Touched by an Alien, by Gini Koch
Book Review by Joshua Palmatier
Have you read this book?
Touched by an Alien is the debut novel from Gini Koch and is the first book in the Katherine "Kitty" Katt series. I believe there's a second book already scheduled for release this December.
The first thing that I have to say about the book is that the cover is an absolutely perfect description of the content and tone of the book. There's action--lots of action--explosions, aliens, men in Armani black, crunched cars, flying bat things, jet fighters, guns, Aerosmith t-shirts, and romance. The pace of the book is as frenetic as the cover suggests as well. In fact, if you read the back cover copy of the book, what's described there (and there's a lot) is actually, what happens in the first 8 pages of the book only.
The writing is also incredibly smooth and easy to read. The main character is likeable, the supporting cast is quirky and full of fun, and the plot is complicated and intricate with many twists and turns. The tone of the book is light for the most part, with plenty of bits of humor interspersed among all of the action. I laughed aloud in multiple locations, and smiled throughout most of the book. The humor, action, and serious moments were well-balanced.
There's only one thing that I didn't love about the book, and this is completely a personal preference thing, and that was the romance element in the book. The cover definitely suggests that there's a strong romance plot line, and you should believe it. I don't go in for heavy-duty romance plots, and don't read anything remotely romance-oriented in general, so the romance plot line had no real allure for me. However, for those of you readers who love romance, you'll love this. It isn't a HUGE part of the book--this is definitely not a book that I'd say should be shelved in the romance section, for example--but it's definitely there. It's not a subplot, and its woven into the SF action elements very well, so if you decide to read this book be aware of it before you start. That's all I'm saying. It isn't something I personally like in my books, but it's written well and those of you who do like it will enjoy its presence here.
So, a very strong debut novel from Gini Koch. A great mix of science fiction, action/thriller, and romance, just be aware that the romance is there before you start. I'll certainly be reading the second novel when it hits the shelves and would definitely recommend this novel to those who like SF and romance combined.
The first thing that I have to say about the book is that the cover is an absolutely perfect description of the content and tone of the book. There's action--lots of action--explosions, aliens, men in Armani black, crunched cars, flying bat things, jet fighters, guns, Aerosmith t-shirts, and romance. The pace of the book is as frenetic as the cover suggests as well. In fact, if you read the back cover copy of the book, what's described there (and there's a lot) is actually, what happens in the first 8 pages of the book only.
The writing is also incredibly smooth and easy to read. The main character is likeable, the supporting cast is quirky and full of fun, and the plot is complicated and intricate with many twists and turns. The tone of the book is light for the most part, with plenty of bits of humor interspersed among all of the action. I laughed aloud in multiple locations, and smiled throughout most of the book. The humor, action, and serious moments were well-balanced.
There's only one thing that I didn't love about the book, and this is completely a personal preference thing, and that was the romance element in the book. The cover definitely suggests that there's a strong romance plot line, and you should believe it. I don't go in for heavy-duty romance plots, and don't read anything remotely romance-oriented in general, so the romance plot line had no real allure for me. However, for those of you readers who love romance, you'll love this. It isn't a HUGE part of the book--this is definitely not a book that I'd say should be shelved in the romance section, for example--but it's definitely there. It's not a subplot, and its woven into the SF action elements very well, so if you decide to read this book be aware of it before you start. That's all I'm saying. It isn't something I personally like in my books, but it's written well and those of you who do like it will enjoy its presence here.
So, a very strong debut novel from Gini Koch. A great mix of science fiction, action/thriller, and romance, just be aware that the romance is there before you start. I'll certainly be reading the second novel when it hits the shelves and would definitely recommend this novel to those who like SF and romance combined.
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