What do you think?
Rate this book
Junkyard Cats #1
Junkyard Cats
From the author of the best-selling Jane Yellowrock and Soulwood series comes a tough new heroine who is far more than she seems.
After the Final War, after the appearance of the Bug aliens and their enforced peace, Shining Smith is still alive, still doing business from the old scrapyard bequeathed to her by her father. But Shining is now something more than human. And the scrapyard is no longer just a scrapyard, but a place full of secrets that she has guarded for years.
This life she has built, while empty, is predictable and safe. Until the only friend left from her previous life shows up, dead, in the back of a scrapped Tesla warplane, a note to her clutched in his fingers - a note warning her of a coming attack.
Someone knows who she is. Someone knows what she is guarding. Will she be able to protect the scrapyard? Will she even survive? Or will she have to destroy everything she loves to keep her secrets out of the wrong hands?
After the Final War, after the appearance of the Bug aliens and their enforced peace, Shining Smith is still alive, still doing business from the old scrapyard bequeathed to her by her father. But Shining is now something more than human. And the scrapyard is no longer just a scrapyard, but a place full of secrets that she has guarded for years.
This life she has built, while empty, is predictable and safe. Until the only friend left from her previous life shows up, dead, in the back of a scrapped Tesla warplane, a note to her clutched in his fingers - a note warning her of a coming attack.
Someone knows who she is. Someone knows what she is guarding. Will she be able to protect the scrapyard? Will she even survive? Or will she have to destroy everything she loves to keep her secrets out of the wrong hands?
141 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 2, 2020
751 people are currently reading
3731 people want to read
About the author
Faith Hunter
90 books5,715 followersFaith Hunter's Junkyard Cats novella series is available in Audible, eBook, and "ridiculously expensive" (her words) trade paperback books at this time.
Faith's Jane Yellowrock series is a dark urban fantasy. Jane is a full blooded Cherokee skinwalker and hunter of rogue-vampires in a world of weres, witches, vampires, and other supernats. 15 books and several compilations of shorts
The Soulwood series is a dark-urban fantasy / paranormal police procedural /para-thriller series featuring Nell Nicholson Ingram, an earth magic user and Special gent of PsyLED. 6 books
Her Rogue Mage novels—Bloodring, Seraphs, Host, and the RPG Rogue Mage—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality.
Faith is a full time writer who finally hired a housekeeper when the dust bunnies multiplied, She bakes homemade bread and loves to cook.
Faith researches in great detail, and tries most everything her characters do. Research led to her life’s passions – jewelry making, orchids, Japanese maples, bones, travel, white-water kayaking, and writing.
Faith loves orchids. Her favorite time of year is when several are blooming. Pictures can be seen at her FaceBook page. And yes, she collects bones and skulls. She has a fox, cat, dog, cow skull, goat, a boar skull, a deer skull, (that is, unfortunately, falling apart) and the jawbone of an ass. Her prize skull is a mountain lion (legally purchased from a US tannery) hit by a car in the wild.
Her latest love is Japanese maples, and she has managed to collect over thirty.
She and her husband RV, traveling to whitewater rivers to kayak all over the Southeast. Whitewater Kayaking is her very favorite sport, discovered when she was researching her (Gwen Hunter) mystery book, Rapid Descent. She took a lesson and—after a bout of panic attacks from fear of being upside down trapped in a boat—discovered she loved the sport.
Under other pen names, notably, Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Gwen, she is a winner of the WH Smith Literary Award for Fresh Talent in 1995 in the UK, and won a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2008. As Faith, her books have been on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, been nominated for various awards and won an Audie Award with Khristine Hvam, among other awards. Under all her pen names, she has more than 40 books, anthologies, and complications in print in 30 countries.
For more, including a list of her books, see www.faithhunter.net , www.gwenhunter.com . To keep up with her daily, join her fan pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/official.fait... and see her website blog at
www.faithhunter.net
Faith's Jane Yellowrock series is a dark urban fantasy. Jane is a full blooded Cherokee skinwalker and hunter of rogue-vampires in a world of weres, witches, vampires, and other supernats. 15 books and several compilations of shorts
The Soulwood series is a dark-urban fantasy / paranormal police procedural /para-thriller series featuring Nell Nicholson Ingram, an earth magic user and Special gent of PsyLED. 6 books
Her Rogue Mage novels—Bloodring, Seraphs, Host, and the RPG Rogue Mage—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic alternate reality.
Faith is a full time writer who finally hired a housekeeper when the dust bunnies multiplied, She bakes homemade bread and loves to cook.
Faith researches in great detail, and tries most everything her characters do. Research led to her life’s passions – jewelry making, orchids, Japanese maples, bones, travel, white-water kayaking, and writing.
Faith loves orchids. Her favorite time of year is when several are blooming. Pictures can be seen at her FaceBook page. And yes, she collects bones and skulls. She has a fox, cat, dog, cow skull, goat, a boar skull, a deer skull, (that is, unfortunately, falling apart) and the jawbone of an ass. Her prize skull is a mountain lion (legally purchased from a US tannery) hit by a car in the wild.
Her latest love is Japanese maples, and she has managed to collect over thirty.
