If you’ve been following this blog, you may have noticed by now that my world is populated by beings that can be perceived as monsters. I disagree, of course. I find them sublime in their tragic despair.

You met Richard, my monster of the air, in last week’s Tuesday blog. This week you will meet Proteus, the shapeshifting rabbit protagonist of The Metamorphist, in his true form as a sea monster.

Proteus, the beautiful and honorable but rather naïve son of Poseidon, refuses to support the devastating military operation of his father by exploiting his rare gift of prophesy. Disowned and dishonored, Proteus is cast into the deepest and darkest sphere of the sea. His body must change forever in order to adjust to the crushing pressure of the water and the freezing temperatures of the bottom of the sea, deprived of light and warmth.
At first, he is horrified and revolted by the appearances of the deep sea creatures who surround him, looking like the phantoms of tortured souls.

But they accept him. They help him to transform himself and find a way to survive in his new body.

Nonetheless, he can’t remain among them forever. He won’t surrender his dreams, his life. Proteus escapes and goes into hiding, disguised in the unlikely form of a peaceful, tea-loving country squire rabbit. Yet this transformation is only an illusion.

He can hide from his cruel father, but not from himself. For every time he looks in the mirror, he sees his true face – the face of the tormented deep sea monster he has become.