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Snowflakes
It just started working differently.
Carrie had wavy dark brown hair. She also had an attitude that was older and wiser than her years, maybe even critical at times. But orphans can be a bit like that, especially when they’ve grown up in a settlement full of strangers in a world that wasn’t their own.
Yet, Carrie lived an ordinary life there. Until the day Sam arrived.
Sam was a a rugged and handsome traveller, a hunter with a wry sense of humour. He was different from other men she had experienced. Carrie liked him and he even seemed to like her, so it was not long before they were sharing those feelings gazing up at a blanket of stars. It was then that she started feeling rare contentment. Unfortunately, the world had other plans.
As Carrie and Sam head back to their settlement, things are not as they were. It wasn’t where it should have been. Instead, they discovered an isolated stone cottage near the river that would make a ready-made home for them.
The small home was already occupied by Tilly. She was a new adult with straight blonde hair that tickled her waist. She was youthful, intelligent, and had a sharing attitude that would eventually niggle Carrie. She had grown up alone in the cottage - another lost soul from a different world.
Life as a threesome worked. Sometimes a difficult task in a world with few people, but it worked. A simple life, a life of hard work, but it had its rewards. Then, one cold winter night, another mysterious child-like girl turned up.
She didn't speak or sleep much, but she drew - a lot. Her long dark hair, big dark eyes, and trim but small body was cat-like. The mysterious girl seemed to have her own life and disappeared most nights; often when Sam was away hunting.
Nobody knew who she was or where she went. Or even what she wanted.
But now you know the cast, so the story can begin.
Snowflakes is a journey about four strangers thrown together to fix a world that might not be broken.
It might not be broken, but it does work differently.
Probability is not predictable.
Time is not as it should be.
Dreams are not what they seem... ...and neither is Sam.
Carrie had wavy dark brown hair. She also had an attitude that was older and wiser than her years, maybe even critical at times. But orphans can be a bit like that, especially when they’ve grown up in a settlement full of strangers in a world that wasn’t their own.
Yet, Carrie lived an ordinary life there. Until the day Sam arrived.
Sam was a a rugged and handsome traveller, a hunter with a wry sense of humour. He was different from other men she had experienced. Carrie liked him and he even seemed to like her, so it was not long before they were sharing those feelings gazing up at a blanket of stars. It was then that she started feeling rare contentment. Unfortunately, the world had other plans.
As Carrie and Sam head back to their settlement, things are not as they were. It wasn’t where it should have been. Instead, they discovered an isolated stone cottage near the river that would make a ready-made home for them.
The small home was already occupied by Tilly. She was a new adult with straight blonde hair that tickled her waist. She was youthful, intelligent, and had a sharing attitude that would eventually niggle Carrie. She had grown up alone in the cottage - another lost soul from a different world.
Life as a threesome worked. Sometimes a difficult task in a world with few people, but it worked. A simple life, a life of hard work, but it had its rewards. Then, one cold winter night, another mysterious child-like girl turned up.
She didn't speak or sleep much, but she drew - a lot. Her long dark hair, big dark eyes, and trim but small body was cat-like. The mysterious girl seemed to have her own life and disappeared most nights; often when Sam was away hunting.
Nobody knew who she was or where she went. Or even what she wanted.
But now you know the cast, so the story can begin.
Snowflakes is a journey about four strangers thrown together to fix a world that might not be broken.
It might not be broken, but it does work differently.
Probability is not predictable.
Time is not as it should be.
Dreams are not what they seem... ...and neither is Sam.
- GenresFiction
246 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 25, 2017
9 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Steve Catto
8 books10 followersSteve Catto was born in Yorkshire, but his parents took him to Australia when he was six years old and he grew up there, sometimes racing cars across the desert.
He was never very good at school, but the one thing he did learn was how to learn, and he started writing programs for the computer at the local university, much to the disdain of his teachers who told him that he would ‘never make a living out of that rubbish’. In his late teens he returned to the UK, and his parents followed him – which wasn’t what he wanted because he was hoping to get away from them.
His first proper job was in the computer department of an infamous Oxford publishing company, and he subsequently went on to write software for electricity control systems, and simulators for the military. He started to fly gliders and wrote programs to analyse the data from aircraft flight recorders, where he also learned to fly, and crash, lots of other types of aircraft as well – which was the best part of the job.
