Catalyst

Cat Ship, Book 1

By: Jody Wallace

Narrated by: Kristin James

Dance teacher Wil Tango, adopted by a cat who needs to make use of his opposable thumbs, knows all too well the primary rule of their arrangement: never reveal the cat is a genius. Their clever scheme to win all the jackpots on Gizem Station works until a bigwig gets suspicious, and he finds himself stuffed in a stasis box and shipped to Garbage Planet. At least he’s got the cat for company.

Sulari Abfall, scrapyard picker extraordinaire, thinks she’s scored when she earns access to the latest offload from Gizem Station. Their trash is her treasure, and the profits from her recycling program should provide more than enough to upgrade her clunky garbage scow into a clunky tow ship, a huge step up in trash hierarchy. When she’s drawn to a hazardous waste container, she finds more than she ever bargained for. A naked man. And a sentient cat.

But unsealing the stasis pod sends an interspace signal back to Gizem Station—and the vengeful VIP who thought Wil was dead. It will take all the wits of a lovely garbage scow captain, a down on his luck dance instructor, and a brave orange feline to defeat a gang intent on mayhem, murder, and a galactic catnapping that could change the course of the future for the entire Obsidian Rim.

©2021 Jody Wallace (P)2023 Bryant Street Publishing

Worth a listen

My favorite, sci-fi formula includes Mystery, adventure and action, a slow burn romance and very little or no erotica. This story covers all the basics for me. And the way it ended left me with a feeling of ‘huh’, definitely making me want to listen to the next book. I was afraid that a talking cat would make the story a little silly but not so much. My only complaint is that I had a little trouble connecting with the characters. I’m not sure why that is-maybe the emotional component didn’t feel so real to me.

FUN!

First, the narrator was fantastic. She did a great job, differentiating all of the characters, and you always knew who was speaking. She included everything from sass to solemnity where expected and her timing and cadence were fantastic. Great job!

Now for the book: This book was plain old fun! The premise was unique, quirky, and literally out of this world. Great chemistry and camaraderie between all of the characters, and even the bad guys were fun (which was unexpected). We can definitely see a re-listen in our future.