Review of The Shapeshifter

Samantha Brehm · Post by **Samantha Brehm** » 15 Nov 2021, 21:41

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Shapeshifter" by Mark Thompson.]

1 out of 4 stars

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The Shape Shifter by Mark Thompson follows Phillip and Tre as they create a new world on top of an old one. Once everything is finalized and the city is flourishing, an unforeseen enemy comes to destroy the city. Phillip is unfamiliar with this apparent shapeshifter and how he can transform, so Phillip attempts to learn his ways in order to defeat this evil.

I found the premise of Thompson’s story fascinating. In the beginning, it seemed Phillip was terraforming the planet, and I would have loved a little more detail about that because the history of the world would be interesting to learn. I also really enjoyed Phillips's growth in terms of wanting to learn the shape-shifting ways to defeat this new enemy.

There were quite a lot of negatives for me in this short story. I didn’t like the pictures used to create a vision of the world Thompson was describing. Many were blurry or hard to decipher, and it detracted from the story. I understand that a short story will lack a certain amount of detail, but it felt like most of the pieces were left out and we're left with only a bare-bones story. There was no actual description of how the world came to be, and more importantly, there was no description of who the enemy was. It left the reader confused and unsure. I really wanted to like this short story because I liked its general premise, but it lacked any real substance to make a connection to the story.

I would rate The Shape Shifter a 1 out of 4 stars. There were many grammatical errors, and it almost felt like an outline to a short story rather than the actual story itself. I looked forward to a short science fiction story that could be read over a lunch break, but The Shape Shifter did not live up to that. There appear to be other stories within this series, so it is possible that you would get a more accumulated look at Phillip and Tre from the other books in the series.

I don’t feel like I would be recommending this book to anyone. If you are looking for a brief science fiction story to kill a little bit of time on your lunch break, this would certainly fit the bill. It has no sexually explicit scenes or vulgar language. Overall, The Shape Shifter was a disappointing read for me.

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The Shapeshifter
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Katarina Radovcic · Post by **Katarina Radovcic** » 17 Nov 2021, 07:42

This is the first 1-star-rating review I've read and I'm interested to know if the parts that were left out in description were in fact left out because they were mentioned elsewhere in the series and the author wanted to avoid repetition or was it just a lacking delivery? Maybe the story can't be a standalone? Either way, I'm sorry for your bad experience with the story and thank you for a thorough review!

Post by **Mary Lou Mills** » 17 Nov 2021, 14:43

I'm convinced that this one is not one I want to spend time reading. Thank you for your honesty.

Nomcebo_0619 · Post by **Nomcebo_0619** » 17 Nov 2021, 23:14

Maybe this was a second book in a series hence the parts that were left out. However, it's still not my cup of coffee. Thanks for an honest review.

Alexander C Schmoock · Post by **Alexander C Schmoock** » 18 Nov 2021, 14:39

It'll be interesting to find out how they were able to create a new world on top of an old one. Great review.

Chukwuebuka Ifedigbo · Post by **Chukwuebuka Ifedigbo** » 18 Nov 2021, 22:25

Thanks for your genuineness. I hope the authors makes amends to these errors.

Zelda Boshoff · Post by **Zelda Boshoff** » 19 Nov 2021, 04:15

I would still like to read the book, and check out the points mentioned by reviewer. It should be interesting. Thanks for the review.

Rishi_reviews · Post by **Rishi_reviews** » 19 Nov 2021, 04:24

I was attracted to the title of the book and it's cover, but after reading the review I guess I'm gonna leave this one out. Thanks for the honest review.