Customer Reviews

Me & You Too - Catalyst: The First FULL-COLOR novel

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I must admit when I received the specs on this book for review I had no idea what the following statement was about and I quote, "Catalyst" breaks new ground in illustrative storytelling as the first novel produced in the Kaleidoscript (TM) layout. With various colored and patterned backgrounds on each page." Needless to say I was intrigued and simply had to know more.
Upon receiving this book I was captivated as I opened it up and scanned each page. Greeting me were words written in white, black, some red and yellow on backgrounds that caught my attention and often with different fonts. Such a treat! But this was just the beginning for within this book was one whooper of a read.
Our story begins when a mysterious fire erupts in a town home complex. Here we meet for the first time a cat named, "Me Too," who is instrumental in saving lives.
More amazing than that, it seems he has an agenda that to me was boarding the supernatural in these people's lives. As the story unfolds after the fire, many of the now homeless people whose lives were touched by Me Too in one way or another befriend each other .We have an archaeology Ph.D, an ex-boxer and his deformed wife, a deaf Marine nurse, a TV reporter and Justin Eagleton who will become head the group as their destiny unfolds. Wondering where they will now live the idea comes to them to buy the property and create the first Eco-co-housing-Homestead where no one may live without a pet. This would be a place where nature, animals and humans may live in harmony. Sounds like a great idea but as you will see there was a sinister plan behind the fire that took their homes and their idea of buying the property was not going to set well with the ones behind this illegal scheme. The plot thickens.
The story takes you into each of their personal lives, the problems and victories of their project and twists around the mystery behind the initial fire . We have action, suspense, romance, supernatural, humor and even some knowledge of living in harmony will be achieved in this book. What a read! Just the layout itself of this book was an adventure and top it off with one outstanding storyline and you have a book beyond excellent. I can highly recommend this work both for the visual and for the outstanding story. This is one you do not want to miss.

In the midst of a devastating fire, a handful of residents of a townhome community escape along with a cat named You Too. You Too's escape seems somehow miraculous to the little band of unusual souls, and they rally around the feline, using it as an inspiration to found a commune where no people are allowed without pets. Though they face many hardships in their odyssey, ultimately, they succeed.

* There are several issues with this book. The most striking of which is it is virtually unreadable. If you are prone to headaches, as I am, do yourself a favor and do not try. The print and pages change color at every turn, as does the font. At times, the lightness of the letters against a dark background is as close to impossible to decipher as is possible. The story itself promotes a very odd way off life, something that mushes together hippiness, Communism, New Agey stuff, and ancient Egyptian cat worship. At once it seems so simplistic as to be a story for very young children, but raw language would indicate the contrary. *

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.

From the time I was a child, reading was one of my favorite pastimes. In this generation of computers, when much of what we read is "on screen", I've come to appreciate, more than ever, the pleasure of holding a good book in my hands. And Catalyst is truly a joy to be'hold'.
As an animal lover, the concept of the Homestead is inspiring - throughout the story, I found myself thinking "if only" and wondering, "could this really be?" As a book lover, the pages are rich to the touch as well as the eye and each page can be enjoyed as a piece of art.
I must admit it took me an extraordinarily long time to read the book - I felt compelled to stop and appreciate every bit of the kaleidoscope print as well as admire each beautiful page and its relationship to the narrative. By the time I was done, not only had the story become a part of me, but the pages on which it was written had, as well.
The entire concept of Catalyst deserves, at the very least, a tetralogy, though I doubt Bob Harvey's fans will be satisfied with that!

I don't read much nor do I have the patience for reading as I have quite the lack of an attention span. However, this was the first book I've completed in some time - I did so quickly as a matter of fact! I found the KaleidoScript formatting to be a refreshing change of pace to welcome me back to the world of literature. Now I'm no novelist or critic genius by any means, still there is something to be said when plenty of normal folks like myself can thoroughly enjoy a literary work such as this. When reading 'Me & You Too - Catalyst' I could truly sense the author's sincere love for animals and nature, the appreciation of life and the bond between its creatures. If these qualities don't describe you as well, then read this book to find out what it's like!

Remember how when we were little kids, books were FUN TO READ? They had color and pictures and some even texture? Do we miss those days, or what? Enough of boring black and white - thats oh-so-last-century!!

