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Kawokee #1
Kawokee
Jasmine Char is infected with the Kaw virus spreading through humanity on all inhabited worlds. For her, the desperate mission to the Kawokee world to find a cure is a one-way journey. While the other scientists look for a chemical cure from the safety of orbit, Jasmine believes the cure is in the culture of the primitive, fox-like natives. But the Kawokee have been decimated and their culture all but lost due to human interference. Can Jasmine discover a cure before the Kawokee disappear along with the entire human race? Kawokee is the first book in the series by Reid Minnich & Stacy Bender. Get your copy today and discover the Kawokee’s chilling secret.
- GenresScience Fiction
282 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 15, 2020
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 3, 2025
Kawokee is a sci-fi novel written by husband and wife team Reid Minnich and Stacy Bender, self-published in 2020. It's an independent title but packs the sophistication of a book by any major sci-fi author, in my opinion.
Kawokee pulls you into a far-flung future where people scrape a living on an underdeveloped world. Humanity is on its knees from an insidious epidemic that prevents natural births and if a cure isn’t found soon, civilization won’t survive. But the Kawokee, sapient furry creatures native to the world of the same name, may possess the secret to overcoming the virus.
Scientists recognize that Kawokee may hold the key, but their methods of research are contaminated by humanistic elitism, often relying on brutal experimentation. Jasmine Char, the story’s primary protagonist, has new ideas and a unique motivation to discover a cure. Against all advice, she reaches out to the Kawokee, who are similarly affected by the virus, to help find a cure for all. But she must first earn their trust, which doesn’t come easy. What she discovers in her journey is beautiful, sobering, prejudice-shattering, and heartwarming.
Rarely does a book grab me and hold my attention firmly for the entire journey. Kawokee did just that. The immersion is first-rate and doesn’t rely on tedious info dumping or technical jargon. Descriptions of technology and setting are carefully meted out so as to not burden the reader or stifle their own imagination in filling in the details. It’s an excellent balance, particularly for those familiar with sci-fi. If I were to compare to another franchise, I'd say Avatar, mainly for its immersion into an alien hunter-gatherer society that shirks technology yet adheres to complicated social rules which value sustainability and sharing above individual wealth.
The book also handles science realistically. With my medical background, I found the epidemiological details believable yet described in a way that lay persons can follow. Clearly one of the two authors has a background in science or did their homework well. I also found the handling of anthropological contamination and aboriginal rights to be treated sensitively, as well as the ethical treatment of research subjects. There are times when the unnecessarily brutal techniques of the mainstream scientists are contrasted with the less-sophisticated, but successful techniques, of the Kawokee. It leaves you yearning for the community, compassion, and balance that modern humanity has largely forsaken. Stacy Bender also added a woman’s perspective that makes Jasmine a believable figure who longs to be a mother herself, in addition to being a scientist and humanitarian.
An astute reader will detect clues that shape your expectation of the ending, but rest assured that you will be surprised regardless. I guarantee that if you like sci-fi and immersion in simpler ways of life, you will ride this book swiftly through to a satisfying, but unexpected, ending.
Full disclosure: No compensation was provided for this review. The title is available at furry cons where the authors frequently set up vending tables, or on Amazon.
Kawokee pulls you into a far-flung future where people scrape a living on an underdeveloped world. Humanity is on its knees from an insidious epidemic that prevents natural births and if a cure isn’t found soon, civilization won’t survive. But the Kawokee, sapient furry creatures native to the world of the same name, may possess the secret to overcoming the virus.
Scientists recognize that Kawokee may hold the key, but their methods of research are contaminated by humanistic elitism, often relying on brutal experimentation. Jasmine Char, the story’s primary protagonist, has new ideas and a unique motivation to discover a cure. Against all advice, she reaches out to the Kawokee, who are similarly affected by the virus, to help find a cure for all. But she must first earn their trust, which doesn’t come easy. What she discovers in her journey is beautiful, sobering, prejudice-shattering, and heartwarming.
Rarely does a book grab me and hold my attention firmly for the entire journey. Kawokee did just that. The immersion is first-rate and doesn’t rely on tedious info dumping or technical jargon. Descriptions of technology and setting are carefully meted out so as to not burden the reader or stifle their own imagination in filling in the details. It’s an excellent balance, particularly for those familiar with sci-fi. If I were to compare to another franchise, I'd say Avatar, mainly for its immersion into an alien hunter-gatherer society that shirks technology yet adheres to complicated social rules which value sustainability and sharing above individual wealth.
