Product Description

Seyonne is a man waiting to die. He has been a slave for sixteen years and has lost everything of meaning to him:his dignity, the people and homeland he loves, and the Warden's power that enables him to step into a human soul and do battle with demons. But Prince Aleksander, heir to the Derzhi empire, has been possessed by the very demons that Seyonne once fought - demons now allied with the savage Khelid nation. Seyonne must recover his power and cast down the Demon Lords before they destroy both the Prince and his empire. Look out for more information on this book and others on the Orbit website at www.orbitbooks.co.uk

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #217874 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Sixteen years of slavery have left Seyonne with little sense of who he is, or who he used to be; Carol Berg's Transformation is the story of how he gradually comes to know himself and becomes a player in the game of empires and kings.

Prince Aleksander is the heir to the Derzhi Empire and is a spoiled brat with no sense of the consequences of his endlessly rash actions. When Seyonne, whom he has whimsically bought as a secretary, realises that the obnoxious youth is in danger from demonic sorcerers, he has no option for self-preservation but to save the prince from them. Then he realises that Aleksander, by this point disgraced, on the run and cursed with shape-changing, has the spark of mystical goodness in him that his own people have been searching for for generations.

Berg has created a world in which there are several sorts of magic that hardly overlap, and whose local bigotries --Seyonne, once a leader of his people, has been dishonoured forever by capture--are credibly unpleasant. This is an evocative, passionate sword-and-sorcery thriller with some vivid characters and set piece scenes; Aleksander is a fascinating creation, with the stuff of greatness in him but on the brink of corruption.--Roz Kaveney

Review
'Vivid characters and intricate magic combined with a fascinating world - luscious work!' - MELANIE RAWN

DREAMWATCH
'A truly remarkable first novel'

Customer Reviews

Fantastic book!
One of my all time favorite fantasy novels. I've reccomended this book to many friends and have had very positive reactions in return. :) The friendship that evolves between the two main charachters and the great setting and story make this a "dont go to bed until its finished" read!

A slave's dilemma
Seyonne has been a slave for sixteen years, half his life, since his people were defeated by the Derzhi. He has had several masters, some worse and more brutal than others, but know he has come onto the hands of Crown Prince Aleksander, heir to the Derzhi ruled Empire, an impetuous and powerful warrior. Seyonne is literate, and so is employed directly by Aleksander as his scribe, but this does not excuse him the other menial and burdensome tasks assigned to slaves, nor does it mean he escapes Aleksander's wroth.
Seyonne, an Ezzarian with special magical powers now taken from him by his captors, gets through his hardships by living each moment as it comes, with no thought for either past or future. But when he alone discerns an evil threat in the form of the Kehlids, the nation the Empire is negotiating with for an alliance, he finds himself in a dilemma. Should he warn the Prince, with possible risk to his own life or limb for presumptuously speaking up, or should he keep quiet; even though the consequences of ignoring the threat are far reaching, beyond even the Empire.
Seyonne, despite his [...], is a bold, courageous and principled man; by contrast Aleksander is a selfish and arrogant warrior. As the plot unfolds an unusual relationship develops between the two men, and Seyonne finds himself playing the key role that will determine the fate of the Empire.
An enthralling tale with a complex plot and interesting, even appealing characters, but perhaps the most captivating aspect of the story is the relationship between the two men, lowly slave and powerful master. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

A gripping story of an unlikely friendship
The three books which make up the Rai-Kirah series (Transformation, Reformation, Restoration) are probably my favourite books. As simple as that.

Transformation in particular is a fantastic work of characterisation and plot. It is the two characters of Seyonne and Aleksander which dominate the novel and keep you reading - and they don't easily leave your mind after you've finished the book either. Their friendship develops fitfully and with trust grudgingly being given on both sides. The plot is gripping and well told in the first person: through Seyonne's eyes we experience the confines of his world in bondage, essentially living in a world consisting of himself, Aleksander and Durgan.

The other two books are great and really build on an interesting world only partially developed in Transformation. They are much more plot-focussed and do suffer from the lack of interaction between Seyonne and Aleksander and the humour that only Aleksander can provide.

A great series I would recommend to all fantasy readers.