What do you think?
Rate this book
Worldshapers #1
Worldshaper
From an Aurora Award-winning author comes the first book in a new portal fantasy series in which one woman's powers open the way to a labyrinth of new dimensions.
For Shawna Keys, the world is almost perfect. She's just opened a pottery studio in a beautiful city. She's in love with a wonderful man. She has good friends.
But one shattering moment of violence changes everything. Mysterious attackers kill her best friend. They're about to kill Shawna. She can't believe it's happening--and just like that, it isn't. It hasn't. No one else remembers the attack, or her friend. To everyone else, Shawna's friend never existed...
Everyone, that is, except the mysterious stranger who shows up in Shawna's shop. He claims her world has been perfect because she Shaped it to be perfect; that it is only one of uncounted Shaped worlds in a great Labyrinth; and that all those worlds are under threat from the Adversary who has now invaded hers. She cannot save her world, he says, but she might be able to save others--if she will follow him from world to world, learning their secrets and carrying them to Ygrair, the mysterious Lady at the Labyrinth's heart.
Frightened and hounded, Shawna sets off on a desperate journey, uncertain whom she can trust, how to use her newfound power, and what awaits her in the myriad worlds beyond her own.
For Shawna Keys, the world is almost perfect. She's just opened a pottery studio in a beautiful city. She's in love with a wonderful man. She has good friends.
But one shattering moment of violence changes everything. Mysterious attackers kill her best friend. They're about to kill Shawna. She can't believe it's happening--and just like that, it isn't. It hasn't. No one else remembers the attack, or her friend. To everyone else, Shawna's friend never existed...
Everyone, that is, except the mysterious stranger who shows up in Shawna's shop. He claims her world has been perfect because she Shaped it to be perfect; that it is only one of uncounted Shaped worlds in a great Labyrinth; and that all those worlds are under threat from the Adversary who has now invaded hers. She cannot save her world, he says, but she might be able to save others--if she will follow him from world to world, learning their secrets and carrying them to Ygrair, the mysterious Lady at the Labyrinth's heart.
Frightened and hounded, Shawna sets off on a desperate journey, uncertain whom she can trust, how to use her newfound power, and what awaits her in the myriad worlds beyond her own.
369 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 2018
8 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
Edward Willett
170 books117 followersEdward Willett is an award-winning author of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction for both children and adults.
Born in Silver City, New Mexico, Willett lived in Bayard, New Mexico and Lubbock and Tulia, Texas, before moving to Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his family when he was eight years old.
He studied journalism at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, then returned to Weyburn as a reporter/photographer for the weekly Weyburn Review, eventually becoming news editor. In 1988 he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, as communications officer for the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and in 1993 he became a fulltime freelance writer. He still resides in Regina.
Willett is now the author or co-author of more than 60 books, ranging from computer books and other nonfiction titles for both children and adults, to science fiction and fantasy for all ages.
His science fiction novel Marseguro (DAW Books) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He has also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer. He has been shortlisted for the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times.
His most recent novels include Worldshaper and Master of the World, the first two books in his new series Worldshapers, and The Cityborn, a stand-alone science fiction novel from DAW Books; the Masks of Aygrima trilogy, YA/adult crossover novels published by DAW and written as E.C. Blake; the five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books; and the stand-alone YA fantasy Flames of Nevyana (Rebelight Publishing). He's also the author of the Peregrine Rising duology for Bundoran Press (Right to Know and Falcon's Egg).
Other novels include SF novel Lost in Translation (DAW Books), Terra Insegura (sequel to Marseguro, DAW Books), Magebane (DAW Books, written as Lee Arthur Chane), YA SF novels Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star, Andy Nebula: Double Trouble, and The Chosen; and YA ghost story The Haunted Horn.
Shadowpaw Press recently released his short story collection Paths to the Stars and re-released Spirit Singer, a YA fantasy that won a Saskatchewan Book Award and other awards.
His non-fiction titles run the gamut from science books for children on topics as diverse as Ebola Virus and the Milky Way to local history books like Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw for Red Deer Press, awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina in the education category and A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, published by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). He's also written biographies for children of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Andy Warhol, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter @ewillett.
His is represented by literary agent Ethan Ellenberg (www.ethanellenberg.com).
Besides being a writer, Willett is a professional actor and singer who has performed in dozens of plays, musicals and operas in and around Saskatchewan, hosted local television programs, and emceed numerous public events.
He's married to a telecommunications engineer and has one daughter.
Born in Silver City, New Mexico, Willett lived in Bayard, New Mexico and Lubbock and Tulia, Texas, before moving to Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his family when he was eight years old.
He studied journalism at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, then returned to Weyburn as a reporter/photographer for the weekly Weyburn Review, eventually becoming news editor. In 1988 he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, as communications officer for the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and in 1993 he became a fulltime freelance writer. He still resides in Regina.
Willett is now the author or co-author of more than 60 books, ranging from computer books and other nonfiction titles for both children and adults, to science fiction and fantasy for all ages.
His science fiction novel Marseguro (DAW Books) won the 2009 Aurora Award for best English-language science fiction or fantasy book by a Canadian author. He has also won a Saskatchewan Book Award for his YA fantasy Spirit Singer. He has been shortlisted for the Aurora Award and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times.
His most recent novels include Worldshaper and Master of the World, the first two books in his new series Worldshapers, and The Cityborn, a stand-alone science fiction novel from DAW Books; the Masks of Aygrima trilogy, YA/adult crossover novels published by DAW and written as E.C. Blake; the five-book YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, published by Coteau Books; and the stand-alone YA fantasy Flames of Nevyana (Rebelight Publishing). He's also the author of the Peregrine Rising duology for Bundoran Press (Right to Know and Falcon's Egg).
Other novels include SF novel Lost in Translation (DAW Books), Terra Insegura (sequel to Marseguro, DAW Books), Magebane (DAW Books, written as Lee Arthur Chane), YA SF novels Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star, Andy Nebula: Double Trouble, and The Chosen; and YA ghost story The Haunted Horn.
Shadowpaw Press recently released his short story collection Paths to the Stars and re-released Spirit Singer, a YA fantasy that won a Saskatchewan Book Award and other awards.
His non-fiction titles run the gamut from science books for children on topics as diverse as Ebola Virus and the Milky Way to local history books like Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw for Red Deer Press, awarded a Municipal Heritage Award by the City of Regina in the education category and A Safe and Prosperous Future: 100 years of engineering and geoscience achievements in Saskatchewan, published by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). He's also written biographies for children of Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Andy Warhol, Orson Scott Card, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Ayatollah Khomeini.
You can find Ed online at www.edwardwillett.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter @ewillett.
His is represented by literary agent Ethan Ellenberg (www.ethanellenberg.com).
Besides being a writer, Willett is a professional actor and singer who has performed in dozens of plays, musicals and operas in and around Saskatchewan, hosted local television programs, and emceed numerous public events.
He's married to a telecommunications engineer and has one daughter.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 14, 2018
*Source* Publisher
*Genre* Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5-4
*Thoughts*
Worldshaper is the first installment in author Edward Willett's Worldshapers. It is the story of Shawna Keys, living what seems an idyllic life in a small Montana city. She’s just opened her pottery studio, she has a boyfriend (Brent), a best friend (Aesha), and she’s looking forward to the rest of her life. Then suddenly, everything changes. Terrorists attack the coffee shop where she’s gone with her friend Aesha, killing Aesha and many others. The leader of the masked attackers called the Adversary, touches her, calls her by name and then points a gun at her head.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
*Genre* Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5-4
*Thoughts*
Worldshaper is the first installment in author Edward Willett's Worldshapers. It is the story of Shawna Keys, living what seems an idyllic life in a small Montana city. She’s just opened her pottery studio, she has a boyfriend (Brent), a best friend (Aesha), and she’s looking forward to the rest of her life. Then suddenly, everything changes. Terrorists attack the coffee shop where she’s gone with her friend Aesha, killing Aesha and many others. The leader of the masked attackers called the Adversary, touches her, calls her by name and then points a gun at her head.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
January 14, 2020
As I’ve said before and will say again, one reason I love the library is for book discovery. I had zero idea what I was in for with Worldshaper. In this case, I saw book 2 on the New Books shelf, and fortuitously book 1 was also present in that very same library branch. So I borrowed both on a wing and a prayer, and here we are. Perfectly serviceable portal fantasy for some holiday reading from Edward Willett!
