Shapechanger's Song Mass Market Paperback – March 1, 2001

I have been a fan of fantasy and fantasy romance for a long time and have never run into Jennifer Roberson's series, and no wonder, since it's been out of print. I just discovered it recently and by accident by purchasing volumes 2-4 on sale at a local Border's closing sale. I started reading through volume 2 and immediately ordered volume 1 online. From then on, I could not put these books down until I had read all 4 volumes (containing 8 books) and then ached for more; took me about 10 days with 2 weekends.Roberson creates a world inhabited by the Cheysuli, a warrior race where the young men form a lifelong mind/soul link with a "lir"; an animal such as wolves, bears, hawks, etc., and they have access to healing powers that come from the Earth itself. These warriors were in the past the ruling kings of Homana, but gave up the kingship to simple humans because the humans grew suspicious of their powers. But now a prophesy has emerged that says that the Cheysuli, who are hunted and feared, shall once again be kings through a series of marriages that will restore the "old blood".Roberson creates characters with depth and an almost extreme sense of duty and devotion to both individual and clan "tahlmorras"; meaning fate. The main characters throughout the entire series go through trials and tribulations, suffer losses and disappointments, but stay true to their calling and their future. The world Roberson creates has very strong similarities to medieval English knight stories, and yet is able to distinguish this world somehow. The only things that I didn't like were the distinctly anlo-saxon names of the characters; if it's fantasy, make it sound different.But anyhow; the story is well-rounded and winds through several generations without losing cohesion, has unexpected twists and turns, a little bit of romance, bad guys and gals that you just want to throttle, adventure, and everything else a good story needs. Some people may be turned off about the sense of unshakable honor and commitment that is portrayed, but I see it as the kind of society that I would prefer to live in rather than the one I am in. Yes, it's wishful thinking, but that doesn't dampen the appeal to me.All in all I would recommend this book to all fantasty lovers out there.

Love these books, perfect for pleasure reading, very emotional and well written characters.

Ms Roberson, please update these stories; you really need to make them less sexist. Thank you for the great tales. Getting the others.

Best I've read in awhile, unique well developed world. Definitely adult fiction though.

I read all these books as single books years ago. I had some water damage that ruined several books from the series and so I bought these Compendiums to replace the solo books.

First of all, I'd like to say that I hate when reviewers tell others to ignore those reviews that disagree with them, as if only their own opinion is valid. I hope any who reads these reviews in order to decide whether it is a book they want to read will look at them all with an open mind. That said...I loved the intricacy of the world, and became infatuated with the Cheysuli as a race. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the characters, however. The only characters I consistently liked were the Lir. Reasons: I got really tired of Alix's hypocrisy very quickly. Her cries against racial prejudice while possessing the same got old fast. I was relieved when she finally seemed to get over it, but I would have appreciated it never having been there to begin with, since it was an inconsistency in her character.I also had a few problems with the Cheysuli. Their attitude toward women rather surprised me coming from a female author. They seem to place a woman's value ENTIRELY on her ability to bring children into the world. As if that isn't enough, Finn (who for some reason some reviewers are in love with) admits that he's willing to commit rape in order to try to replenish their dwindling numbers. I see no shame from him about this fact, and it wouldn't bother me if he was a villain. But Finn is a character I am expected to like. I am expected to like an unrepentant would-be rapist.The author has an unhealthy love of adverbs as well. Candles should flicker, not glow flickeringly. People frown at other people. Don't stare frowningly, that sounds ridiculous. Her editor should be slapped for allowing such abuse of grammar. It comes across as incredibly unprofessional.I will continue reading this series because the world has a lot of promise, and I'm going to hold onto some hope that these problems might be worked out and it might be improved upon. I'll cross my fingers.