Catalyst

Red Rain #4.5

by Rachel Newhouse

Dr. Thomas Smyrna has never been afraid of the law. A stubborn Christian, he’s been racking up felonies since high school and organizing a black market for illegal Bibles. But when the government busts his operation—and his father-in-law takes the fall—Smyrna knows he must lie low and protect what family he has left. That is, until the government rounds up all the “unassimilated” and forces them into concentration camps. Desperate to free his wife and children, Smyrna agrees to one last mission—one designed to end the United’s cruelty forever.

Catalyst is a prequel story in the RED RAIN series, a fast-paced Christian sci-fi adventure that’s perfect for fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and LEFT BEHIND.

Genres: Dystopia

69 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 21, 2023

About the author

Rachel Newhouse is an author, wife, secretary, and Sunday school teacher from Kansas City, Missouri. Her obsessions are sci-fi, dystopian, and kid lit. When she’s not writing, she’s cooking Asian food, growing chilis that are too spicy to eat, and watching wildly age-inappropriate shows like My Little Pony and Gravity Falls with her husband, Joe. She also really likes glitter. You’ve been warned.

Reviews

[Rachel Newhouse]

**Rereading the last arc of the series in preparation for publishing Vol.2**

This poor man deserves a happy ending, and I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to give it to him.

Ehh, that's future Rachel's problem.

[Dylan West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another POV, More Witty Banter

Mrs. Newhouse's snarky dialogue shines through again in this installment. The writing is just as solid as ever, even if the book is shorter than the others.

Lines I found memorable:
-"I had too many letters after my name to be swept away with the morning's executions."
-"The government seemed to know that the worst punishment was leaving me alone with my thoughts"
-"She took the invitation and leaned her weight against me like she always did. With it settled the realization that I was now solely responsible for her young life."
-"I tried to whisper a prayer and choked on it."

Fans of the series should definitely read this one, too!

[Jessica Goeken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting!

Such an exciting story! This story fills in so many details and backstory for the Red Rain series, and sets up the rebellion that we see rearing its head in Philadelphia’s future. Not everything is as it seems (Tower???) and I feel like it’s all about to come to a head.

[Jonathan Lovelace · Rating 4 out of 5]

After book after book and story after story in the Red Rain series raising the bar, "Catalyst" is a slight letdown, but it's still quite good, and (as I said about Project 74) "a treat for fans of Red Rain." This story takes us back through the Smyrna family history of Philadelphia's parents that led directly up to Red Rain itself, and to the most recent entry Fox Hunt, and along the way gives us some details about the history of the totalitarian "United" that some fans have been clamoring to see for a decade.

All that is masterfully constructed. The only problem is in the narrative voice; while as always there's the "can't-put-it-down" quality that has become Mrs. Newhouse's trademark, the "feel" or "sound" of narration in the point of view of Thomas Smyrna is simply too similar to that of his daughter, so every time I flipped a virtual page I almost had to do a double-take to remember that I was reading the perspective of the father, not the daughter.

But that's a very minor defect. I still recommend this story to any fan of the Red Rain series.

I received a "free" advance copy of this story as a benefit of my financial support of the author on Patreon.

[Cindy Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short insert in the Red Rain line. We have shifted to Dad's point of view. He tells his story, his love story with his wife. You finally get a taste, and only a taste, of how United came into being. This is an insert look-back, not an advancement of the story line. Maybe it's the nature of an ongoing nature of the story (I am not used to sequels and prequels, just an all-in-one beginning to end kind of book), but each time I put one of these down I sit with my questions. Why didn't they stop United once they saw what it was? How can a man even madly loving his daughter, assist in making a bomb to destroy all life? What would make him think he could trust them to leave her alone after he gave them what he wants. Does he have no concept of what dictators are like? What about other religions are they banned, is only the Bible banned, no supportive texts? Newhouse is slow walking us through this story, and I am impatient. (I would go crazy watching soap operas!) Perhaps that is the brilliance of a serial, right? Keep you asking questions and wanting to know. I'm an old woman, maybe the younger audience who have more time can be more patient. One hopes the youngsters can sit with this book and ask question, think about what if, and why. Ms Newhouse is teasing us along, gentle tugs, and hopefully the audience will sit back and think. If so, she has accomplished something, making people stop and think!

[Angie Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've heard that some people dislike this book--or at least think this book makes its main character less likeable--but I didn't feel that way at all. It was heartbreaking, absolutely, and there were some wrong decisions made, but I definitely understood the why--how you can get sucked into believing you're doing the right thing and then suddenly coming up hard against the cold reality of what those choices could mean for the people that mean more to you than anything in the world and slamming the brakes on way too hard out of fear and grief and everything else that's become tangled up in the mess. It does make sense out of certain other choices in the series, and Phil herself proves just how strong the temptation can be in just a couple more books. The only thing I didn't quite understand was why Phil was allowed to keep transmitting Bibles after all this. Somehow that certain illegal thing that could have directly hurt her wasn't shut down? Not that I'm complaining; I'm just not sure why... But yes, I am still (maybe even more) sympathetic, even if I don't necessarily agree. <\3

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuation of the Red Rain series ...

Phili's DAD! Turns out he's not such a horrible guy after all, once you get to know him.

Best part? Pieces are starting to come together in this bigger scheme. I love how Newhouse gives us these new layers to the original story. Oh my goodness, a ham radio!!!

[Allyson Jamison · Rating 5 out of 5]

😭😭 So. Good.