Heads up that I put a spoiler flag on here for the allergic, but I’m not really going to spoil much of the plot. The whole next paragraph is paraphrased from the back cover. Later in the review I’m going to talk about the resolution of the book in very general terms. But you have been warned.
Shawna Keys is having a perfectly fine life in the world she didn’t know she created until one day everything comes crashing down. This guy named the Adversary shows up and tries to kill her, and this other guy named Karl, who doesn’t seem particularly trustworthy beyond not trying to kill her, pulls the whole “come with me if you want to live” routine on Shawna. As a result, she spends an entire novel running from the Adversary while getting a crash course in her ability—Shaping. Shawna and Karl need to escape her world and find their way to the heart of the Labyrinth of Worlds so that she can help her patron, Ygrair, stand against the Adversary. If she doesn’t, all of the Shaped worlds are in jeopardy. So, you know, no pressure.
So many things to like about this book. First, Shawna is a great protagonist. She’s smart and sarcastic, but not in the “I’m trying really hard to be sarcastic because sarcasm is cool” kind of way that seems to be a trend these days. A lot of her sarcasm is actually channelled anger and fear; she lashes out at Karl because she is tired, hungry, and, oh yeah, people are trying to kill her. Willett ensures that her reactions are always justifiable given the circumstances, and if at times she behaves somewhat irrationally, I think that makes a lot of sense given the pressure she’s under. I love how Shawna questions Karl constantly and doesn’t fully trust him. When someone shows up claiming to want to help you avoid getting killed, you don’t instantly become best friends. Similarly, I appreciate that Willett doesn’t develop any obvious sexual/romantic tension between the two of them.
Second thing I like about the book is how Willett handles exposition. Karl provides minor infodumps here and there when the breaks in the running permit it, and the perspective jumps to him or the Adversary help us fill in some of the blanks. There’s still a lot we don’t know about worldshaping, and I’m fine with that. (Oh, I should probably mention right now that this is one of those fantasy books that is actually science fiction in disguise. If that is a pet peeve of yours, just take it off the list. Otherwise, carry on!) Also, the off-brand references to things like HiPhone and a lunar colony stick out at first and seem strange until you make the connection that this is evidence Shawna is in a different world that merely shadows the First World (which is supposed to be Earth, I think, though you never know). So that was a retrospective “nicely done” from me.
Finally, Willett doesn’t shy away from the moral questions raised by Shawna creating sentient beings ex nihilo and having the power to Shape them to her will. Although Karl repeatedly warns her that she is not a god, that doesn’t obviate her ability to rewrite people’s personalities, memories, and desires—to remove their volition and replace it with her own. Shawna is rightly freaked out when she discovers she has this power, and throughout Worldshaper she ponders the implications. What does that mean for her relationships with her parents, her too-perfect boyfriend?
Despite all the good, Worldshaper never get made me love it. Mostly this has to do with the plot. I appreciate that Willett goes into so much detail regarding Shawna and Karl’s flight west. He certainly succeeds in creating an atmosphere of tension and raising the stakes as they work first to destroy one Portal and then try to find the location where they can open another. He avoids the temptation to make Shawna too powerful yet allows her to exercise her power just enough to keep things interesting. Nevertheless, none of this really changes the underlying truth: this is a fugitive story, a chase story, and so the overall story arc of fighting the Adversary is never resolved. So, Worldshaper is definitely not a standalone novel. It ends on a mighty cliffhanger, and I’m glad I have book 2 waiting for me on the shelf.
The antagonist, the Adversary, is also as generic and bland as his moniker implies. Yes, we get a little bit of a backstory for him. Yes, it makes sense. But that’s all—and it’s all very impersonal. The best villains have a very personal stake in this, and we have yet to really see that from him. It’s often said a story is only as good as its villain, and while that’s reductive and not always true, I think it’s true for this story. Worldshaper’s mediocre villain is a good synecdoche for its mediocre story in general (in contrast to its interesting worldbuilding and protagonists, as noted above).
I read Worldshaper in an evening and morning/afternoon (I kept having to take breaks to shovel snow). So it’s an enjoyable, fast-paced read—it just never quite creates that “wow” factor I want in my fantasy novels. But you never know … the series might Shape me to believe differently after I read the sequel.
Heads up that I put a spoiler flag on here for the allergic, but I’m not really going to spoil much of the plot. The whole next paragraph is paraphrased from the back cover. Later in the review I’m going to talk about the resolution of the book in very general terms. But you have been warned.
Shawna Keys is having a perfectly fine life in the world she didn’t know she created until one day everything comes crashing down. This guy named the Adversary shows up and tries to kill her, and this other guy named Karl, who doesn’t seem particularly trustworthy beyond not trying to kill her, pulls the whole “come with me if you want to live” routine on Shawna. As a result, she spends an entire novel running from the Adversary while getting a crash course in her ability—Shaping. Shawna and Karl need to escape her world and find their way to the heart of the Labyrinth of Worlds so that she can help her patron, Ygrair, stand against the Adversary. If she doesn’t, all of the Shaped worlds are in jeopardy. So, you know, no pressure.
So many things to like about this book. First, Shawna is a great protagonist. She’s smart and sarcastic, but not in the “I’m trying really hard to be sarcastic because sarcasm is cool” kind of way that seems to be a trend these days. A lot of her sarcasm is actually channelled anger and fear; she lashes out at Karl because she is tired, hungry, and, oh yeah, people are trying to kill her. Willett ensures that her reactions are always justifiable given the circumstances, and if at times she behaves somewhat irrationally, I think that makes a lot of sense given the pressure she’s under. I love how Shawna questions Karl constantly and doesn’t fully trust him. When someone shows up claiming to want to help you avoid getting killed, you don’t instantly become best friends. Similarly, I appreciate that Willett doesn’t develop any obvious sexual/romantic tension between the two of them.
Second thing I like about the book is how Willett handles exposition. Karl provides minor infodumps here and there when the breaks in the running permit it, and the perspective jumps to him or the Adversary help us fill in some of the blanks. There’s still a lot we don’t know about worldshaping, and I’m fine with that. (Oh, I should probably mention right now that this is one of those fantasy books that is actually science fiction in disguise. If that is a pet peeve of yours, just take it off the list. Otherwise, carry on!) Also, the off-brand references to things like HiPhone and a lunar colony stick out at first and seem strange until you make the connection that this is evidence Shawna is in a different world that merely shadows the First World (which is supposed to be Earth, I think, though you never know). So that was a retrospective “nicely done” from me.
Finally, Willett doesn’t shy away from the moral questions raised by Shawna creating sentient beings ex nihilo and having the power to Shape them to her will. Although Karl repeatedly warns her that she is not a god, that doesn’t obviate her ability to rewrite people’s personalities, memories, and desires—to remove their volition and replace it with her own. Shawna is rightly freaked out when she discovers she has this power, and throughout Worldshaper she ponders the implications. What does that mean for her relationships with her parents, her too-perfect boyfriend?
Despite all the good, Worldshaper never get made me love it. Mostly this has to do with the plot. I appreciate that Willett goes into so much detail regarding Shawna and Karl’s flight west. He certainly succeeds in creating an atmosphere of tension and raising the stakes as they work first to destroy one Portal and then try to find the location where they can open another. He avoids the temptation to make Shawna too powerful yet allows her to exercise her power just enough to keep things interesting. Nevertheless, none of this really changes the underlying truth: this is a fugitive story, a chase story, and so the overall story arc of fighting the Adversary is never resolved. So, Worldshaper is definitely not a standalone novel. It ends on a mighty cliffhanger, and I’m glad I have book 2 waiting for me on the shelf.
The antagonist, the Adversary, is also as generic and bland as his moniker implies. Yes, we get a little bit of a backstory for him. Yes, it makes sense. But that’s all—and it’s all very impersonal. The best villains have a very personal stake in this, and we have yet to really see that from him. It’s often said a story is only as good as its villain, and while that’s reductive and not always true, I think it’s true for this story. Worldshaper’s mediocre villain is a good synecdoche for its mediocre story in general (in contrast to its interesting worldbuilding and protagonists, as noted above).
I read Worldshaper in an evening and morning/afternoon (I kept having to take breaks to shovel snow). So it’s an enjoyable, fast-paced read—it just never quite creates that “wow” factor I want in my fantasy novels. But you never know … the series might Shape me to believe differently after I read the sequel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2018
I found this book while cruising through Netgalley. I was looking for an urban fantasy novel and was immediately captivated by this intriguing cover. Then the blurb hooked me, and I knew that I had to read this book!
Unfortunately, it wasn't as wonderful as I'd hoped.
The Good
The author has a wonderful writing style. There's descriptive detail, but not too much descriptive detail. (I hate when a story gets bogged down by pretty writing. Just tell me what happens!) I also liked Shawna. The book is mostly written from her point of view, and I enjoyed being in her head. True, she does make extremely lame jokes that, at times, becomes annoying (think Jazz Bashara of Artemis only not nearly as bad.) But for the most part, Shawna was a heroine whom I could root for.
The Bad
This story, which is marketed as a fantasy, is more of a sci-fi. Although, there isn't any science to explain what's going on. There are vague references to some kind of nano-technology, but it's all very unclear how Shawna is able to shape the world around her. The way she shapes her world, too, is puzzling. She could have made all kinds of cool things in her world (I would have wanted a talking dragon or something.) However, the best she comes up with is green-tooth instead of Blu-tooth technology, and a professional lacrosse franchise.
The characters, too, are very disappointing. Karl is Shawna's otherworldly guide, but he had no personality. The Adversary is evil...I guess. He does some destructive things, but honestly, Shawna and Karl do as much or more damage to innocent bystanders than he does. Additionally, Shawna was supposed to be a powerful world shaper, yet she couldn't remember any of her training. In fact, she forget that she even was a worldshaper. While this makes the story more interesting, the reader never finds out why she forgot in the first place as Shawna and Karl rarely question her memory loss. I kept wondering why Shawna forgot. Wouldn't that be important to know?
What really disappointed me, however, was the actual plot of the book. Shawna and Karl are on the run from the Adversary. That's it. They run. A lot. They never set traps for the Adversary. They never fight back. All they do is run. There are also points where the story builds to a climatic scene only to fizzle out. When Karl needs to shut a portal, he just shuts it. There's no drama. No edge-of-your-seat battle scene. Nothing.
I finished the book hoping that something interesting would happen. It never did. Two out of five stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and DAW for the ARC.
Unfortunately, it wasn't as wonderful as I'd hoped.
The Good
The author has a wonderful writing style. There's descriptive detail, but not too much descriptive detail. (I hate when a story gets bogged down by pretty writing. Just tell me what happens!) I also liked Shawna. The book is mostly written from her point of view, and I enjoyed being in her head. True, she does make extremely lame jokes that, at times, becomes annoying (think Jazz Bashara of Artemis only not nearly as bad.) But for the most part, Shawna was a heroine whom I could root for.
The Bad
This story, which is marketed as a fantasy, is more of a sci-fi. Although, there isn't any science to explain what's going on. There are vague references to some kind of nano-technology, but it's all very unclear how Shawna is able to shape the world around her. The way she shapes her world, too, is puzzling. She could have made all kinds of cool things in her world (I would have wanted a talking dragon or something.) However, the best she comes up with is green-tooth instead of Blu-tooth technology, and a professional lacrosse franchise.
The characters, too, are very disappointing. Karl is Shawna's otherworldly guide, but he had no personality. The Adversary is evil...I guess. He does some destructive things, but honestly, Shawna and Karl do as much or more damage to innocent bystanders than he does. Additionally, Shawna was supposed to be a powerful world shaper, yet she couldn't remember any of her training. In fact, she forget that she even was a worldshaper. While this makes the story more interesting, the reader never finds out why she forgot in the first place as Shawna and Karl rarely question her memory loss. I kept wondering why Shawna forgot. Wouldn't that be important to know?
What really disappointed me, however, was the actual plot of the book. Shawna and Karl are on the run from the Adversary. That's it. They run. A lot. They never set traps for the Adversary. They never fight back. All they do is run. There are also points where the story builds to a climatic scene only to fizzle out. When Karl needs to shut a portal, he just shuts it. There's no drama. No edge-of-your-seat battle scene. Nothing.
I finished the book hoping that something interesting would happen. It never did. Two out of five stars.
Thanks to Netgalley and DAW for the ARC.
February 28, 2019
Who wouldn’t love to live in a perfect world living the ideal perfect life? Wouldn’t everyone love the power to shape their own lives, their own worlds, into the life they long to have? Author Edward Willett has brought this very power to life in Worldshaper, the first in his new portal fantasy series, and it most certainly kicks off his series with a rather intriguing start.
With a pottery studio to call her own, an incredible boyfriend, and nothing but fond memories of the life she has lived, Shawna Keys is living her ideal life. Yet all that was perfect is taken in an instant when a lunch date with her best friend turns into a nightmare. Mysterious attackers kill her best friend and just as they are about to kill Shawna, time resets itself, placing Shawna three hours in the past. No one remembers the attack for it never happened and no one remembers Shawna’s friend… for she never existed. Fearing for her sanity, Shawna is approached by a stranger who tells her she has the power to Shape worlds and the reason her world had been so perfect was because she Shaped it to be. But now, her world is in danger for a threat known as the Adversary has been traveling from Shaped world to Shaped world and taking control of them. While she is too late to save her world, Shawna learns she carries within her the power to save other worlds and thus sets out on a journey of uncertainty to help other Shapers when she herself does not remember how she ever became one.
Willett has many fantastical works under his belt, but for those who are first being introduced to his writing, Worldshaper is a great book to start with. The best way to describe Willett’s writing style is fun. Of course, all authors have fun when it comes to writing, but there are those authors that are far and few between who readers can tell are having fun playing with words and creating sentences. Take these two sentences for instance. “The earlier part of the hike had been tremendously tiring. Now it also became scarily slippery, cursedly cold, and wearingly wet – just all-around alliteratively annoying” (Willett 133) and “If there’s one thing you don’t want to hear from the semimystical guide who is attempting to spirit you from one world to another without attracting the attention of a godlike murderous Adversary, it’s, ‘Uh-oh’” (Willett 144). These are but two of many fun and cleverly written lines scattered throughout his book.
The story itself matches Willett’s writing style as Worldshaper has many fun and adventurous moments. Perhaps the only setback is the fact it takes a little while to reach those moments. The set up for the story in general is incredibly well thought out and planned, but at the same time, it has a tendency to drag at times and it begins in a rather cliché way. A character’s perfect life is disrupted so a mysterious stranger appears to let the main character know she has incredible power and is more powerful than most like her, but the problem is she has no memory of how she acquired power. Sound familiar? However, this in no way makes Worldshaper a bad story and this is actually where the clichés end.