She and her husband RV, traveling to whitewater rivers to kayak all over the Southeast. Whitewater Kayaking is her very favorite sport, discovered when she was researching her (Gwen Hunter) mystery book, Rapid Descent. She took a lesson and—after a bout of panic attacks from fear of being upside down trapped in a boat—discovered she loved the sport.
Under other pen names, notably, Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Gwen, she is a winner of the WH Smith Literary Award for Fresh Talent in 1995 in the UK, and won a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2008. As Faith, her books have been on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists, been nominated for various awards and won an Audie Award with Khristine Hvam, among other awards. Under all her pen names, she has more than 40 books, anthologies, and complications in print in 30 countries.
For more, including a list of her books, see www.faithhunter.net , www.gwenhunter.com . To keep up with her daily, join her fan pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/official.fait... and see her website blog at
www.faithhunter.net
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 999 reviews
January 11, 2020
Shining Smith runs a post apocalypse dystopian junk yard. The world has gone to pot and biker gangs have largely taken over. The Hells Angels have learned that she has some heavy duty alien tech in her pile of trash and decide to take it off her hands.
It's her and her somewhat sentient cats as well as a man who is more warbot than human who must fight them off and prevent the bad guys from getting world destroying tech.
I really enjoyed this for what it is but it wasn't always plain sailing. It has only been released as an audiobook at the moment but I think this story will really find its home as an illustrated novel or even a graphic novel. World building is sparse and the very nature of the story makes that necessary but a good illustrator would make this little book great. It would give us a bit of a starting point for the world Faith Hunter is building.
It's Tank Girl, meets Captain Marvel, meets Mad Max. If that sounds like your thing you could do a lot worse than this.
It's her and her somewhat sentient cats as well as a man who is more warbot than human who must fight them off and prevent the bad guys from getting world destroying tech.
I really enjoyed this for what it is but it wasn't always plain sailing. It has only been released as an audiobook at the moment but I think this story will really find its home as an illustrated novel or even a graphic novel. World building is sparse and the very nature of the story makes that necessary but a good illustrator would make this little book great. It would give us a bit of a starting point for the world Faith Hunter is building.
It's Tank Girl, meets Captain Marvel, meets Mad Max. If that sounds like your thing you could do a lot worse than this.
September 8, 2021
3.5 Stars
Points for a complex post apocalyptic future where the world is forever changed after WWIII.
Here, Shining is eking out a living selling various parts from her junkyard, purposely isolated, trying to hide what she’s become after a past traumatic incident. When mercenaries come snooping, her whole life is upended as several truths come to light regarding a new enemy.
Full of action, this cyber punk-esque novella delves into alien and mutated nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, against a bleak backdrop that’s full of dense details. Despite this sorta taxing my poor old brain, it was still interesting enough to check out what’s next in store for our unconventional heroine!
*available for free for audible.com subscribers*
Points for a complex post apocalyptic future where the world is forever changed after WWIII.
Here, Shining is eking out a living selling various parts from her junkyard, purposely isolated, trying to hide what she’s become after a past traumatic incident. When mercenaries come snooping, her whole life is upended as several truths come to light regarding a new enemy.
Full of action, this cyber punk-esque novella delves into alien and mutated nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, against a bleak backdrop that’s full of dense details. Despite this sorta taxing my poor old brain, it was still interesting enough to check out what’s next in store for our unconventional heroine!
*available for free for audible.com subscribers*
January 7, 2020
Junkyard Cats
By: Faith Hunter
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
This was great! So much is in here! Advanced robotics, alien bugs, space ships, and other cool things like cats that help our gal! Great plot and characters, even the cats! The narration is terrific too!
By: Faith Hunter
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
This was great! So much is in here! Advanced robotics, alien bugs, space ships, and other cool things like cats that help our gal! Great plot and characters, even the cats! The narration is terrific too!
April 20, 2020
This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.
I really enjoyed this book. I picked this one up as a freebie on Audible and decided to listen to it right away. Unfortunately by the time I got around to writing my review, I didn't remember enough of the details to put together any kind of halfway decent collection of thoughts. It is a rather short book at just 5 hours of listening time so I decided I would just give it another listen, which is what I did.
While I read and listen to a little bit of just about every genre, I don't tend to read a lot of science fiction. I did appreciate the futuristic world that this story was set in. I liked the technology that was worked into the story. Even the cats in this story were not the normal cats like I have come across in my life. These cats work as a team and treat Shining as their leader. I liked the way that the world-building gradually built over the course of the story with each piece of information adding to the overall world.
I thought that this book was exciting. There was a lot going on and it is obvious from the very beginning that things are looking bad for Shining and the gang. As the story progressed, I realized just how much danger they were really in. I liked the way that the past that brought the characters to this point in their life was worked into the story and I thought that it really helped me get to know and like the characters better.
Khristine Hvam did a fabulous job with the narration. I thought that she did a great job with all of the character voices and was able to add a lot of excitement to the story. She read the story with a very pleasant voice and read at a perfect pace. I think that her performance added to my overall enjoyment of the story.
I would recommend this book to others. I found this to be a great story filled with great characters and just the right amount of action. This is the first book in the Junkyard Cats series and I look forward to reading future installments.
