Visions of Heat (Psy-changeling #2) – Nalini Singh
Hachette Gollancz, 2010
224 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 978-057-509568-7

Reviewed by Kate Smith

Visions of Heat was in equal parts enjoyable and frustrating.  It is a soap opera, but not quite; a tale with possible messages on several fronts, but not quite, hence the frustration.  My fears of a repetition of the story in Slave to Sensation were, sadly, borne out for the most part, and the messages that could have so easily been emphasised were not followed through on, leaving the reader wondering if they were supposed to be there at all.

Visions of Heat is the story of Faith and Vaughn, a powerful Seer of possible futures and a lone jaguar adopted by a clan of leopards.  As in Slave to Sensation, the animal who recognises his emotions discovers an instinctual attraction to a Psy he meets and slowly brings her out of her isolation so that she can embrace her feelings and interact with other people in the world.  The new characters allowed Singh to introduce a father-daughter relationship, but I was more interested in the development of the Psy and the Changelings over time, particularly how the Psy world worked, both currently and in the past.  For me this would have augmented the story and given it a much greater degree of depth, however none of this was followed up on, and if Singh had not intended to include more information on this in her stories then I’m not really sure why she introduced the idea at all.  At times it looks like she might be trying for a meaningful message, but didn’t follow through.

In the final analysis, I was looking for something that Singh could not give in this genre of story.  Those who loved Slave to Sensation will find more of the same, but if you are looking for more development in the Psy-Changeling world, you will be disappointed.