At various times in his career he has also lived and worked in France, Switzerland, and Canada, and he now lives in Scotland. Since appearing in school plays as a child he has performed almost continuously on the amateur stage, and spent a few years scuba diving. These two things have nothing to do with each other.
In terms of his pedigree as an author he has written many technical manuals and filled in countless timesheets, so is well versed in the art of conjuring up works of fiction, however he has never written a novel before, especially not one that involves a blonde girl and a man with a bow and arrow, but he did once spend three weeks working in a factory that made handles for buckets.
He was never very good at school, but the one thing he did learn was how to learn, and he started writing programs for the computer at the local university, much to the disdain of his teachers who told him that he would ‘never make a living out of that rubbish’. In his late teens he returned to the UK, and his parents followed him – which wasn’t what he wanted because he was hoping to get away from them.
His first proper job was in the computer department of an infamous Oxford publishing company, and he subsequently went on to write software for electricity control systems, and simulators for the military. He started to fly gliders and wrote programs to analyse the data from aircraft flight recorders, where he also learned to fly, and crash, lots of other types of aircraft as well – which was the best part of the job.
At various times in his career he has also lived and worked in France, Switzerland, and Canada, and he now lives in Scotland. Since appearing in school plays as a child he has performed almost continuously on the amateur stage, and spent a few years scuba diving. These two things have nothing to do with each other.
In terms of his pedigree as an author he has written many technical manuals and filled in countless timesheets, so is well versed in the art of conjuring up works of fiction, however he has never written a novel before, especially not one that involves a blonde girl and a man with a bow and arrow, but he did once spend three weeks working in a factory that made handles for buckets.
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November 7, 2017Won in the Goodreads Giveaways
December 8, 2018
Rated 3.5 stars
November 25, 2017
"Snowflakes” (Perfect title!) by Steve Catto was a different type of book for me as I’m not a huge YA/NA reader, (although I do enjoy the genre). But the description and opening sample was intriguing, and this really sounded like something that might be interesting to experience. So I thought I’d give this a try and see how I liked it. That said, here are my thoughts: I liked that it was very well written and nicely edited, especially for an e-book (this is pretty rare, in my experience). Everything felt “unique” from the characters, the world, their conflicts… yet still based on a common premise ‘stranger in a strange land’, survival, and trying to find real ‘home’. The tension and chemistry with Sam, Carrie and Tilly was genuine, but definitely not without its complications. The interweaving plotlines weren’t predictable at all… and kept my attention the whole way through. Had some really dark moments, but some pretty amazing ones as well. I don’t think I was able to stop reading the last 30% or so! Some complaints were there were times that I grew weary of reading about inconsequential details that added little to the progression, especially when frequently repeated. But I did appreciate the intelligent, multi-layered plot – it forces you to pay attention and think – actively engage with the story and with what the characters are facing, which is pretty heavy at times. So not some easy breezy fluff beach read, but to my surprise I found myself really sucked into the story, and was happy with the ending and even a little disappointed when I was done that it was all over. I feel so invested in this world and these characters now! Overall an enjoyable read that I’d recommend to others, and I’m really glad I gave it a shot. Will read more from Steve Catto anytime.
November 3, 2017
"Snowflakes” by author Steve Catto is the first book I’ve read by this author but he is certainly an author I will be keeping an eye on in the future. This world he creates here is impressively conceived, yet simplistic in fashion (no electricity or internet or technology) and I was pleased with the level of character development throughout. The plots are complex and intelligent, yet quirky enough to keep you hooked and wondering what is really going on. There are several big reveals that continue to shift the dynamic of the storyline in unexpected ways, something that even a jaded reader like myself can fully appreciate and still be surprised by. This is great because nothing I hate more than predictable clichés. I would also like to commend the level of professionalism in this novel, from the cool cover, to the formatting, to the editing and the overall execution– all top notch. This book has a more literary tone than I was expecting, and some readers may bemoan the lack of high-stakes action or romantic interludes, but I think that works well here and keeps the focus on the idea of the story (the bigger concept) rather than character actions. Different, yet entertaining. And I like that we are able to figure out what the title means. Very cool. Looking forward to more great stories from Steve Catto and will be recommending to my friends.
