Psion (1982)

by Joan D. Vinge

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Cat Series (1)

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497	4	18,730	(3.75)	29

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▾LibraryThing recommendations

Dreamfall by Joan D. Vinge (1996)
Same series: Catspaw (Cat Series)
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Same series: Cuckoo's Egg, Chanur's Venture (Alliance-Union Universe)
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10
Catspaw by Joan D. Vinge (acid-ink)
acid-ink: The sequel to Psion, which is actually much better and quite a bit meatier.
22
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (SockMonkeyGirl)
00
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge (acid-ink)
acid-ink: The beginning of another series by Vinge which is much different, but is very well written and deliciously complex.
00
Secret of the Lost Race by Andre Norton (puddleshark)

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▾Member reviews

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Showing 4 of 4

May11:

It was alright.

Characters: They were there. They were almost complete. But they just were too tainted by the odd world view of the protagonist. Sure, I like Cat, but he just didn't grab me. The villain could have been great, but he was too neglected by the author.

Plot: Again, it was alright. Seemed coherent enough really.

Style: A little too young adult, but not in the good way. Didn't go a good job of asking the hard questions. (

)

Isamoor | May 23, 2011 |

http://www.fascinationplace.org/2007/12/22/joan-d-vinge-psion/ (

)

fascination | Dec 31, 2007 |

Cat's life is predictable. He lives on the street, steals to eat, and spends much of his gains to buy forgetfulness in the form of chemicals. He's become hardened to a life of want in the slums of the busiest trading port in the Human worlds. But his latest arrest by the authorities changes his life: for Cat is a halfbreed: half human and half hydran, a psionic race driven to near-extinction by humanity's colonization drive. Can Cat learn to live with his new-found abilities, or will his street attitude prevent him from learning to live off the street? (

)

laranth | May 17, 2007 |

Cat, a street kid, is arrested and given a choice: he can submit to training to develop his latent psychic abilities, or he can be shipped offworld as an indentured laborer. Although he doesn't really believe he could be anything special, Cat chooses to take part in the training, and is swiftly drawn into a world of interplanetary intrigue. Vinge once again shows she can write sweeping science fiction and give it a human element. The "abused teen with psychic abilities" was done many times in the 80s (when this was first published) but few did it as well as Vinge. (

)

Crowyhead | Mar 16, 2006 |

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▾Other authors

» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Joan D. Vinge	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Dillon, Diane	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Dillon, Leo	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Work-to-work relationships

Is contained in

Alien Blood [includes Psion and Catspaw] by Joan D. Vinge

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▾Common Knowledge

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Series (with order)

Cat Series (1)

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1982

People/Characters

Cat

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

ALA Best Books for Young Adults (1982)

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Frenkel, James

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 076530340X, Paperback)

When first published, readers young and old eagerly devoured the tale of a street-hardened survivor named Cat, a half-human, half-alien orphan telepath. Named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Cat's story has been continued by Hugo-award winning and international best-selling author Joan D. Vinge with the very popular Catspaw and Dreamfall. Now, 25 years later, this special anniversary edition of Psion contains a new introduction by the author and "Psiren," a story never before included in any trade edition of Psion. This tough, gritty tale of an outsider whose only chance for redemption is as an undercover agent for an interstellar government that by turns punishes and helps him, is as fresh and powerful today as it was in 1982.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:43:19 -0500)

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▾Library descriptions

A sixteen-year-old delinquent who has spent his life lying and stealing becomes involved in a research project which unleashes his extraordinary telepathic powers.