Skinwalker

Skinwalker (2009) Faith Hunter

First off, I love this cover. Yeah, she has a silly amount of cleavage, but aside from that, the cover gives a very good description of what the character’s attitude. Bike? Check. Riding leathers? Check. Shotgun? Check. Get out of my way attitude? Check. Kudos to whomever at Roc does their fantasy covers–another fantastic job.

Following on her story in Strange Brew, we follow Jane Yellowrock to New Orleans, where she has been hired by the local vampire council to take down a rogue who had been creating a bad (worse?) reputation for the local vampires.

Jane is a skinwalker–a human who shift into other creatures. She primarily shifts into a mountain lion, but is capable of shifting into any form is she has template DNA to copy.

Yeah, that’s right. Although she has a fetish, she recognizes that she needs the DNA of a creature before she can shift into the creature. Even better, we learn what happens to the excess mass if she becomes a smaller or larger creature.

I love authors who have truly thought out their world building.

Jane has no memory of her past. All she remembers is walking out of the woods at the age of around 12, able to speak no English, and therefore a ward of the state to be raised in an orphanage.

With the exception of her best friend back in NC, a witch named Molly (who has her own secrets to keep) no one else in the world knows what Jane is–or even that she is different from other humans. And she prefers to keep it that way.

This story is good. Very good. As I said previously, the author has considered the questions previously associated with weres/skinwalkers, and has a rather elegant solution I must say (A solution that’s more than “it’s magic” [Not that there’s anything wrong with “it’s magic” it’s just nice to see someone come up with a way it would work.]).

Additionally, Jane is an interesting and complex character. She’s a competent and confident woman who has her head screwed on straight, despite the mystery of her past and her nature.

If you have not read the short story that precedes Skinwalker, you’ll be fine. The details are there there to pick up, and are not necessary to this story.

One detail–although the arc of the story was completed, details were left open, and there will obviously be another book continuing the story of Jane Yellowrock. We weren’t left hanging, but it came close to being one of those annoying endings that all but forces you to read the next book. Hopefully, there won’t be any of that in the next book, as I want to continue to spend time with these characters, and don’t need my arm twisted to do so.
Rating:8/10

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