Cat's Pawn

The Empire of Kaz #1

by Leslie Gadallah

When their spaceship is attacked by pirates, Bill Anderson is saved by a fellow passenger, Talan, an Orian diplomat

Genres: Science Fiction, Cats

262 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 12, 1987

Reviews

[Khrys · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started out interesting enough but got bogged down after Talan started reading Anderson's memoirs (which didn't even read as memoirs from Anderson's point of view; just stayed pretty much in third person). I would much rather have followed the "present" story rather than go back to the past which made it feel very much like a bathtub story (knowing whatever was happening had already happened). As someone else wrote, I felt a definite lack of sympathy for Anderson, especially after he double crossed someone trying to get his people back from slavers. I also felt that as decent as Talan was portrayed, why would he make it so hard for Anderson to get in touch with him if he really wanted to help--it just felt forced as a way to put Anderson on his path to self-destruction. The path he was taking also felt a little too predictable; I found it hard to keep reading when it was obvious how it would turn out.

[Pws9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice one

[Penny lurkykitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of Cat's Pawn through LibraryThing's early reviewer program. Cat's Pawn is a science fiction space opera with a background of interstellar conflict and politics. I read an updated version. The original was published in the 80s. The main human character, Bill Anderson, is trapped on Orion, a planet of cat like people due to a health condition that can't be treated on earth. The main alien character is Talan an ambassador for Orion. Another central character is Steven Black, basically a gangster around whom resolves a lot of the action and suspense. Cat's Pawn was a compelling book and hard to put down. There was a seriousness and sadness to this book, definitely not a fluffy, mindless, sci-fi romp. There is definitely a need for a second book as not all was resolved.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the political stuff was hard to follow, but the sci fi adventure part was good. It wasnt really what i expected, but still entertaining. Anything with cat-like aliens in it cant be all bad!