The Sea Change

Bray's first title in the series, The First Betrayal, had several slow and stangnant points, but the overall plot was engaging. In the second title, Sea Change, the series comes into its own. Pitched battles and court intrigue come together to create a winning story. A warning for faint hearted, and a bit of a spoiler, there is a disturbing rape scene. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book, and am looking forward to the last installment in the series.

Josan the monk and Lucius the playboy prince have come to an uneasy truce in the body they share, but peaceful coexistence gets exponentially more difficult and dangerous in this excellent sequel to The First Betrayal. A considerable number of people have a vested interest in keeping Emperor Lucius from wielding any real power - and if anyone learns his dreadful secret, staying on the throne will be the least of his worries. Meanwhile, Lady Ysobel Flordelis finds herself persona non grata in the Seddonian Federation, having carried out her last mission a little too successfully. I've always been a fan of second acts, and this is a great one - a satisfying amount of action and intrigue, and an ending that left me wondering how on earth the protagonists are going to extricate themselves from their various predicaments. It also contains what was probably the most gruesome and appalling torture scene I've ever read - and you can be sure that after reading it, I understand exactly why the victim will do just about anything to avoid a repeat performance. I'm eagerly looking forward to book 3!

The Sea Change is Patricia Bray's exciting follow-up to her The First Betrayal, and it's better by far than "middle" books of trilogies tend to be. Everything good about the first book continues on, from the political intrigue to her depiction of a protagonist at war with himself. Intrigue, betrayal, magic, and politics are here in plenty! One of the greatest thrills of the book is the even deeper characterization throughout. Bray's characters face sometimes impossible choices and come through their trials with flare and luck, even as they sometimes end up damaged. They suffer and succeed as humans do, and you will find yourself thinking about what you would do in their places. Contrary to the book description on this page, the story follows three major characters -- Josan, Lucius, and Ysobel. The viewpoint switches back and forth between these three characters, accounting for two storylines. Josan and Lucius carefully navigate the treacherous shoals of politics in Ikaria, finding out in the process just how rough a game politics can be. Ysobel's story if that of a trader caught up in Seddonian politics and forced to make choices that affect herself, her country, and her family. Through this dual storyline, the reader gets multiple perspectives on the interaction between nations, and the effects on one character from events in the other's world. If you've read Big Fantasy Books -- the giant bricks that would break your foot if you dropped one -- and wished for fewer viewpoints and more depth, this is the book for you.

The Sea Change by Patricia Bray is the second book in the Josan Chronicles. The first book is called The First Betrayal and the third book (scheduled for release in the summer of 2008), will be called The Final Sacrifice. I came upon this series purely by accident last year, and I must say, I am very pleased to discover these books. This series will be enjoyed by most fantasy fans, particularly fans that enjoy political intrigue and character development. Much like the first book, if you are looking for a fantasy book with a variety of monsters, large scale battles, wizards hurling fireballs and gallant knight on a quest, you may want to look for a different novel. This book, and series, are very much fantasy novels. However, this book focuses more on character development, internal struggles, and a large scale plot. Sure, there are battles and deaths, but at no time are those battles the prime focus of the book. The plot of this book picks up after the events of the first book. Josan is a `guest' of the emperor, though just what being a guest means is different from what most guests would expect. Events quickly occur that throw not only Josan's life into disarray, but the lives of everyone in the empire as well. There are actually two large plots that are covered in this book and a slew of sub-plots. The two plots involve Josan and how the events impact his life, as well as the plot of Lady Ysobel as part of the Federation and decisions she is forced to make based on the events from the first book. The sub-plots of this book mostly involve political in-fighting and people looking out for their own interests. Overall, the plot(s) of this book is well written and well thought out. This novel also does a very good job of following up on the events of the first book and adding more to the story. Several of the characters in this book are also present in the first novel. This familiarity allows the reader to immediately jump into the story without having to establish new characters. Of course, there are several new characters as well as quite a few characters that were introduced in the first novel, but are much more fleshed out in this book. Josan, as expected, continues to be the focus of the story and his character development is very well written. His interactions with Lucius are well done and convey the appropriate internal struggles. Ysobel's development is also well done. It is fairly evident that she will be a major player in the next novel. The secondary characters are also just as well written, and are developed just as much as the main characters. Ms. Bray has a gift of writing believable, interesting, and engaging characters. They are no where near the clichéd characters present in many fantasy novels being released in today's market. As a whole I enjoyed this novel very much. It was exactly what I expected it to be. A solid, entertaining read. Ms. Bray's prose has a flow to it that allows the reader to breeze through several pages wi

Brother Nikos, chief advisor to the Empress Nerissa, had performed forbidden magic placing the soul of the dying monk Josan into the body of Prince Luscius hoping to make the recalcitrant royal more compliant. He hoped to gain influence over the man who led an uprising to topple the empress and put himself on the throne. Now he is a royal prisoner confined to his rooms unable to see anyone until the day the empress and her two sons were assassinated. Proconsul Zuberi believes Lucius /Josan was behind the killings and gives him to the royal torturer who can't break his protests of innocence. When the real traitor is revealed, the council led by Zuberi name him emperor but he is a puppet and the Proconsul is the real power in Ikaria. Lucius and Josan work together to gain allies and their chance comes when Sendat the rival empire seizes some Ikarian colonies and tries to blockade the empire with its superior naval power. This is a fascinating fantasy in which the Ikarian Empire is based on the ancient Rome and Sendat is based on Ancient Japan. Ikaria is descending into civil war following the death of the strong willed empress and readers see how the once innocent monk makes Machiavellian political decisions to stop the Sendatians from taking advantage of the internal unrest. It is fun watching Josan maneuver his enemies, gain allies and use the information he had as a monk to further consolidate his position. It remains to be seen how Lucius and Josan will deal with having to share one body with two minds and souls. Patricia Bray has written another exciting fantasy filled with complex, interesting, and believable characters. Harriet Klausner