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Soul Shift (Book) Review

 
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At a Glance...
 

Page Count: 200
 
Genre: ,
 
Author:
 
Year Published:
 
Final Score
 
 
 
 
 
2/ 5


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We liked?


Brings in many elements of fantasy, weaving a sweeping tale of two worlds living side by side.

Not so much?


It just tries to do too much, and what results is a story that isn't gripping or even believable, and characters to match.


Final Fiendish Findings?

Soul Shift is a book that plays on the idea that there could be a secret world among us, filled with magical creatures that are only detectable by others of their kind. One such magical being is a half elf named Ayyn. Raised in an orphanage with nothing to his name, Ayyn always knew something […]

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Posted November 9, 2014 by

 
Full Fiendish Findings...
 
 

Soul Shift is a book that plays on the idea that there could be a secret world among us, filled with magical creatures that are only detectable by others of their kind. One such magical being is a half elf named Ayyn. Raised in an orphanage with nothing to his name, Ayyn always knew something was different about him, but couldn’t figure out what is was. Until he came upon his cruel father, an elf who had been banished to the human world. Though his father cared little for Ayyn, he passed along a knowledge of the elven world and a book of black magic that would start Ayyn along the evil path that would dominate his life.

Claire is, in many ways, very much like Ayyn. She too is a magical creature, unknowing trapped inside a human body, but she chooses a much kinder path for her life despite the cruelty of her human parents. Finding out her true nature, and going through the Soul Shift that will return her to her proper form, is a dangerous prospect when many seek to use her power for their own gain. Hers is an adventure filled life, full of all sorts of sadness and unfortunate events, but she keeps her sweet nature through unspeakable sorrow.

Of course, Ayyn and Claire meet often throughout Soul Shift, generally to her detriment, but many other creatures feature prominently in her life. There is the powerful demigod who loves her, perhaps too much. There are are whole kingdoms of elves, some with her best interests in mind, and others not so much. There are even powerful gods who will influence greatly the course her life takes. Through it all, Claire perseveres, but at what cost?

If that all sounds an awful lot like Claire is more bystander than active participant in her own life, it’s because it mainly is true. Though all these terrible things happen to her, she sort of just sits back and lets it all happen, without much protest. When the various men in her life take control, for good or bad, she again mostly just lets the chips fall where they may.

For those of us who really dislike the idea of a heroine who exists mainly to be saved by others, it’s a bit hard to swallow. That, and the fact that the book really just jumps all over the place, with far too much going on and much of it pretty implausible given the way the story flows, makes Soul Shift a rather difficult read. It’s just hard to get into the story, and even harder to like the characters – any of them. There are a lot of great fantasy elements to be found in Soul Shift – perhaps too many.


Amy

 
U.S. Senior Editor & Deputy EIC, @averyzoe on Twitter, mother of 5, gamer, reader, wife to @macanthony, and all-around bad-ass (no, not really)


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