Eight is a boy raised in darkness and horror, forged into an unnatural killing machine by his eldritch masters. Kynnar is a ranger. He lost the love of his life to the horrors of the Corrupted Lands. Now he’s trapped in a half-life of his own. Kari is a runeguard, a battlemage, one of the finest warriors in the land, but still with much to prove. Zim is an engineer: a genius at his art, but unaccustomed to the dangers of the field. Shrike is a con-man and a thief; also a psychopath.
These four have been given an impossible, incredible task. The Corrupted Lands have plagued the world for centuries. The result of ill-advised experimentation by wizards, the Lands still churn out fell horrors and demonic beasts. Now, finally, there’s an answer: a bomb. One that will cleanse the Corrupted Lands of all life, to ‘bring peace to the lands and make them hospitable again’. This unlikely band of heroes represent the many factions in the land. Together, their goal is to deliver the device to the heart of the darkness, then, hopefully, make it home again.
The mission is nasty, but seemingly straightforward. Alas, there are wheels within wheels. The peace between the Guilds is uneasy, at best. The group itself is plagued by in-fighting and distrust. Not unfairly either, as they each have conflicting loyalties and dark secrets. An assassin follows in their footsteps, and the unholy monsters of the Corrupted Lands wait ahead. Oh, and occasionally the sky falls. (Literally.)
There’s a lot to unpick in A Change of Blood. It is fair to say that, in SPFBO terms, it is both a difficult and an easy cut. To begin with the latter: there’s simply a lot in Change that isn’t quite working. The character of Eight borders on grimdark parody, intentional or not, and his chapters are so untiringly gruelling that they’re a challenge to read. The adventures of a child whose life is entirely torture, with the occasional field-trip to kill folks, do not make for fun reading. Eight is also, rather unfortunately, the first perspective in the book, setting a Vantablack tone that discolours everything that follows. Even after he’s ‘freed’ from his life of torture-murder, Eight is an unpleasant perspective. The book constantly hectors the reader with reminders that Eight is very different, with no social graces or emotional intelligence whatsoever. But it does so with little subtlety and less sympathy. His tone of voice is unique, but unpleasant. Ultimately, his character arc is a damp squib because not only do we not witness any growth, we’re given little reason to care about him.
Other characters also have, for lack of a better term, ‘accelerated’ arcs. Kynnar, who begins the book by literally dying and coming back to life, never bothers to process his unique situation; instead he spends most of the book dwelling on the death of his lost wife. This is all the more baffling, given his emotional arc is (somehow) a romance. Shrike is quirky, but, perhaps for the best, under-used, lest his particular shtick cross from zany to irritating. However, the lack of growth (internal or externally perceived) means his redemption arc too comes entirely from left-field. Kari and Zim are slightly more nuanced characters, with more easily understandable motivations, but neither have enough time in the spotlight to really click. Significant secondary characters, such as Liya, are also ill-served by the lack of meaningful presence. The rapidity with which characters are introduced, ‘evolved’, and resolved relies a great deal on ‘telling, not showing’. We can perceive, as readers, that these moments are meant to be meaningful, but we do not experience them as such.
The character arcs are a microcosm for the greater plot as well. The complex political maneuvers of the Guilds are simply there. They happen, and we rationally understand that they are meaningful, but they lack any real impact. This is doubly true for the final ‘twist’ in Change – a reveal that is simultaneously inevitable and inadequate. Yes, that’s true, but also, so what?
The above is all damning criticism. But…
All that said, Change is tantalisingly close. It does all the hard stuff right. The world is fascinating. The characters have truly differentiated voices. There’s an edgy sense of humour that (eventually) cuts through the grimdark grime. The plot and the characters are right: there’s a great hook, and a pack of genuinely fascinating characters. It is Abercrombian mayhem, but with a distinct and different edge to it.
Everything in here is a lot of fun – there’s simply not enough time and space to breathe. We are told Eight goes to ‘wizard school’ and meets other young people, but we don’t get a chance to experience this with him. We are told Liya and Kari have long conversations about the former’s future, but we never see it. We are told Kari and Kynnar have a connection, but we never witness it. Etc. etc. The pace of Change is phenomenal, and, to its credit, it covers a lot of ground.
It just needs to linger more. We need to see how people connect; to have their growth teased. Everything that is at stake, with our heroes and the world, we need to know what it actually means. Not as a theoretical construct, but as something we feel and experience on the page. As a devotee of short books and an avowed enemy of bloat, it is an odd thing to say, but I wish A Change of Blood were at least half again as long.
Still, it is not my role to review a book for what it isn’t. A Change of Blood is promising, but doesn’t fully deliver. However, as a debut (?), it is an exciting find, and establishes G.P. Gabriel firmly in the rare and elusive category of ‘‘one to watch”.
-Jared
Our other SPFBO 7 reviews:
- Finnian’s Fiddle by Chandler Groover
- Breakaway by Dezarea Dunn
- Red Harvest Moon by Miles Hurt
Check out our SPFBO 7 intro post here.
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