Today’s book review features fellow blogger and self-publisher Misha Burnett!
The Book
Catskinner’s Book
The Genre
Science fiction / urban fantasy
The Author
Misha Burnett
The Plot
James Ozryck has a monster in his head.
All of his life the entity that he calls Catskinner has made him a fugitive, afraid to get too close to anyone, afraid to stay in one place for too long. Catskinner kills, without compassion and without warning, and is very good at it.
Now James has learned that Catskinner is not the only monster in the world, a world that has suddenly become a far stranger and more dangerous place than he imagined. In order to survive, he will have to become something more than a monster — he will have to learn what it means to be human.
The Review
I LOVED this book! It’s short, it’s sweet, it’s violent, it’s sexy, it’s intriguing … A+ all around! The world Burnett’s created is absolutely fascinating, and totally unlike anything I’ve read before — I honestly don’t know where he comes up with this stuff!
The protagonist, James, is enthralling — he’s a curious mix of beleaguered every-man, jailkeeper to a vicious alien entity, lonely man just trying to find his place in the world, and hired hitman. It’s bizarre. It’s wonderful.
I’m trying to think if there’s anything I didn’t like … I think the only thing that threw me was Godiva’s evolution as a character (Godiva being the love interest). When she first shows up, she comes across as extraordinarily vacuous. But by the time you get to the end of the book, she’s brilliant, resourceful, and deviously clever. It made a certain amount of sense, but I would have liked more of a gradual transition or explanation.
I highly recommend Catskinner’s Book. If you’re at all a fan of science fiction — or even urban fantasy! — I suggest you give it a try. It doesn’t fit neatly into one genre box, but … well, read it and you’ll see how great it is!
The Rating
5 out of 5 stars
Sound intriguing? Check out Catskinner’s Book here. The sequel — Cannibal Hearts — is also out, so click here to learn more about that!
Unrelated media of the day:
Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/wPqa2UB
Michelle Proulx - Author 
Reblogged this on mishaburnett and commented:
Yay! Thank you, Michelle!
You’re the first person who pointed out Godiva’s inconsistencies, and I probably could have handled it better. The idea was that her dumb blonde act was for protective coloration, and she dropped it once she realized that James both needed and appreciated her intelligence, but it needed a defter touch than I used to carry it off.
Oooooooooh. Yeah, that makes total sense, and I figured it was something like that — my other theory was that there was something about the tanning salon (that’s where he met her, right?) that messed with her brain and made her stupider than she was to keep her in line, but once she got out of there, she started being more herself again. I don’t know that it’s necessarily a bad thing that her transition from dumb blonde to actual intelligent human being is unexplained … I mean, it creates mystery, and mystery is a good thing 🙂 I just like it when things are really clear, lol.
Looks intriguing, I am going to have to check this out. 🙂
Excellent! Do it! 🙂
Couldn’t agree more with your review. This book is a hidden gem that needs to be revealed.
Well, here’s my plan. So one of us self-published authors — doesn’t matter who — needs to make it to the big-time. Then, once said person is big-time, they can use their influence and contacts to bring the rest of us and our hidden gems up to their level and into the public eye. Whaddya say? 😀
Where do I sign up?
You just did. By responding to my comment, you have signed over your immortal soul. You should receive an information packet in the mail in 7-10 business days. Excellent to have you on our team!
At this point I think I’m good with that.
I think you’re the one most likely to hit the big time, honestly. That’s why you need to release the next book soonest.
Says the guy with two awesome books under his belt! Well, one awesome book – I haven’t read the sequel yet, so while I can safely assume it’s awesome, I don’t want to make any permanent internet statements to that effect unless I can confirm it.
I’ll definitely be reading this one, thanks!
My pleasure 🙂
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