‘Til The Shadow Grows Long
Catalyst
By Nina Kiriki Hoffman
19 Nov, 2024
What's The Worst That Could Happen?
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Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s 2006 Catalyst: A Novel of Alien Contact is a science fiction novel of alien contact. No doubt some might slide Catalyst over into the YA SF category, but I myself would not be putting this particular novel into little Timmy or Tammy’s Christmas stocking.
Thanks to his father’s involvement in illegal schemes, Kaslin’s family had to flee. Flight led the family to Chuudoku, a world whose Gini Coefficient is high and whose absence of the rule of law is utter. Impoverished Kaslin was attracted to wealthy, alluring Histly Mapworth. To quote:
Kaslin saw Histly and thought, yum. Histly saw Kaslin and thought, prey. After that first day, Kaslin saw Histly and thought, run.