Shifters

by Edward Lee, John Pelan

a proper noun of ultimately unknown origin, taking from the Old Frisian alt. to mutate, and one who. Modern English

Shifter

Richard Locke is a poet. He hasn't written much since Clare, the woman he was going to propose to, told him she wasn't in love with him anymore.

Captain Jack Cordesman is investigating a series of murders in which the victims appear to have been partially eaten. So far the only evidence linking these murders are the red, female hairs found at the crime scenes and a bar napkin with one of Locke's poems scribbled on it.

With a rundown mansion, priceless automobiles, and guest houses filled with brutalities the likes of which you'll never forget, Shifters is full of fun time gore…and monsters.

Genres: Horror

220 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Edward Lee is an American novelist specializing in the field of horror, and has authored 40 books, more than half of which have been published by mass-market New York paperback companies such as Leisure/Dorchester, Berkley, and Zebra/Kensington. He is a Bram Stoker award nominee for his story "Mr. Torso," and his short stories have appeared in over a dozen mass-market anthologies, including THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES OF 2000, Pocket's HOT BLOOD series, and the award-wining 999. Several of his novels have sold translation rights to Germany, Greece, and Romania. He also publishes quite actively in the small-press/limited-edition hardcover market; many of his books in this category have become collector's items. While a number of Lee's projects have been optioned for film, only one has been made, HEADER, which was released on DVD to mixed reviews in June, 2009, by Synapse Films.

Lee is particularly known for over-the-top occult concepts and an accelerated treatment of erotic and/or morbid sexual imagery and visceral violence.

He was born on May 25, 1957 in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Bowie, Maryland. In the late-70s he served in the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division, in Erlangen, West Germany, then, for a short time, was a municipal police officer in Cottage City, Maryland. Lee also attended the University of Maryland as an English major but quit in his last semester to pursue his dream of being a horror novelist. For over 15 years, he worked as the night manager for a security company in Annapolis, Maryland, while writing in his spare time. In 1997, however, he became a full-time writer, first spending several years in Seattle and then moving to St. Pete Beach, Florida, where he currently resides.

Of note, the author cites as his strongest influence horror legend H. P. Lovecraft; in 2007, Lee embarked on what he calls his "Lovecraft kick" and wrote a spate of novels and novellas which tribute Lovecraft and his famous Cthulhu Mythos. Among these projects are THE INNSWICH HORROR, "Trolley No. 1852," HAUNTER OF THE THRESHOLD, GOING MONSTERING, "Pages Torn From A Travel Journal," and "You Are My Everything." Lee promises more Lovecraftian work on the horizon.

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Hardcover is number 248 of 375 numbered copies signed by Edward Lee, John Pelan, Jack Ketchum and artist GAK.

Shifters by Edward Lee is An epic novel of romance, art, philosphy, and visceral, shocking horror.

Edward Lee 1957-

pseudonyms: Richard Kinion, Lee Edward Seymour, Philip Straker

Not the best book of Lee's.

The main character is a poet. There are other artists and the question of what art is and what is truth is asked throughout the story. It has a supernatural element that is really interesting and entertaining. The graphic detail is excellent.

[Иван Величков · Rating 4 out of 5]

Значи, за момент си помислих, че ще прочета нормален хорър от Едуард Лий, но не би. Психопатщината проби по средата на книгата и ме хвърли в една алтернативна реалност породена от мрачни, садистични кошмари. А тръгна като обикновена вампирска история. Държа да отбележа, че въпросните сцени на крайно насилие не са лепнати в повествованието, напротив, без тях книгата нямаше да е възможно да бъде написана.
Другото което ме изненада беше изключително високия и вкусен стил на писане на двамата автори. Свикнал на кратката проза на мистър Лий, където се набляга изцяло на извращения, останах буквално безмълвен.
Ричард Локи е поет от най-класическия, сладурски, затворен тип. Раздялата с любовта на живота му го оставя разбит и неспособен да твори. Това което не знае е, че чистите му душа и амбиции са привлекли възможно най-лошото нещо на света. Така за 24 часа той става свидетел на брутално самоубийство на колега, присъства на криминална сцена на зверско убийство, и то на най-добрият му приятел и получава класна оферта да напише лимитирана стихосбирка от ексцентричен милионер. Проблемът е, че Локи не пише за пари, но след потресаващите обстоятелства е почти навит да опита. Ала г-н Лета, така щедрият му спонсор, далеч не е онова за което се представя. Така че Локи ще попадне в едно селение отвъд всички кошмари и ще открие истини за света, които никой не иска да разбира.

