Changelings [Hardcover]

The sentient planet of Petaybee is creating a new land, pushing volcanic masses up from the ocean floor far from the current land masses--at the ice-covered poles. For now, though, its small population lives with the extreme cold--adapting to it so strongly that only the very young can ever leave the planet, and those unwelcomed by the planet are quickly expelled. When the leaders of the human inhabitants of Petaybee have twin children, there is much celebration--and interest when it becomes clear that the children, like their father, are changelings--silkies who become (intelligent telepathic) seals when exposed to water.

Near the twins' eighth birthday, a visiting scientist spots them transforming from seal to human and attempts to capture them. The twins are sent into space for their protection, to live with an aunt on a space station. The scientist follows them, however, and the two are plunged into danger. On the space station, they also learn of the other humans in the galaxy, and how many of them are being exploited by the corporations which control access to planets and space.

Authors Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough combine telepathic seals, cute (intelligent) otters, sentient cats, and young protagonists in a story that seems designed to appeal most to young girls. Although the corporations remain a veiled threat, the real antagonist in this story is a scientist who will stop at nothing to learn the secrets of how the twins manage their transformation between seal and human form.

The opening scenes are a bit labored, as characters use dialogue to give information to the reader more than to each other, but the pace picks up with the twins' fateful meeting with the river otter (Sky), and their confrontation with the wolves. Their time on the space station gives us a glimpse of what McCaffrey and Scarborough see as some of the risks of a corporate-driven future--a welcome change from the corporate-utopian thinking that seems common in much of today's SF.

The deep-sea otters seem to claim too many pages for the highly limited role they play in the plot of CHANGELINGS. I hope that we'll see more of these beings in the future and that this isn't something that was thrown in and never used.

CHANGELINGS is a pleasant enough diversion. The concept of a sentient planet is a good one--and worthy of a lot more attention than it gets here (note, however, that CHANGELINGS is a continuation of an earlier series). Girls, in particular, will find the mind-talking and almost uniformly cuddly animals to be appealing. Serious SF readers are not likely to find a lot here that catches their interest, but they're probably not the target that McCaffrey and Scarborough are attempting to reach.

Changelings (2005) is the first SF novel in The Twins of Petaybee series. The planet Petaybee is eagerly changing the landscape. Recently it has been pushing up lava into islands. Eventually it will produce a continent in the tropics. A sentient planet is exciting to live on, particularly if it likes humans.

In this novel, Yanaba Maddock-Shongili has twins and the whole village of Kilcoole is eagerly preparing for the naming latchkay. Their father Sean leaves the babies with their guardians -- Nanook the track cat and Coaxtl the snow leopard -- and takes Yana into the kitchen to ease her hunger, then he sends her back to bed. After she has had enough sleep, Sean and Yana change the twins, wrap them up in furs and take them out to the latchkay.

The whole village meets to sing, dance and give gifts to the twins. After the giving of the gifts, the villagers traipse off to the communion place, where the twins are named and introduced to Petaybee. The twins terminate the ceremony by changing to baby seals and diving down the falls at the cave entrance, with their concerned father in hot pursuit in his seal form.

Although not readily apparent, the twins are telepathic with each other. Also, they can communicate with the animals around them. Maybe this ability has something to do with their faithful guardians. Nonetheless, Nanook and Coaxtl cannot swim as well as the kids and Sean is too busy governing the people on the Petaybee to have the time to swim with them.

Ronan is also having trouble remembering to hide his clothes before he changes into a seal. Murel doesn't have this problem, but both could use some waterproof clothing to take with them on long swims. When they bring up the problem with their (adopted) Aunt Marnie, she finds some suitable apparel being produced by one of her plants and sends some to the twins.

Now that the clothing issue is solved, Ronan and Murel still need a swimming companion to accompany them on long trips. They meet the perfect candidate one day as they are exploring the river. The otter is somewhat anxious when they share their dual nature with him, but soon Otter becomes a good friend and introduces them to his family.

On another swim down the river, the twins discover that their otter friends are gone. Otter himself finds them later and tells of the scent messages left behind by his family. Some humans have captured the family and removed them from their caves. Ronan and Murel hurry back to their father and report the problem. He gathers a posse and the colonists free the captured otters and hustle the poaching scientific team off the planet.

Yana and Sean realize the danger to their offspring from these criminal scientists and sends off the twins to Aunt Marnie's headquarters in an artificial satellite. The twins enjoy the people and activities in the headquarters, but they are not safe even there. Soon another attempt is made to capture the twins. Fortunately, the kidnappers are not aware of the twins's telepathic abilities.

This story is a continuation of the Petaybee trilogy, featuring the next generation of Shongili selkies. Ronan and Murel have all the talents of their parents, but none of their experience. But Sean and Yana try to teach them as much as possible about sneaky, conniving humans and the twins are quick studies.

The planet is not supposed to have been inhabited, but Sean accidentally discovers a group of sentient deep sea otters living on the slopes of an erupting volcano. He doesn't remember the incident, but the twins do. Nonetheless, the twins are convinced that this group has perished in the eruption, but is this so?

In this story, the scientists trying to investigate Murel and Ronan are very much stereotypical hard-hearted individuals, putting their scientific studies above any considerations of compassion or fairness. Maybe this group is inconsiderate of animal fears and pains, but not all scientists are this ruthless. Other authors are themselves biologists, but portray their characters as diverse individuals with varying degrees of concern for animal emotions. A few counterexamples to these stereotypes would be appreciated.

Highly recommended for McCaffrey & Scarborough fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic societies, telepathic abilities and unusual creatures.

-Arthur W. Jordin

In Changelings, Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough have teamed up. Their focus is on the extraordinary Shongili twins, Murel and Ronan. They commune with animals and change into seals when immersed in water. It is this ability that brings them to the attention of a ruthless scientist, Dr. Maria Mabo.

Fearing for the safety of their children, their parents send the twins off world to hide. While the twins are having problems of their own, so is Petaybee, and it's up to the entire Shongili family to help their sentient planet through this difficult time.

First, I'm not familiar with the first Petaybee trilogy, but I don't believe that hindered my understanding of the characters. McCaffrey and Scarborough do a fine job of introducing readers to the world they've created.

Second, I had high expectations for Changelings since I am familiar with McCaffrey and her Dragons of Pern series. But after reading Changelings I was disappointed and wondered if McCaffrey actually contributed to the writing of this book.

For the first in a new series, Changelings is "fantasy-lite" with two-dimensional characters. Murel and Ronan are misbehaving children. And like all eight year olds, that's not difficult to believe. But what is hard to fathom is that they suddenly mature in two years, and at age 10 are made ambassadors to Petaybee and lead an expedition to a distant world.

The fact that the evil Dr. Mabo is after the twins doesn't seem to concern their parents. And that parents would let them head off to a distant world at such a young age--would win them the "Neglectful Parents of the Year" award.

Climatic situations are easily diffused with characters suddenly appearing to save the day. And a tense situation at the end is fixed with nothing more than a promise to keep a secret, which the twins immediately break.

Armchair Interviews says: There is definitely a good story in Changelings, but it's lost among flat characterization, stilted dialogue and quick fixes to dramatic moments. What should have been an explosive beginning to a new series was merely an adequate outing.