Book description
Pilot, navigator, engineer, doctor, scientistâship's cat? All are essential to the well-staffed space vessel. Since the early days of interstellar travel, when Tuxedo Thomas, a Maine coon cat, showed what a cat could do for a ship and its crew, the so-called Barque Cats have become highly prized crew members.âŚ
Why read it?
1 author picked Catalyst as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Catalyst (and the sequel, Catacombs) are for anyone who cherishes cats. Itâs obvious that McCaffrey and her frequent collaborator Scarborough know cats very well indeed. In this universe, a ship's cat has proven to be as essential a crew member as captain, navigator, or engineer. (I find this totally believable, as one of my cats has decided his job is to notify me when someone has left a package on my porch.) The cats in the story are evolving to be even more valuable to humans, especially when it comes to alien relations and saving a colony's livestock fromâŚ
From Carol's list on science fiction stories with pets.
If you love Catalyst...
An Heir of Realms
An Heir of Realms tells the tale of two young heroinesâa dragon rider and a portal jumperâwho fight dragon-like parasites to save their realms from extinction.Â
Rhoswen is training as a Realm Rider to work with dragons and burn away the Narxon swarming into her realm. Rhoswenâs dream is toâŚ
Want books like Catalyst?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 84 books like Catalyst.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,278
readers submitted
so far, will you?
đ If you like Catalyst, you might also like...
The Arasmith Certainty Principle
Jen Hewitt, a quiet geology graduate student, doesn't actually believe in time travel. Were it possible, rocks from the age of dinosaurs should already be cluttered with artifacts from future time-tourists. Nevertheless, she proves with fellow geologist Jonathan Renner that a human skeleton encased in Pleistocene rock came from theirâŚ
Mother of Trees
Mother of Trees is the first book in an epic fantasy series about a dying goddess, a broken world, and a young elf born without magic in a society ruled by it.
When the ancient being that anchors the worldâs power begins to fail, the consequences ripple outwardâthrough prophecy, politics,âŚ