This book brings us back (or forward) to that concept - and is a fascinating book! The topic grabbed me, of course - who doesn't love dogs & cats? Then I sat down to read: each chapter has pages that fit the topic of that chapter; many individual words on the page are colored, and/or typeset, to fit that particular word! Like "EXPLOSION" was big and dark red and -- firey feeling! (shhh - can't explain the context of the word or it might ruin the story!)

It's unsettling at first but after a few pages you remember how wonderful books that stimulated you visually really were, and you're drawn to the story AND the idea that "I can't wait to see what he does next" - so it becomes quite the page turner!

I highly recommend this - and of course, I've logged on line to get MY dog into his next novel -- I hope!!

Homeopathic care-giver and devoted pet lover Bob Harvey presents Catalyst, the first book of the adventure tetrology "Me and You Too" in which "no people are allowed without pets!" In the wake of a terrible fire, a seemingly ordinary man "adopted" by an independent stray cat must combine his strengths with others on the brink of world-spanning transformations. Catalyst is an exceptional hardcover novel in that its story is told not simply with printed words, but also unique background colors on every two-page spread, and interjections of words in stand-out colors and fonts every few paragraphs. The lively attention-getting presentation complements an exciting adventure that practically leaps off the page.

As a fellow author I can tell you this book is filled with suspense, animal bonding, and hero name "You Too"- a Maine Coon stray cat. I loved the book!! It is a story of oddballs that are brought together by one cat to form a eco-friendly community after an arson fire. The book is in FULL color and a one of a kind, why it would make a great gift for any cat lovers out there for it is a piece of art as well as an amazing novel. The book proves to me what I already knew- animals are better than people. Read this one and enjoy this feline-human adventure!

I love the visual design of Bob Harvey's Catalyst. I've long wondered why adult fiction couldn't be as beautifully designed as children's books are. Polls show that 25% of Americans hardly read at all anymore, but I find when I introduce this book to my undergraduate college students, most of whom are not traditional readers, they love it, and report that the colors help them to understand better and to keep reading. Visual design is key to the new generations of this century who grow up with computers, movies, and video, and I believe Catalyst is a great example of how books can evolve along with these young minds.

Set among the mega-population growth of present-day Texas, this novel is about a group of ordinary people who are thrown together under extraordinary circumstances when their townhouse complex is severely damaged in a fire.

Javier is an ex-boxer who now works in construction, and his wife, Caressa, is recovering from a stroke. Dakota is a lady professor of archaeology, and Justin is a recent transplant from Philadelphia. He seems to have been accepted by a unique cat that Justin named You Too. The cat is already famous, leading rescuers to Geri, a deaf former Army nurse, the night of the fire. He also senses Caressa's physical infirmities, because You Too thinks nothing of jumping on her lap, working himself under her damaged hand, and repeatedly moving it, like she was in physical therapy.

The group comes up with a plan to buy the land on which their townhouses sat, and build an eco-friendly co-housing complex. As much as possible, it would be made of recycled materials, and include a Native American longhouse. One of the major requirements for new tenants is not that pets are accepted, or even welcomed, but that pets are required to move in. Their opponent, construction tycoon Baron Barkley, and his adult son, Kyle Ray, are not about to give up without a fight.

Justin and company suffer a series of "mishaps" that threaten to destroy their good works. Dakota receives an envelope of adult photos of her, taken secretly by Kyle Ray, photos that are guaranteed to be misinterpreted. She decides that a one-year sabbatical in China is suddenly a good idea. Javier is jailed on a trumped-up assault charge. He beat up a couple of kids that broke into the construction site with vandalism in mind. More than once, Justin follows Kyle Ray, intending to do him great bodily harm.

The other notable thing about the book is the book itself. Printed on thick glossy paper, each chapter has a different colored background or photo. On each page, various words are printed in a different font or color. To slow a slide in reading among the young, the intention is to make this book more like a graphic novel. That is a very worthy objective, but for the rest of us, this is either a bold move in the publishing field or an unnecessary distraction.

This story about the power of animals takes a while to get going, but once it does, it's pretty good. It will get the reader looking at their pet dog or cat in a whole new light.

This is quite a unique book. It's got everything a reader could ask for. Most interesting books have you turning pages to see what's next. This book does that and more. I not only wanted to see what came next but I wanted to see what the next page was going to look like graphically. The suspense was palpable and akin to a fisherman dying to get a glimpse of a hooked fish just to know what was on the end of his line. Great job, Mr. Harvey. When's the next part of the tetralogy coming out?