November 14, 2017
Won this self publish in a Goodreads giveaway. Bits of this book are confusing, to the characters as well as the readers, so this is a quite deliberate device. Without giving to much away the book explores the nature of reality, and how we value and experience it, through the lives of a very small group of characters. Some of the writing feels like the author is still developing his sense of a completely polished product. But all in all it's nicely done and thought provoking.
August 15, 2020
I had to come back to this 3 months after reading to just record the problematic writing so I can go recycle this book. I'll mostly let the books quotes speak for themselves. This is LONG. I'm not sorry.
Descriptions of the main male character (You could instantly tell that this was written by an older white man who desperately wanted to be resurrected as this character):
'Then one day Sam turned up at the settlement, a dashing figure of a man, tall and slim, with curly black hair, dressed very smartly in velvety sort of clothes with shiny buckles.'...'He was attractive but mysterious, strong but not threatening, and he seemed intelligent.'
As well as all of these admirable traits, he is also great at being a psychopath, doing f* all around the house (women's work right?!) and mansplaining how to eat ribs (incorrectly):
When asked about shooting people: 'It’s not bad…not if you do it properly. If you can shoot someone right through the head in the right place they don’t know it’s happened’... ‘If Sam wanted you dead, you wouldn’t even know about it’... ‘One shot is usually all I need’
The women (sorry...girls) are all mentioned as doing things round the house: Carrie – chopped wood, did all washing. Ayla – cleaned the fire pit every night and set it up every morning, fetched water, caught fish, washed pots. Tilly – made and repaired all the clothes, kept the house tidy, prepared and cooked breakfast and dinner. Sam just occasionally disappears off at night to apparently hunt...but Tilly also helps with this. What does he do all day??
'You're really supposed to cut the meat off them with the knife and fork, and then pick up the bones in a refined manner afterwards using the napkin, to nibble any remaining meat from them. You're not supposed to rip them all to bits with both hands.' (How dare he)
He does know how to behave in public though, so at least there's that...
When Tilly asks where he's going: 'To the Gentleman's room,' replied Sam in his best English butler's voice. This is a civilised establishment, one does not just piss in the corner.'
The girls (never 'women')
Carrie is apparently stupid...to the point where 'Tilly sometimes wondered whether Carrie had been dropped on her head when she a child’.
She's almost spat on by Sam for her idea of a 'nice world' being: 'a little farmhouse in the country, with two children, and the smell of cupcakes coming from the kitchen. She’d be singing sweetly and the little birds would be fluttering about and twittering as she hung out the washing in the sunshine, and all the animals would be her friends.’ Not a Disney fan then?
The well-known concept of comparing snowflakes being different to people being different is brought up a couple of times as if the author thought of this himself and as if it's the most profound thing ever to be said. Carrie has apparently managed to come up with this herself though, obviously a massive surprise: 'Billions of snowflakes. One for every soul in the world, and no two the same!' Tilly looked back, surprised to hear philosophical words coming from Carrie. What Carrie had said was very deep and meaningful (was it though?!). Perhaps there was hope for her yet
However, she is also described, by Sam, as 'older and wiser' than Tilly. And also 'one of those people who likes things to be organised'. Sam, however this this makes her 'a pest'. I'm taking this personally He still finds it in himself to sleep with this stupid pest though *eye roll*
Tilly is the 'smart one' and don't we hear about it...
'Tilly liked science best. That was unusual. A girl that liked science.' ...sigh
'Tilly was very clever, she was a science girl and she had a good grasp of it, even the theoretical bits' ...wow! Even the 'theoretical bits'?? Sounds like she might know those 'bits' better than the author...
She even likes her 'little white ceramic' cups just because they remind her of 'laboratory beakers' (which are surely made of glass??)
Anyway, obviously Tilly is also only a lowly girl so has to have her flaws too: 'Tilly on the other hand threw like a typical girl. She missed more often than she hit, and she squeaked every time.'