[Bandit · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read and enjoyed (if that's the right word for his signature blend of gore, guts and perversions) many books by Lee, so I was very excited to find this one at the library. The more I read it, the more the excitement faded. Maybe it wasn't Lee, it was just the nature of this collaboration, but this just didn't work together, the seems and stitches were all too obvious for this literary (word is being used liberally) frankenstein monster. The stark juxtaposition of sort of dreamy lyrical get out your dictionary out prose with the grossest of gore and sex that I have ever read by Lee just didn't gel. This book was a sort of odd exercise that just didn't work, but what mainly got it such low rating from me was the disgusting factor. I'm not a prude and I've been reading Lee and other horror writers prone to cringe inducing imagery for many years and this book had quite possibly the most disgusting scenes I've ever subjected myself to as a genre fan. And...for seemingly no particular reason (such as to advance the plot, etc.), they seem to just occur to shock without the strength of plot or likable characters to balance it. Disappointing read.

[Nate Dawg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shifters is an excellent mix of horror, occult, humor, gore and existentialism. It has everything I love and come to expect from an Edward Lee book.

[Brainycat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brainycat's 5 "B"s:
blood: 5
boobs: 4
bombs: 2
bondage: 4
blasphemy: 3
Bechdel Test: FAIL
Deggan's Rule: FAIL
Gay Bechdel Test: FAIL

An interesting book from Ed Lee, wherein he departs from the style I've become accustomed to in the dozen or so other books I've read from him. Coincidentally, since I've moved from the Seattle area to the UK I've found myself reading at least three books set in Puget Sound, including this one. Mr. Lee's familiarity with the area is apparent, as I knew exactly which streets, restaurants and shops our protagonist was walking on, in and out of throughout the book. Also, Mr. Lee nailed the drizzly grey atmosphere and the way civilization suddenly disappears at the foothills of the Cascade mountains.

The structure of this book is classic Ed Lee: a gory vignette at the beginning that sets up the supernatural mystery, followed by two sets of plot lines that careen towards each other before their inevitable clash that shapes the conclusion. However, unlike the other books I've read from him, this book in particular feels like it's written by an author for authors. I don't know if it was supposed to be some kind of allegorical autobiography; I don't know Ed personally and I'm not the sort of fan who needs to pry into the personal details of artists. The protagonist is a struggling poet, and the story actually has a muse/succubus character that saves his life, artistically and physically. Poetry figures large in the book, but I'm not very good at reading it - so I felt excluded from the protagonist's inner life from very early in the book, and I couldn't relate to him as well as I think Ed wanted me to.

I believe the two plot lines were supposed to mirror each other in the hermetic sense, but it felt thin and forced. I feel like a greater commitment from the author to write a gorefest with elements of the writer's life or write about the writer's life within the context of a horror mystery would have helped this book. What happened was a watered down, mismatched and incongruent attempt to meld the two which fell apart because the two "layers" of the book operate on wildly different time frames, but the story tries to force them together into a single, human-sized scale. The plot was rushed at the expense of backstory and rounding out the supporting cast, both of which were vital to making this story work more than any other Ed Lee book I've read.

As I've come to expect from Mr. Lee, the command of the language, pace and cadence were excellent within each scene. It's an easy book to read, but I feel like Ed was trying very hard to paint an allegory with this story and though each chapter works very well, the total amalgam falls a bit short of it's goals. This isn't Mr. Lee's best effort, IMHO, but the price is right at smashwords and I think anyone who is a fan of Lee should try this book sooner rather than later during their efforts to complete his canon.

Please note: I don't review to provide synopses, I review to share a purely visceral reaction to books and perhaps answer some of the questions I ask when I'm contemplating investing time and money into a book.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edward Lee is an author I've spoken about a lot on here, so I'll speak briefly about his other collaborations with John Pelan since he also co-wrote this book. I have had a wild journey so far with this pair. Family Tradition was a lot of fun but on the other hand, I really didn't like Goon and thought it was a bit too silly for its own good, but that's just my opinion. Shifters is a novel I've heard barely anything about, so when I saw it come up on Amazon with it having been recently republished, I knew I had to pick this one up and see what it was all about!

Richard Locke is a poet with a broken heart; the love of his life has left him and now he's drinking away his sorrows. However, he's about to become an important instrument that may very well result in the end of the world. Creatures of the night have arrived in the city and a trail of violent murders is left in their wake. But after the death of a friend, Richard Locke is hired to write a special poetry collection for a private collector, a man with a devastating secret.

Edward Lee and John Pelan have written an incredible novel that is wonderfully dark, poetic, epic, amusing, and downright terrifying. It's an atmospheric horror story that has a lot to say about art and its different mediums, it is about humanity's worst nightmares and it has a wonderful police procedural plot as well running alongside its main narrative. It's an epic novel that delves into the emotions of art and its creators and whether someone or not can be considered truly pure. It's a very violent novel, with some heartbreaking scenes and an intense climax.

Overall: This is by far one of Edward Lee's most intelligent novels, also his best collaboration with John Pelan. I understand why some people aren't so keen on this one since it is heavy with its themes and has a gradual pace that demands the reader to take their time but honestly, I loved this book so much. 10/10

[DJMikeG · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of extreme horror author Edward Lee. That said, I really didn't love this collaborative novel written with the late John Pelan. I didn't love their other collaboration, Family Tradition, so maybe Pelan is to "blame". There are many of Lee's tropes in this book, but it is kind of a slog to get through, whereas most of Lee's work really moves and grooves. This was a really densely written book, and I found it hard to read more than 5 pages at a time throughout most of it. The main character is a poet and there are many of his terrible poems included in the book, as well as endless rumination on what is the TRUTH and what is LOVE and what is ART and it just seems so pointlessly pretentious for a nasty horror story. Lee later introduced a recurring character just called The Author, this character also endlessly pontificates on TRUTH and LOVE and ART, but Lee is very much taking the piss out of this kind of intellectual and it is quite funny. Not so with this book, the poet is just presented as the protagonist and his endless pontification does not make for fluid reading. Lee is a fantastic horror author, but if you are interested in checking out his work, I would not start with this book, recommended for Lee completists only.

[Chris Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

More fun than shooting flies in the kitchen with a .22.
More thoughtful than talking the meaning of sodomy with a hot nun.

[Topspin247 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really "get" this book. Main character writes lots of poetry. Part detective story, part fantasy creature/vampire story, part literary discussions.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shifters was a better novel, no less gory than any of his previous work, but a much better story, with a character with deepth, if a little too much depth, still the story rounded off nicely, I don't want to give any spoilers, but its a great tale of vampires and werewolves, that surprises you in its turnaround at the end

[Josh · Rating 1 out of 5]

i have struggled for days with this one. i got probably 75% done with this and just said no more. the writing bears no resemblance to goon, this previous tag team effort by lee and pelan. the book tries for lyrical and ends up slow,muddled and prententious.

[Baldurian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boooring. I cannot stand pages and pages about poetry, kinda-like vampires and metaphysical digressions about arts and the role of the artist. Some (few) gruesome scenes were good, but Shifters was very hard to finish, especially for a Lee novel.

[Gavin Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite graphic. A surprisingly deep book just like much of Lee's back catalog. Wonderful read. Horror as it supposed to be written.

[Suzanne]

on wl

[Steven jb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poet dedicated to truth in art confronts evil. The story starts slowly, but when the horror begins, it's a page turner. I enjoyed this very much.

[Irene Well Worth A Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not his best work.

[antony adams · Rating 1 out of 5]

very very poor for Edward lee don't bother