Initial Thoughts
This was really well done. I have had Faith Hunter's books on my tbr for years but haven't picked one up before starting this audiobook yesterday. I ended up having a fantastic time with this story. I thought that the premise of the story was very unique and I thought that the world-building was very well done. I thought that the characters were great and I wanted to see Shining Smith come out of the situation she found herself okay. I thought that the narrator really brought the story to life which added to my enjoyment.
Book source: Audible freebie
I really enjoyed this book. I picked this one up as a freebie on Audible and decided to listen to it right away. Unfortunately by the time I got around to writing my review, I didn't remember enough of the details to put together any kind of halfway decent collection of thoughts. It is a rather short book at just 5 hours of listening time so I decided I would just give it another listen, which is what I did.
While I read and listen to a little bit of just about every genre, I don't tend to read a lot of science fiction. I did appreciate the futuristic world that this story was set in. I liked the technology that was worked into the story. Even the cats in this story were not the normal cats like I have come across in my life. These cats work as a team and treat Shining as their leader. I liked the way that the world-building gradually built over the course of the story with each piece of information adding to the overall world.
I thought that this book was exciting. There was a lot going on and it is obvious from the very beginning that things are looking bad for Shining and the gang. As the story progressed, I realized just how much danger they were really in. I liked the way that the past that brought the characters to this point in their life was worked into the story and I thought that it really helped me get to know and like the characters better.
Khristine Hvam did a fabulous job with the narration. I thought that she did a great job with all of the character voices and was able to add a lot of excitement to the story. She read the story with a very pleasant voice and read at a perfect pace. I think that her performance added to my overall enjoyment of the story.
I would recommend this book to others. I found this to be a great story filled with great characters and just the right amount of action. This is the first book in the Junkyard Cats series and I look forward to reading future installments.
Initial Thoughts
This was really well done. I have had Faith Hunter's books on my tbr for years but haven't picked one up before starting this audiobook yesterday. I ended up having a fantastic time with this story. I thought that the premise of the story was very unique and I thought that the world-building was very well done. I thought that the characters were great and I wanted to see Shining Smith come out of the situation she found herself okay. I thought that the narrator really brought the story to life which added to my enjoyment.
Book source: Audible freebie
July 26, 2025
I love futuristic books and I love cats, so I thought Junkyard Cats would be perfect for me, but it ended up being really disappointing.
The vast majority of this book was just infodumping. All the infodumping made even the “action” scenes boring. It was way too much information at once, too, so I ended up getting really confused while trying to keep track of the worldbuilding.
All the characters were extremely bland and unlikeable. Even the cats were characterized in such a way that I couldn’t stand most of them. Since I didn’t like any of the characters, I couldn’t get invested in the story at all.
There were hints of romance in this book, but they were very forced and filled with only lust. If the romance elements had been better written, it may have helped to make this book more interesting.
The vast majority of this book was just infodumping. All the infodumping made even the “action” scenes boring. It was way too much information at once, too, so I ended up getting really confused while trying to keep track of the worldbuilding.
All the characters were extremely bland and unlikeable. Even the cats were characterized in such a way that I couldn’t stand most of them. Since I didn’t like any of the characters, I couldn’t get invested in the story at all.
There were hints of romance in this book, but they were very forced and filled with only lust. If the romance elements had been better written, it may have helped to make this book more interesting.
October 9, 2020
Faith Hunter is an author that I’ve become very familiar with in both her Jane Yellowrock and Soulwood series. Junkyard Cats is definitely a shift from those two stories. It is set years later after a war or wars and an Alien invasion.
Shining Smith has lived a life of isolation since she died, or at least since let everyone believe she died. Now she lives in the middle of nowhere surrounded by junk in a scrapyard. Thing is that junk is hiding something valuable, even more valuable than the woman hiding in it an someone has just figured it out and is coming for Shining and her treasure.
This is a pretty short audiobook at about five hours. It sets up the story well and is definitely action packed from beginning to end. The sci-fi world that Faith builds in it is different than anything she has written before, both harsh and captivating. As the details about why Silver is basically in hiding, I saw so much potential going forward with her and the Cats that became hers along with a certain bounty hunter.
Nice foundation for some future stories.
Shining Smith has lived a life of isolation since she died, or at least since let everyone believe she died. Now she lives in the middle of nowhere surrounded by junk in a scrapyard. Thing is that junk is hiding something valuable, even more valuable than the woman hiding in it an someone has just figured it out and is coming for Shining and her treasure.
I was always in the middle of a battle, even if it was just the one in my head.
This is a pretty short audiobook at about five hours. It sets up the story well and is definitely action packed from beginning to end. The sci-fi world that Faith builds in it is different than anything she has written before, both harsh and captivating. As the details about why Silver is basically in hiding, I saw so much potential going forward with her and the Cats that became hers along with a certain bounty hunter.
Nice foundation for some future stories.
January 8, 2020
There's an interesting, if busy, post apocalyptic world here - runaway nanotech, combat bots, alien invaders, bio-engineered insects, militias, rival biker gangs - but also loads of jargon and info dumping and a YA feel that turned me off. The heavily armed young female protagonist, replete with overactive hormones and smart "guardian" cats, is kind of bad ass on one hand, yet on the other her top priorities seem to include her outfit and personal hygiene. Anyway, much of the story is an intense battle scene, with no time for things to get dull, making for a quick, fun listen.
February 25, 2020
Top notch narration. Tough female main character, a warbot, some snarky AI, and cats. What a five hour ride. I hope the author is working on the sequel.
January 12, 2020
The idea was good, but the execution not so much. I looked forward to this one but was disappointed.
--I love cats, so their inclusion and the communication between them were fun. BUT...
--The amount of tech language was overdone; every few minutes we hear the model, caliber, and technology of the weapons being used, and there are a LOT of weapons. In fact, the whole story was one big shootout.
--Even in the middle of a life-or-death battle, the main character is wondering if she should sleep with the stranger or kill him. That pretty much summarizes her personality.
--Khristine Hvam's narration was too whiney for me this time. Every word was tainted with sarcasm or cynicism, and it got old fast.
Overall, I wish I'd read this one instead of listened to it.
--I love cats, so their inclusion and the communication between them were fun. BUT...
--The amount of tech language was overdone; every few minutes we hear the model, caliber, and technology of the weapons being used, and there are a LOT of weapons. In fact, the whole story was one big shootout.
--Even in the middle of a life-or-death battle, the main character is wondering if she should sleep with the stranger or kill him. That pretty much summarizes her personality.
--Khristine Hvam's narration was too whiney for me this time. Every word was tainted with sarcasm or cynicism, and it got old fast.
Overall, I wish I'd read this one instead of listened to it.
January 8, 2020
An absolute pile of trash. I was attracted by the concept of a female-led sci-fi, completed with cats. Sounded very exciting! But it was incredibly disappointing.
I personally love sci-fi. But many times, especially when talking to other women, I came across a very negative reaction to science fiction. "I like all the genres, except science fiction" - they would say. And I really struggled; how anybody who has an interest in the world we live in and the future not like science fiction? Pretty much everyone loves "Black Mirror" and that's science fiction!
After I tried to listen to this book, I finally understood why sci-fi has such a bad rep with some people. For me science-fiction is an informed exploration of existing trends, a mental exercise in continuing building the world we live in, twisting some aspects of it. What if Trump gets re-elected, and the alt-rights take seats in all the big European countries? What if Russia has another revolution and starts building a feminist green state? What if the global warming heads towards its worst possible scenario? Answering those questions with attention to detail and careful world-building is very interesting. However, when people I talked with said "no sci-fi for me" they probably thought about "BOOM BOOM BOOM ALIEN MY BIG GUN I SHOT THE FUCKER DOWN AND LOOK AT MY BOOBS THANK GOD I AM STILL SEXY IN MY RED LEATHER COMBAT SUIT WHO IS THIS SEXY GUY RIGHT THERE BOOM BOOM BANG ANOTHER DANG ALIEN KISS KISS SEXY MUSCLES".
What you just read is this book in a nutshell. This is not sci-fi, this is very low-brow trash. I do not understand who has time for this, I definitely don't. Couldn't even finish this book.
I personally love sci-fi. But many times, especially when talking to other women, I came across a very negative reaction to science fiction. "I like all the genres, except science fiction" - they would say. And I really struggled; how anybody who has an interest in the world we live in and the future not like science fiction? Pretty much everyone loves "Black Mirror" and that's science fiction!
After I tried to listen to this book, I finally understood why sci-fi has such a bad rep with some people. For me science-fiction is an informed exploration of existing trends, a mental exercise in continuing building the world we live in, twisting some aspects of it. What if Trump gets re-elected, and the alt-rights take seats in all the big European countries? What if Russia has another revolution and starts building a feminist green state? What if the global warming heads towards its worst possible scenario? Answering those questions with attention to detail and careful world-building is very interesting. However, when people I talked with said "no sci-fi for me" they probably thought about "BOOM BOOM BOOM ALIEN MY BIG GUN I SHOT THE FUCKER DOWN AND LOOK AT MY BOOBS THANK GOD I AM STILL SEXY IN MY RED LEATHER COMBAT SUIT WHO IS THIS SEXY GUY RIGHT THERE BOOM BOOM BANG ANOTHER DANG ALIEN KISS KISS SEXY MUSCLES".
What you just read is this book in a nutshell. This is not sci-fi, this is very low-brow trash. I do not understand who has time for this, I definitely don't. Couldn't even finish this book.
January 27, 2020
This story is heavy on the jargon and info dumping and light on actual character development so I can't say I ever felt anything for any of the characters. I listened to this on audiobook and it's short, a little over five hours long, but the author crams in a backstory involving a biker gang war, WWIII against China, and a space war with bug aliens. Or something like that. My brain kept glazing over every time the story launched into a lengthy dissertation about this or that technology. On the plus side, readers can probably make a drinking game out of every time the heroine says or thinks the phrase "bloody hell".
This is the second book I've tried by this author. Maybe she just isn't for me.
This is the second book I've tried by this author. Maybe she just isn't for me.
February 5, 2020
I’m in love with this new series The world is intriguing & the characters well developed. I’m looking forward to book 2.
I’d highly recommend this series to those who enjoy Sci-fi, dystopian worlds, space, Evolutionary biology & Artificial Intelligence.
Fans of the Messenger Chronicles series by Pippa DaCosta will enjoy this new series.
5 stars
I’d highly recommend this series to those who enjoy Sci-fi, dystopian worlds, space, Evolutionary biology & Artificial Intelligence.
Fans of the Messenger Chronicles series by Pippa DaCosta will enjoy this new series.
5 stars
January 27, 2020
This was a fun read. It was better than expected, although I wasn't really sure what it was going entail. The characters were interesting and you definitely got to know them. I love character development and this did a great job on building each of them.
The story was unique and kept me interested. You kept learning of the protagonists history little by little so it kept the story flowing. It was action packed and full of futuristic ideas that were fun. I loved the main character, her attitude, her toughness, her survive ability. She was tough and she looked out for her own.
Khristine Hvam was the narrator. I wasn't really sure about her at first, but she really did a fantastic job on the narration. She definitely grew on me and into the character. Not a bad listen at all. In really enjoyed this one.
The story was unique and kept me interested. You kept learning of the protagonists history little by little so it kept the story flowing. It was action packed and full of futuristic ideas that were fun. I loved the main character, her attitude, her toughness, her survive ability. She was tough and she looked out for her own.
Khristine Hvam was the narrator. I wasn't really sure about her at first, but she really did a fantastic job on the narration. She definitely grew on me and into the character. Not a bad listen at all. In really enjoyed this one.
February 16, 2020
4.5 stars! The intro novella into a brand new world from Faith Hunter has hooked me in short order. Not all that surprising since it is from Faith Hunter but I'm ready for more.
I confess it had to grow on me a bit, as did the the reader Khristine Hvam, who was new to me. But that was just initially as I was figuring out the world and characters. The reader actually did a damn impressive job with the story and I hope if the author continues, that she continues with audio as well.
I confess it had to grow on me a bit, as did the the reader Khristine Hvam, who was new to me. But that was just initially as I was figuring out the world and characters. The reader actually did a damn impressive job with the story and I hope if the author continues, that she continues with audio as well.
March 30, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this science fiction tale set in future West Virginia and cannot wait for another installment in this series.
The audio is approximately five hours and does a stellar job of introducing the world and giving us history regarding the Final War and life for Shining and her companions at the scrapyard. Secrets, unusual cats, and creepy bots added to the tale.
I loved the AI, the cats…and the story as it unfolded. Hunter didn’t do a lot of info dumping, rather she shared as things became relevant, allowing the pace to remain intense and constant.
When one of her only friends shows up dead, and a lone enforcer rides in on a motorcycle, Shining knows someone knows she is alive, but do they know what she has? Will she survive? The tale that unfolds pulled me in with intense action scenes, unusual sci-fi tech and a heroine I need more of.
Narrator Khristine Hvam did a fantastic job capturing the personality of our heroine, Shining Smith. I have a complaint about the audiobook itself. The story is one chapter. One five hour chapter. This sucked! I often set a timer at bedtime when listening and it made stopping, starting and finding where I left off painful. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
The audio is approximately five hours and does a stellar job of introducing the world and giving us history regarding the Final War and life for Shining and her companions at the scrapyard. Secrets, unusual cats, and creepy bots added to the tale.
I loved the AI, the cats…and the story as it unfolded. Hunter didn’t do a lot of info dumping, rather she shared as things became relevant, allowing the pace to remain intense and constant.
When one of her only friends shows up dead, and a lone enforcer rides in on a motorcycle, Shining knows someone knows she is alive, but do they know what she has? Will she survive? The tale that unfolds pulled me in with intense action scenes, unusual sci-fi tech and a heroine I need more of.
Narrator Khristine Hvam did a fantastic job capturing the personality of our heroine, Shining Smith. I have a complaint about the audiobook itself. The story is one chapter. One five hour chapter. This sucked! I often set a timer at bedtime when listening and it made stopping, starting and finding where I left off painful. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
November 16, 2021
That was crazy weird and I loved it. The cats are awesome.
March 1, 2020
Rating: 3.5 stars
Shining Smith ekes out a living running a junkyard. She's a survivor of the Final War, where she was altered by alien nanobots making her not-quite human any more. The junkyard is her sanctuary where life is predictable and safe. Right up until a scrapped Tesla warplane is delivered containing the dead body of one of her few friends with a warning inside. Someone knows her secret, what she's been guarding all these years. Shining's boring life is about to become a lot more interesting.
This was one of the free Audible Originals in January 2020. Not a bad little story, which I think is the start of a new series by Faith Hunter. I really enjoyed getting to know Shining Smith, her friend the war bot and, of course, all the cats that live in the junkyard. The post-apocalyptic setting of a world destroyed in WW3 against aliens is also interesting and gives the author a lot of room to explore ideas in the future. There is a lot of high tech language as the author info dumps, especially around the world's military technology and weapons. The story is action packed as Shining and the cats defend against a gang intent on stealing some hidden tech off her property. Fair warning, some of the cats do get harmed as part of the battle.
The audio book was narrated by Khristine Hvam. She does a good job of bringing Shining and the cats to life.
It's a decent start to a sci-fi series. I may go back in a few years and see if the author continues writing in this world.
Shining Smith ekes out a living running a junkyard. She's a survivor of the Final War, where she was altered by alien nanobots making her not-quite human any more. The junkyard is her sanctuary where life is predictable and safe. Right up until a scrapped Tesla warplane is delivered containing the dead body of one of her few friends with a warning inside. Someone knows her secret, what she's been guarding all these years. Shining's boring life is about to become a lot more interesting.
