The Shape-Changer's Wife

I loved this book! I didn't expect much when I first started reading it on a short flight home. It's a slim volume, and the language seemed old-fashioned, the plot slow moving. All of that is true, and yet I found myself instantly captivated and I couldn't put it down. I finished the book in record time, and when I turned the last page I was grinning broadly and wiping away a tear. If that's not a sign of a fabulous book, I don't know what is!

I was particularly taken with Shinn's characterization in this novel. Lilith is fascinating, if hard to like (on purpose), and while Glyrenden comes across as somewhat stereotypically evil, I really liked Aubrey, Orion, Arachne, Eve, and many of the other characters. I also really liked the show more author's use of magic. The shape-shifting aspect isn't terribly unusual, but combining it with transmutation made it fascinating.

The romance angle, as well, is incredibly well done. Not saccharine or over-the-top, just very... lovely. Overall, a wonderful book from a fabulous fantasy writer. I really enjoyed her Semaria Trilogy, and I look forward to reading other books by her. show less

While apprenticed to a malicious wizard, Aubrey falls in love with his master's wife and learns her horrifying secret.

A love story wrapped in an allegory of domestic abuse inside a faerie tale -- but it doesn't entirely work on any of its levels. The love story is essentially composed of Aubrey telling himself that he's in love; the allegory never allows any action from the victims; the faerie tale has nice moments but never sustains a distinct tone. And Aubrey himself is a opaque protagonist: he must verbally articulate his epiphanies lest the audience miss his character growth. The Shape-Changer's Wife is ultimately pleasant but inconsequential.

I *thought* this book was part of the same series as 'The Truth-Teller's Tale' and 'The Safe-Keeper's Secret.' (I dunno, something about the title?)
Anyway, it's not. Although I loved those other 2 books, I think I liked this one even more than either. I was surprised to read here that it was actually Shinn's first novel, because it didn't read like a freshman effort at all. The language was gorgeous, and the plot flowed smoothly and beautifully.

A young apprentice wizard is sent by his master to study with the famed wizard Glyrenden. Glyrenden has a mixed reputation, at best, but he's also powerful and knowledgable - and the only adept to have mastered the art of shapechanging. However, he's also odd and prickly - and his household is show more even odder, consisting of his beautiful but strange wife, and two peculiar servants, one of whom is mute and the other of whom seems to have some kind of OCD disorder. Left alone with her at length, the young man finds himself drawn to his new teacher's wife like a moth to a flame...

This isn't one of those stories where the secrets are revealed to much shock and surprise. Rather, it's a fairytale where everything unfolds just as it ought to. It's a lovely, satisfying story.

Recommended for fans of Patricia McKillip, as well as Shinn's own fans, of course. show less

A young wizard, Aubrey, is apprenticed to a master shape changer, but gradually comes to see shape of things for himself.

The mystery here is a bit more serpentine that in the Treasure, but this is also a perfect book to greet spring.

There’s an insidious pull to the shapechanger, Glyrenden’s evil. The subtle horror of forcing things from their natural design. Imposing one’s will on the heart of things for amusement.

Aubrey’s journey into becoming himself and learning the price of knowledge is exactly what I would expect from Shinn. Complex, luminous, brilliant.

I really liked this. I know it has some negative reviews, but I think maybe those readers went in with mistaken impressions.

Yes, I guessed the 'twist' as soon as the scene was set, but that's not a problem. The story (novella, really, as it's so short) is worth reading for the different characters, the metaphorical journeys they go on, the world-building & magic system, and the ending.

I do have to mention that there is a trigger of offstage pedophilia.

This novella was quite enchanting. Plot points are revealed a little at a time so you are figuring out the story as you go and there is no need for large dumps of information on the main characters.

This is a gentle story, but well thought out.

Aubrey, having learned from the great wizard Cyril all that he can of magic, is now to be apprenticed to Glyrenden because he has a desire to learn the art of transmogrification, and the court magician is a powerful shape-changer. However, Cyril warns Aubrey to be on his guard against him.

When he arrives at Glyrenden's house, Aubrey finds the occupants are a strange lot who don't welcome him, though they are not openly hostile. Glyrenden himself is an enigma, and there is some unspoken secret at the heart of the household.

Though Glyrenden neglects his wife, Aubrey comes to admire her dignity and cool aloofness - but it seems as though there is some danger in that.

I found this book (Sharon show more Shinn's debut, I believe) nicely written. There are no action sequences or great dramas, but there is a sense of hidden threat

3.5 stars show less