Catherine "Kater" Cheek is a writer and artist.
Catherine Cheek
Author's posts
May 01
Book Review: Ten Drugs
Ten Drugs: How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine by Thomas Hager This is the kind of book I used to read a lot of in the aughts, pop science about how technology has changed the world. It was a good re-introduction to this subgenre of non-fiction: a layperson’s guide to …
Apr 21
Book Review: The Crooked Kingdom
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo I almost didn’t read this book because I was so furious that the first one ended on a cliffhanger. At the end of Six of Crows, Inej has been kidnapped by the bad guys and the rest of Kaz’s crew are as determined to get her back as they are …
Mar 28
Book Review: The Twisted Ones
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher I don’t usually think of myself as a person who likes horror, but I loved this book. Fairies used to be scary, but thanks to Midsummer Night’s Dream, Victorian pixies, and some of the modern YA about teenage girls dating Faerie kings, they’ve veered far away from the uncanny …
Mar 17
Book Review: Cursed (Alex Verus #2)
Cursed by Benedict Jacka I love the idea of Alex Verus, a mage whose main/only real skill is divination. It’s such a clever concept, to have a protagonist with a “soft” skill like seeing the future who nonetheless uses it to avoid bad guys and rain down comeuppance on those who thwart him. Verus is …
Jan 04
Book Review: Entangled Life
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake This book taught me how much I don’t know about mushrooms. It’s basically like the fungal equivalent of “The Secret Life of Trees” when you pick up a book wondering how much there is to learn about such …