This was one of the free Audible Originals in January 2020. Not a bad little story, which I think is the start of a new series by Faith Hunter. I really enjoyed getting to know Shining Smith, her friend the war bot and, of course, all the cats that live in the junkyard. The post-apocalyptic setting of a world destroyed in WW3 against aliens is also interesting and gives the author a lot of room to explore ideas in the future. There is a lot of high tech language as the author info dumps, especially around the world's military technology and weapons. The story is action packed as Shining and the cats defend against a gang intent on stealing some hidden tech off her property. Fair warning, some of the cats do get harmed as part of the battle.
The audio book was narrated by Khristine Hvam. She does a good job of bringing Shining and the cats to life.
It's a decent start to a sci-fi series. I may go back in a few years and see if the author continues writing in this world.
March 14, 2020
This is a whole other level of cat lady.
Junkyard Cats' world building reminded me a LOT of Borderlands (the game franchise) which. I. Love. Actually, the world building left me wanting more. Why? When? What about? All of the above? Loved it.
That said, the character development was stunted simply as a result of the short story. While we got a decent snapshot for the main protagonist, the potential for some of the side characters to shine never came through. And personally, I felt like there was so much build-up for the final showdown, but I swear I drifted for 30 seconds and went, "Wait, what? That was it? Go back. What happened?" And just like that, the final showdown was over.
The cat thing was a little weird...maybe not a bad weird? But rushed enough that the weirdness was jolting.
But I know all my complaints really boil down to it being a short story. As a whole, I felt like this was well worth one of my March freebies.
I'd rate this a PG-13 for some swearing, peril, violence, and action/adventure.
Junkyard Cats' world building reminded me a LOT of Borderlands (the game franchise) which. I. Love. Actually, the world building left me wanting more. Why? When? What about? All of the above? Loved it.
That said, the character development was stunted simply as a result of the short story. While we got a decent snapshot for the main protagonist, the potential for some of the side characters to shine never came through. And personally, I felt like there was so much build-up for the final showdown, but I swear I drifted for 30 seconds and went, "Wait, what? That was it? Go back. What happened?" And just like that, the final showdown was over.
The cat thing was a little weird...maybe not a bad weird? But rushed enough that the weirdness was jolting.
But I know all my complaints really boil down to it being a short story. As a whole, I felt like this was well worth one of my March freebies.
I'd rate this a PG-13 for some swearing, peril, violence, and action/adventure.
January 20, 2020
DISCLAIMER
I am in no way an expert in the sci-fi genre. I am a very, very humble novice. This surprises me a little, since I love sci-fi movies, but it is probably because I have no idea what a hyperdrive looks like and much rather be shown.
Shining Smith. What a gal. Hero. Badass. Fashionista. Cat Lady.
In this action packed production, female weapons dealer finds her comrade, Harlan, dead in the trunk of a Tesla with a note in his hand.
"Name of the shooter was ONE-EYE JACK".
In a long ago war in the stars, a space ship fell to Earth and wreckage is in her junkyard. Mutant ants. Microbots. An unlikely ally. Shining will do whatever it takes to protect her turf.
I loved this story! It was fast, and action filled. There was a strong female lead and she didn't have any romance shit to interrupt her. The world building was great for me. It was filled with detail without being drawn out and boring.
I am in no way an expert in the sci-fi genre. I am a very, very humble novice. This surprises me a little, since I love sci-fi movies, but it is probably because I have no idea what a hyperdrive looks like and much rather be shown.
Shining Smith. What a gal. Hero. Badass. Fashionista. Cat Lady.
In this action packed production, female weapons dealer finds her comrade, Harlan, dead in the trunk of a Tesla with a note in his hand.
"Name of the shooter was ONE-EYE JACK".
In a long ago war in the stars, a space ship fell to Earth and wreckage is in her junkyard. Mutant ants. Microbots. An unlikely ally. Shining will do whatever it takes to protect her turf.
I loved this story! It was fast, and action filled. There was a strong female lead and she didn't have any romance shit to interrupt her. The world building was great for me. It was filled with detail without being drawn out and boring.
January 5, 2020
It's a rare thing when I pick up any of the monthly Audible Originals offers. But when I saw it's by Faith Hunter I had to have it. hands down I loved it. There were some low moments, mostly due to the overabundance of abbreviations but everything else was pure perfection.
Shining is a compelling heroine that just sucks you in. The set of secondary characters are no less enchanting. Particularly the ship's AI. I loved that sassy southern belle! And the setting... I never thought that I'd be interested in a story set in a junkyard! The worldbuilding was marvelous - the particulars were slowly introduced and seamlessly integrated in the storyline. It left me with a desire to learn more rather than being overwhelmed and bored with the details.
Hopefully this is the start of a great new adventure!
Shining is a compelling heroine that just sucks you in. The set of secondary characters are no less enchanting. Particularly the ship's AI. I loved that sassy southern belle! And the setting... I never thought that I'd be interested in a story set in a junkyard! The worldbuilding was marvelous - the particulars were slowly introduced and seamlessly integrated in the storyline. It left me with a desire to learn more rather than being overwhelmed and bored with the details.
Hopefully this is the start of a great new adventure!
January 9, 2020
This one definitely flew by!
Junkyard Cats mysteriously showed up on my audible app. I think someone was using it and claimed an original (or two) for January. Not mad because I actually enjoyed both choices they picked. Just found it weird.
So this audio is quite short, but it also dumps loads and loads of information on you. Not a bad thing necessarily because it wasn't something that would make you fall asleep. Everything was kind of interesting for a world that survived an invasion from space bugs. Don't know what those actual are and I hope to never meet them.
Each character that I meet in this was interesting enough to hold my attention span. Yet, I kind of felt like things were rushed a bit? Which is completely understandable for such a quick audible original. Still enjoyed it though and look forward to another book written by Faith.
Junkyard Cats mysteriously showed up on my audible app. I think someone was using it and claimed an original (or two) for January. Not mad because I actually enjoyed both choices they picked. Just found it weird.
So this audio is quite short, but it also dumps loads and loads of information on you. Not a bad thing necessarily because it wasn't something that would make you fall asleep. Everything was kind of interesting for a world that survived an invasion from space bugs. Don't know what those actual are and I hope to never meet them.
Each character that I meet in this was interesting enough to hold my attention span. Yet, I kind of felt like things were rushed a bit? Which is completely understandable for such a quick audible original. Still enjoyed it though and look forward to another book written by Faith.
February 4, 2020
I think the problem for me was lack of world building. Though there was a lot of information dump, it wasn’t cohesive enough. I walked away unsure what I read or the purpose. She had a ship. But it didn’t seem so unusual. So why were they after her? She was hiding but I didn’t get a sense of why the people after her would know anything for sure to be looking for her. Why did the one guy get so possessive she had to put him down? Thus thinking it would be okay to let the other one go. Too much in a short book to be invested instead of confused and I’m no dummy.
January 22, 2020
Enjoyed this listen. The narrator did a fine job. The world building was intricate and was not just an info dump but was revealed over the course of the story. There is a strong female protagonist. There were cats that could communicate in images. So far they don't talk and I hope that remains true since I don't like talking animals. There seems to be a lot more story to be told. This is listed as book one so I hope we don't have to wait too long for the next one.
February 6, 2022
"Junkyard Cats" has so much potential. She has a hive mind with cats I DIDN'T KNOW I NEEDED THAT UNTIL NOW
But there's so much else to take in that many details get lost and I found myself glazing over. I loved the world history and tech but it should have been put in a prologue instead. I would have preferred an already established world so I could enjoy more details like FREAKING CAT HIVE MINDS
But there's so much else to take in that many details get lost and I found myself glazing over. I loved the world history and tech but it should have been put in a prologue instead. I would have preferred an already established world so I could enjoy more details like FREAKING CAT HIVE MINDS
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2020
I've read some bad books before, some truly awful, horrid books, but this one, ohh this one. it just takes 1st place. This book drags on and on and ON until you wish for the sweet release of death. The bulk of the story is basically over the span of a few hours. But you'd swear that its longer just because you want to jab the nearest stabbing object into your ears to make it stop.
There are a number of things that get repeated in the book. and I don't mean motif or you know anything that a writer may use to convey a specific point across. Noooo, I mean the same event is covered an absurd amount of times, over and over. imagine if harry talked about how his wand selected him around twice per chapter every chapter of the book. That is how absurd it gets in this story, I actually lost track of how many times the character mentions to herself that military satellites would see her junkyard fire weapons. And I lost track after about 37 times or so.
The science-fiction aspect borders on the fantasy magic more than science. And I could probably write the entire story in about four paragraphs. In fact, let me spare you the torture of listening to what surely will be the CIA's new torture audio file.
spoilers:
the main character receives a junk tesla that is supposed to have black market weapons instead it has the corpse of her dealer and its covered on ants. genetically modified ants that were meant to eat battlefield corpses that accidentally got mutated with nanomachines and now have swarm intelligence. protagonist got attacked by this species as a child and survived. she burns the body and a few hours later a biker dude(picture super buff roid middle-aged man) is coming to her junkyard.
her rescued friend now stuck in robot dude tells her about it. there is some story about him being eaten by Chinese nanites, yadda yadda. There was a world war Chinese self-replicating bots attacked the USA and bikers helped defended it and became a paramilitary org. Her father was part of it and so was she. she is going to pretend to be a southern belle and bluff the biker. Biker informs that he is here because a patch on her riding jacket sent an SOS about Chinese bots. at this point everyone freezes as if somehow talking about will make the bots attack. Even though they have been around for a bloody week. cats act intelligently and somehow despite being biological win fights against robots...
biker dude and girl enter the office and activate defenses. she has a huge level of hots for him. (at one point because he reminds her of her dad...and because she is lonely) now we get to talk about how her survival of the ants changed her and once she also survived a Chinese factory bot she was changed. and now she had nanobots in her. which apparently could infect people and bend them to her will over time if they survived the transformation. at this point some heavily armed hells angels show up and attack the place, cats eat the humans that die.
the chick decides to enter the spaceship in the backyard and turn on the AI which is a southern girl persona. she learns more of the ship is under trash in her junkyard despite having had years to learn this. and that her android best buddy was the captain of the ship. the hell angels are attacking because the 2nd in command who was also attacked by ants wants the tech. cats drink main character's blood and talk by showing her images. She leaves the ship to enter her office which is actually an alien bug ship with superweapons and cooks the hells angels. (deus ex machina)
the end.
There are a number of things that get repeated in the book. and I don't mean motif or you know anything that a writer may use to convey a specific point across. Noooo, I mean the same event is covered an absurd amount of times, over and over. imagine if harry talked about how his wand selected him around twice per chapter every chapter of the book. That is how absurd it gets in this story, I actually lost track of how many times the character mentions to herself that military satellites would see her junkyard fire weapons. And I lost track after about 37 times or so.
The science-fiction aspect borders on the fantasy magic more than science. And I could probably write the entire story in about four paragraphs. In fact, let me spare you the torture of listening to what surely will be the CIA's new torture audio file.
spoilers:
the main character receives a junk tesla that is supposed to have black market weapons instead it has the corpse of her dealer and its covered on ants. genetically modified ants that were meant to eat battlefield corpses that accidentally got mutated with nanomachines and now have swarm intelligence. protagonist got attacked by this species as a child and survived. she burns the body and a few hours later a biker dude(picture super buff roid middle-aged man) is coming to her junkyard.
her rescued friend now stuck in robot dude tells her about it. there is some story about him being eaten by Chinese nanites, yadda yadda. There was a world war Chinese self-replicating bots attacked the USA and bikers helped defended it and became a paramilitary org. Her father was part of it and so was she. she is going to pretend to be a southern belle and bluff the biker. Biker informs that he is here because a patch on her riding jacket sent an SOS about Chinese bots. at this point everyone freezes as if somehow talking about will make the bots attack. Even though they have been around for a bloody week. cats act intelligently and somehow despite being biological win fights against robots...
biker dude and girl enter the office and activate defenses. she has a huge level of hots for him. (at one point because he reminds her of her dad...and because she is lonely) now we get to talk about how her survival of the ants changed her and once she also survived a Chinese factory bot she was changed. and now she had nanobots in her. which apparently could infect people and bend them to her will over time if they survived the transformation. at this point some heavily armed hells angels show up and attack the place, cats eat the humans that die.
the chick decides to enter the spaceship in the backyard and turn on the AI which is a southern girl persona. she learns more of the ship is under trash in her junkyard despite having had years to learn this. and that her android best buddy was the captain of the ship. the hell angels are attacking because the 2nd in command who was also attacked by ants wants the tech. cats drink main character's blood and talk by showing her images. She leaves the ship to enter her office which is actually an alien bug ship with superweapons and cooks the hells angels. (deus ex machina)
the end.
January 22, 2020
Look who has an Audible Original in the choices this month January 2020
This was a pretty good introduction to the world and characters through a quick battle and explanations of why certain things were like they were. I’ll be very happy and ready to read a full novel. This was a short. It is hard to either have a great plot or characters in a short but I think we got a interesting character that can take care of herself and perhaps has too much power over certain others.
This was a pretty good introduction to the world and characters through a quick battle and explanations of why certain things were like they were. I’ll be very happy and ready to read a full novel. This was a short. It is hard to either have a great plot or characters in a short but I think we got a interesting character that can take care of herself and perhaps has too much power over certain others.
August 12, 2023
Junkyard Cats is an Audible original audiobook and it is the first in a new series featuring Shining Smith, a woman who grew up in a biker gang, saw action in the Final War, and settled in a scrapyard that was once her father’s. An intriguing story!
January 15, 2020
Way, way, way too much overly detailed nonsensical jargon kept the story moving like sludge. Was very difficult to keep track of what was going on in the midst of all that jargon.
November 18, 2020
This was an Audible freebie. I went in with no expectations and I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
I liked the Sci-fi aspect of this and the fact that it wasn't too short. There was plenty of time to develop the story. More character development would be one of those things on my wish list though.
The MC, Shining Smith, was able to carry the story. She had an interesting life, an interesting world, interesting cats & ants, and interesting friends. My only real qualm with this was with some of the writing. It seemed like every noun was assigned one adjective and the two together were never parted. So the hat was always a floppy hat, the scalp was always a sweaty scalp and the clatter was always a soft clatter. (Those were only three of the offenders; there were plenty more.) That type of thing irks me more than I'd like to admit....but it's true. So 3 stars
I liked the Sci-fi aspect of this and the fact that it wasn't too short. There was plenty of time to develop the story. More character development would be one of those things on my wish list though.
The MC, Shining Smith, was able to carry the story. She had an interesting life, an interesting world, interesting cats & ants, and interesting friends. My only real qualm with this was with some of the writing. It seemed like every noun was assigned one adjective and the two together were never parted. So the hat was always a floppy hat, the scalp was always a sweaty scalp and the clatter was always a soft clatter. (Those were only three of the offenders; there were plenty more.) That type of thing irks me more than I'd like to admit....but it's true. So 3 stars
November 11, 2020
I saw none of that coming. Short, strange, compact movement wise and clever. Didn’t feel like a HFN or a cliffhanger ending. A sci-fi battle in a junkyard whilst any hope of a romantic interest becomes a thrall thanks to ant nest nanobots. I liked the cats but favourite parts were Jolene and Gomez.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 999 reviews