adelaidesean | The Changeling arrives!

I'm not getting out much at the moment so was very pleasantly surprised to see The Changeling on the shelves already. My excitement knows no bounds! I am very proud of this book (and the sequel, which I finished page-proofing last week) and keen to know what everyone thinks of it.

(A reminder: this is the book I wrote for my Masters a couple of years ago. It went through several transformations before finally finding a home with HarperCollins here in Australia. I'm still trying to sell it overseas, but for some reason my fantasy novels always struggle to find their place in the US and elsewhere. I remain hopeful.)

Here's what some noteworthy people have said so far.

David Cornish's cover blurb was severely truncated, as they have to be to fit in such a tiny space. This is the full quote: "Two of the things that delight me in Sean Williams’ work are his vision and his fearlessness: he will happily smash planets and obliterate galaxies, annihilate entire races and alter the course of all history as we know it. In contrast, this dark tale is of the isolated struggle of one small boy. Yet Ros, half-starved son of a desperate farmer, is pushed far beyond his life of lonely and mundane misery as he becomes entangled with elemental forces beyond his comprehension and barely in his control. In a smashed and parched land so reminiscent of the back-slopes of the Mt Lofty Ranges in summer, the beautifully grim and driving narrative had me hooked, deeply anxious to learn Ros’ fate. Sean Williams is an acknowledged master of adult stories, and in The Changeling he proves that wonderful and terrible tales for younger folk are well within the ambit of his prodigiously talented and prolific pen. I, for one, am gagging for further instalments."

Stuart Payne was very kind indeed in Aurealis: "a master-piece of speculative fiction... [Williams'] skill is as limitless as the universe."

Dave Luckett was no less effusive in The West Australian: "I think that one test of good art is the extent to which it builds from tradition without sacrificing innovation. Sean Williams' The Changeling passes that test, and many others. This is speculative fiction of the highest quality."

Thuy On in The Age was less flattering, allowing that it "follows the archetypal young-adult fiction format of a vulnerable teenager confronting and overcoming great obstacles" but feeling compelled to add "although it's streaked with fantastical elements" as though the two are mutually exclusive. Oh well. He did mention that there are "scary elements in this tale that might be unsuitable for younger readers, such as a blood-letting 'weather-worker' and crab-like, hard-shelled monsters that drag their live prey deep down in their burrows." If I hadn't written the book, that last line would've made me want to buy it for sure!

Best of all, Justin Ackroyd gave me a recommendation in the Slow Glass Books catalogue. Woohoo!