I opened Changeless eagerly anticipating a re-visit to the steampunk world of Gail Carriger begun in Soulless, the first Parasol Protectorate novel set in Victorian England. Elements of romance, mystery, action, fantasy, and science fiction are skillfully interspersed into this comedy of manners, providing the greater narrative arc and emotional thrust to the novel. It is replete with fantastical new inventions and a further delving into werewolf pack dynamics, as a strange affliction renders supernaturals mortal and, in the werewolves’ case, changeless and fixed in human form. The novel’s main character, Alexia Maccon, is now adjusting to her roles as new alpha of the Woolsey pack, muhjah to Queen Victoria, and wife to Connall Maccon, her formidable werewolf husband.
In fact, Changeless inspires clipped, multi-syllabic adjectives like “formidable” and “veritable” – imagine sharing a tete-a-tete with a droll and wryly funny friend, or at least a good acquaintance – one who shares sharp-edged witty asides behind a suppressed grin. In more than one scene, the author treats you to those mental asides of Alexia that frequently elicit out loud laughter – in short, understated bursts, of course.
Alexia continues to be the barbed observer of every scene, while her friend Ivy Hisselpenny plays a foggy foil – as pleasant and bland as a blancmange. The secondary characters are by turns loopy and sharp, and provide a great contrast to Alexia. Alexia responds to most situations – death by dirigible, werewolf army encampment on the lawn, unavoidably unpleasant family relations, possible spies among her party – with an iron will and admirable sangfroid. At times, I found Alexia to be almost too self-possessed and emotionally remote, but she is at her most accessible when she loses her iron-clad control and indulges in a bit of emotional vulnerability in the cliffhanger ending. Over all, Changeless is an elegant and fun book that I was hooked into the most when there were big issues at stake.
The Dilettante Reader 