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Shift World #1
Shift World
Illustrated Edition contains 70 unique full-color illustrations created specifically for this book.
Synopsis
A vibrant living world connects to the Shift World, a world of monsters, ruins, and treasure. One in ten thousand people can travel between the two worlds and they are known as shifters. Shifters created empires, became merchant barons, and influenced much of the world's culture. Schools teach about shifters' exploits and shifters even dictate fashion and entertainment. Children dream about a life of adventure in the Shift World.
A young shifter named Karp was saved from the brink of death in a small trading post called the Village of the Traitor's Tavern. While recovering she befriended the general store's manager and apprenticed under a local shifter named The Whitecoat. The store manager, her adopted son, and The Whitecoat became Karp's family and the Village of the Traitor's Tavern became her home.
Karp's idyllic life is threatened by a spreading sickness which takes the lives of shifters. An encounter with a mysterious stranger in the Shift World almost leaves Karp dead on the general store's floor. To save her new home and family, Karp will need to search the ruins of Shift World for weapons, find powerful new allies, defeat unrelenting enemies, and avert an unclear calamity that looms over everything.
Read the prologue to chapter 4 at Traitor's Tavern
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Young Adult/New Adult, Light Novel
Synopsis
A vibrant living world connects to the Shift World, a world of monsters, ruins, and treasure. One in ten thousand people can travel between the two worlds and they are known as shifters. Shifters created empires, became merchant barons, and influenced much of the world's culture. Schools teach about shifters' exploits and shifters even dictate fashion and entertainment. Children dream about a life of adventure in the Shift World.
A young shifter named Karp was saved from the brink of death in a small trading post called the Village of the Traitor's Tavern. While recovering she befriended the general store's manager and apprenticed under a local shifter named The Whitecoat. The store manager, her adopted son, and The Whitecoat became Karp's family and the Village of the Traitor's Tavern became her home.
Karp's idyllic life is threatened by a spreading sickness which takes the lives of shifters. An encounter with a mysterious stranger in the Shift World almost leaves Karp dead on the general store's floor. To save her new home and family, Karp will need to search the ruins of Shift World for weapons, find powerful new allies, defeat unrelenting enemies, and avert an unclear calamity that looms over everything.
Read the prologue to chapter 4 at Traitor's Tavern
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Young Adult/New Adult, Light Novel
- GenresFantasy
ebook
Published March 21, 2020
About the author
Christopher W. Gamsby
7 books26 followersI grew up in the New Jersey suburbs in the shadow of New York City until I graduated college and enlisted in the US Navy, where I spent 6 years traveling around the eastern Pacific. I graduated with a Ph.D. in experimental psychology at a small mid-western university. I started writing Shift World as a way of expending my creative energies during graduate school since scientific research is a very dry and tedious pursuit.
Now, I work on the Shift World series full time.
Now, I work on the Shift World series full time.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 5, 2020
I won a print copy of Shift World by Christopher W Gamsby in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
I did enjoy the story as a whole, a real talent within Mr. Gamsby’s work. I would want to read book 2 when it comes out.
THE SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK: A vibrant world connects to a world of monsters, ruins, and treasure known as the Shift World.
Interesting read.
I did enjoy the story as a whole, a real talent within Mr. Gamsby’s work. I would want to read book 2 when it comes out.
THE SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK: A vibrant world connects to a world of monsters, ruins, and treasure known as the Shift World.
Interesting read.
February 8, 2017
I won a print copy of Shift World by Christopher W Gamsby in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Shift World was for me a very different kind of fantasy read than I am used to, and different is a good thing in this case.
In this instance "Shifters" are people who can move between worlds. The worlds are geographically the same, but technologically different. Here the difference is that the world that can be shifted to has metal, and is inhabited by various monsters, where the "main" world does not have the metal (or the technology to produce it anyway), and the shifters make a living bringing it between worlds.
A stylistic tool author Christopher Gamsby utilizes here, even if not original to him, is still very impressive. There is a fair amount of dialogue in the story and rather than relying on; Slart said, or Nort said, or Karp (the main character) said, our author puts each characters dialogue in a different font. When you see italics you know it is Karp, no one else. Each characters has their own font, making the dialogue flow fantastically. An aspect of the book I enjoyed greatly.
Written with a knights in armor kind of flavor, Shift World definitely qualifies as an action/adventure fantasy rather than a quest story. Graphic violence, only hinted at sex and a bit of coming of age (or coming into their life roles). Our characters have to come to terms with some uncomfortable truths (and that is all I'm going to tell you, read the book).
The book is still in need of a little editing (things like; one "dons" their armor, not "dawns" their armor) not riddled with such errors, but prevalent enough to warrant another look.
