Sea Change by S. M. Wheeler.Skinless, she waited,
patient for the Monomyth.
Reskinned, she twirled, danced.
This is a book for someone else. I mean that in the best way, though it sounds backhanded. What I mean is, this is a good book that I quite enjoyed...but in the hands of the right reader, I think it could be a bigger deal than that. The right audience will bond with this book. I read it on a few people's strident recommendation, so I know they are out there. It has a Gaiman-y feel to it; yes, it has the contemporary "bespoke children's tales & vaguely pomo mythology" Neil Gaiman the novelist's shine, but it is as if old school scary trousers Sandman Gaiman wrote it. The stakes are a little bit more graphic than Gaiman goes for these days, being more Clive Barker & less Tim Burton. Gender is in flux, memory is tampered with, Stockholm is syndromed. Structurally this is an odd duck; the biggest section of the book is a side quest. A heist that involves bandits, betrayal & witches. Oh & I almost forgot, the "damsel in distress" is a kraken. Sorry, sort of burying the lede there; yep, giant kraken pal. Like I said, I liked this book, but I am more interested in knowing about the people who the book really works for.