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A review by caedocyon
Psion by Joan D. Vinge
2.0
The idea at its heart (psychics all need hella trauma therapy) is pretty interesting, but then it's cluttered up with much too much unrelated plot. Cat is a remarkably passive character, too: I thought he'd finally made a decision of his own in the fight scene at the end, but no, he was actually manipulated into that too. wtf, seriously.
Another very strange decision was to let the question of whether Cat is related to another character just... go unanswered. The only way I can read it is that they both know it's true and really don't want to admit it to themselves? It makes the love triangle something out of a psychoanalytic fever dream. That has to be intentional?! But if it is, why did Vinge let her Freud-in-space crack!fic get so sidetracked with all this nonsense about heists?
Villain is a sinister bisexual sociopath and flirts briefly with the hero while monologuing, so far so 1982. Cat is *such* a twink stereotype however (literally a catboy rentboy) that his shock and horror at being desired by a man and massive crush on a lady are both jarring.
Come to think of it, the vibe Cat gives off is quite [b:Vanyel|28759|Magic's Pawn (The Last Herald-Mage #1)|Mercedes Lackey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1345854036l/28759._SY75_.jpg|3230346]. "Oh dear, I just keep getting beaten up, but in a sexy vulnerable subby way." Is there a name for this genre when it's published as a mass market paperback and not as hurt/comfort slashfic? (Vanyel comes 7 years later and turned up to 11, so it's not a completely fair comparison.)
Another very strange decision was to let the question of whether Cat is related to another character just... go unanswered. The only way I can read it is that they both know it's true and really don't want to admit it to themselves? It makes the love triangle something out of a psychoanalytic fever dream. That has to be intentional?! But if it is, why did Vinge let her Freud-in-space crack!fic get so sidetracked with all this nonsense about heists?
Villain is a sinister bisexual sociopath and flirts briefly with the hero while monologuing, so far so 1982. Cat is *such* a twink stereotype however (literally a catboy rentboy) that his shock and horror at being desired by a man and massive crush on a lady are both jarring.
Come to think of it, the vibe Cat gives off is quite [b:Vanyel|28759|Magic's Pawn (The Last Herald-Mage #1)|Mercedes Lackey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1345854036l/28759._SY75_.jpg|3230346]. "Oh dear, I just keep getting beaten up, but in a sexy vulnerable subby way." Is there a name for this genre when it's published as a mass market paperback and not as hurt/comfort slashfic? (Vanyel comes 7 years later and turned up to 11, so it's not a completely fair comparison.)