The book also handles science realistically. With my medical background, I found the epidemiological details believable yet described in a way that lay persons can follow. Clearly one of the two authors has a background in science or did their homework well. I also found the handling of anthropological contamination and aboriginal rights to be treated sensitively, as well as the ethical treatment of research subjects. There are times when the unnecessarily brutal techniques of the mainstream scientists are contrasted with the less-sophisticated, but successful techniques, of the Kawokee. It leaves you yearning for the community, compassion, and balance that modern humanity has largely forsaken. Stacy Bender also added a woman’s perspective that makes Jasmine a believable figure who longs to be a mother herself, in addition to being a scientist and humanitarian.
An astute reader will detect clues that shape your expectation of the ending, but rest assured that you will be surprised regardless. I guarantee that if you like sci-fi and immersion in simpler ways of life, you will ride this book swiftly through to a satisfying, but unexpected, ending.
Full disclosure: No compensation was provided for this review. The title is available at furry cons where the authors frequently set up vending tables, or on Amazon.
June 5, 2020
I will say that I had high expectations going into this book as "I Like Alice" by Stacy Bender is a great book, but I ended up disappointed. The story starts out in an interesting time/universe with lots going on and an alien race which seems really mysterious. As the story develops you get to find out more and more about the race and what everyone is doing on the planet. The issue is most of the characters come off as stereotypes. Without giving out any spoilers I will also say that the reveal at the end of the book feels like a child/teen mystery where they drop little hints throughout but then hit you over the head with something to should have seen obvious to anyone who knew the information beforehand.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
August 1, 2020
This was a deeply complicated unique tale. I really enjoyed the anthropological point of view and the final twist is literally mind-blowing. I haven’t read such a well written sci-fi novel in a while and this was incredibly refreshing.
Warnings: no Fbombs but there is a fair use of all other language. References to nudity and intimate relationships either directly with mild detail or less direct.
I highly suggest you give this book a try.
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Warnings: no Fbombs but there is a fair use of all other language. References to nudity and intimate relationships either directly with mild detail or less direct.
I highly suggest you give this book a try.
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
January 11, 2022
Humans….
And a race called Kawokee,
Humans are dying out because they are no longer able to carry a child to full term. An infection has hit the race and hit it hard.
One woman wants to study the Kawokee to see why they can still give birth so goes and lives in their villages.
I found this book really interesting. I havnt read anything like it before. A couple twists and terms I didn’t see coming.
Narration was fabulous, the narrator does a great job. I’m really interested to listen to book 2
Gifted audio - honest review
And a race called Kawokee,
Humans are dying out because they are no longer able to carry a child to full term. An infection has hit the race and hit it hard.
One woman wants to study the Kawokee to see why they can still give birth so goes and lives in their villages.
I found this book really interesting. I havnt read anything like it before. A couple twists and terms I didn’t see coming.
Narration was fabulous, the narrator does a great job. I’m really interested to listen to book 2
Gifted audio - honest review
December 8, 2022
Great Read!
Very enjoyable book and story. Enjoyed the twist at the end. Thanks for sharing and I can’t wait for the sequel!
Very enjoyable book and story. Enjoyed the twist at the end. Thanks for sharing and I can’t wait for the sequel!
September 7, 2020
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
I had high hopes for this book, but it ended up being fairly mediocre for me.
The premise hooked me right from the start, and the beginning of the story felt really promising. But then the pace slowed down and nothing really happened. What really aggravated me, however, was the fact that Jasmine Char was supposed to be an anthropologist, but she only acted with a scientific mind half the time. An incident occurs in the last third of the book where Char participates in a Kawokee tradition, but she gets so bored that she no longer pays any attention. You're an anthropologist! All of this is important to your mission! Without giving too much away, that scene goes on to pay an important part in the end, but because she essentially failed at doing her job properly, Char never realizes it until the last minute.
All that was honestly too much for me to handle. If Char lived up to her potential as an anthropologist -one who actually does her job- and there was a lot more science built into this book, it could have been really good. But my aggravation with Char and the slow pace left me very underwhelmed.
I listened to the audiobook and Caren Naess did a suitable job. Nothing to write home about, but nothing that held the book back, either.
I had high hopes for this book, but it ended up being fairly mediocre for me.
The premise hooked me right from the start, and the beginning of the story felt really promising. But then the pace slowed down and nothing really happened. What really aggravated me, however, was the fact that Jasmine Char was supposed to be an anthropologist, but she only acted with a scientific mind half the time. An incident occurs in the last third of the book where Char participates in a Kawokee tradition, but she gets so bored that she no longer pays any attention. You're an anthropologist! All of this is important to your mission! Without giving too much away, that scene goes on to pay an important part in the end, but because she essentially failed at doing her job properly, Char never realizes it until the last minute.
All that was honestly too much for me to handle. If Char lived up to her potential as an anthropologist -one who actually does her job- and there was a lot more science built into this book, it could have been really good. But my aggravation with Char and the slow pace left me very underwhelmed.
I listened to the audiobook and Caren Naess did a suitable job. Nothing to write home about, but nothing that held the book back, either.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews