Review: Change of Heart

Change of Heart
Champion: Book 1
Grace Reed

FurPlanet Productions
December 2024

Print Edition $19.95
Ebook Edition $9.95 (DRM-free)

It’s not obvious from the packaging of the Korps Universe book Change of Heart that it’s actually several stories: the title short novel, a three-chapter novella, and two short stories. I mention this up front because if, like me, you skipped past the table of contents a bit too fast, you might be disoriented to hit an epilogue about halfway through the book.

The title novel starts off with Canadian hero Maddy “Heartforce” Oakes being interviewed by a local queer publication. Maddy, a sheep-bear hybrid who introduces herself with she/they pronouns, is the first openly trans superhero in the province. The interview is friendly enough, but hits on a few uncomfortable points, with a definite subtext of you know you’re probably a token hire, right?

It’s a quiet opening for a Korps origin story, but Maddy’s journey from hero to Korps agent—that’s not a spoiler, right?—is quieter than many of the ones we’ve seen in other stories. Maddy’s not only already in her superpowers, she’s transitioned, is openly out as lesbian and nonbinary, and even has a good relationship with her surviving parent.

When they’re assigned to become a double agent at a Korps front company, Maddy quite quickly has their viewpoint spun around. It’s less a single traumatic event than pulling back multiple curtains. Their late father, a hero named “Heartwood” who they did not have a good relationship with, was much worse than they’d already thought. Their coworkers and boss really are toxic, and staying around for the abuse won’t help either Maddy or the community they’ve told themselves they’re there to represent. And the Korps seems like they might just be considerably more empathetic, cooperative, and mission-driven than the Provincial Heroes’ League.

This is a character-driven story rather than action-driven, and the characters are lovely. Maddy is immensely likable from the start, and other characters we meet, from the first Korps member Grace to Lou the trucker to Maddy’s mom, are fun. Neal “Salton” Slider, Maddy’s workplace nemesis, is more in the “immensely punchable” category, but he’s a believable kind of asshole—there’s a good chance you’ve had to work with someone like him at one point or another.

Of the other stories, “Reach Out” is the most action-oriented, bringing in the Texas Protectorate Assembly, the openly fascist “hero” group that’s appeared as formidable opposition before. It’s a well-done tale of Maddy’s first assignment and a pivotal moment in her journey in the Korps. “Bearing Down Gracefully” is about Maddy and Grace’s dating journey; “Tune-Up” is a short by the author of Realignment, featuring that novel’s protagonist, Ellen Foxpaw. Both shorts are funny and explicit.

Change of Heart expands the Korps Universe, but also brings in characters we’ve met in other Korps novels, including Volta/Redline, Carmen, and Celia. And as with the other Korps books, if you like furries, superheroes/villains, politics, kink, and queer joy, there’s nothing else out there like this.

Note: as of this writing, the sequel novel Snowflake is just out.