By: Joan D. Vinge Publisher: Tor Books Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Tor Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 368 Publication Date: March 06, 2007 Release Date: March 06, 2007
When first published, readers young and old eagerly devoured the tale of a street-hardened survivor named Cat, a half-human, half-alien orphan telepath. Named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Cat’s story has been continued by Hugo-award winning and international best-selling author Joan D. Vinge with the very popular Catspaw and Dreamfall. Now, 25 years later, this special anniversary edition of Psion contains a new introduction by the author and “Psiren,” a story never before included in any trade edition of Psion. This tough, gritty tale of an outsider whose only chance for redemption is as an undercover agent for an interstellar government that by turns punishes and helps him, is as fresh and powerful today as it was in 1982.
Disapoitment I have read the Catspaw and enjoyed it very much, the dinamics, colour & imagination. I bought Psion with great aticipations and as the rule says the bigger the anticipation the bigger the disapoitment. With all the respect to the aouthor - if you don't have to say anything don't say it , but she bothers again and again to repeat the same thing and it seems that she was paid by Kilo paper. Sorry Simcha
Solid start to a fine series Meet Cat the latent telepath/street urchin as he's plucked out of the ghetto and set on a path of discovery that turns to ruin. His story and the universe that he's a part of are so incredibly written that the reader can't help but feel a part of Cat's life.
This isn't the strongest volume in this series, but it's foundation to an amazing cycle.
A piece of my heart This book was thrown at me when I was young and had no friends. In spite of this, I read it, and the two to follow. Catspaw and Psion remain my favorite books of all time, and a series I return to whenever I need something good to read. Perhaps the feeling is very personal, but I would recomend Psion and Catspaw to anyone who has been so very alone.
A great jumping off point I started this series by reading Catspaw and backtracking to Psion, which is often out of print, making it hard to find. Psion is a wonderful introduction to one of the most endearing characters in the genre. You love Cat and you want to throttle him at the same time for some of his impulsive decision making and even when he's at his most dispicable, you're rooting for him because you hope that the good guys come out on top in the end even when in real life that doesn't always happen. Cat and Joan D. Vinge have been inspriations in my life. I re-read the series once every couple of years to recapture the pure emotion Cat's story brings out.
My new boyfriend This was my first introduction to Joan D. Vinge and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Cat's young, smart, bitter, and incredibly resourceful. He's an orphan making ends meet in Oldcity, a slum beneath Quarro, where its denizens are without data bands and must live carefully. Cat's feline eyes mark him as being part Hydran, an alien race feared for its telepathic powers. He becomes a pawn in an effort to hunt down a criminal and must learn to control his telepathic powers.
Cat's a terrific character. One of my favorites, maybe. He's the perfect rebel and definitely boyfriend material. If you brought him home to meet your mom, she'd raise an eyebrow and be put off by his rough looks, but eventually won over by his dynamite intelligence and honesty.
Joan de Vinge is a solid writer, and as one reviewer commented, similar to early Anne McAffrey--though much better in the character development department. Some reviewers have commented that the book is fluffy. I won't deny it, it isn't a SERIOUS read. De Vinge isn't William Gibson or Neal Stephenson or Marge Piercy. But she's got a fully imagined world with really strong and empathetic characters who encounter real-world situations: racial discrimination, teen angst, and alienation. And I'm not just saying all this just because Cat is my boyfriend.
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