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Turnskin

by Nicole Kimberling (Goodreads Author)

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 126 ratings · 20 reviews

Raised in a remote farming community, Tom Fletcher knows little of his Shifter heritage and less about the dangerous lives that others of his kind lead in the city of Riverside. For Tom the big city is a daydream of opening nights and bright theater lights.But when Tom meets Cloud Coldmoon-infamous and handsome heir to a criminal syndicate- everything changes. Suddenly sus...more

Paperback, 259 pages

Published March 1st 2008 by Blind Eye Books (first published January 1st 2008)

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Best Fantasy Books with Gay Main Characters

140th out of 332 books — 696 voters

21st Annual Lambda Literary Awards

4th out of 24 books — 17 voters

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Feb 06, 2013 SueM rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to SueM by: http://weightlessbooks.com/format/book/turnskin/

Shelves: m-m, criminal, shapeshifters-werewolves, ipad-stanza, bingo-challenge, film-tv-stage-stars

Hmm, this is a tricky one to review. I usually really enjoy Nicole Kimberling's writing, and while I liked the general plot and the world building, for some reason this doesn't quite do it for me. I couldn't connect to the characters, and it was hard to stay motivated to keep reading when I really didn't care one way or the other. I did persevere, but to me this was an average read.

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Jun 15, 2010 Kassa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’m a fan of Blind Eye Books publisher and have slowly been making my way through the small backlist (6 books, not too long but I’m spreading them out). This time I picked up Nicole Kimberling’s Turnskin and settled in for a completely unique and entertaining story. This is not one I’d read again but I enjoyed it while reading and think it’ll appeal to a lot of readers. It’s well written with a lot of clever, subtle comparisons between modern society and the world created within the story. It’s...more I’m a fan of Blind Eye Books publisher and have slowly been making my way through the small backlist (6 books, not too long but I’m spreading them out). This time I picked up Nicole Kimberling’s Turnskin and settled in for a completely unique and entertaining story. This is not one I’d read again but I enjoyed it while reading and think it’ll appeal to a lot of readers. It’s well written with a lot of clever, subtle comparisons between modern society and the world created within the story. It’s clearly meant to quietly mock and show the flaws in societal thinking, which it does, but the story also lacks a punch to make it memorable enough to re-read. However I highly recommend you read it at least once if you’re looking for a good book with a unique twist.

The story follows Tom Fletcher, a talented playwright from a small farm town and the only shifter. Tom begins a relationship with a local cop only to realize that the cop is also a shifter and impersonating the cop. When the real cop is found dead and Tom’s lover fleeing from the town, Tom takes the opportunity to leave as well and head to the big city. Once there, Tom becomes embroiled in the complicated theatre life of his cousins while pursuing the man he can’t forget.

The world building is well done but plays off very familiar modern setting, just twisting it slightly to add in the pseudo acceptance of shifters. The story incorporates a very antiquated feel in separating shifters from skins (your everyday non-shifter person like you or me). This has many parallels to past segregations and is treated very similarly in many interactions. Often times I found the story both underplaying its potential and over reaching since the subtle commentary and setting never really achieves anything. It’s undoubtedly well crafted, yet there is no sweeping societal change or pivotal dramatic moment that rights the wrongs of the society. There is so much potential here that it feels wasted in many scenes since very little is done with the potential other than to exist.

The flip side is that the story feels reaching in some ways. It tries to show so many different aspects, but again not going anywhere, that sometimes I felt the story wandered and my attention briefly with it. Part of this is that the shifter transformation, while incredibly clever and unique, is used so often it soon loses the impact. These shifters can impersonate anyone, any gender, any color, look, or being so the story becomes slightly less about them and more about the fun things they can do. This keeps you from really knowing and understanding the characters intimately since they all spend a lot of time impersonating other people and living as other people.

This is perhaps one aspect that works to the credit of the story even if it sacrifices an emotional connection to the characters. Here the concept of identity, gender, and societal restrictions is played out in numerous ways. The shifters have no such barriers and can alter their bodies at will. There is even a mention of a character that early on changes from their “alpha” or true female form to a male form and makes the poignant comment that the male form is now their true and only form. It allows you to imagine a world where your appearance, gender, and even identity are decided by the person and no one else. This is yet another comment on society but it’s a well crafted inclusion and makes a few subtle points at the same time. None of these comparisons feel preachy or overly blunt, merely quietly worked into the story to let the reader think.

The main romance between Cloud and Tom is understated, as is the book itself and doesn’t feel too overwhelming. Their relationship is a bit of a mystery and the final resolution feels awkward and well, weird. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the book because I did, it’s just that the action meanders on from interesting scene to interesting scene without a driving force that keeps you guessing and wondering. The unique aspect of the shifter transformation as well as the solid world building deliver a great story that is appealing and fun to read. It’s not exactly funny, or well I didn’t really laugh, but the time reading is well spent and worthwhile.(less)

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Aug 09, 2009 Shaun Duke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Forbidden love, it seems, is a favorite theme of the authors published by Blind Eye Books. Last year I reviewed Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale, also a forbidden love tale, and the similarities are rather striking. Unlike Wicked Gentlemen, however, Turnskin avoids the religious overtones and instead focuses on people from very different walks of life in a world that divides species not just by their genetic origins, but by family as well—think Romeo and Juliet, if you will.

Turnskin introduces us t...more Forbidden love, it seems, is a favorite theme of the authors published by Blind Eye Books. Last year I reviewed Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale, also a forbidden love tale, and the similarities are rather striking. Unlike Wicked Gentlemen, however, Turnskin avoids the religious overtones and instead focuses on people from very different walks of life in a world that divides species not just by their genetic origins, but by family as well—think Romeo and Juliet, if you will.

Turnskin introduces us to Tom Fletcher, a Shifter living in the boonies who has aspirations to become a playwright and actor. But then he strikes up a less-than-casual relationship with a local police officer and finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place: his officer friend is more than who he says he is, and the more Tom gets involved, the more he finds himself caught in something he can’t escape.

Turnskin’s forbidden love story is both flawed and well-drawn. Tom’s personality fits well with his small town roots, and it is his personality that makes him such a sympathetic figure, even if some of the things he does are relatively stupid. Shifter culture, while not fully developed, complicates the nature of the world, because it divides human from Shifter in much the same way as race divides human from human. And, as some of you know, I like these sorts of things within science fiction and fantasy. A thorough, or at least novel attempt at examining the human condition is what the genres should be about, even on a minor level. Turnskin places some focus on its human/Other issues, which serves to make this story more than just one about a forbidden love. Still, the human/Other issues are left somewhat undeveloped, and instead the love story takes center stage. Perhaps in future novels this will change.

The biggest flaw in Turnskin is in its pacing. By the time you reach the climax, there are little more than twenty pages to solve what amounts to a monumental problem. The result is that the ending feels not only rushed, but incredibly weak, leaving one to wondering why the characters didn’t try that in the first place if it was going to be so easy. I also found certain sections of the book, particularly the intimate ones, to be unnecessarily “erotic.” This may be a personal preference, however, and not something that would bother more casual readers of these kinds of books.

Overall, Turnskin is a good read, despite its flaws. While it may not be a complex piece, in comparison to other novels dealing with similar versions of the forbidden love theme, it does manage to weave not only a good love story, but an entertaining foray into a world one step to the left of our own.(less)

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Mar 11, 2009 Fiona Moyler rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I just finished this on the bus to work this morning and it has left me with a warm, satisfied glow. I loved everything about it, and feel deeply fond of both the characters and their universe. The theatre is not a world I have ever thought much about, but after this book my head is filled with the exotic possibilities of the stage and the people who inhabit it!

This book tackles issues such as race and gender in a very amusing and light way, whilst never devaluing their importance. I always lov...more I just finished this on the bus to work this morning and it has left me with a warm, satisfied glow. I loved everything about it, and feel deeply fond of both the characters and their universe. The theatre is not a world I have ever thought much about, but after this book my head is filled with the exotic possibilities of the stage and the people who inhabit it!

This book tackles issues such as race and gender in a very amusing and light way, whilst never devaluing their importance. I always love to see characters with no genders, more than one gender or ambiguous genders, so I was very interested in the character Righteous. Righteous was a comedic character. Anyone who has ever been to an anarchist or feminist meeting would have had a rueful laugh at Righteous's list of rules. His/her youthful rage at the injustice of the world is very recognisable and made me smile. However he/she was never presented in a mocking fashion, and nor was his/her insistance on having no gender. I thought it was very well done; that fun could be poked at the po-facedness that can prevail in discussions surrounding gender, while always keeping sight of the fact that it was untimately Righteous's own decision to make.

The fact that there are characters with shape shifting abilities in this book, and their (understandably) more accepting attitude to gender switching brought another interesting dimension. And I must also mention that it never became confusing, even with multiple characters appearing with different faces and bodies. In one romantic scene it briefly becomes a bit overwhelming and hard to grasp who is who, but I believe that in that particular scene it was done for effect.

Tom, the main character, has a lovely, open, sweetness to his personality but he is no innocent lamb-to-the-slaughter, like you sometimes get in M/M romances. He knows his own mind, and what he wants from life. Actually, I feel like I shouldn't be grateful for this, in that same way that biracial Tom isn't grateful to people when they tell him condescending stories about how much respect they have for his people, but I must mention that neither of two the main characters fall into insulting dominant/submissive roles, and also there are strong female characters. But like Tom says, why should one be grateful for common decency!

My only gripe is that towards the end of the book the typos abounded. I know this book comes from a small publishing company, and I am eternally grateful that someone is publishing LGTB fantasy and sci-fi, and anyway, they story didn't suffer much from the typos so I am still giving it five stars. Absolutely loved it. (less)

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Aug 08, 2011 Jaime rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m, paranormal, romance

I have enjoyed every book I've purchased from Blind Eye Books, and Turnskin was no exception. I read it straight through. The main character is a shapeshifter. Not a wereanimal, but an actual shape changer. This was not only a very creative spin on a common paranormal trope, but it also tied into the plot. These shifters can change their appearance, and also impersonate people (which is illegal). Very clever indeed.

The writing is tight, especially for the world building. Kimberling masterfully u...more

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Jul 03, 2011 ns rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mm

There had been no fanfare, no buzz, no slew of recs to prepare me for this novel [1]. It's not on the Amazon rankings anywhere, not on any "best evah" lists, nor were there squeeing fans or addicts chanting for more. So when this radiantly intelligent novel ensnared me in its utterly compelling and thought-provoking universe, it was more than just a wonderful surprise, it was quite the pan galactic gargle blaster [2] to my deplorably dulled, m/m-reading head.

Turnskin is fast-paced, smooth and ea...more There had been no fanfare, no buzz, no slew of recs to prepare me for this novel [1]. It's not on the Amazon rankings anywhere, not on any "best evah" lists, nor were there squeeing fans or addicts chanting for more. So when this radiantly intelligent novel ensnared me in its utterly compelling and thought-provoking universe, it was more than just a wonderful surprise, it was quite the pan galactic gargle blaster [2] to my deplorably dulled, m/m-reading head.

Turnskin is fast-paced, smooth and easy. Although the writing never quite rises to the lyrical or moving, Ms Kimberling is quiet, crisp and competent in her prose, never intruding, always moving the story along. And it's the visual movie that rolls in your head with her words, the pictures that she paints and the ensuing questions and thoughts that flow in your mind which enchant.

Tom Fletcher is a half-shifter, half-skin (although passing as a full shifter) who has spent all his young life in a small town in the middle of nowhere. When an affair with a local cop ends suddenly, tragically, he flees to the big city to make his future as a playwright. Being inside Turnskin is like being inside a Van Gogh painting -- oh sure, those are sunflowers and country fields, the shapes and outlines seem familiar. Yes, it's true Van Gogh painted sunflowers and countrysides. But that's so insufficiently true, so inadequately true, that it does a disservice to the artist as well as the viewers. They're so vividly and differently fashioned, re-fashioned, rather, that you see everything in a new and exciting light. Right from its first setting, a trailer in an onion field, Turnskin felt as though I was inside a brilliant yellow-orange Van Gogh landscape, everything familiar yet new, strange and shiny.

Quick, close your eyes for two seconds. Picture a playwright. Yes? Whom did you see? Go ahead. Admit it, most of you saw a lean, Ralph Fiennes in "Shakespeare in Love" type, right? Intense, dark and Caucasian? Or a balding 18th Century type with a goatee (the iconic William Shakespeare portrait)? Those of you claiming you saw a black playwright, you can put your hands down, and stop lying. You know you didn't. It's this reader's opinion that some readers will still have pictured a somewhat caucasian Tom throughout their reading of the book, despite the author's opening page descriptions. Remarkable just how in control of our mental movies our internal myth-making machinery is.

For this reader, an immigrant and a racially visible minority, the various elements of the storylines don't simply serve to superficially tease, they stomp all over deeply rooted raw nerves. Integral to the plot is the powerful ability shifters (the subjugated of the two species) possess to alter their appearance -- a chameleon-like reshaping to a fine degree of color, size, shape and detail. When you're aware every second that you're out in public in this society of your skin color, you are only too familiar with painful questions of identity and the pull of escape from one's physically defining confines.

What would I choose to look like, if I could look like anything at all? What do identity and standards of beauty mean, if we could all look the same? What if I could take a turn in someone else's skin? More importantly, what if others could take a turn in mine? These have been central questions in my life, having grown up in a society used to race riots, discrimination, violence, intimidation, the powerlessness of the individual, with myriad communities and ethnic, communal and religious hostility (and their tolerance). And of course, now living as a minority adult in America. Fitting in and seeking acceptance has been a lifelong, if futile, obsession.

If I were white, would I feel the same visceral tension at the image of a cop car slowly coming up behind me in the dead of night? Would my heart be racing in anxiety? If I were white, would I relate this easily to the shifter's story, would the images of the shifter ghetto behind barbed wire fences bring tears to my eyes as they did for me, and wring my heart? What would the people who are living behind present day barbed wire fences have to say? Forty hours after reading Turnskin, this reader happened to read Elie Wiesel's Night. The images of a people shoved behind a barbed wire fence even in their own town, Nazi soldiers putting yellow stars on Jewish foreheads to mark them, weren't burnt on my retina at the time of reading Turnskin. They didn't need to be, however.

Turnskin, thankfully, stays true to its mm romance genre (however tenuously). In the moving and oddly humorous twists of this tale, the societal underpinnings are alluded to, interacted with, but served with a light hand. An entertaining cast of characters adds to the overall charm and likeability of it all, their sincerity and zeal to the cause of the theater and each other endearing. Lessons abound in (as do questions on) the purpose of clan and kith, gender and race. In the end, Tom finds love and acceptance and it's nobody's business but his what shape he's in (quite literally) to accomplish it.

It would be true to say that Turnskin is a charming, simple, romantic love story. It would, however, be so very insufficiently and inadequately true. This book has courage and intelligence, it is virtuoso world building and story telling on themes which don't normally get addressed in this genre. An extraordinarily worthwhile reading experience.

[1] Don't bother pointing out that Lambda win, you know that means diddly squat to us ignorant Amazon savages...

[2] "rather like having your brains smashed out with a slice of lemon, wrapped around a large gold brick"
(less)

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Dec 17, 2011 Emanuela ~plastic duck~ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: rainbow-gay, glbt, paranormal

I postponed writing a review, but the more I think about this book, the more I like it. It's a story that I know I'll want to re-read in its entirety very soon.

The blurb is accurate, but it gives a sense of menace that wasn't so overwhelming. The story has levity, even if it deals with very important themes, like identity and perception. I think the light tone is Tom's merit, the protagonist, with his open heart and mind. Tom is the only shifter in his hometown and he wants to be an actor and a...more I postponed writing a review, but the more I think about this book, the more I like it. It's a story that I know I'll want to re-read in its entirety very soon.

The blurb is accurate, but it gives a sense of menace that wasn't so overwhelming. The story has levity, even if it deals with very important themes, like identity and perception. I think the light tone is Tom's merit, the protagonist, with his open heart and mind. Tom is the only shifter in his hometown and he wants to be an actor and a playwright. He writes plays for a small but enthusiastic audience. At the beginning he seems naive, but he has talent and passion. What brings him to the big city and to the theater Turnskin is a mixture of good and bad luck, because throughout the book Tom has things happen to him, but he is also one who sets things in motion.

It was interesting to see that a good guy like him attracts the attention of someone like Cloud Coldmoon, a shifter from a family of mobsters. Cloud is not the good man in the bad family, he has his shades of gray that Tom has to deal with and accept. To make things work there is no other way than playing with other people's perception and make an art out of deception. The fact is that sometimes this deception is closer to the character's real inclination. Cloud is an impersonator and mobster, but he expresses his real self when he's acting on the stage. Tom's alpha form is that of a Skin (a non-shifter), but his mother made him shift since when he was a child, so it's when he has to adopt his alpha-form to deceive someone that he comes closer to his nature.

The world building is very rich and original. What I liked was that neither Tom nor Cloud tried to change the situation they were in, either in the way Shifters live or in breaking the connection to the mob. They are both concerned with their everyday life, Tom wants to represent his art (which is probably revolutionary in his way of depicting the lives of Shifters) and Cloud wants to be with Tom (even if it means cutting the ties with his family).

The words of a song say "They're talkin' bout revolution. It sounds like a whisper." That's how I felt at the end of this book. I was whispered something, it's still growing in me.(less)

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Aug 12, 2009 Kris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews-for-jessewave

The Review:

Honesty from the outset~

I first read Nicole Kimberling's work in the Hell Cop anthology (reviewed really enjoyed her writing style, wanted to try more, and her Turnskin landed in my greedy little hands.

First things first~

Let me say right from the outset that this is NOT an ordinary were-whatever story. I realise some readers may see the word 'shifter' and associate it with changing into an animal form when there's a full moon blah, blah. However in this book, the author has returned...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Alaska added it

Shelves: alternative-world, m-m-historical, shifter-that-are-not-wolves

I decided to erase my rating because it gave the wrong impression.
This book is very well written, the world is intersting and the characters are well developed. So it definitively is better than two stars.
I just like my characters defined clearly, like X has brown hair, blue eyes, is male etc. In this book the shifters can be anyone they like and stay that way. The can be male, female, inbetween. They can be animal, human, inbetween. Everything seems possible, there is no black and white (which...more

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Jun 10, 2009 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Joci, Mae

Shelves: scifi-fantasy, a-lesson-in-feminism, recommend-to-joci

Pretty fascinating. :) Quick-paced and intelligent; I found the story pretty suspenseful. Good characterization, which is a good thing since it's a book about shape-shifters. I felt Ms. Kimberling did a good job around developing characterization that was believable in several physical incarnations.

I enjoyed this book's flagrant exploration of GBLT and gender themes, of which I think the shape-shifting theme is simply another method. While it didn't address feminism directly like it did many of...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Brad rated it 5 of 5 stars

I know Nicole, but that's not my only reason for giving such a good rating. I've been an admirer of her work for many years. Her world building is vivid, and her characters are sharply-drawn and compelling. This book blends romance, action and intrigue with a fascinating world and constantly surprising situations. I loved it!

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Jan 03, 2012 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, gay, fantasy, ebook, romance, done

Very good m/m fantasy romance about a young half-blooded man who grew up in a small town in a world split between Shifters and Skins. When his lover abandons him, he tracks down his cousins in the big city who own an impoverished theater.

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Apr 14, 2009 Craig Laurance rated it 4 of 5 stars

Interesting book--part trailerpark and theater fantasy, gay love story, mob tale all involving shape-shifters. The world it's set in is a slightly altered version of ours.

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May 17, 2012 Wakey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Really not her best book, but not terrible I guess. Would have preferred something less predictable.

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Apr 15, 2013 Caitlin M. rated it 3 of 5 stars

As seen on Book(re)marks- http://bookremarks.blogspot.com/2013/...

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Feb 16, 2013 Coni rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: azw

3.75 Stars

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May 14, 2012 nîna ✍ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Thank you, Nicole! Again. You're an amazing. author!
I am absolutely in love with Tom and Cloud.

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Aug 11, 2010 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's cute

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Dec 07, 2012 Urbanista rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Delightfully strange. Outstandingly weird. Bizarrely funny.

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Feb 12, 2012 Tailtiu marked it as wait-for-more · review of another edition

http://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/...#

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May 17, 2013 Kaelie marked it as to-read

May 16, 2013 Humanized Serenity marked it as to-read

May 15, 2013 Alysa H. marked it as to-read

May 12, 2013 Lisa Weißenberg marked it as to-read

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May 04, 2013 Jo marked it as to-read

Shelves: type-novels, genre-mm-romance, genre-fantasy, format-paperback

May 02, 2013 Kathy marked it as to-read

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