Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club

CATSPAW
by
JOAN D. VINGE
Catspaw cover Catspaw (1988)

2002 Tor trade paperback
cover art by Michael Whelan
409 pages (left)		  
From the back cover
       Cat.  Street Punk, Psion, Telepath, Survivor . . .
       Kidnapped by an interstellar corporation and dragged to Earth, Cat is forced to use his skills to protect those he most hates, those who most hate him . . . . The taMings.  A cyber-augmented, DNA-incestuous clan of such wealth and power that their family arguments change the destiny of worlds.  Now one taMing is a killer's target.  But which?  And who would dare?
       Seeking answers, Cat finds lies and savagery, passion and atrocity -- trails that lead from crystal valleys to clubs for silver-skinned beauties.  From the homicidal enclaves of drug kings to a fanatic's pulpit.  From the halls of the Assembly to a cyberspace hell.  Seeking assassins, Cat discovers a mystery that could cost him his future.  His sanity.  His life.
       Because Cat is no longer a bodyguard . . .
       He's bait.

Read for group discussion on March 10, 2004
RATINGS:
How we each rated this book
Dan - Amy - stack of books 10   Wow! Don't miss it
8-9  Highly recommended
7    Recommended
5-6  Mild recommendation
3-4  Take your chances
1-2  Below average; skip it
0    Get out the flamethrower!
U    Unfinishable or unreadable
-    Skipped or no rating given
Cheri - Barb -
Aaron - Cynthia -
Jackie - Ron 5
Christine 7 Mitch -
Our book group has also read the following books by Joan D. Vinge:
-- The Snow Queen  in October 1997
Bibliography:
Joan D. Vinge (1948-     ) is a US writer of novels, film tie-in novels, and short fiction. She has a degree in anthropology from San Diego State University.

Awards
1978 Hugo Award for Best Novelette "Eyes of Amber"
1981 Hugo Award for Best Novel The Snow Queen

Her first novel was The Outcasts of Heaven's Belt (1978).

The Snow Queen series includes The Snow Queen (1980), World's End (1984), and The Summer Queen (1991). Tangled Up in Blue (2000) is a stand alone novel set on Tiamat, in the Snow Queen universe.

The Cat series, about a half-human orphan with psi powers includes, Psion (1982), Catspaw (1988) and Dreamfall (1996).

She spent much of the mid 1980's writing film tie-in books, there are about 10 of them, including the best-selling juvenile Star Wars: Return of the Jedi: The Storybook (1983).

Vinge's short fiction is collected in Fireship (1978), Eyes of Amber and Other Stories (1979), and Phoenix in the Ashes (1985).

Vinge's The Random House Book of Greek Myths (1999), illustrated by Oren Sherman, tells new versions of ancient stories.

Links:
Our book club's page for The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
Joan D. Vinge - author's personal website

Return to Home Page - Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club

E-mail: SFandFBookclub@aol.com
 This page was last updated October 27, 2008