THE BOOK

When nine-year-old Anghara Kir Hama is brutally orphaned, she loses more than a powerful father and a beautiful, loving mother, forfeiting both her royal name and the throne of Roisinan. Forced into hiding by her half brother Sif, Anghara must assume a maturity beyond her years to survive. But within a few short years her latent powers of Sight, feared and respected in Roisinan for centuries, threaten to reveal her to her enemy and she must flee to Sanctuary. But even there she is betrayed, once more bringing death and destruction to those who shelter her. Forced into bitter exile in the harsh, forbidden deserts of Kheldrin, Anghara finds friendship, strength and the beginnings of a strange destiny. In the desert she finally comes to understand her awesome power and godlike potential, as she grows in strength and prepares for her return to Roisinan. Anghara�s journey to claim her rightful place as Queen Under the Mountain is will be continued in Changer of Days Volume Two.

THE AUTHOR

Alma Hromic is a citizen of New Zealand, although she was born in Yugoslavia, grew up in Africa and came to New Zealand to live with he family in 1994. Now Alma is a permanent resident of America, where she resides in Florida with her American husband, Deck.

Deck was the co-author of Alma�s 1999 novel, Letters from the Fire, which details the turbulent email relationship between a male American reporter and a female Serbian journalist during the war over Kosovo. The book was based loosely on Alma and Deck�s own relationship, which started on the Internet and developed into a firm friendship � and love. Alma and Deck were married in Florida in 2000.

Alma has always enjoyed the fantasy genre and disagrees with those who dismiss it as pure escapism with no relationship to reality. Alma says, "as the grand master J.R.R. Tolkien himself pointed out, the only people who would object to escapism would be jailors. Fantasy is an important and integral part of the human mind and spirit � it frees us from the rigid rules of our own society and allows us to think outside the square."

Anghara, the lead character in Changer of Days, has been Alma�s email code-name for a number of years. Alma explains "the name has its roots in the Welsh �Angharad�, which means �beloved� or �much loved�. It is also a strong name as befits a strong character who is called upon to endure much in the course of this story".

Alma�s other published works include her autobiography Houses in Africa, The Dolphins Daughter, a collection of fairy tales and Letters from the Fire.

During 2000 Alma was one of the winners in a prestigious international short-story competition, the DotDotDot contest sponsored by the BBC. Her winning story was broadcast in the UK in January 2001.

Read our interview with Alma here.

THE REVIEW

The central character of Changer of Days is Anghara, an orphaned daughter of a royal household. Forced in to seclusion, she flees from haven to haven as each one is eventually exposed and purged in a ruthless search. Her half-brother Sif is determined to retain power at all costs and will go to any end to secure the throne. As she travels, she grows and develops into a young woman. She slowly becomes more self-reliant and embarks on a journey of mystical self-discovery, as she begins to uncover the power of 'Sight' within her. Finally Anghara reaches sanctuary in an unfamiliar land and is allowed to develop her formidable power, sometimes to the upheaval of the foreign culture she is but a guest in.

Anghara's journey of discovery is the central theme of the novel. Changer of Days begins when Anghara is nine, but the novel progresses quickly in time and eventually covers six years of her life. The journey we are drawn into becomes as much spiritual as it is physical. In a genre sometimes devoid of strong female characters, it is refreshing to encounter such a complex and philosophical protagonist. Many of the female characters Anghara encounters are beautiful and wise, strong teachers to guide her along the path of self-discovery. We are able to witness the development of Anghara's strength as she escapes her half-brothers grasp and is forced to depend on her own resourcefulness. We learn as she does the mysteries of the 'Sight'. This is a strange and subtle power usually restricted to women. It is not an obvious magic involving components and potions, but a mysterious strength of the mind that can be used effectively in many ways. Anghara's power breaks from tradition and she seeks to evolve a deeper understanding of the 'Sight' and it relationship to the stronger powers of the gods.

Hromic has a passionate involving style, which captivates the reader. She paints a broad canvas of a lush world. For example, the detail afforded to Anghara's first connection with nature is an intimate experience, which sticks in the reader's mind. The journey to the heart of the desert also offers a particularly engaging episode, rich in unusual features. She spices her writing with an exotic Middle Eastern flavor in the second half of the novel. Despite the culture shock Anghara encounters, this environment provides her with many of the answers she has been looking for and provides an opportunity for her to consolidate and develop her abilities.

Hromic unravels a few of the standard fantasy conventions with strong female characters and an intelligent insight into the basis of power. The debate, which unfolds during the second half of the novel as to the price of power and knowledge through sacrifice, is a compelling addition to the story. As a result, 'Changer of Days' is a reflective novel from a mature & developed writer.

WHAT DID YOU THINK?

WHAT OTHERS THOUGHT.

Norman Gillespie 10/10 - Hey, what's going on here? Is there some kind of plot by people south of the equator to keep the good literature for themselves? Someone sent me Changer of Days through the mail. I wanted to get another copy or two for friends, but it doesn't seem to be available at any of the places or sites where North Americans are accustomed to purchasing literature.

Then I find this rather lukewarm review. If Changer of Days is a lukewarm book, I really have to wonder what southern hemisphere people consider a hot one. I admit I haven't read every fantasy book that was ever published. However, during the last year I've been active in the Critters workshop for fantasy and science fiction writers. I've been concentrating on reading recently published novels in the fantasy genre and I haven't read any this good. The reviewer says, "Hromic unravels a few standard fantasy conventions." Maybe people in your part of the world haven't been exposed to as much hype as we, North Americans, but that is such an understatement that it strikes me as funny. Most fantasy novels start slowly, for example. This one grabs the reader by the... er, shirt collar on the very first page and drags him at breakneck speed through several chapters. Finally, we get to take a breath. It is in the evocative segment the reviewer describes as her "intimate experience" with nature, I think. What the reviewer doesn't tell you, though, is that the commune with nature goes on for about a page or two. The next thing the reader knows, there is an arrow flying at the heroine's head. Yes, this book is rich in world building and presents complex characters. It is exotic and spiritual, just the way the reviewer suggests it is, but this is not the kind of fantasy book for women only. Anghara is a princess that anyone but a frontline chauvinist could identify with. And the spiritual aspect of the book is wound through non-stop action. Towers are burning and young men are being hanged. Anghara treks through the desert with a blind woman. She touches an ancient structure and it begins to crumble.

Changer of Days is ground that anyone who has read much fantasy fiction has been over before. I don't consider it a profound book. On the other hand, no one has ever passed this way quite like this--and certainly not at this speed. Fantasy books are about having fun, aren't they? This one is flat-out exciting. The web page I found says that Hromic uses Anghara as her Internet username, which suggests a strong identification with her protagonist. If so, it is evident that the young Anghara's quest to come into herself mirrors Hromic's quest as a writer. If that is true, then Hromic gets to wear the gold robe, just like her character. As a wannabe writer, myself, I bow to her. With Changer of Days, she has arrived at that plateau of the best writers of our age.

My first cousins are Australian and I've never in my life heard a bad word about anyone from New Zealand, but you people have to give this book this book up so that people from North America and Europe can enjoy it, too.

Frances 9/10 - I thought it was a really good book with some well written characters. It was great to see strong female characters throughout the book and I look forward to the next installment of Changer of Days.

Thanks to

for supplying a review copy.