Problematic relationships:
This set-up would be absolutely fine if either of the girls seemed vaguely happy with it...this is very much back to 'Sam's' dream world:
As soon as Carrie and Sam turned up at Tilly's house, they lasted a week before arguing over who 'got Sam': 'Tilly hadn’t seen why Carrie had to have Sam all the time, when she didn’t have a boy at all’. 'After a while [Sam] told them both to stop arguing about it, because he didn’t belong to either of them, and he’d go to bed with whichever one of them he wanted’. 'It turned out he wanted both of them, but not at the same time. They weren’t sure what criteria he had for deciding who was his favourite at any given moment. Perhaps there wasn’t any, and it was more like choosing what to have for dinner – more of a question of ‘what do you fancy?’. I have nothing to add here.
Despite this, we're constantly reminded that Sam does have a clear preference:
'Sam did his best to share his attentions out evenly between Carrie and Tilly, although at some deeper level he preferred Tilly’. 'There was no need to hide the fact that he liked them both, but he liked Tilly better'. Well why wouldn't he when, compared to Carrie, she 'smiled a bit more often, and was blonde'.
This all continued throughout the book and we apparently needed to be constantly updated on who Sam was going to be sleeping with every night and the hatred that caused between the girls. There seems to be absolutely no concept of Tilly actually respecting Sam and Carrie's pre-existing relationship, or Sam not wanting to sleep with all women (sorry, 'girls') in his path, or even the thought that maybe Tilly isn't interested in Sam or...shock, horror...may not be interested in men, or anyone at all! Oh no, sorry we;re in a straight white man's head. It could have actually gone down a worse track, and almost did, with: 'Tilly playfully, turning to Carrie and giving her a slap across the bottom'...but luckily it stopped there before descending into some fantasy porn world.
Heading into more problematic territory, the third girl (an actual child, so girl does apply here for once) is also sexualised and this was the point where I almost had to put the book down. Ayla is described as dirty and cave-girl like...and also as 'eleven or twelve' (she was 8/9 when she joined them)... but none of these things stop Sam wondering whether she's any good to sleep with: 'At the moment [Ayla] was no threat to the menage a trois, and Sam wasn’t interested in her anyway. She was a bit too young, not particularly girl-shaped yet (can someone tell me what 'girl-shaped' is meant to be please), and preferred to sleep on her own.' At least she got a choice about sleeping on her own, unlike the other two, thank god!
On a lighter note, 'Sam' obviously has a blonde fetish and this is brought up NUMEROUS times throughout the book, with women being reduced to just a hair colour:
When describing his dream scenario, Sam wants to be ‘eating nice foods and shagging a blonde any time I like’.
When Tilly is concerned that Sam 'hasn’t come back and snuggled in my bed for nearly a week', Carrie helpfully offers: 'well maybe he’s gone off blondes,’. Don't worry though, 'Later that night, Tilly discovered Sam had definitely not gone off blondes.'
I feel like that's enough for 'the girls' so we'll get on to some general life wisdom.
Did you know that:
No teachers are allowed to think for themselves? 'The teacher didn’t know, and didn’t seem bothered that she didn’t know. She just did what most girls do when they don’t know the answer to something, she giggled.' 'The teacher was probably only teaching what she what she ha been told to teach, she probably wasn’t allowed to think about, or tell people, things that weren’t written in the book'
All scientists are selfish glory hunters: 'Scientists worked like that. They only wanted answers to the big questions, because they were only interested in doing something of great significance that would win them a prize. If it wasn’t something they could get credit for they weren’t interested.'
Most boys are lazy: 'Lots of the boys either liked nothing and just wanted to mess about, or they were willing to put up with certain subjects because they were easy and didn’t need much effort. That was boys for you.'
And this last little pearl that has probably never occurred to you because you're not as smart as this 'man' in his twenties who has never had a job, regularly talks about how he's not happy, but can occasionally catch a rabbit and is sleeping with two women: ‘life was much better if you just chose something as a career that you liked’
In order to not be entirely down on this book: the plot had some interesting ideas and I did actually finish it...I'm ignoring the epilogue for this portion of semi-positivity. I'd suggest just having a couple of conversations with actual women, instead of getting ideas from what I'll euphemistically call 'the internet', and perhaps get an editor to check over that grammar :)
Descriptions of the main male character (You could instantly tell that this was written by an older white man who desperately wanted to be resurrected as this character):
'Then one day Sam turned up at the settlement, a dashing figure of a man, tall and slim, with curly black hair, dressed very smartly in velvety sort of clothes with shiny buckles.'...'He was attractive but mysterious, strong but not threatening, and he seemed intelligent.'
