Book Review: Skinwrapper by Stephen Kozeniewski

Skinwrapper by Stephen Kozeniewski

Paperback, 81 pages

Published August 2019 by Sinister Grin Press

My two favorite genres are Science Fiction and Horror so when I first heard about The Hematophages I was stoked. The Hematophages is a blend of horror and science fiction. Kozeniewski had been most well known for his zombie detective bizarro novel Brain-eater Jones. The Hematophages is clearly Aliens worship and that is OK because it was awesome. Without standard tropes, it is a space vampire novel that was overflowing with ideas. I had it as a 'Dick like suggestion' on an episode of the Dickheads podcast and reviewed that novel here.

I said: "The Hematophages is one of the best books I have read so far this year. It is bold and weird science fiction that feels old school and insane at the same time. It is bizarro, dark sci-fi and horror in equal measure. A super neat book that I am glad I picked up. It is a little bit a parallel of Aliens, A reversal of Carpenter's The Thing (paranoia with all women) and with a world-building that reminded me of Neal Asher's The Skinner. That is a good mix."

Why have I spent so much time talking about that book? Well, Skinwrapper is a prequel and expansion of one of the coolest ideas found in The Hematophages was Cancer-ridden mutant mummy-like pirates that are forced to live in Zero-G called Skinwrappers.

Yes, you read all that correctly. The characters in the first book that introduced the Skinwrappers was so powerful that I thought they deserved their own book. They only had one chapter in the first book. So thank you Mister Kozeniewski because you delivered more texture to a universe I already enjoyed. Now an 81-page novella is fun but I still could have lived with a whole novel with this story, in this universe. I didn't read the back cover and went in spoiler-free and I suggest you do that. I hope I sold you on the bat-shit crazy bizarro space opera that has tons of ideas per page. Both books are super recommended. Anyhoo Spoiler warning has been given.

So this book is a prequel and gives an effective back story to one of the Skinwrapper pirate characters from The Hematophages. SK uses vivid description and characterization to make this world feel lived in. I think the story benefits from the first book but I suppose it could stand on its own. The descriptions of the Skinwrappers and their lives are pretty powerful. It is funny because I thought this was almost a perfect novella. Almost, except for two things, the major problem is it was painful realizing that I only had 60 pages left as soon as I was totally invested. Damn you Kozeniewski I am going to end up reading The Hematophages again. The other complaint is silly and might just be me but for some reason, a character described herself as falling on her butt, and later the word butt was used and it just kinda amused me and took out of the story for a moment. I know that is a silly complaint after reading such a neat book.

Alright Kozeniewski you are hereby ordered to write a dozen more books in this universe. I am a fan.