Xor: The Shape of Darkness by Moshe Sipper

 

On his twelfth birthday Lewis Nash comes home from school to find that his house has blown up to smithereens, killing his father. Having lost his mother in an accident four years earlier, Lewis realizes he is now an orphan — but he has no time to dwell on it. The moment he gets off the school bus a fearsome wolf-man tries to grab him. The boy is saved in the nick of time by Master Long, who reveals to him that he’s a Shaper from a place called Xor, which is being devoured by the Realm Pirates. Lewis learns that he must do his utmost to become the powerful Shaper he was destined to be. 

Because, it would seem, he’s the one and only chance Xor has.


My Thoughts/Review:

I took a pen to this one. Not that it needed to be changed, but because I was adding commas. I just can't stand it when a book is missing commas. I'm sure you understand. Nothing against the author, but commas are an issue.

Other than that though, I literally had no problems with this book. It's been a while since I've read fantasy, so that was kind of a surprise, because I had no idea what to expect when I started this book, but I definitely enjoyed my delving back into children's fantasy. (Yep, it's been a while.)

I absolutely adored the simplicity of this book, because it seems like all of the books we read nowadays you have to read about a million different things that were done to solve one problem. Why can't it all be as simple as magical bubblegum, or mechanically minded Drakes? Why?!

I miss life being simple.

Children's books are simple. They always end well, and they never fail to make your life lighter. I miss that. Now, let the rambling commence!

I liked the character of Lewis, because, honestly, I miss reading about characters that are innocent children, where everything about them is just laid out on the line. Don't get me wrong, I love complex characters, but sometimes it just get's old. They're always complex. (Or 2-d, but that's a rant for another day.)

He was just a kid, trying to save the world that he's been told that he's the only hope for. I betting that it would scare me senseless, if I was the only hope for a world, but Lewis seems to thrive under all that pressure. So, Lewis, Five, K'Bol, and Professor Nand all embark on a merry journey, to save the planet of Xor.

(Reminiscent of the Fellowship, don't you think?) To be honest though, it was everything that I didn't expect it to be. I didn't expect to enjoy this book, or honestly, to be the one that reviewed it. I was actually going to ask someone to guest review. It get's hard sometimes, ya know? Anyways, this book surprised me, and I hope to read more like it in the future.

*This book was provided by the author for review.
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Favorite Quote: "Precisely. What we have here is a combination of real and unreal. That's why I asked you to shape happiness."