A review by Nalini Haynes
Changeless begins after Alexia Tarabotti and Conall Maccon have been married for a short period. Alexia has had the opportunity to settle into her position as Muhjah for Queen Victoria (see Soulless for an explanation of Muhjah, it’s a bit complicated to explain in a short review).
Humanization! Oh noes!
Vampires and werewolves experience humanization in a geographic location, worrying everyone enormously. Maccon investigates. People accuse Alexia. Politics abound.
Maccon rushes to Scotland to investigate his former werewolf pack. The pack is in disarray after losing its Alpha. Alexia follows him via dirigible, with a few attempts on her life on the journey. Alexia’s sister and Ivy Hisselpenny, lover of outrageous hats, wangle invites to join Alexia as well, causing mayhem and comedy throughout. Madame Lefoux, the inventor from Soulless, joins Alexia on her journey to Scotland, bringing a definite level of naughtiness to the plot and storyline.
Standing but not alone
While Soulless could be read as a stand alone story, Changeless really needs to be read as the sequel to Soulless. There are more sex scenes in Changeless than Soulless, but Carriger’s sex scenes aren’t as graphic as Nalini Singh’s paranormal romance series.
Changeless is a delightful steampunk adventure with romantic overtones. Full-bodied, like Alexia. Highly recommended with a word of warning: Changeless ends with a cliff hanger. The next two books in the series are already available, however, so there’s no need to wait.
Note
Previously published in Dark Matter issue 5, September 2011. This blog has been pre-dated to reflect the date of original publication. Updated 11 June 2023 to pander to SEO and include this link to Gail Carriger’s guest appearance on DMZ’s podcast. Gail talks about everything from how archeology informs her stories to how the pandemic affected her writing. A fascinating and fun listen. For more information and a Gail Carriger recommended reading order, see Gail’s thoughts here.
