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The Shapeshifter #4
Dowsing the Dead
The fantastic Shapeshifter series continues with Dax and his friends settling into their new secret hideaway in the Lake District. The whole place has been fortified so that the Children of Limitless Ability won't ever be under threat again. After dodging death once too often for his liking, Dax is looking forward to a quieter time - building a treehouse in the grounds and shifting to a fox or a falcon and exploring the countryside. But all is not well in the spirit world - strange messages are coming through and Dax, Gideon, Lisa and Mia must once again join forces. Could the messages be coming from Luke and Catherine, Gideon's dead brother and sister? Perhaps they're even still alive? In which case, they have to rescue Luke from Catherine's evil clutches - but is Dax really a match for her?
355 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 2007
23 people are currently reading
286 people want to read
About the author
Ali Sparkes
121 books145 followersAli Sparkes (born 1966) is a British children's author.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 21, 2017
Giving up on this series now, it's all getting too conspiracy type plot lines for me.
April 7, 2024
Well, this was certainly a surprising entry.
(The fantastic Shapeshifter series continues with Dax and his friends settling into their new secret hideaway in the Lake District. The whole place has been fortified so that the Children of Limitless Ability won't ever be under threat again. After dodging death once too often for his liking, Dax is looking forward to a quieter time - building a treehouse in the grounds and shifting to a fox or a falcon and exploring the countryside. But all is not well in the spirit world - strange messages are coming through and Dax, Gideon, Lisa and Mia must once again join forces. Could the messages be coming from Luke and Catherine, Gideon's dead brother and sister? Perhaps they're even still alive? In which case, they have to rescue Luke from Catherine's evil clutches - but is Dax really a match for her?) ~ Blurb from Goodreads
I liked how the novel further developed Dax's shapeshifting power. So in the first couple chapters or so, it's revealed that if Dax can't shapeshift for a long period of time, he experiences nightmares of imprisonment, extreme exhaustion, and symptoms similar to a stroke. I'll admit. This was a really effective way of showing yet another aspect of the power's dark side. It also cleverly shows just how different of a person Dax has become, going from not needing to shapeshift to having his life depend on doing it often.
I loved how the new college's sense of community was shown. So because of the events of Running The Risk and Going to Ground, there are far fewer students. However, what the new college lacks in numbers, it more than makes up for it in having all the students coming together to build a tree house, share stories around the fire, and so on. I think this was a great way to convey this strong sense of comradery among the students and show just how well they're adjusting to their new way of life at the new college.
There's a scene in chapter that I absolutely loved. So
Speaking of chapter , there's a great moment of
There's a weird contradiction in chapter three. So in this chapter, there's a moment where Dax is reflecting on the events of the last entry, which leads to this part talking about the fate of some of the COLAs, "Nearly a hundred others had lost their powers after an earlier attack." This makes no sense. In Going to Ground (the previous entry), it seemed to be clearly implying that the other COLAs didn't come to stay at the new college because they were extremely traumatized from the events of Running The Risk. So, which is it? Were they all extremely traumatized or did they lose their powers? If it's the latter, how did that even happen? I know Catherine had the ability to steal other COLAs' powers, but it seemed more like a temporary thing if I remember correctly, so that can't be it.
Speaking of Catherine, what the novel did with Catherine and Luke was absolutely stupid. No. No spoiler tags for this one. So not only is it revealed that Catherine and Luke are alive, but in chapter seventeen, it's revealed that Catherine was indeed the orb thing responsible for destroying the electrical pylons and following Dax and the gang. She was able to do this by using Luke as a battery. Oh and the only reason they survived was because a series of contrived coincidences. Oh there just happened to be a huge piece of furniture floating by to grip. Oh there just happened to be a yacht around to save them. It's cheap, it's lazy, and it robs the ending of Running The Risk of all emotional impact. Honestly, it would've been way better to just have a different villain altogether.
Overall, Dowsing the Dead was a novel with some excellent character development and excellent character interactions, but also some really braindead choices.
