Master of the World by Edward Willett – Review & Giveaway

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Description:
Shawna Keys has fled the world she only recently discovered she Shaped, narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Adversary who seized control of it…and losing her only guide, Karl Yatsar, in the process.

Now she finds herself alone in some other Shaper’s world, where, in her first two hours, she’s rescued from a disintegrating island by an improbable flying machine she recognizes from Jules Verne’s Robur the Conqueror, then seized from it by raiders flying tiny personal helicopters, and finally taken to a submarine that bears a strong resemblance to Captain Nemo’s Nautilus. Oh, and accused of being both a spy and a witch.

Shawna expects–hopes!–Karl Yatsar will eventually follow her into this new steampunky realm, but exactly where and when he’ll show up, she hasn’t a clue.

In the meantime, she has to navigate a world where two factions fanatically devoted to their respective leaders are locked in perpetual combat, figure out who the Shaper of the world is, find him or her, and obtain the secret knowledge of this world’s Shaping. Then she has to somehow reconnect with Karl Yatsar, and escape to the next Shaped world in the Labyrinth…through a Portal she has no idea how to open

Review:

Master of the World by Edward Willett is the 2^nd book in his Worldshaper series. When we left off in the first book (Worldshaper), Shawna Keys, our heroine, managed to escape the Adversary, who was trying to kill her; she entered a portal into another shaper’s world, and unfortunately, the man who has been helping her deal with being a shaper (Karl) was missing, leaving Shawna all alone.

As she enters another portal where she hoped to find Karl, Shawna finds herself kidnapped and in a world that is shaped into a steampunk Jules Vern style. Shawna will be rescued by another group that brings her to a land that is run by a Prince, who wants Shawna’s help to defeat Rubar, another leader. Shawna must find out which of the two men is really the Shaper of the World, in order to get his help to find Karl.

What follows is an interesting concept utilizing a world shaped by the books of Jules Verne, and Shawna trying to keep herself alive, as well as to learn how to handle her own shaper abilities. She will spend time with both leaders, and in trying to discover who is the true master of the world. She will sneak away to Rubar and hope that he is the Shaper. This is a difficult review to write, as there are so many details and characters, and to tell too much would ruin the storyline.

Master of the World was a detailed, at times exciting, and entertaining story line. As I had noted in my first book review, this is a very different type of fantasy. Because of the many details relating a lot to Jules Verne, it lost me along the way causing parts that were slow and somewhat redundant; the world building was interesting. If you enjoy a steampunk fantasy, then I suggest you read this series, but please start with the first book, Worldshaper.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher