Transformation, Book I of Rai-Kirah Series, by Carol Berg

Folks, I have to say, if you love fantasy, you definitely want to give this book a chance. It's the first book in the Rai-Kirah series by Carol Berg, a modern-ish fantasy author. Published in 2000, this is the book Berg debuted with, and my-oh-my has she done a good job.

When I'm reading a book, especially in this genre, I want to feel what the characters are feeling, see what they are seeing, hear what they are hearing, think what they are... well you get the idea. Same goes for the environment the book's been set in. I want to want to be there. To me, that's what fantasy is about: the author making me fantasise about his/her world. And I personally think that Carol Berg has done a commendable job towards this end.

Before I continue on the review, let me give you a brief summary of the book.


A coming-of-age story of sorts, but told in a very different way with an interesting perspective. The protagonist, Seyonne, was born an Ezzarian, a free, magical people in a lush, green land. But the Ezzarians were conquered by the larger and militarily superior Derzhi Empire. Seyonne was captured, put through horrible rites that striped him of his magical powers and forced into slavery. He endures horrid conditions and pathetic, inhumane treatment while holding on to the pitiable remnant of his life with the mantra, "What comes, comes."

On the other hand, the next most important character in the novel, Prince Aleksander, son of the Derzhi Emperor, purchases Seyonne out of one his frequent childish whims. He is the worst type of Derzhi: arrogant, uncaring, heartless and heedless to the cruelty about him. Ready to hate him, Seyonne gets shocked when he notices the light of feadnach, the God-touched, in the pompous prince's eyes. Sworn to protect one as such, due to Ezzarian teaching, he struggles to understand how to look after a cocky Derzhi prince who doesn't even believe in magic!

Then, when the Khelid come, Seyonne immediately recognises the demon glean in their eyes. However, since he has been stripped of his power, he has nothing but his wits to fight them, and if that wasn't enough, the obstinate Prince, whose life he's trying to safeguard, opposes his every move.


Well, that's the summary. Now, on to the review:


Personally, I know that I am really going to enjoy a book when, early on, I find myself wondering what the characters are doing during the times of their lives that the author has chosen not to tell the reader about. The story skips forwards a day or week between chapters, and I start trying to imagine what the characters did and said during the missing time. More over, since the characters have been so well-drawn, and their background of history and culture so full realised, that I can make pretty decent guesses as to what transpired.


However, books like this are few. Fortunately, Carol Berg's "Transformation" fits the bill quite well. I find that it is difficult to incorporate this much detail, not only to the history and characters, but also to the literal landscape and other aspects of geography, without the details overshadowing the plot and making the book a slow read.


Seyonne and Aleksander, pretty much the two main characters of the book, have been created with a great deal of care. I find them as real as the backgrounds they have been set on, and as such, I can't help but feel deeply for both. Neither is perfect, nor very nice all the time. But Berg managed to make me care about them both.


As I have mentioned earlier, not only has Berg made the characters so real with detail, but she has also created a world around these two with a comparable level of depth. The cultures of the Derzhi and Ezzarians are richly detailed and logically realised, so much so that you might believe them to really exist. She has even gone ahead and created very imaginable conflicts between characters of each culture. In fact, I personally felt that this aspect of the book could even be used to illustrate anthropological principles in a fictional setting.


Having said all of the above, I must still point out that "Transformation" is not a perfect novel. I did find a few drawbacks worth mentioning.

1. The demon-infested Khelid characters come across as stock villains. They seem to only want to conquer the Derzhi Empire, but Berg never really tells us about their motivations for this desire. This is something that I really would have liked to know.
2. Berg simply does not explore the culture of these Khelid enough. In contrast to the other two major cultures described in the book, it's almost as if that she'd forgotten to complete the Khelid.
3. There is the issue of Seyonne's betrayal by a childhood friend that resulted in his capture and enslavement by the Derzhi. The reasons given for this just don't seem enough.
4. There isn't enough of Lydia, Aleksander's spirited fiancée, in the story. The way she is introduced, it seems that she's going to be such an interesting character. But as the plot continues, you find yourself wondering, "Wait a minute, where'd she go?"

However, the above are really minor issues that ultimately don't matter enough to mar the enjoyment of this rip-roaring and page turning story.


Final verdict:
If you really enjoy fantasy, and you have not read this yet, give it a try! You might like it enough to try the entire series (I think you probably would).