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mburnamfink's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this up on the strength of the Snow Queen, and got quite a bit into it before realizing it was a sequel. I didn't much like it, but out of fairness, I'll bump it up a star. Maybe with the first book there's a better sense of character and setting.
Cat is a psion streetkid in a galaxy that hates psions. Psychically crippled from his last job taking down a terrorist and running out of credits, he's offered a job as a bodyguard for Elnear taMing, a politician and corporate executive one step away from membership in the Federation Security Council. To get there, she needs to survive and win a key vote over drug legalization, with the opposition being spearheaded by a charismatic televangelist.
Cat bounces through intrigues involving the very strange taMing family, and the criminal underworld of N'Yurk, still capitol of the Federation. Nothing is as it seems, but this is not 'wheels with wheels', or opaque post-human psychodramas, more like ambitious people who take one edge too far. This book might have been better if I connected with the narrator, but Cat comes off as alternately petulant and out of his depth, with a deus ex machina in the form of his telepathy. His final plan hinges on blackmail, and the lusts of his opponent. The thoughts about political systems and governance in an age of interstellar networks sit uneasily on a story which is very personal in scope. The final result comes to extruded generic scifi product.
Cat is a psion streetkid in a galaxy that hates psions. Psychically crippled from his last job taking down a terrorist and running out of credits, he's offered a job as a bodyguard for Elnear taMing, a politician and corporate executive one step away from membership in the Federation Security Council. To get there, she needs to survive and win a key vote over drug legalization, with the opposition being spearheaded by a charismatic televangelist.
Cat bounces through intrigues involving the very strange taMing family, and the criminal underworld of N'Yurk, still capitol of the Federation. Nothing is as it seems, but this is not 'wheels with wheels', or opaque post-human psychodramas, more like ambitious people who take one edge too far. This book might have been better if I connected with the narrator, but Cat comes off as alternately petulant and out of his depth, with a deus ex machina in the form of his telepathy. His final plan hinges on blackmail, and the lusts of his opponent. The thoughts about political systems and governance in an age of interstellar networks sit uneasily on a story which is very personal in scope. The final result comes to extruded generic scifi product.
captaincymru's review against another edition
5.0
So I liked the first book when I read it last week. I didn't mean to read the second one so soon, but I was too lazy to grab my Kindle from downstairs so I started to leaf through Catspaw instead. And I could not put it down.
It's everything the first book was just more and better. More intrigue, more politics, more Cat. Our hero is hired to prevent an assassination in one of the Combine families and is thrust between the world of elites and the one he came from, and these worlds don't meet smoothly.
My copy is an ex-library book, but I'm sad to say there's no dates stamped on the ticket (paper tickets in library books, remember those?). Hopefully at least one person in Waltham Forest read this gem before I got a hold of it.
It's everything the first book was just more and better. More intrigue, more politics, more Cat. Our hero is hired to prevent an assassination in one of the Combine families and is thrust between the world of elites and the one he came from, and these worlds don't meet smoothly.
My copy is an ex-library book, but I'm sad to say there's no dates stamped on the ticket (paper tickets in library books, remember those?). Hopefully at least one person in Waltham Forest read this gem before I got a hold of it.
bhalpin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A pretty engaging SF noir that is just WAY too long. The plot resolves in a satisfactory manner but sags a bit in the middle after the initial mystery is solved. I finished it, but it was touch and go there for a while. (I misplaced the book, and my reaction was "eh," rather than "OMG I HAVE TO FIND IT.") If you're in the mood for a cyberpunk adventure/mystery, this will fit the bill, but in this case, less would have definitely been more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia
rydiakitty's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
aimee70807's review against another edition
4.0
When I was in high school, this seemed to be the most amazing book ever. Now...it's okay. The storyline is actually completely different than I remember it (perhaps because last time I didn't read the prequel and had no clue what was going on?) Still interesting, but not amazing.
thetainaship's review against another edition
5.0
I chose to read this book because it seemed very cyberpunk, and I am interested in cyberpunk. I have not read many cyberpunk books yet, but I would like to read some more, because Catspaw did not disappoint.
I decided quite early that Cat is a character I could grow to love. He is confident, brave, loyal, compassionate at times, but he also has a healthy measure of faults. Sometimes I thought I could probably do a much better job at not offending everyone I meet, but I am a completely different person who doesn't have Cat's experiences.
Mikah was an amazing friend and I just liked him. His appearance was very lucky, but there was a good explanation for why he wanted to help Cat.
Lady Elnear was someone I could also have been loyal to. She genuinely tried to understand.
The plot was very complicated and I am afraid I did not quite follow it all the time. There were many plot twists and new layers of intrigue and sometimes it just got too complicated. I am pretty sure I know who wanted to kill who and why. Still, it was never boring at all; it was interesting and exciting from beginning to end.
There was not really a big romantic subplot. There was something until two thirds of the book, but that much, and it was cut short. I would have liked even less romance, and the sex scenes were just as unnecessary in my opinion.
The end of the book was very impressive. I read the last 140 pages in one sitting, and I have not been reading much lately, so that is special at the moment!
I find I do not know much to say about the worldbuilding. I do not understand the way the combines work: Are they megacorporations or computer systems? What are they?
I loved this book very much all the way through. I just found out it is the second part of a series, but obviously it can be read on its own without any problems. I definitely want to read the rest of the series, though!
EDIT: My review from my first read doesn't do the book enough justice, but reading it was still an intense experience the second time. I understood what actually happened a little better this time, and the important thoughts and ideas didn't go quite as far over my head.
I decided quite early that Cat is a character I could grow to love. He is confident, brave, loyal, compassionate at times, but he also has a healthy measure of faults. Sometimes I thought I could probably do a much better job at not offending everyone I meet, but I am a completely different person who doesn't have Cat's experiences.
Mikah was an amazing friend and I just liked him. His appearance was very lucky, but there was a good explanation for why he wanted to help Cat.
Lady Elnear was someone I could also have been loyal to. She genuinely tried to understand.
The plot was very complicated and I am afraid I did not quite follow it all the time. There were many plot twists and new layers of intrigue and sometimes it just got too complicated. I am pretty sure I know who wanted to kill who and why. Still, it was never boring at all; it was interesting and exciting from beginning to end.
There was not really a big romantic subplot. There was something until two thirds of the book, but that much, and it was cut short. I would have liked even less romance, and the sex scenes were just as unnecessary in my opinion.
The end of the book was very impressive. I read the last 140 pages in one sitting, and I have not been reading much lately, so that is special at the moment!
I find I do not know much to say about the worldbuilding. I do not understand the way the combines work: Are they megacorporations or computer systems? What are they?
I loved this book very much all the way through. I just found out it is the second part of a series, but obviously it can be read on its own without any problems. I definitely want to read the rest of the series, though!
EDIT: My review from my first read doesn't do the book enough justice, but reading it was still an intense experience the second time. I understood what actually happened a little better this time, and the important thoughts and ideas didn't go quite as far over my head.
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