Books like The Changes: A Trilogy

The release of this trilogy as an omnibus inspired me to re-read these books, which I loved as a child. The collection reverses the original order of the books (which I think was a mistake - more details to follow) and adds in brief 'segues' between each book.The omnibus also includes a 'biography' of Peter Dickinson (presumably an autobiography). It's brief, but longer than your usual 'About the Author' and includes a collection of family photos from his childhood up to the present day, which is rather interesting.***THE DEVIL'S CHILDRENThe Apocalypse! Now! With More Tolerance-For-Sikhs!I remember liking this whole trilogy when I was a kid, but I also recall that this one wasn't my favorite. I was surprised how little of the book felt familiar to me upon re-reading.We're dropped into a post-apocalyptic scene. A young British girl is alone in a mostly-abandoned London struck by plague - and odder phenomena. All Britons, it seems, have been struck by some syndrome that makes them fly into a violent rage at the sight, sound, or presence of machinery or technology. This syndrome also makes them unable to think about certain topics.In desperation, the girl attaches herself to an extended Sikh immigrant family that happens to be passing by in search of a more amenable place to live.Together, they set themselves up on an abandoned farm - but more conflict is yet to come, due to the local village's xenophobia, which has been enhanced by this mysterious syndrome.The main raison-d'etre of the book really does seem to be tolerance-for-Sikhs. They're set up to be the misunderstood heroes, and described lovingly (if somewhat exotically). The book is dedicated to a person whom I assume might've been a Sikh friend of the author. (And you know, maybe it worked on a subconscious level. I DO have a higher opinion of Sikhs than members of many other religions...)However, the apocalypse here is both enigmatic and inconsistent. Why on earth would these 'changes' affect only native Britons, not immigrants? Why would affected people be able to think about medieval knights, but not WWII? Why are blacksmith's forges OK, but not even the most basic firearm? Why are some people apparently still able to tolerate thinking about leaving the country in modern ships, if buses are intolerable? There are possible explanations, but none are given, or even theorized about.After one surprisingly-violent showdown, the book ends rather abruptly. In today's market, it would've been expected to be at least twice as long. Overall, by today's standards, this isn't a bad book... but it's not without its flaws.***HEARTSEASEThe Apocalypse! Now! With English Children on Ponies!Five years after the Changes affected England, the new way of life seems almost normal to children who were very young when the shift occurred. Margaret rarely thinks about how things used to be, and she shares the antipathy to and suspicion of technology and machines that has come over Britain, although she doesn't feel it as strongly as some do. When a foreign 'witch' (actually an American intelligence agent) that her village stoned turns out to be still alive, Margaret and her brother Jonathan decide to rescue him in secret. Otto is in bad shape and partially paralyzed, but with the help of the woman who's been working for the family as a servant, Lucy, and her mentally-disabled brother Tim, a conspiracy to save Otto and get him back to his people unfolds.In many ways, the way the story progresses, with a focus on young people independently using their ingenuity to solve problems, especially problems involving ponies and boats (the rescue plan involves a getaway in a vintage tugboat), the book reads a bit like a darker, post-apocalyptic 'Swallows and Amazons.'The authorial standpoint on the events depicted in the book is... odd. I can't quite put my finger on it. On the one hand, this new England, yanked back into a pre-Industrial era, is horrific. It is one where strangers are stoned to death without question; where children fear, with justification, that their own families will kill them if they are caught breaking the rules, where people truly believe they're doing something charitable by keeping a mentally-disabled person in a shed like an animal.Our main characters clearly see all these things as wrong - but they're awfully, and inexplicably, willing to forgive people their faults and try to see the best in them. Even the nasty village 'witch-hunter' who causes people's deaths and psychologically terrorizes their beloved aunt, is portrayed sort of like a cranky but lovable neighbor. At the same time, while the faults of this society are noted, but to a degree, minimized, we have the portrayal of Jonathan, who's mechanically inclined and is attracted, rather than repulsed by technology (It seems the Changes just haven't affected him for some unknown reason). While Jonathan is bright, ingenious and has a moral compass, at the same time he's portrayed as being quite uncaring and callous toward living things, especially animals. It's an interesting dichotomy that's set up, but I don't think the book uses or explores it as well as it could have. An opportunity to give the reader an outside viewpoint is missed, by giving the American Otto very little dialogue. And I felt like the ending was rather a cop-out (and for that matter, nearly the same cop-out that Dickinson uses in 'The Devil's Children.')(view spoiler)[At the end, Margaret, who was always extremely reluctant to escape to America with Otto and the rest of them, decides, in a dramatic scene, to return to her home with her pony - even though she feared being killed for what she had done. Conveniently, she finds, once she arrives home, that with the death of the witch-hunter, everyone is much more mild and willing to forgive - it was just 'something [the witch-hunter] brought out in us.' This completely avoids having to deal with the anticipated consequences of Margaret's choice.It's just like at the end of The Devil's Children, after the strict and power-hungry leader of the village is killed and the village is re-taken from a gang of thugs, suddenly all the formerly xenophobic villagers find themselves more willing to accept their neighbors. (hide spoiler)]