Catalyst
Pilot, navigator, engineer, doctor, scientist — ship'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. Thomas's carefully bred progeny,
ably assisted by humans — Cat Persons — with whom they share a deep and
loving bond, now travel the galaxy, responsible for keeping spacecraft
free of vermin, for alerting human crews to potential environmental
hazards, and for acting as morale officers.
Even among Barque
Cats, Chessie is something special. Her pedigree, skills, and
intelligence, as well as the close rapport she has with her human,
Janina, make her the most valuable crew member aboard the Molly Daise.
And the litter of kittens in her belly only adds to her value.
Then
the unthinkable happens. Chessie is kidnapped — er, catnapped — from Dr.
Jared Vlast's vet clinic at Hood Station by a grizzled spacer named
Carl Poindexter. But Chessie's newborn kittens turn out to be even more
extraordinary than their mother. For while Chessie's connection to
Janina is close and intuitive, the bond that the kitten Chester forms
with Carl's son, Jubal, is downright telepathic. And when Chester is
sent into space to learn his trade, neither he nor Jubal will rest
until they're reunited.
But the announcement of a widespread
epidemic affecting livestock on numerous planets throws their future
into doubt. Suddenly the galactic government announces a plan to
impound and possibly destroy all exposed animals. Not even the Barque
Cats will be spared.
With the clock racing against them,
Janina, Jubal, Dr. Vlast, and a handful of very special kittens will
join forces with the mysterious Pshaw-Ra — an alien-looking cat with a
hidden agenda — to save the Barque Cats, other animals, and quite
possibly the universe as they know it from total destruction.
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Anne McCaffrey
Anne McCaffrey’s name resonates deeply in the world of science fiction, not just for her imaginative worlds but for her ability to weave emotional depth and humanity into stories about dragons, space travel, and the bonds that define us. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1926, McCaffrey’s passion for storytelling took root early, though her path to becoming one of the genre’s most beloved authors was not an immediate one. Before turning to writing full-time, she explored a variety of professions, including acting and singing, but it was the written word that eventually captured her heart.
The Barque Cats
The Barque Cats consists of two books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
