Also Recommend: Curse of Chalion (Chalion Series #1), Revelation, Restoration, Heritage and Exile (The Heritage of Hastur/Sharras' Exile).

Could not put it downby cgirl98

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January 11, 2009: I was bored and suffering from insomnia one night and picked this up to past the time. I started it at 10pm and did not put it down till I finished it a 7am...needless to say, I liked it very much. I twas all due not due to the plot...which while good was not too far off fro mmost fantasy plots, but due to the great and fully realized characters. They lived and breathed and you felt like you were going through everything with them, and standing right besides them. The writer has great skill in this department. If you love good, character driven stories...this is a good one.