Robin Writes

cannibal

Cannibal Hearts

Misha Burnett

322 pages

$9.99

Available at All on the Same Page Bookstore, Amazon, Barnes and Noble

“Cannibal Hearts is the sequel to Misha Burnett’s first novel, Catskinner’s Book. A year ago, James Ozryck was a loner, forced to keep the world at bay by the alien entity he calls Catskinner who shares his body. Now he has found a community of others whose lives have been changed by the Outsiders. Along with Godiva, his half-human lover, James runs a property management company that serves as a front company for Outsider activities. When the pair’s mysterious boss, Agony Delapour suddenly shows up in town with a new project, however, things gets dangerous fast as events unfold that threaten the life that they have made.”

The biggest issue I have with this book is that it ended.

You can often read that line in any number of book reviews, but in this case it’s the truth. James and Catskinner have, of course, returned in this creepy, fast-paced sequel, as well as Godiva, Agony, and a host of other memorable characters. Creepy (yes, I said it again!), classic sci-fi with a twist, a la the Twilight Zone – many questions, some answers, lingering wonder and anticipation.

I have it on good authority (er, the author himself) that a third in the series will be out next summer. Until then, I plan to reread Catskinner’s Book and Cannibal Hearts too – both books are THAT GOOD.

How do you do it? How do you plan for the future?

In the last few years, there have been a lot of news stories about the “end of the world” and “believers” who sell everything they own and get ready to be raptured. Most people shake their heads over this kind of behavior, but isn’t prepping a little bit like this?

Yes, it is.

If you believe in an apocalypse, or economic collapse, or even zombies (yeah, right), and you’re prepping – just how far do you take it? How do you balance the present with the possibilities of the future?

I’ll tell you how:

Just like you prepare for any future.

See, if you weren’t worried about the economy, the food supply, the criminal element (including, of course, politicians), you’d be planning for the future, right? College for the kids, savings of your own, home improvement, retirement, etc., etc.

As a prepper, you’re planning for the future too – but not necessarily one in which you picture the kids coming home for the holidays or lounging around your new pool or traveling in your golden years.

But what if there IS no apocalypse? No disaster? Is it possible to be prepared for everything, for any eventuality?

Yes. I think so. It’s like a work/life balance, except preppers have life/prep balance.

Back in the day, I had a little book with pockets on some pages. The book talked about saving versus spending, and the pockets were to divide up your allowance. Still cute for kids today, if you can find one. The point is that, just like in this little book, we as adults are instructed to save 10%, donate/tithe 10%, spend 10% on ourselves, and the rest is for bills and so forth.

Sure, it’s hard to do – even more when you divide up the savings part into college, retirement, short-term, long-term, and whatever else you choose. And, too, with rising costs, well, it ain’t easy!

But I simply propose another 5% or 10%, whatever you can squeeze in there, for prepping of another kind, the kind we do “just in case” SHTF. You can call it your SHTF Fund. Catchy, huh?

When do you expect your prepping to pay off, so to speak? Next year? Five years? Ten? Not in your lifetime? For myself, I’m thinking in the next two to five years. If we make it past that, maybe all this work will pay off in our kids’ lifetimes, or in our later years. Hard to say, really. Those with more knowledge than I may have a different timeframe – feel free to weigh in!

The point is that you have to be ready for ANYTHING.