Leading up to the adventurous moments of the story are what could be considered “filler” moments as Willett introduces the readers to his world. At times, yes, these moments can become a bit confusing and even, at times, a bit repetitive, but once readers reach the halfway mark of Worldshaper, this is where the fun begins. Readers get to travel with Shawna and her guide across the country by means of travel that may remind some readers of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Being told in the first person, readers will fall in love with Shawna’s wit and charm and will love the many pop culture references she uses as she travels with her guide who humorously misunderstands nearly everything she says.
The most exciting part of the story is once readers come close to the ending of the story. Without spoiling anything, the story takes a COMPLETELY unique turn that no reader sees coming and captures the attention of the reader to the point where they will not stop reading it until they reach the final page. The best words to describe the ending are as follows: bizarre, unique, intriguing, and entertaining. In other words, any reader who is a fan of fantasy and science fiction will adore the turn this story takes.
If one could shape their perfect world, what would it be like? Willett has made this idea come to life in Worldshaper, the first in his new fantasy series that has amazing potential. It is most certainly a story to be experienced by readers and they will most certainly have fun once they read it. It is a bit slow and cliché to start, but come the halfway point, readers are in for a real treat. Willet’s writing style is superb, witty, and paints a beautiful picture, being one of very few authors today where readers can tell he is just having fun playing with sentences and words. Who knows how many books this series will contain and there are plenty of opportunities to delve deeper into Willet’s fantasy world and learn more about it, but one thing is for certain: upon completing Worldshaper, readers will definitely want to know what happens next.
**Originally published on my blog Roll Out Reviews on February 6, 2019**
With a pottery studio to call her own, an incredible boyfriend, and nothing but fond memories of the life she has lived, Shawna Keys is living her ideal life. Yet all that was perfect is taken in an instant when a lunch date with her best friend turns into a nightmare. Mysterious attackers kill her best friend and just as they are about to kill Shawna, time resets itself, placing Shawna three hours in the past. No one remembers the attack for it never happened and no one remembers Shawna’s friend… for she never existed. Fearing for her sanity, Shawna is approached by a stranger who tells her she has the power to Shape worlds and the reason her world had been so perfect was because she Shaped it to be. But now, her world is in danger for a threat known as the Adversary has been traveling from Shaped world to Shaped world and taking control of them. While she is too late to save her world, Shawna learns she carries within her the power to save other worlds and thus sets out on a journey of uncertainty to help other Shapers when she herself does not remember how she ever became one.
Willett has many fantastical works under his belt, but for those who are first being introduced to his writing, Worldshaper is a great book to start with. The best way to describe Willett’s writing style is fun. Of course, all authors have fun when it comes to writing, but there are those authors that are far and few between who readers can tell are having fun playing with words and creating sentences. Take these two sentences for instance. “The earlier part of the hike had been tremendously tiring. Now it also became scarily slippery, cursedly cold, and wearingly wet – just all-around alliteratively annoying” (Willett 133) and “If there’s one thing you don’t want to hear from the semimystical guide who is attempting to spirit you from one world to another without attracting the attention of a godlike murderous Adversary, it’s, ‘Uh-oh’” (Willett 144). These are but two of many fun and cleverly written lines scattered throughout his book.
The story itself matches Willett’s writing style as Worldshaper has many fun and adventurous moments. Perhaps the only setback is the fact it takes a little while to reach those moments. The set up for the story in general is incredibly well thought out and planned, but at the same time, it has a tendency to drag at times and it begins in a rather cliché way. A character’s perfect life is disrupted so a mysterious stranger appears to let the main character know she has incredible power and is more powerful than most like her, but the problem is she has no memory of how she acquired power. Sound familiar? However, this in no way makes Worldshaper a bad story and this is actually where the clichés end.
Leading up to the adventurous moments of the story are what could be considered “filler” moments as Willett introduces the readers to his world. At times, yes, these moments can become a bit confusing and even, at times, a bit repetitive, but once readers reach the halfway mark of Worldshaper, this is where the fun begins. Readers get to travel with Shawna and her guide across the country by means of travel that may remind some readers of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Being told in the first person, readers will fall in love with Shawna’s wit and charm and will love the many pop culture references she uses as she travels with her guide who humorously misunderstands nearly everything she says.
The most exciting part of the story is once readers come close to the ending of the story. Without spoiling anything, the story takes a COMPLETELY unique turn that no reader sees coming and captures the attention of the reader to the point where they will not stop reading it until they reach the final page. The best words to describe the ending are as follows: bizarre, unique, intriguing, and entertaining. In other words, any reader who is a fan of fantasy and science fiction will adore the turn this story takes.
If one could shape their perfect world, what would it be like? Willett has made this idea come to life in Worldshaper, the first in his new fantasy series that has amazing potential. It is most certainly a story to be experienced by readers and they will most certainly have fun once they read it. It is a bit slow and cliché to start, but come the halfway point, readers are in for a real treat. Willet’s writing style is superb, witty, and paints a beautiful picture, being one of very few authors today where readers can tell he is just having fun playing with sentences and words. Who knows how many books this series will contain and there are plenty of opportunities to delve deeper into Willet’s fantasy world and learn more about it, but one thing is for certain: upon completing Worldshaper, readers will definitely want to know what happens next.
**Originally published on my blog Roll Out Reviews on February 6, 2019**
September 18, 2018
This is a book that was filled with great ideas that were not utilized. Basically the story is what self help guru’s market, you can mold your world into what you want. However in this story that is true in the literal sense not the metaphysical. Also the heroine is a grown woman with a life. She’s 29, has friends, family, a business, and a boyfriend. The problem was although Shawna is this creator she has no power over her creation. Her enemy who spends so much time talking about how powerful she is has no problem continuously kicking her butt. Also although she is grown and has things to fight for and enough life experience to put her foot down and not follow some stranger without making demands of her own, she doesn’t. She runs and runs and runs, following Karl around like a lost teenager. But the worst thing to me was the worlds. What we got to see were slight variations on our reality, but much more interesting places were discussed instead of visited. Then to top it all off it ends in a cliffhanger. I wanted to like this book but there were too many flaws. I highly doubt I will continue with this series.
February 20, 2019
On my blog, I actually gave this 4.5 stars.
So, I absolutely loved this book. Basically, the premise is that this potter, Shawna, is a Worldshaper (aka Shaper) from the First World. As you can see, her chosen profession of pottery-making is perfect. 10 years ago, she was given her own world to Shape (basically create however she wanted) by Ygrair, her past mentor and teacher. However, Shawna does not remember creating her world, or even Ygrair herself in the slightest, and so she has no idea that she is a Shaper… At least until Yatsar, on a save-the-worlds mission from Ygrair, enlightens her. And then they must flee through Shawna’s world–which by the way is beginning to turn on her thanks to the Adversary–to reach a portal to another world in order to escape said Adversary and collect the Hokmah’s of other worlds to eventually bring back to Ygrair. Got it? Oh yeah, and everyone that Shawna knew from her world, all of her memories prior to 10 years ago, all are fake. She created them herself. Her boyfriend, best friend, even her mother are all figments of her creation.
So this plot… Like daaaang it was intense. I liked that even though it seems desperately convoluted, it was really easy to pick up on and develop throughout the book. Edward Willett does an absolutely amazing job keeping the reader engaged in the plot and up-to-date with what exactly is going on. Part of that is thanks to his writing of multiple POVs, mostly Shawna, some Yatsar, and even some scenes from the Adversary’s perspective. It creates a well-rounded story that shows this confusing mission from Ygrair in differing lights. Is she really this angel that Yatsar believes she is? Or is she more of the war criminal that the Adversary believes her to be?