Overall Grade: B+
(The fantastic Shapeshifter series continues with Dax and his friends settling into their new secret hideaway in the Lake District. The whole place has been fortified so that the Children of Limitless Ability won't ever be under threat again. After dodging death once too often for his liking, Dax is looking forward to a quieter time - building a treehouse in the grounds and shifting to a fox or a falcon and exploring the countryside. But all is not well in the spirit world - strange messages are coming through and Dax, Gideon, Lisa and Mia must once again join forces. Could the messages be coming from Luke and Catherine, Gideon's dead brother and sister? Perhaps they're even still alive? In which case, they have to rescue Luke from Catherine's evil clutches - but is Dax really a match for her?) ~ Blurb from Goodreads
I liked how the novel further developed Dax's shapeshifting power. So in the first couple chapters or so, it's revealed that if Dax can't shapeshift for a long period of time, he experiences nightmares of imprisonment, extreme exhaustion, and symptoms similar to a stroke. I'll admit. This was a really effective way of showing yet another aspect of the power's dark side. It also cleverly shows just how different of a person Dax has become, going from not needing to shapeshift to having his life depend on doing it often.
I loved how the new college's sense of community was shown. So because of the events of Running The Risk and Going to Ground, there are far fewer students. However, what the new college lacks in numbers, it more than makes up for it in having all the students coming together to build a tree house, share stories around the fire, and so on. I think this was a great way to convey this strong sense of comradery among the students and show just how well they're adjusting to their new way of life at the new college.
There's a scene in chapter that I absolutely loved. So
Speaking of chapter , there's a great moment of
There's a weird contradiction in chapter three. So in this chapter, there's a moment where Dax is reflecting on the events of the last entry, which leads to this part talking about the fate of some of the COLAs, "Nearly a hundred others had lost their powers after an earlier attack." This makes no sense. In Going to Ground (the previous entry), it seemed to be clearly implying that the other COLAs didn't come to stay at the new college because they were extremely traumatized from the events of Running The Risk. So, which is it? Were they all extremely traumatized or did they lose their powers? If it's the latter, how did that even happen? I know Catherine had the ability to steal other COLAs' powers, but it seemed more like a temporary thing if I remember correctly, so that can't be it.
Speaking of Catherine, what the novel did with Catherine and Luke was absolutely stupid. No. No spoiler tags for this one. So not only is it revealed that Catherine and Luke are alive, but in chapter seventeen, it's revealed that Catherine was indeed the orb thing responsible for destroying the electrical pylons and following Dax and the gang. She was able to do this by using Luke as a battery. Oh and the only reason they survived was because a series of contrived coincidences. Oh there just happened to be a huge piece of furniture floating by to grip. Oh there just happened to be a yacht around to save them. It's cheap, it's lazy, and it robs the ending of Running The Risk of all emotional impact. Honestly, it would've been way better to just have a different villain altogether.
Overall, Dowsing the Dead was a novel with some excellent character development and excellent character interactions, but also some really braindead choices.
Overall Grade: B+
January 20, 2017
My favourite of the original five books. I love the amount of detail that went into choosing the COLA gemstones and how the motif carried on throughout the later books. Plus, we get Luke back, which is a huge bonus.
December 11, 2010
Nice development in the Shapeshifter series. All of the books were well written with good plot development and great characterisation.
June 4, 2021
I love all of these characters and would probably die for most of the Colas to be honest.
January 10, 2022
Great series, brilliant plot twist. Couldn't put it down.
February 2, 2022
Aweeessooommmee
April 17, 2022
AAAAAAAAAAA
December 29, 2017
These books get harder and harder to put down! Ali Sparkes has done a really good job with them. I can’t wait to read the next one!
April 11, 2020
'You should have told me last time and not pretended.'
I'm in two minds about this one. Let's start with the good stuff.
Chapter 9 is easily the best chapter in the entire series. So much happens in there. 1) Gina and Alice find out the truth about Dax - finally, and hilariously. 2) Dax, thanks to Lisa, finds out a bit about his history. 3) The chemistry between Dax and Lisa - and Dax talking about Lisa - is awesome.
Further onward, then, there's a bit of character development for Alice. Up to Book 4, I never really took that much notice of her; she was just one of those characters that's simply there, and you read about her, but you don't actually care a lot if they're in the book or not. But here, that changes. It was clear from the start that's she's not your typical childish younger sister, but now you really get to know her a bit, and it makes her immediately much more interesting.
The story also starts off rather calmly; it takes about 150 pages before the really (bad) stuff starts happening. So there's some time to breathe, here, which is something you can use if you're binge-reading this series (such as I'm doing right now).
But then… Well...
The first two chapters are... weird. And just a tiny bit horrifying. Also, it's not very clear why they're in there; the story doesn't change at all if they'd been left out.
Second 'bad' thing: I doubt I'm spoiling anything, so I'll just say it like it is - Catherine is back. And no, she's not as terrible as she used to be. She's even worse. Dreadful is one way to put it, nightmarish another. Honestly. I like my fair share of mystery and thrills and excitement, but, well, Catherine's just a bit too much for me. She's absolutely horrible. While reading, I was thinking several times of how this is more of a horror story than anything else sometimes.
And then there's Mia. What's going on isn't exactly clear yet, and believe me, I'll be coming back to it in Stirring the Storm, but what is clear now is that something is happening to her. And let me tell you: It's nothing good. Oh boy.
Finally, it has always looked stupid to me of how they all assumed that Catherine was dead right before the end of the book. You'd think they'd all know what she's like and be a bit more on their guard, but no. And because of just one stupid mistake, it will all be going to hell next. I've never been quite able to stomach that.
So, yes, as I said at the very beginning: Good stuff and bad stuff.
I need to have a good night's sleep before diving into Book 5, now. Because that's where the trouble really starts.
7.5/10
I'm in two minds about this one. Let's start with the good stuff.
Chapter 9 is easily the best chapter in the entire series. So much happens in there. 1) Gina and Alice find out the truth about Dax - finally, and hilariously. 2) Dax, thanks to Lisa, finds out a bit about his history. 3) The chemistry between Dax and Lisa - and Dax talking about Lisa - is awesome.
Further onward, then, there's a bit of character development for Alice. Up to Book 4, I never really took that much notice of her; she was just one of those characters that's simply there, and you read about her, but you don't actually care a lot if they're in the book or not. But here, that changes. It was clear from the start that's she's not your typical childish younger sister, but now you really get to know her a bit, and it makes her immediately much more interesting.
The story also starts off rather calmly; it takes about 150 pages before the really (bad) stuff starts happening. So there's some time to breathe, here, which is something you can use if you're binge-reading this series (such as I'm doing right now).
But then… Well...
The first two chapters are... weird. And just a tiny bit horrifying. Also, it's not very clear why they're in there; the story doesn't change at all if they'd been left out.
Second 'bad' thing: I doubt I'm spoiling anything, so I'll just say it like it is - Catherine is back. And no, she's not as terrible as she used to be. She's even worse. Dreadful is one way to put it, nightmarish another. Honestly. I like my fair share of mystery and thrills and excitement, but, well, Catherine's just a bit too much for me. She's absolutely horrible. While reading, I was thinking several times of how this is more of a horror story than anything else sometimes.
And then there's Mia. What's going on isn't exactly clear yet, and believe me, I'll be coming back to it in Stirring the Storm, but what is clear now is that something is happening to her. And let me tell you: It's nothing good. Oh boy.
Finally, it has always looked stupid to me of how they all assumed that Catherine was dead right before the end of the book. You'd think they'd all know what she's like and be a bit more on their guard, but no. And because of just one stupid mistake, it will all be going to hell next. I've never been quite able to stomach that.
So, yes, as I said at the very beginning: Good stuff and bad stuff.
I need to have a good night's sleep before diving into Book 5, now. Because that's where the trouble really starts.
7.5/10
Read
July 13, 2012Much better than the last one: less predictable, more exciting and interesting and a better storyline. A good cliffhanger ending!!
Read
June 22, 2014cool book. love the cross france trip. to much parasites
August 5, 2016
I thought it was quite good though the climax build up started later than normal- Ali Sparkes's other books started off quicker. I hate Catherine! She's so evil.
January 6, 2011
Very exciting, I couldn't wait for the next book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews