 Omnibus, Random House 2004 | |
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| Author | Kate Thompson |
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| Genre | |
| Publisher | The Bodley Head (UK) Hyperion (US) |
| No. of books | 3 |
The Switchers Trilogy is a fantasy book series for young adults, written by British-Irish author Kate Thompson. The series is mainly set in Ireland. The leading characters are teenagers with the power to shapeshift (or "Switch") into the forms of animals and various supernatural creatures.
The term "Switching" is used in the series as a euphemism for shapeshifting. Most of the series' main characters either possess this gift or did at one point, and are referred to as "Switchers". The power is not limited to creatures of the current age or of the natural world, and can be used to assume the form of animals long-since extinct or of supernatural creatures. However, unless the Switcher is aware of their power's potential as such, these fantastical dimensions of the gift remain untapped. At sunrise on their fifteenth birthday, all Switchers lose their power, and are forever bound to the form in which they exist at that moment. No explanation is ever given for this phenomenon.
Toward the end of the first book, Lizzie reveals that all children are born with the ability to Switch, but that unless they discover it before they turn eight (the age at which their minds begin to conform to the ideas presented by others) it remains dormant within them and never surfaces again. Therefore, very few children ever learn to use the power.
In Wild Blood , the final book of the series, the Switching power is revealed to originate from interbreeding between humans and members of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who were well known for their shapeshifting abilities. This book also reveals that Switchers can choose to become like their fairy ancestors, and so retain their gift beyond their fifteenth birthday, but such a transformation permanently cuts them off from the human world.
Originally published in Ireland in 1994, Switchers was first published in Great Britain by The Bodley Head in 1997,[ citation needed ] then in the United States by Hyperion in 1998. [1] The audiobook narrated by Niamh Cusack was released in 1997. [2]
In the novel, a lonely teenage girl named Tess finds solace in using her ability to 'Switch' to explore the animal world. When she meets Kevin, another Switcher, he reveals to her that an enormously powerful force is threatening to usher in a new Ice Age. Kevin and Tess alone have the power to stop this terrible threat. Before she knows what is happening, Tess finds herself leaving behind her comfortable home and her parents to journey with Kevin to the Arctic circle, where they must face the fearsome and ancient krools.
Midnight's Choice was published in the United Kingdom by Bodley Head in 1998. The audiobook narrated by Niamh Cusack was released in 2001. [3]
With Kevin happily settled into the form of a phoenix, Tess turns her attention to helping a depressed fellow Switcher named Martin to choose his path when he turns fifteen. But Martin's habits of Switching are unconventional, for he has taken refuge from his grief and loneliness in the cold, dark persona of a vampire. Soon Tess is in a race against time to save Martin, and herself, from the darkness of the vampire world.
Wild Blood was published in the United Kingdom by Bodley Head in 1999, then by Hyperion in the United States in 2000. [4] [5] [6] The audiobook narrated by Frances Tomelty was released in February 2002. [7]
Tess' fifteenth birthday looms ahead, the day when she must soon decide on one, permanent form which she will wear for the rest of her life. Her choice is not made any easier when her parents send her to stay with her cousins in Clare during her birthday. While at her cousins' house, Tess discovers that there is something strange and frightening lurking in the nearby woods, beckoning her to join it in its otherworldly domain.
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The primary focus of the series is the idea of "coming of age", and the possibilities with which teenagers are faced in the modern world. This theme recurs throughout many of Kate Thompson's books. The series also deals with various mythological creatures such as vampires, phoenixes and fairies, as well as shapeshifters (referred to as 'Switchers' in the books). The idea of choice is another a central theme of the series. Another theme that could be read between the lines, but is stated at the end of the third book, is that the world is in danger and the new generation needs to protect the planet.
The three books were published in one volume by Random House in 2004.
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The Switchers Trilogy received very favourable reviews from The Irish Times, as well as from The Sunday Telegraph and Books for Keeps.
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existent literature and epic poems such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad. The concept remains a common literary device in modern fantasy, children's literature and popular culture. Examples of shapeshifters are vampires and werewolves.
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Niamh Cusack is an Irish actress. Born to a family with deep roots in the performing arts, she has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre, and many others. Her most notable television role was as Dr. Kate Rowan in the UK series Heartbeat (1992–1995). Other TV and film credits include Always and Everyone (1999–2002), The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (1992–1995), The Closer You Get (2000), Agatha Christie's Marple, Midsomer Murders (2008), A Touch of Frost (2010), In Love with Alma Cogan (2011), Testament of Youth (2014), Departure (2015), ChickLit, The Ghoul, The Virtues (2019), Death in Paradise (2021), and The Tower (2023). She has been nominated at IFTA for her performance in Too Good to be True (2003).
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