In Master of the World: Worldshapers - Book Two, Edward Willett's follow-up book to Worldshaper, Shawna Keys finds herself thrust onto a "mysterious island" after accidentally traveling through a portal and leaving her guide, Karl Yatsar, behind. She knows she must locate the Shaper of this particular world and it soon becomes readily apparent that the Shaper is an ardent Jules Verne fan. From the Mysterious Island that appeared and then just as quickly disappeared, to the flying machines and submarines that populate this steampunk paradise, it becomes clear to Shawna that in order for her to survive, she'll have to play this world's game. Her first order of business is to figure out who the Shaper is, and since she has been captured by the military of one Prince Dakkar, she'll start with him. Shawna soon learns that Prince Dakkar and Robur, Master of the World, AKA Captain Nemo, are locked in a violent and never-ending clash against one another, with each painted as either the greatest and best, or the worst possible ever, depending on which side you ask. And one of them is definitely the Shaper, but which one?
As Shawna finds herself in both camps at different times, she gets to know some of the people residing in this world, the NPC's, if you will, and starts to count some of them as friends and allies. When she finally discovers who the Shaper is, she learns some more of her own past, but also realizes that this world's Shaper doesn't care one bit about The Adversary and his impending arrival in that world and inevitable violent takeover. How can you convince someone of their impending doom when all they seem to care about are war games and don't even see their world's inhabitants as actual people, just pawns to be played? Shawna has a lot to learn about people and their motivations, but survival and locating Karl are priority number one. She'll even get a peek through a portal into another world, possibly the next one she visits, but I can't be sure. Either way, Shawna's trials and tribulations are making her stronger, but less trustful of her fellow Shapers, for sure. If this one is any indication, Shawna's next adventure won't be a breeze either.
If you enjoyed Worldshaper, then you'll want to continue Shawna's story with Master of the World. This second story has Shawna on her toes just as much, but instead of having Shaping ability like she previously did in her own world, she's playing someone else's game and will have to use her wits to stay alive. I found it interesting that she was thrust on her own, for the most part, throughout the entire book, only connecting with Karl again at the very end to continue her journey and she grows as a person, learning that Shaping and simply manipulating people are two sides of the same coin. She won't like herself as much at the end of this story, but she does experience a good bit of personal growth and I am interested to see where her adventures take her next.
