C. M. Stultz

I lost track of how many rough drafts I've done for this review. I think when giving a low rating on a book because you found it just didn't entertain you and a few reasons why then you really don't need to say much more. But times as in the case of "Shadow of the Beast" for me there were so many specific reasons that listing them and my explanations to back them made for too lengthy of a review. Being prior military I've now decided to just go with some bullet statements.

Hard to pin point exactly what age the target audience was for- various conflicting points no matter which age group I tried to read it from.

Very little given about the local villagers beyond name and vocation - those characters were quickly forgotten.

No mention or interaction of friendships with locals in the village - nothing to show any real bonds with their French neighbors.

Little to nothing about the daily life in the village - no feel for how it felt to live there especially as an American. I spent my 4-6 years in a very small village in Germany and still go on about the Oma with her ever present shawl in the candy store, my fascination with the cobblestone road, the reaction at the Stein Haus with news of losing my 1st tooth!

Hints about the "creature" so explicit there was no surprise to what it was when they met.

The "creature" had such limited involvement there really was no sense of anticipation even looking through the angle of 8-11 year olds, they have book series that keep them sitting on the edge of their seats that I think just isn't here.

It pains me to say but it was just kind of mundane for me. Sorry.… (mehr)