Walking Practice

More about the book

The act of walking on Earth presents a unique challenge for a shapeshifting, gender-bending alien who has crash-landed on an unfamiliar planet. Stranded and struggling with gravity, they must practice walking to survive, finding a twisted method of honing their skills by hunting humans. Adapting to this new life, the alien shifts gender and appearance based on their prey's preferences, attacking at crucial moments. Equipped with a backpack of tools for post-murder cleanup and using a dating app to identify targets, they seem to have mastered their grim existence. However, everything unravels when the alien fails to kill a woman during an encounter, leading to a chaotic chase through the city. This experience forces them to confront the psychological and physical toll of their actions and reconsider their violent survival methods. As they grapple with their insatiable hunger, they target new prey, unaware of the consequences that await. This haunting debut novel blends psychological thriller elements with a critique of societal structures that marginalize queer, disabled, and nonconformist individuals, revealing the humanity in those deemed alien and exploring how alienation shapes the human experience.