I have to say the ending was a little flat. The story built the necessary tension throughout, moving towards a grand finale, but kind of left me going "Huh"? Not bad, but not really living up to the story in my opinion. More anti-climactic.
Overall the pluses far outweigh the minuses, so I think action/adventure or fantasy readers will find Shift World by Christopher W Gamsby a worthwhile read. Enjoy!
Mike
Shift World was for me a very different kind of fantasy read than I am used to, and different is a good thing in this case.
In this instance "Shifters" are people who can move between worlds. The worlds are geographically the same, but technologically different. Here the difference is that the world that can be shifted to has metal, and is inhabited by various monsters, where the "main" world does not have the metal (or the technology to produce it anyway), and the shifters make a living bringing it between worlds.
A stylistic tool author Christopher Gamsby utilizes here, even if not original to him, is still very impressive. There is a fair amount of dialogue in the story and rather than relying on; Slart said, or Nort said, or Karp (the main character) said, our author puts each characters dialogue in a different font. When you see italics you know it is Karp, no one else. Each characters has their own font, making the dialogue flow fantastically. An aspect of the book I enjoyed greatly.
Written with a knights in armor kind of flavor, Shift World definitely qualifies as an action/adventure fantasy rather than a quest story. Graphic violence, only hinted at sex and a bit of coming of age (or coming into their life roles). Our characters have to come to terms with some uncomfortable truths (and that is all I'm going to tell you, read the book).
The book is still in need of a little editing (things like; one "dons" their armor, not "dawns" their armor) not riddled with such errors, but prevalent enough to warrant another look.
I have to say the ending was a little flat. The story built the necessary tension throughout, moving towards a grand finale, but kind of left me going "Huh"? Not bad, but not really living up to the story in my opinion. More anti-climactic.
Overall the pluses far outweigh the minuses, so I think action/adventure or fantasy readers will find Shift World by Christopher W Gamsby a worthwhile read. Enjoy!
Mike
December 26, 2017
I was given a copy of Shift World by Mr. Gamsby for my fair and honest review. Now first, I just want to say, that I consider myself a pretty avid fantasy reader. I adore most fantasy genres and I’m always looking to dive into new worlds. Shift World created a landscape that was all at once vast and familiar. The premise itself offered something to the fantasy genre that was uniquely done. Gamsby did wonders with the descriptions. Everything seemed to truly jump off the page.
It is clear, though, that this is the first book for Mr. Gamsby. The voice of the story is clear and well-done but there are elements that need some work to make Shift World a truly amazing novel. There were some grammatical mistakes that could use some cleaning up and the dialogue was written oddly. Italicizing or bolding different characters’ dialogue seemed like a weird choice to me personally.
Also, I did say before that the descriptions provided were beautifully done but one thing that definitely detracted from the story was the fact that the main characters, Karp, Wili, Nort, and so on, were not given any real descriptions at all. While it may give the reader a chance to interpret their own character models, it still felt more unfinished than not. It left some aspects of the story underdeveloped while other parts felt overdeveloped. The prologue would be the part that I felt was far too overdeveloped than necessary.
With all that being said, I did enjoy the story as a whole. The plot was interesting and distinctive and there is real talent within Mr. Gamsby’s work. The ending alone makes the book worth the read. It was wonderfully crafted and while it left with an opening for the sequel, it still felt like the story within the first book was ended. Overall, the book is pretty well done and again, it has the potential for greatness with a little bit of tweaking.
It is clear, though, that this is the first book for Mr. Gamsby. The voice of the story is clear and well-done but there are elements that need some work to make Shift World a truly amazing novel. There were some grammatical mistakes that could use some cleaning up and the dialogue was written oddly. Italicizing or bolding different characters’ dialogue seemed like a weird choice to me personally.
Also, I did say before that the descriptions provided were beautifully done but one thing that definitely detracted from the story was the fact that the main characters, Karp, Wili, Nort, and so on, were not given any real descriptions at all. While it may give the reader a chance to interpret their own character models, it still felt more unfinished than not. It left some aspects of the story underdeveloped while other parts felt overdeveloped. The prologue would be the part that I felt was far too overdeveloped than necessary.
With all that being said, I did enjoy the story as a whole. The plot was interesting and distinctive and there is real talent within Mr. Gamsby’s work. The ending alone makes the book worth the read. It was wonderfully crafted and while it left with an opening for the sequel, it still felt like the story within the first book was ended. Overall, the book is pretty well done and again, it has the potential for greatness with a little bit of tweaking.
January 26, 2021
Epic beginning mediocre end
The story started out really good and was very captivating when it came to talking about the shift world versus the normal world. However, after the major differences between the two were revealed, I felt the story became somewhat boring and had to fight to finish it.
