Review: A Not-So-Funfair
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 7, 2013
I've always found the fair to be kind of creepy.  Beyond very real worries about the structural integrity of rides that journey thousands of miles every year, there's something off-putting about the transitory nature of the whole affair.That's not what Shiftling is about, though.  The funfair is largely just a backdrop for part of the story.  Rather, the story is about how traumas in childhood echo for the rest of a person's life.  There are really two stories going on.  One is about a literal monster and how it impacted the lives of Drew and his friends.  The other story is about a human monster and how he impacted the lives of Drew and his friends.  Is the literal monster something created by a damaged mind to protect against the truth?  Or is the human monster a convenient, adult explanation for something that is otherwise beyond rational explanation?The beauty of Shiftling is that each reader is going to come to their own conclusion to those questions, and for different reasons.