Within the multiple POVs, Willett also intertwines modern humor and witty historic literary references throughout the novel. Shawna’s entertaining humor keeps her plight upbeat and purposefully moving along, allowing her (and the readers) to deal with the multitude of losses throughout the book. It is also interesting to note that Shawna has a habit of breaking the fourth wall (is that what you still call it in writing?) In certain situations, she tends to almost speak directly to the reader, gently tugging us into the story until we almost become one of her own Shaped people… What a thought! It was a little jarring at first, but after the first few times she did this, I settled in quite nicely. It even contributed to my enjoyment of the novel, as I felt more a part of this book than many others I’ve read, and it lent further humor to be had.
So Shawna’s world was Shaped to closely resemble the First World, from which I have determined is basically our own Earth in real life. But what makes it incredibly interesting and intriguing are the minor differences that Shawna incorporated in her world, just enough so that we readers feel as if we are on a completely different Earth than our real one just outside the pages. In fact, there are some amazing technological advances/machines that I would love to have in real life. Additionally, all brand-names have been modified… Just enough so that we readers are familiar with the product, but which have enough difference to them to go along with Shawna’s humor. The worldbuilding truly is phenomenal, as it takes us to a whole new world, while only changing minor things from our own.
The only reason I did not give this novel 5 stars was the fact that the characters tended to be inconsistent and redundant. They were inconsistent in the fact that they would have thoughts or arguments at one point in the story, and then would have a different opinion or change part of the facts, later on in the story, without any rationality for it. It was slightly redundant both in regards to the inconsistency (we readers would be presented with the same argument/thought again and again, even though it tended to be inconsistent, and perhaps lent to part of its inconsistency) as well as in dialogue. Yatsar and Shawna seem to have the same conversations/arguments over again and again, and I understand that that is part of human nature, and that Shawna was attempting to reconcile her new world view with what her memory told her, but it got tiring after a while. So much so that Shawna almost began getting on my nerves, and I would breeze through some of her dialogue moments with Yatsar. However, these moments were few and far between, and the rest of the novel more than makes up for these very minor flaws!
I can definitely say that I will eagerly be on the lookout for the second book in this series! This one definitely left me with a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait until I can continue the adventure!
So, I absolutely loved this book. Basically, the premise is that this potter, Shawna, is a Worldshaper (aka Shaper) from the First World. As you can see, her chosen profession of pottery-making is perfect. 10 years ago, she was given her own world to Shape (basically create however she wanted) by Ygrair, her past mentor and teacher. However, Shawna does not remember creating her world, or even Ygrair herself in the slightest, and so she has no idea that she is a Shaper… At least until Yatsar, on a save-the-worlds mission from Ygrair, enlightens her. And then they must flee through Shawna’s world–which by the way is beginning to turn on her thanks to the Adversary–to reach a portal to another world in order to escape said Adversary and collect the Hokmah’s of other worlds to eventually bring back to Ygrair. Got it? Oh yeah, and everyone that Shawna knew from her world, all of her memories prior to 10 years ago, all are fake. She created them herself. Her boyfriend, best friend, even her mother are all figments of her creation.
So this plot… Like daaaang it was intense. I liked that even though it seems desperately convoluted, it was really easy to pick up on and develop throughout the book. Edward Willett does an absolutely amazing job keeping the reader engaged in the plot and up-to-date with what exactly is going on. Part of that is thanks to his writing of multiple POVs, mostly Shawna, some Yatsar, and even some scenes from the Adversary’s perspective. It creates a well-rounded story that shows this confusing mission from Ygrair in differing lights. Is she really this angel that Yatsar believes she is? Or is she more of the war criminal that the Adversary believes her to be?
Within the multiple POVs, Willett also intertwines modern humor and witty historic literary references throughout the novel. Shawna’s entertaining humor keeps her plight upbeat and purposefully moving along, allowing her (and the readers) to deal with the multitude of losses throughout the book. It is also interesting to note that Shawna has a habit of breaking the fourth wall (is that what you still call it in writing?) In certain situations, she tends to almost speak directly to the reader, gently tugging us into the story until we almost become one of her own Shaped people… What a thought! It was a little jarring at first, but after the first few times she did this, I settled in quite nicely. It even contributed to my enjoyment of the novel, as I felt more a part of this book than many others I’ve read, and it lent further humor to be had.
So Shawna’s world was Shaped to closely resemble the First World, from which I have determined is basically our own Earth in real life. But what makes it incredibly interesting and intriguing are the minor differences that Shawna incorporated in her world, just enough so that we readers feel as if we are on a completely different Earth than our real one just outside the pages. In fact, there are some amazing technological advances/machines that I would love to have in real life. Additionally, all brand-names have been modified… Just enough so that we readers are familiar with the product, but which have enough difference to them to go along with Shawna’s humor. The worldbuilding truly is phenomenal, as it takes us to a whole new world, while only changing minor things from our own.
The only reason I did not give this novel 5 stars was the fact that the characters tended to be inconsistent and redundant. They were inconsistent in the fact that they would have thoughts or arguments at one point in the story, and then would have a different opinion or change part of the facts, later on in the story, without any rationality for it. It was slightly redundant both in regards to the inconsistency (we readers would be presented with the same argument/thought again and again, even though it tended to be inconsistent, and perhaps lent to part of its inconsistency) as well as in dialogue. Yatsar and Shawna seem to have the same conversations/arguments over again and again, and I understand that that is part of human nature, and that Shawna was attempting to reconcile her new world view with what her memory told her, but it got tiring after a while. So much so that Shawna almost began getting on my nerves, and I would breeze through some of her dialogue moments with Yatsar. However, these moments were few and far between, and the rest of the novel more than makes up for these very minor flaws!
I can definitely say that I will eagerly be on the lookout for the second book in this series! This one definitely left me with a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait until I can continue the adventure!
September 20, 2018
Worldshaper by Edward Willett is the first book in his new Worldshapers series. The description above tells it all on how this story starts off: For Shawna Keys, the world is almost perfect. She’s just opened a pottery studio in a beautiful city. She’s in love with a wonderful man. She has good friends. But in a moment’s notice, everything in her world literally changes. She and those surrounding her brutally attacked, and a strange man points a gun at her to kill her. In Shawna’s mind she screams in terror “this can’t be happening…it can’t be happening”. Within a second, she has turned the clock back hours to early morning before the attack; but those who got killed, including her best friend, just disappeared, no longer existing. What just happened? How did Shawna move the clock back?
Shawna turns to someone she just met, Karl, who has been trying to help Shawna remember her past, when she was trained to be a worldshaper. Karl explains that Shawna created this world she lives in to be perfect, and all those surrounding her are fact her own creations. The man who attacked is out to kill her, and kidnap Karl, in order to take over this world, and move on to other worlds so that he may rule them all…he is called Adversary.
Karl convinces Shawna she must leave with him to find a portal for another world, because Adversary is shaping those in her world’s minds to think that she is a terrorist. Together they are on the run. What follows is an exciting adventure where Shawna with help from Karl, will learn how to use the powers she has to shape things on her own, since she remembers nothing from where it all began.
I thought Worldshaper was a good story line, and very different than most fantasies that I have read. I did have some mixed feelings, as there were slow and somewhat redundant parts. I realize that most first books in fantasies give a lot of details in their worldbuilding, though I found it interesting, but it did lose me a little bit along the way. Worldshaper did catch my attention, and I intend to read the next book to see where this will go.
Barb
The Reading Cafe
Shawna turns to someone she just met, Karl, who has been trying to help Shawna remember her past, when she was trained to be a worldshaper. Karl explains that Shawna created this world she lives in to be perfect, and all those surrounding her are fact her own creations. The man who attacked is out to kill her, and kidnap Karl, in order to take over this world, and move on to other worlds so that he may rule them all…he is called Adversary.
Karl convinces Shawna she must leave with him to find a portal for another world, because Adversary is shaping those in her world’s minds to think that she is a terrorist. Together they are on the run. What follows is an exciting adventure where Shawna with help from Karl, will learn how to use the powers she has to shape things on her own, since she remembers nothing from where it all began.
I thought Worldshaper was a good story line, and very different than most fantasies that I have read. I did have some mixed feelings, as there were slow and somewhat redundant parts. I realize that most first books in fantasies give a lot of details in their worldbuilding, though I found it interesting, but it did lose me a little bit along the way. Worldshaper did catch my attention, and I intend to read the next book to see where this will go.
Barb
The Reading Cafe
September 25, 2018
An eARC of this novel was provided to me free by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Full review to come.
Great voice--I really liked Shawna. A cool magic system. I liked how Shawna's power was balanced by her inexperience, adding further tension. Lots of action and strong pacing--much of the book was Shawna and her sort-of ally Karl being pursued by the Adversary--with a great climax on a mysterious island.
Quibble: I was a little disappointed that we didn't find out why Shawna has lost part of her memory, but I'm sure all will be revealed in future books of the series.
Full review to come.
Great voice--I really liked Shawna. A cool magic system. I liked how Shawna's power was balanced by her inexperience, adding further tension. Lots of action and strong pacing--much of the book was Shawna and her sort-of ally Karl being pursued by the Adversary--with a great climax on a mysterious island.
Quibble: I was a little disappointed that we didn't find out why Shawna has lost part of her memory, but I'm sure all will be revealed in future books of the series.
September 26, 2018
Are you a fan of pop culture? Do you love when your books refer to your favorite things in veiled or outright terms? In Worldshaper, the first book of Edward Willett‘s new fantasy portal series, you get seamless current world references woven into new worlds.
Worldshaper is crafted brilliantly by providing subtle hints that the world Shawna Keys lives in is not our known world. A low-key reference to a professional lacrosse team, kite-fighting as a college sport, and lunar colonies provide the first hints. Over the course of the book, we discover more about the shaping of worlds and the degrees to which that occurs. This creates interesting philosophical questions for Shawna, and us as the readers.
“I’d always thought individuals mattered, that anyone could change their life and their future through hard work and hard choices.”
While there are deep questions about life and death, violence, and politics that you can ponder while reading Worldshaper, there are also lighter things to consider.
“…what reader wouldn’t love to find herself in a world she had previously only visited in her imagination…”
I loved this book and can't wait to continue on with the series. I think there is so much potential as Shawna explores each new world (and each world's Shaper). I want to see more of those chaotic and/or literary worlds and see what other pop culture references Edward Willett can weave into the story based on Shawna's life.
Pick up a copy and let me know if there is a fictional world you’d want to live in or what small, subtle things you’d Shape into a changed copy of our world.
Worldshaper is crafted brilliantly by providing subtle hints that the world Shawna Keys lives in is not our known world. A low-key reference to a professional lacrosse team, kite-fighting as a college sport, and lunar colonies provide the first hints. Over the course of the book, we discover more about the shaping of worlds and the degrees to which that occurs. This creates interesting philosophical questions for Shawna, and us as the readers.
“I’d always thought individuals mattered, that anyone could change their life and their future through hard work and hard choices.”
While there are deep questions about life and death, violence, and politics that you can ponder while reading Worldshaper, there are also lighter things to consider.
“…what reader wouldn’t love to find herself in a world she had previously only visited in her imagination…”
I loved this book and can't wait to continue on with the series. I think there is so much potential as Shawna explores each new world (and each world's Shaper). I want to see more of those chaotic and/or literary worlds and see what other pop culture references Edward Willett can weave into the story based on Shawna's life.
Pick up a copy and let me know if there is a fictional world you’d want to live in or what small, subtle things you’d Shape into a changed copy of our world.
May 19, 2023
I like the way the author took us in with the main character and her normal life and quickly took it out of the norm and into a different world. I am looking forward to reading the second book and where this main character learns how to handle her new skills.
October 19, 2018
A riff on the Author-as-god theme.
The book is about establishing ground rules and characters issue, and leave you at a cliffhanger. You have the heroine which is basically the creator of her world, and here comes the hunter and hunted, terminator-fashion (except the terminator guy comes with a posse of gun-toting minions), both seeking her. But she's no damsel in distress, she can rewrite reality (and so can the bad guy).
The first book is all about establishing the ground rules, the story background (hint: don't create a lord of the ring-type world, you won't like it when the ringwraiths decide to hunt you and they're now more powerful than you are), and throwing all kind of red herrings around. Hopefully the next book doesn't come out before too long.
The book is about establishing ground rules and characters issue, and leave you at a cliffhanger. You have the heroine which is basically the creator of her world, and here comes the hunter and hunted, terminator-fashion (except the terminator guy comes with a posse of gun-toting minions), both seeking her. But she's no damsel in distress, she can rewrite reality (and so can the bad guy).
The first book is all about establishing the ground rules, the story background (hint: don't create a lord of the ring-type world, you won't like it when the ringwraiths decide to hunt you and they're now more powerful than you are), and throwing all kind of red herrings around. Hopefully the next book doesn't come out before too long.
December 1, 2020
The premise (which amounts to the author living in the world she created) could have been playful, profound, or both. Instead, it's a bog standard portal fantasy in which the protagonist often notes that she feels like she's in a bad portal fantasy, the villain is an archetypal, two-dimensional Dark Lord (to the point where he's only named the Adversary), the knowledgeable guide alternates between knowing nothing and knowing everything (and switches between issuing long infodumps and refusing to tell her what she should know) depending on the needs of the plot, and the guide and protagonist send the entire book being chased rather than attempting the more logical solutions of either fighting their enemy or having the latter kill the former, all of which means that the tone is no fun and the writing barely scratches the surface of the ethical and philosophical potential and instead tries to draw moral distinctions between what sound like two competing forms of fascism.
November 25, 2018
Worldshaper by Edward Willett is the first book in the Worldshapers series. Shawna Keys day gets off to a normal start. Shawna is a potter who is opening her own shop and studio called Worldshaper Pottery. She notices these dark storm clouds in the sky that no one else seems to notice as menacing. Shawna is at the local coffee shop with her friend at lunch when men in black storm in with guns and start shooting. The man in charge comes up to her, touches her forehead and then the world changes. It is three hours earlier, but she is the only person who remembers what happened. Shawna returns to her shop where she is approached by a man, Karl Yatsar who explains that she is a worldshaper. Shawna is responsible for creating this world and he needs her assistance. Unfortunately, Shawna remembers nothing of her training or her past before she created this world. The Adversary is determined to go through world after world taking each worldshaper’s hokhmah (power to change their world). Adversary is bent on getting to Ygrair who trained each worldshaper and gave them their own world. Karl explains that Ygrair is injured and needs assistance. Karl has a mission and he believes Shawna is the right person to help him. Shawna and Karl embark on journey to find a portal to the next world and escape Adversary’s clutches.
Worldshaper sounded like an intriguing science fiction novel. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with Worldshaper (it was lacking). The Adversary wants Shawna and Karl tells Shawna to run. So, Shawn and Karl are on the run through the whole book. Shawna, supposedly, has great power, but she has no idea how to use it. If she does not shape things properly, there can be unintended consequences. We get to see what happens when Shawna does not think things through completely. As for the Adversary, we can see what happens when power goes to one’s head. It seems like the author took ideas from different television shows, books and movies and then combined them into one book. The character development is deficient. The characters are never brought to life. The author took technology from real life and altered the names for the book (HiPhone for iPhone, National Bureau of Investigation or NBI for FBI, SteamPix for Netflix are a couple of examples). I know it is supposed to show how Shawna’s world resembles the original one (our Earth), but it just did not work for me. Worldshaper felt like a rough draft instead of a finished novel. Many details are repeated over and over (it was tiresome), while other issues are never addressed (Shawna’s memory for example). Edward Willett is a descriptive writer (scenery especially) which slowed down the pace of the story. I really did not need such a detailed description of each mountain, road, forest, car, etc. I do want to warn readers that Worldshaper contains foul language and extreme violence (very detailed). Worldshaper ends with a cliffhanger and we must wait for the next book to find out what happens next. I believe Worldshaper would appeal to a younger audience (late teens).
Worldshaper sounded like an intriguing science fiction novel. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with Worldshaper (it was lacking). The Adversary wants Shawna and Karl tells Shawna to run. So, Shawn and Karl are on the run through the whole book. Shawna, supposedly, has great power, but she has no idea how to use it. If she does not shape things properly, there can be unintended consequences. We get to see what happens when Shawna does not think things through completely. As for the Adversary, we can see what happens when power goes to one’s head. It seems like the author took ideas from different television shows, books and movies and then combined them into one book. The character development is deficient. The characters are never brought to life. The author took technology from real life and altered the names for the book (HiPhone for iPhone, National Bureau of Investigation or NBI for FBI, SteamPix for Netflix are a couple of examples). I know it is supposed to show how Shawna’s world resembles the original one (our Earth), but it just did not work for me. Worldshaper felt like a rough draft instead of a finished novel. Many details are repeated over and over (it was tiresome), while other issues are never addressed (Shawna’s memory for example). Edward Willett is a descriptive writer (scenery especially) which slowed down the pace of the story. I really did not need such a detailed description of each mountain, road, forest, car, etc. I do want to warn readers that Worldshaper contains foul language and extreme violence (very detailed). Worldshaper ends with a cliffhanger and we must wait for the next book to find out what happens next. I believe Worldshaper would appeal to a younger audience (late teens).
January 7, 2019
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Worldshaper is the first book in a new YA/NA crossworld fantasy series by Edward Willett. Released 18th Sept 2018 on Penguin's DAW imprint, it's 368 pages and available in paperback, audio and ebook formats.
This book brings an interesting world-building and fantasy imprint to the table. The lead character Shawna is a potter (I like that!) and 'shaper'. She's unaware of her special status as the shaper of the world she lives in (a central plot point which will apparently be revisited in future books). There are hundreds of other shaped worlds which lie tenuously connected contiguously to one another. Her guide Karl (a sort of Harry Dresden pastiche, complete with duster and hat) is an extraterrestrial on a mission to save First World (Earth prime) and the Labyrinth (the collection of multiverses). There's a fair smattering of Judeo-Christian concepts and vocabulary (The 'Adversary', hokhmah - Hebrew for 'wisdom') side by side with classic SF/fantasy elements (nanites, AI, gates, crossworlds etc).
There's some rough language (multiple uses of the f-bomb, and lighter cursing). There's some light implied (off narrative) sexual entendre between the lead character and her boyfriend early on in the book, but nothing explicit.
There's a lot of potential here and although I found this first book to be disappointingly reactive instead of plot led, I feel that the author could well find his feet and take this series in a good direction.
I'll be interested to see where the author goes from here. This was an interesting read and has a lot of potential. It was long, for a YA/NA novel in my estimation. A sample of the first chapter/intro is available on Amazon.
Three stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Worldshaper is the first book in a new YA/NA crossworld fantasy series by Edward Willett. Released 18th Sept 2018 on Penguin's DAW imprint, it's 368 pages and available in paperback, audio and ebook formats.
This book brings an interesting world-building and fantasy imprint to the table. The lead character Shawna is a potter (I like that!) and 'shaper'. She's unaware of her special status as the shaper of the world she lives in (a central plot point which will apparently be revisited in future books). There are hundreds of other shaped worlds which lie tenuously connected contiguously to one another. Her guide Karl (a sort of Harry Dresden pastiche, complete with duster and hat) is an extraterrestrial on a mission to save First World (Earth prime) and the Labyrinth (the collection of multiverses). There's a fair smattering of Judeo-Christian concepts and vocabulary (The 'Adversary', hokhmah - Hebrew for 'wisdom') side by side with classic SF/fantasy elements (nanites, AI, gates, crossworlds etc).
There's some rough language (multiple uses of the f-bomb, and lighter cursing). There's some light implied (off narrative) sexual entendre between the lead character and her boyfriend early on in the book, but nothing explicit.
There's a lot of potential here and although I found this first book to be disappointingly reactive instead of plot led, I feel that the author could well find his feet and take this series in a good direction.
I'll be interested to see where the author goes from here. This was an interesting read and has a lot of potential. It was long, for a YA/NA novel in my estimation. A sample of the first chapter/intro is available on Amazon.
Three stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
December 3, 2018
Shawna is living a near perfect world: creative career, beautiful boyfriend, fun friend, wonderful community - it's awesome.
And no wonder: it turns out she's a worldshaper - one of the few with a gift to create worlds according to their mold - and the world she's living in is the work of her hands. Turns out it's just one of many worlds, strung through the Labyrinth like a pearl on a necklace. And there's some superbeing called the Adversary who wants to claim it for his own, remake it into his mold. Shawna is needed to help in the fight against this superbeing.
This is the first in a series; this book is full of chases, with the villian just slightly behind/ahead of Shawna and her Yoda (I'm not going to elaborate on this character) throughout the chase, and she falls breathless into the next pearl, alone.
It's an interesting concept, but I have some hesitations. We don't get any proof that the person Shawna is supposed to be helping is actually worth it; Karl (the Yoda figure) is a closed book with ambiguous motivation, so we need to have some character development/revelation in the next book. And if the next book is more chase scenes, then I've read that book/seen that movie/and I don't care to take that journey through an indeterminate number of "pearl worlds" while we wait for the author to decide he's ready for the final battle.
I'll read the next one, but if it's the same as this one, I'm done.
And no wonder: it turns out she's a worldshaper - one of the few with a gift to create worlds according to their mold - and the world she's living in is the work of her hands. Turns out it's just one of many worlds, strung through the Labyrinth like a pearl on a necklace. And there's some superbeing called the Adversary who wants to claim it for his own, remake it into his mold. Shawna is needed to help in the fight against this superbeing.
This is the first in a series; this book is full of chases, with the villian just slightly behind/ahead of Shawna and her Yoda (I'm not going to elaborate on this character) throughout the chase, and she falls breathless into the next pearl, alone.
It's an interesting concept, but I have some hesitations. We don't get any proof that the person Shawna is supposed to be helping is actually worth it; Karl (the Yoda figure) is a closed book with ambiguous motivation, so we need to have some character development/revelation in the next book. And if the next book is more chase scenes, then I've read that book/seen that movie/and I don't care to take that journey through an indeterminate number of "pearl worlds" while we wait for the author to decide he's ready for the final battle.
I'll read the next one, but if it's the same as this one, I'm done.
January 19, 2022
Shawna Keys has a good life. She loves her boyfriend Brent, and she's in the process of opening her own pottery studio, when a white van filled with gunmen bursts into the coffee shop where she is having lunch with her best friend Aesha. They gun down Aesha, and Shawna refuses to believe it is happening. Then, it isn't. She has skipped back in time three hours, and no one else has noticed. But Aesha is still gone--only now, no one remembers her, except Shawna. She's even vanished from the photos Shawna had of the two of them.
Karl, a mysterious stranger who's been watching Shawna, explains that Shawna is a Shaper, trained by a woman named Ygrair, although Shawna has no memory of it. Her world is one of many along the Labyrinth, all shaped after the First World. The Labyrinth is being threatened by the Adversary, who wants to take over her world and, eventually, the Labyrinth, and remake all the worlds in the image of his own totalitarian empire. To foil him, Karl and Shawna need to destroy the portal to the previous world, create a new one into the next world, and escape into it. But with Shawna unable to remember her Shaper training and the Adversary hunting them relentlessly, the journey is fraught with peril.
The book was imaginative, and there was lots of action, but also lots of repetition. Karl and Shawna discussed the same things numerous times. It's decent multiverse story but not the best I've read.
Karl, a mysterious stranger who's been watching Shawna, explains that Shawna is a Shaper, trained by a woman named Ygrair, although Shawna has no memory of it. Her world is one of many along the Labyrinth, all shaped after the First World. The Labyrinth is being threatened by the Adversary, who wants to take over her world and, eventually, the Labyrinth, and remake all the worlds in the image of his own totalitarian empire. To foil him, Karl and Shawna need to destroy the portal to the previous world, create a new one into the next world, and escape into it. But with Shawna unable to remember her Shaper training and the Adversary hunting them relentlessly, the journey is fraught with peril.
The book was imaginative, and there was lots of action, but also lots of repetition. Karl and Shawna discussed the same things numerous times. It's decent multiverse story but not the best I've read.
November 22, 2018
This was an ok read a mix of science fiction and fantasy. Shawna slips into a parallel world during an act of violence and while most everything is the same, no one remembers her friend who was murdered. She meets Karl who is her "guide" in this new world and the two must run from an evil adversary. This is book 1 and ends with her entering another realm. I'm hoping Shawna grows into a more colorful exciting character. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
September 9, 2019
This book frustrated me because it was a good idea, and the plot points were okay, but the characters were very bland. I feel like if the author had added more about the main character and her world at the start, and fleshed out more of her personality, then I would have cared more about what happened to her. Also, I would have liked more conflict or agency rather than leaving that up to the second book which I doubt I'll read.
March 12, 2019
Loved the premise and the story. The only thing that pulled me out of the story was Shawna thinking like a man, but that didn't stop me from finishing the book. Looking forward to the next in the series.
April 19, 2019
Kind of difficult to get into. Moved slightly slow but still a pretty good book overall. The character, Karl Yatsar, reminded me a lot of Castiel from Supernatural and honestly became my favorite character at some points. Still good though.
October 20, 2021
DNF at p.122 ( 34%). It's just really bad. The female lead is too quirky/meta with her inner dialogue and just decides to follow this man around and run from the Bad Guy, and from what I've read, that's the whole book. No thanks.
March 22, 2024
Wasn’t the best, yet, this also wasn’t the worst. The second book, is steampunk, which is a favorite sub genre of mine. However, I’ll be honest and say I’m on the fence about continuing. It was interesting but felt dense at times. I was rushing, just to be done, so we shall see.
November 26, 2018
First in a new series introducing an engaging young woman who is not only a creator of pottery but, extraordinarily, a shaper of worlds.
July 29, 2023
I picked this book up in a waiting room and was instantly hooked! I bought it and the next two in the series. The storyline has unlimited possibilities. Fun, fast read!
February 20, 2025
Interesting concept.
November 12, 2019
Review originally posted on A Book Obsession
WORLDSHAPER had a very intriguing premise, the set up is there for something really incredible, but unfortunately the characters and actual plot line didn't always live up to that amazing premise. Don't get me wrong the story was enjoyable, but unfortunately in a mediocre way leaving me searching for the greatness I felt could be there. At times it really felt like critical information was being held, with no real reason behind it. I kept waiting for the pay off of explanations or reasons by the end, but unfortunately they never came.
The characters are intriguing and full of potential, but again pieces felt to be missing. Shawna is your typical powerful heroine that didn't know she was powerful, which is a common storyline in this genre. However the problem was that the reasoning behind her memory lapse/lack of knowledge was withheld and I felt it detracted greatly from the story. I wanted to be given so much more than I was, and it just made her character feel half formed. She never got to grow enough in my eyes and her quirky personality lent to so much I think. Karl, her supposed savior wasn't much better as he just felt to be a unthinking soldier rather than a solid addition to the story. Any time Shawna questioned anything he became irate and all but threatened to leave her to die. It just left a bad taste in my mouth.
And also speaking of being half-formed, the Adversary, the villain, wasn't really fleshed out at all. He's supposed to be this terrifyingly evil man, and yet, which he does do a few things, honestly I just felt like he was the opposition rather than a true villainous force. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't root for him, but I didn't really feel any true animosity either, which made it harder to attach to our heroine's plight.
All in all WORLDSHAPER is a book with an intriguing premise, but had a rocky start to this series. I am interested in seeing where things head next and I hope much more will be revealed in the next book.
WORLDSHAPER had a very intriguing premise, the set up is there for something really incredible, but unfortunately the characters and actual plot line didn't always live up to that amazing premise. Don't get me wrong the story was enjoyable, but unfortunately in a mediocre way leaving me searching for the greatness I felt could be there. At times it really felt like critical information was being held, with no real reason behind it. I kept waiting for the pay off of explanations or reasons by the end, but unfortunately they never came.
The characters are intriguing and full of potential, but again pieces felt to be missing. Shawna is your typical powerful heroine that didn't know she was powerful, which is a common storyline in this genre. However the problem was that the reasoning behind her memory lapse/lack of knowledge was withheld and I felt it detracted greatly from the story. I wanted to be given so much more than I was, and it just made her character feel half formed. She never got to grow enough in my eyes and her quirky personality lent to so much I think. Karl, her supposed savior wasn't much better as he just felt to be a unthinking soldier rather than a solid addition to the story. Any time Shawna questioned anything he became irate and all but threatened to leave her to die. It just left a bad taste in my mouth.
And also speaking of being half-formed, the Adversary, the villain, wasn't really fleshed out at all. He's supposed to be this terrifyingly evil man, and yet, which he does do a few things, honestly I just felt like he was the opposition rather than a true villainous force. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't root for him, but I didn't really feel any true animosity either, which made it harder to attach to our heroine's plight.
All in all WORLDSHAPER is a book with an intriguing premise, but had a rocky start to this series. I am interested in seeing where things head next and I hope much more will be revealed in the next book.
November 9, 2018
*ARC received from NetGalley in return for an honest review*
I tried to love this book. The premise sounded delightful and the characters seemed interesting. The one thing that put me off so badly that I couldn't enjoy it was the name dropping of companies I know combined with those that I don't. I know that this was on purpose to showcase how this world was similar to the original Earth while also being different. Still, it was so off-putting that every time it happened I had to set the book down. By the time that this was happening every few pages, I knew that I wasn't able to get very far in this text. If this wasn't an occurrence that happened so often then I would have continued the book, but sadly, for now, it is on my DNF list.
I tried to love this book. The premise sounded delightful and the characters seemed interesting. The one thing that put me off so badly that I couldn't enjoy it was the name dropping of companies I know combined with those that I don't. I know that this was on purpose to showcase how this world was similar to the original Earth while also being different. Still, it was so off-putting that every time it happened I had to set the book down. By the time that this was happening every few pages, I knew that I wasn't able to get very far in this text. If this wasn't an occurrence that happened so often then I would have continued the book, but sadly, for now, it is on my DNF list.
December 21, 2018
Fascinating concept, pretty decent writing. It is a little rough when it comes to pacing and flow, and it was very obviously the start of a series so it didn't really feel finished, which is why I didn't rank it higher.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews