Review: Simply a MUST read for dark fiction fans!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 11, 2013
SHIFTLING is the first book I've read by Steven Savile.  His writing style and the dialogue he uses captured me immediately.  His words are so "real"--vivid in the sense that while you're in his world, there are no doubts that everything he is describing is actually happening.  At one point in the second third of the story, Savile writes that, "There are two kinds of people in the world.....those that shine at school, and can genuinely say that they were the best days of their lives.....Then there are others who weren't so blessed.....They didn't quite fit into their own skin...., and they had to grow into who they were."  This was just one example of the almost lyrical, thought provoking prose that comprises this novella.The story goes back and forth between events that transpired in 1985, and in the "present".  In this novella, the technique was very effective in conveying necessary information without ever becoing frustrating.  It was balanced so well that the end result seemed nearly seamless in its narration.Another hit from the Dark Fuse novella line!Highly recommended!