As well as all of these admirable traits, he is also great at being a psychopath, doing f* all around the house (women's work right?!) and mansplaining how to eat ribs (incorrectly):
When asked about shooting people: 'It’s not bad…not if you do it properly. If you can shoot someone right through the head in the right place they don’t know it’s happened’... ‘If Sam wanted you dead, you wouldn’t even know about it’... ‘One shot is usually all I need’
The women (sorry...girls) are all mentioned as doing things round the house: Carrie – chopped wood, did all washing. Ayla – cleaned the fire pit every night and set it up every morning, fetched water, caught fish, washed pots. Tilly – made and repaired all the clothes, kept the house tidy, prepared and cooked breakfast and dinner. Sam just occasionally disappears off at night to apparently hunt...but Tilly also helps with this. What does he do all day??
'You're really supposed to cut the meat off them with the knife and fork, and then pick up the bones in a refined manner afterwards using the napkin, to nibble any remaining meat from them. You're not supposed to rip them all to bits with both hands.' (How dare he)
He does know how to behave in public though, so at least there's that...
When Tilly asks where he's going: 'To the Gentleman's room,' replied Sam in his best English butler's voice. This is a civilised establishment, one does not just piss in the corner.'
The girls (never 'women')
Carrie is apparently stupid...to the point where 'Tilly sometimes wondered whether Carrie had been dropped on her head when she a child’.
She's almost spat on by Sam for her idea of a 'nice world' being: 'a little farmhouse in the country, with two children, and the smell of cupcakes coming from the kitchen. She’d be singing sweetly and the little birds would be fluttering about and twittering as she hung out the washing in the sunshine, and all the animals would be her friends.’ Not a Disney fan then?
The well-known concept of comparing snowflakes being different to people being different is brought up a couple of times as if the author thought of this himself and as if it's the most profound thing ever to be said. Carrie has apparently managed to come up with this herself though, obviously a massive surprise: 'Billions of snowflakes. One for every soul in the world, and no two the same!' Tilly looked back, surprised to hear philosophical words coming from Carrie. What Carrie had said was very deep and meaningful (was it though?!). Perhaps there was hope for her yet
However, she is also described, by Sam, as 'older and wiser' than Tilly. And also 'one of those people who likes things to be organised'. Sam, however this this makes her 'a pest'. I'm taking this personally He still finds it in himself to sleep with this stupid pest though *eye roll*
Tilly is the 'smart one' and don't we hear about it...
'Tilly liked science best. That was unusual. A girl that liked science.' ...sigh
'Tilly was very clever, she was a science girl and she had a good grasp of it, even the theoretical bits' ...wow! Even the 'theoretical bits'?? Sounds like she might know those 'bits' better than the author...
She even likes her 'little white ceramic' cups just because they remind her of 'laboratory beakers' (which are surely made of glass??)
Anyway, obviously Tilly is also only a lowly girl so has to have her flaws too: 'Tilly on the other hand threw like a typical girl. She missed more often than she hit, and she squeaked every time.'
Problematic relationships:
This set-up would be absolutely fine if either of the girls seemed vaguely happy with it...this is very much back to 'Sam's' dream world:
As soon as Carrie and Sam turned up at Tilly's house, they lasted a week before arguing over who 'got Sam': 'Tilly hadn’t seen why Carrie had to have Sam all the time, when she didn’t have a boy at all’. 'After a while [Sam] told them both to stop arguing about it, because he didn’t belong to either of them, and he’d go to bed with whichever one of them he wanted’. 'It turned out he wanted both of them, but not at the same time. They weren’t sure what criteria he had for deciding who was his favourite at any given moment. Perhaps there wasn’t any, and it was more like choosing what to have for dinner – more of a question of ‘what do you fancy?’. I have nothing to add here.
Despite this, we're constantly reminded that Sam does have a clear preference:
'Sam did his best to share his attentions out evenly between Carrie and Tilly, although at some deeper level he preferred Tilly’. 'There was no need to hide the fact that he liked them both, but he liked Tilly better'. Well why wouldn't he when, compared to Carrie, she 'smiled a bit more often, and was blonde'.
This all continued throughout the book and we apparently needed to be constantly updated on who Sam was going to be sleeping with every night and the hatred that caused between the girls. There seems to be absolutely no concept of Tilly actually respecting Sam and Carrie's pre-existing relationship, or Sam not wanting to sleep with all women (sorry, 'girls') in his path, or even the thought that maybe Tilly isn't interested in Sam or...shock, horror...may not be interested in men, or anyone at all! Oh no, sorry we;re in a straight white man's head. It could have actually gone down a worse track, and almost did, with: 'Tilly playfully, turning to Carrie and giving her a slap across the bottom'...but luckily it stopped there before descending into some fantasy porn world.
Heading into more problematic territory, the third girl (an actual child, so girl does apply here for once) is also sexualised and this was the point where I almost had to put the book down. Ayla is described as dirty and cave-girl like...and also as 'eleven or twelve' (she was 8/9 when she joined them)... but none of these things stop Sam wondering whether she's any good to sleep with: 'At the moment [Ayla] was no threat to the menage a trois, and Sam wasn’t interested in her anyway. She was a bit too young, not particularly girl-shaped yet (can someone tell me what 'girl-shaped' is meant to be please), and preferred to sleep on her own.' At least she got a choice about sleeping on her own, unlike the other two, thank god!
On a lighter note, 'Sam' obviously has a blonde fetish and this is brought up NUMEROUS times throughout the book, with women being reduced to just a hair colour:
When describing his dream scenario, Sam wants to be ‘eating nice foods and shagging a blonde any time I like’.
When Tilly is concerned that Sam 'hasn’t come back and snuggled in my bed for nearly a week', Carrie helpfully offers: 'well maybe he’s gone off blondes,’. Don't worry though, 'Later that night, Tilly discovered Sam had definitely not gone off blondes.'
I feel like that's enough for 'the girls' so we'll get on to some general life wisdom.
Did you know that:
No teachers are allowed to think for themselves? 'The teacher didn’t know, and didn’t seem bothered that she didn’t know. She just did what most girls do when they don’t know the answer to something, she giggled.' 'The teacher was probably only teaching what she what she ha been told to teach, she probably wasn’t allowed to think about, or tell people, things that weren’t written in the book'
All scientists are selfish glory hunters: 'Scientists worked like that. They only wanted answers to the big questions, because they were only interested in doing something of great significance that would win them a prize. If it wasn’t something they could get credit for they weren’t interested.'
Most boys are lazy: 'Lots of the boys either liked nothing and just wanted to mess about, or they were willing to put up with certain subjects because they were easy and didn’t need much effort. That was boys for you.'
And this last little pearl that has probably never occurred to you because you're not as smart as this 'man' in his twenties who has never had a job, regularly talks about how he's not happy, but can occasionally catch a rabbit and is sleeping with two women: ‘life was much better if you just chose something as a career that you liked’
In order to not be entirely down on this book: the plot had some interesting ideas and I did actually finish it...I'm ignoring the epilogue for this portion of semi-positivity. I'd suggest just having a couple of conversations with actual women, instead of getting ideas from what I'll euphemistically call 'the internet', and perhaps get an editor to check over that grammar :)
September 27, 2018
really different and intriging
i like the idea of multiple worlds all abit different and them coming together in our dreams. how comforting to think when bad things happen im probably expereincing something nice somewhere. this book is quite philosophical in places aswell examines how relationships work . an unusual read
i like the idea of multiple worlds all abit different and them coming together in our dreams. how comforting to think when bad things happen im probably expereincing something nice somewhere. this book is quite philosophical in places aswell examines how relationships work . an unusual read
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August 28, 2018I enjoyed this book, for the most part. The concept was interesting, and one I hadn't come across before. I felt the writing jumped about a bit though, and there were a lot of holes. Where was everybody else? Why did other worlds have more people in them? Why didn't the four characters go and live somewhere else? I'll be looking at the author's next book, which he says is Ayla's story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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