The Sea Change
Patricia Bray
Bantam, August 2007, $6.99, 326 pp.
ISBN: 9780553588774
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
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