I won this book thru a goodreads.com giveaway
The story started out really good and was very captivating when it came to talking about the shift world versus the normal world. However, after the major differences between the two were revealed, I felt the story became somewhat boring and had to fight to finish it.
I won this book thru a goodreads.com giveaway
September 22, 2020
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A fantasy about people who can shift between two worlds. Didn't quite hit the spot for me for some reason.
A fantasy about people who can shift between two worlds. Didn't quite hit the spot for me for some reason.
October 22, 2020
Excellent book!!!
November 12, 2020
I won a Kindle copy in a Goodreads giveaway. The story was very creative and entertaining. I am very grateful for the opportunity to read this author's work. Thanks!
April 19, 2021
This Book is Absolutely amazing. A must read. I was lucky enough to get a early copy of all his Books and I love them.
December 24, 2016
I won a print copy of Shift World by Christopher W Gamsby in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Shift World was for me a very different kind of fantasy read than I am used to, and different is a good thing in this case.
In this instance "Shifters" are people who can move between worlds. The worlds are geographically the same, but technologically different. Here the difference is that the world that can be shifted to has metal, and is inhabited by various monsters, where the "main" world does not have the metal (or the technology to produce it anyway), and the shifters make a living bringing it between worlds.
A stylistic tool author Christopher Gamsby utilizes here, even if not original to him, is still very impressive. There is a fair amount of dialogue in the story and rather than relying on; Slart said, or Nort said, or Karp (the main character) said, our author puts each characters dialogue in a different font. When you see italics you know it is Karp, no one else. Each characters has their own font, making the dialogue flow fantastically. An aspect of the book I enjoyed greatly.
Written with a knights in armor kind of flavor, Shift World definitely qualifies as an action/adventure fantasy rather than a quest story. Graphic violence, only hinted at sex and a bit of coming of age (or coming into their life roles). Our characters have to come to terms with some uncomfortable truths (and that is all I'm going to tell you, read the book).
The book is still in need of a little editing (things like; one "dons" their armor, not "dawns" their armor) not riddled with such errors, but prevalent enough to warrant another look.
I have to say the ending was a little flat. The story built the necessary tension throughout, moving towards a grand finale, but kind of left me going "Huh"? Not bad, but not really living up to the story in my opinion. More anti-climactic.
Overall the pluses far outweigh the minuses, so I think action/adventure or fantasy readers will find Shift World by Christopher W Gamsby a worthwhile read. Enjoy!
Mike
Shift World was for me a very different kind of fantasy read than I am used to, and different is a good thing in this case.
In this instance "Shifters" are people who can move between worlds. The worlds are geographically the same, but technologically different. Here the difference is that the world that can be shifted to has metal, and is inhabited by various monsters, where the "main" world does not have the metal (or the technology to produce it anyway), and the shifters make a living bringing it between worlds.
A stylistic tool author Christopher Gamsby utilizes here, even if not original to him, is still very impressive. There is a fair amount of dialogue in the story and rather than relying on; Slart said, or Nort said, or Karp (the main character) said, our author puts each characters dialogue in a different font. When you see italics you know it is Karp, no one else. Each characters has their own font, making the dialogue flow fantastically. An aspect of the book I enjoyed greatly.
Written with a knights in armor kind of flavor, Shift World definitely qualifies as an action/adventure fantasy rather than a quest story. Graphic violence, only hinted at sex and a bit of coming of age (or coming into their life roles). Our characters have to come to terms with some uncomfortable truths (and that is all I'm going to tell you, read the book).
The book is still in need of a little editing (things like; one "dons" their armor, not "dawns" their armor) not riddled with such errors, but prevalent enough to warrant another look.
I have to say the ending was a little flat. The story built the necessary tension throughout, moving towards a grand finale, but kind of left me going "Huh"? Not bad, but not really living up to the story in my opinion. More anti-climactic.
Overall the pluses far outweigh the minuses, so I think action/adventure or fantasy readers will find Shift World by Christopher W Gamsby a worthwhile read. Enjoy!
Mike
February 18, 2018
I received this book through Goodreads' giveaways. What an absolutely fantastic world this author has built! The descriptions are vivid, and you can see it all in your head. I liked all of the background included in the prologue that sets you up, so you can get right into all of the action. I loved the idea of shifters, and how their abilities worked. Karp is an awesome main character. I love to see a fantasy that doesn't depend on romance to move the story forward. The story moves at a good pace that keeps you turning the pages. I also liked the author's use of different fonts for dialogue. Let's face it, all the she saids and he saids get a little tiring, and I think this choice really kept the story flowing a lot better. I'm definitely interested in seeing what this author writes in the future.
December 30, 2016
I found it intriguing but would like to see some romance included.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews