Shapechanger's Song

Ms. Roberson's ability to create a world and delve into it's history, interactions with the people, and the impending sense of fulfillment are tremendous. She has taken bits and pieces of familiar cultures, inter-twined them and has given them a wonderful twist to create a fantasy enjoyable to readers ages 12 and up. I have enjoyed reading and re-reading this series. Pure enjoyment!

Ignore the nay-sayers. This series is what got me hooked on fantasy! I honestly don't think Jennifer Roberson gets nearly as much credit as she deserves for Chronicles of the Cheysuli. I first started this series when I was thirteen and from that moment on I lived and breathed the world of these characters for years. I was actually most enthralled with the last book "A Tapestry of Lions" where we get to hear the story almost entirely from the Ihlini side. A twist that just blew my mind at the time! But I was crushed after I realized the series was over. So I went on to devour Jennifer's other series starting with "Sword-Dancer." Jennifer's female characters are amazing! I love how strong and courageous they are! Before her I'd stayed away from fantasy precisely because I thought it was all about boys going off and saving the world while the women either stayed home or stood on the sidelines gazing fondly at them. Jennifer's Alix immediately caught my attention and opened up a whole new world of possibilities to me. In fact, I think Robert Jordan can learn a thing or two about creating strong female characters from her. I'm especially excited now because I visited Jennifer's official site (http://www.cheysuli.com) and found out she will be writing three more books in the Cheysuli Chronicles. One of which involves the forbidden romance between Hale and Lindir, which is what the entire series extended from so I can't wait to find out exactly how it happened. I love all the characters so much and some of the concepts are far more advanced than most detractors of the tale are willing to concede including Tahlmorra (fate, kismet), meijahs (Cheysuli mistresses), the qu'mahlin (the racial war that started it all), the a'saii (Cheysuli zealots dedicated to a pure line of descent), i'toshaa-ni (Cheysuli purification ceremony; atonement ritual), the Prophecy of the Firstborn, and of course the lir (animal familiars that enable Cheysuli to take animal form). The politics between Homana and the other kingdoms (especially Solinde) are also well done. Basically, if you haven't read this series yet then pick it up and read it right away! You'll walk away with a family of characters that you're sure to treasure forever.

Even if you hadn't read the books when they first came out, if you're a fantasy fan of such likes as JRR Tolkien or the Wheel of Time, you've found yourself a niche in this wonderful, emotional series by Jeniffer Roberson. Rarely is it that we find a series of books written with such devotion, love, and obvious caring for the characters, such maturity and lyrical prose. When a character dies....you FEEL it as though it were a friend of yours. Miss Roberson manages to convey in this wonderful world all the things we wish we could be and all the thing that should be said in today's society. Vivid, strong, confident and mesmerizing, the Chronicles of the Cheysuli should not be missed by anyone young or old.

This book was absolutely amazing! The dialogue and the Cheysuli words were fantastic, I loved how Roberson made me feel as if I watched it all happen. I absolutely loved the romance in the first section (or book) of the omnibus. The whole story was fantastic. The second section (or book) of the omnibus left a few things to be desired, in my opinion. This has much to do with the amount of characters left alive. It looked more like a Shakespearian tragedy than the first in a set of books because so many died. I'll not say who, and spoil it, you'll have to find out yourself but I shall tell you I cried.

This first book in a set of eight draws you into a world of magic and intrigue. It starts with Alix, a croft girl infatuated with the prince of her homeland, when both are kidnapped by a Cheysuli Shapechanger they are forced to acknowledge their own personal beliefs about the treatment of the exiled Cheysuli. Alix must come to accept her true (Cheysuli) heritage and ultimately her place in the prophecy that governs this magically race. The entire set is so well written a person gets lost in the story and will find herself reading for hours, so intranced, she feels she is part of its happenings and eager to find out what will happen next. The Chronicles span nearly 100 years and the intertwining of Cheysuli and four other races to complete the prophecy. There is danger and mystery, love and loss and enough emotion to move even the hardest of hearts. Ms. Roberson makes a person feel as if each emotion is her own. I have had the complete set for years and find myself re-reading it over and over again just to relive it all. I just hope that Jennifer Roberson will see fit to add to the collection and epic so we can all go back to Homana and the power of the Cheysuli.