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The Catalyst
Book by Charles L. Harness
- GenresScience Fiction
191 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
1 person is currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Charles L. Harness
92 books24 followersAlso credited as Charles Harness.
Charles Leonard Harness was born December 29, 1915 in Colorado City TX. After an abortive stint at Texas Christian University, studying to be a preacher, he moved on to George Washington University in Washington DC, where he received a B.S. degree in 1942, and a law degree in 1946. He married in 1938, and he and wife Nell have a daughter and a son. He worked as a mineral economist for the US Bureau of Mines, 1941-47, then became a patent attorney, first with American Cyanamid (1947-1953), then with W.R. Grace & Co. (1953-1981). His first story, ‘‘Time Trap’’, appeared in Astounding (8/48), and he went on to write a number of well-regarded SF stories, many involving future trials and patent attorneys. A series of patent office spoofs/stories (some co-written with Theodore L. Thomas) appeared under the pseudonym Leonard Lockhard, beginning with ‘‘Improbable Profession’’ (Astounding 9/52). His first published novel, Flight Into Yesterday (aka The Paradox Men), first appeared as a 1949 novella, and was expanded in 1953. The Rose, his most famous novella, appeared as a book in 1966. It was followed by Wagnerian space opera The Ring of Ritornel (1968), Wolfhead (1978), The Catalyst (1980), Firebird (1981), The Venetian Court (1982), Redworld (1986), Krono (1988), Lurid Dreams (1990), and Lunar Justice (1991). His short fiction has been collected in An Ornament to His Profession (1998), which includes not only ‘‘The Rose’’ but a new novella as well.
Charles Leonard Harness was born December 29, 1915 in Colorado City TX. After an abortive stint at Texas Christian University, studying to be a preacher, he moved on to George Washington University in Washington DC, where he received a B.S. degree in 1942, and a law degree in 1946. He married in 1938, and he and wife Nell have a daughter and a son. He worked as a mineral economist for the US Bureau of Mines, 1941-47, then became a patent attorney, first with American Cyanamid (1947-1953), then with W.R. Grace & Co. (1953-1981). His first story, ‘‘Time Trap’’, appeared in Astounding (8/48), and he went on to write a number of well-regarded SF stories, many involving future trials and patent attorneys. A series of patent office spoofs/stories (some co-written with Theodore L. Thomas) appeared under the pseudonym Leonard Lockhard, beginning with ‘‘Improbable Profession’’ (Astounding 9/52). His first published novel, Flight Into Yesterday (aka The Paradox Men), first appeared as a 1949 novella, and was expanded in 1953. The Rose, his most famous novella, appeared as a book in 1966. It was followed by Wagnerian space opera The Ring of Ritornel (1968), Wolfhead (1978), The Catalyst (1980), Firebird (1981), The Venetian Court (1982), Redworld (1986), Krono (1988), Lurid Dreams (1990), and Lunar Justice (1991). His short fiction has been collected in An Ornament to His Profession (1998), which includes not only ‘‘The Rose’’ but a new novella as well.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 16, 2024
Did not expect to be picking up an sf THEN WE CAME TO THE END when I grabbed this off the shelves, but here we are, as, beyond the intriguing Chem SF foundations here, the main speculative element seems to be an attempt at intuiting the nature of office work in the C21. That it’s both largely right (screens, techy informality, screens, video conferencing, and screens) and also fairly dull says enough about the endeavor.
Simply put, one of the stranger books I’ve ever read. And less for what it contains — as, in terms of sfnal content, that’s all fairly standard, and written in a fluid, descriptive, unhurried workmanlike prose — that for what it doesn’t, namely any seeming awareness of the dictates or history of simple story development. It’s a SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION without the redemption, an OFFICE SPACE without catharsis, a seeker without any seeking.
And in its queer presentation and bland, stakes-less non-sfnal machinations, I began to eventually enjoy it quite a bit, actually willing it to keep doing the strange nothing it was doing, rather than, after 150 pages of obstinate novelty, try and land a de-rigeur ending. That it ended as baffling as it began was, at that point, a plus.
Simply put, one of the stranger books I’ve ever read. And less for what it contains — as, in terms of sfnal content, that’s all fairly standard, and written in a fluid, descriptive, unhurried workmanlike prose — that for what it doesn’t, namely any seeming awareness of the dictates or history of simple story development. It’s a SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION without the redemption, an OFFICE SPACE without catharsis, a seeker without any seeking.
And in its queer presentation and bland, stakes-less non-sfnal machinations, I began to eventually enjoy it quite a bit, actually willing it to keep doing the strange nothing it was doing, rather than, after 150 pages of obstinate novelty, try and land a de-rigeur ending. That it ended as baffling as it began was, at that point, a plus.
January 9, 2021
Ricordo che avevo acquistato questo Urania in edicola solo perché sapevo che c'era una intervista ad Asimov che riguardava il romanzo "Destinazione Cervello".
Il romanzo breve di Harness comunque non è privo di appeal e di mordente, con un paio di scene comico-grottesche dalla dubbia morale che restano impresse.
3 stelle forse sono troppe, ma ho bei ricordi di quel periodo della mia vita e la rilettura me li ha rispolverati.
Il romanzo breve di Harness comunque non è privo di appeal e di mordente, con un paio di scene comico-grottesche dalla dubbia morale che restano impresse.
3 stelle forse sono troppe, ma ho bei ricordi di quel periodo della mia vita e la rilettura me li ha rispolverati.
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October 23, 2025At high-pressure chemical plants in the United States and Germany, the race to process a new wonder chemical is on. The stakes are high - and the competition is reckless, desperate and fierce. Trialine. Wonder Drug. If synthesized, its possibilities are endless. Fabulous. It will revolutionise the 21st century. And it will make somebody famous. And somebody very, very rich. But the key to the process is held by somebody who doesn't know it. Somebody who will be transformed forever. Somebody who is destined to be... The Catalyst.
November 20, 2024
Chemistry-based sci-fi slash legal procedural. I was bored, and didn’t follow any of the chemistry or much of the legal back and forth. Published in 1980, set in 2006, the book has people driving electric cars, interacting with computers in the style of ChatGPT, having Zoom calls, and using AI to simulate the dead coming back to life.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews