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Cat #3
Cascata de Sonhos
The acclaimed author of The Summer Queen delivers her first novel in five years--the third book in the "Cat" series. Telepahtic, tough and cool, half-human Cat is an outcast on his home planet because of his mental abilities. Desperate to find a place where he can live in peace, Cat plunges his energies into a research project that soon places him squarely in the center of an ecological disaster.
395 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1996
21 people are currently reading
584 people want to read
About the author
Joan D. Vinge
134 books443 followersJoan D. Vinge (born Joan Carol Dennison) is an American science fiction author. She is known for such works as her Hugo Award-winning novel The Snow Queen and its sequels, her series about the telepath named Cat, and her Heaven's Chronicles books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
March 10, 2016
I feel like I'm coming out of dreamfall myself—a long waking dream that started when I began reading the Cat series. Book lovers know what I'm talking about: your non-reading time feels like a haze, because you're not aware of the here and now. You're still inside the novel.
While Psion was more of a coming-of-age/adventure and Catspaw more political intrigue, Dreamfall felt like a film noir, with Cat uncovering a mystery that leads him to the ghetto streets of Freaktown and eventually the corrupt and cold-blooded men that keep up the status quo. It's not as hard-bitten in style as something like The Big Sleep, though. Cat's longing for connection and forgiveness soften the tone, although he has some dark musings about human nature. Cat's thoughts added such texture to the story. He would often think with the delicacy of poetry, but switch to say something incredibly hard-as-nails out loud. Those reversals were so delightfully surprising.
There was an overall feeling of isolation in this book. The isolation of your own biology, of a community kept at arm's length. The isolation we impose upon ourselves. Of how another being, whether human or alien, is ultimately unknowable. That sense of being blocked in wasn't obvious, but kept the events tied together nicely.
Dreamfall is the third—and sadly, last—book in this series, and it feels more like an Empire Strikes Back than a Return of the Jedi; that soft minor chord before the music swells to a magnificent crescendo. It's ripe for a triumphant final installment in the series. I'll just have to hope that Joan Vinge recovers her health and finds the right spark that will set her hand to writing it.
Still, this book works well as a stand-alone, although readers will have a greater emotional connection if they read the series from the beginning. I hope those who pick it up have their own dreamfall.
While Psion was more of a coming-of-age/adventure and Catspaw more political intrigue, Dreamfall felt like a film noir, with Cat uncovering a mystery that leads him to the ghetto streets of Freaktown and eventually the corrupt and cold-blooded men that keep up the status quo. It's not as hard-bitten in style as something like The Big Sleep, though. Cat's longing for connection and forgiveness soften the tone, although he has some dark musings about human nature. Cat's thoughts added such texture to the story. He would often think with the delicacy of poetry, but switch to say something incredibly hard-as-nails out loud. Those reversals were so delightfully surprising.
There was an overall feeling of isolation in this book. The isolation of your own biology, of a community kept at arm's length. The isolation we impose upon ourselves. Of how another being, whether human or alien, is ultimately unknowable. That sense of being blocked in wasn't obvious, but kept the events tied together nicely.
Dreamfall is the third—and sadly, last—book in this series, and it feels more like an Empire Strikes Back than a Return of the Jedi; that soft minor chord before the music swells to a magnificent crescendo. It's ripe for a triumphant final installment in the series. I'll just have to hope that Joan Vinge recovers her health and finds the right spark that will set her hand to writing it.
Still, this book works well as a stand-alone, although readers will have a greater emotional connection if they read the series from the beginning. I hope those who pick it up have their own dreamfall.
April 11, 2009
A good book with a bummer ending. Not surprising, I suppose, since the theme of this novel is the near impossibility of surviving as an outsider in a world governed by the corporate state.
Cat's a sweet character who somehow manages to be a bridge between peoples, but also manages to find himself alone & disregarded.
This is a book filled with longing - for community, for change, for love, for companionship, for a way to be whole. Vinge writes interesting characters & the plot here is nicely character driven, although she doesn't really do anything with the cloud whales and their dreamfall - odd to set up such a cool premise & then just sort of leave it there.
This is the third book of a trilogy and I think I like the second one, Catspaw, best. The characters, landscape, & ideas are more diverse - alien, but not alien all at once.
Cat's a sweet character who somehow manages to be a bridge between peoples, but also manages to find himself alone & disregarded.
This is a book filled with longing - for community, for change, for love, for companionship, for a way to be whole. Vinge writes interesting characters & the plot here is nicely character driven, although she doesn't really do anything with the cloud whales and their dreamfall - odd to set up such a cool premise & then just sort of leave it there.
This is the third book of a trilogy and I think I like the second one, Catspaw, best. The characters, landscape, & ideas are more diverse - alien, but not alien all at once.
December 16, 2018
I read the first two novels of Cat the Psion a long time ago, in the last century. I did not know there was a third novel in this series. I had a very strong memory of the first books, and the beginning of my reading reinforced my memories: a coherent SF universe, deep characters, a modern plot (dealing with racism, colonialism, difference and loss of a glorious past, whether from a personal point of view or that of a whole civilization).
However, I found the book's heart a bit long, a bit slow. But never to the point of letting go of the book, the bottom of the story being remarkable. And the end of the book is very successful, between triumph and tragedy.
I just have to re-read the first two volumes, now ...
However, I found the book's heart a bit long, a bit slow. But never to the point of letting go of the book, the bottom of the story being remarkable. And the end of the book is very successful, between triumph and tragedy.
I just have to re-read the first two volumes, now ...
July 26, 2014
Dreamfall is the third book in the Cat series (so read Psion and Catspaw), and the least enjoyable in my opinion, which makes it about six times better than all books anyway. Dreamfall is the story of Cat's exploration of his heritage. While traveling to a distant planet with his university to study the "cloud whales," Cat goes to the "Homeland" (where the indigenous Hydran population lives, much like Native Americans were pushed off of their land to reservations) and ends up in a mess. His telepathic talent still doesn't work except maybe once in a while, so he finds he isn't really welcome over in the Hydran town because keeping his mind closed is offensive to them.
As he is feeling hopeless about not fitting in with either the humans or the Hydrans, a woman smacks into him, running away from security, and drops a child's databand into his hand as she runs away. He helps her escape and ends up taken into custody himself. He is interrogated and briefly tortured, but since he knows nothing he is unable to help them catch the Hydran woman, who apparently kidnapped a human child.
It comes out that the child is Joby, a baby with neurological damage that makes him unable to control himself at all, and so his family had hired a Hydran companion for him to make him able to move and react the way he wanted to in an attempt to rehabilitate him. The woman, Miya, took off with their son for reasons unclear. Cat feels a connection to the woman, though, and ends up meeting her again very soon, when she explains herself to him. She takes him to the Hydran town and tries to help him get to know the people, though her sister, Naoh, takes an immediate aversion to him.
Miya and Cat become lovers, and Cat learns the Hydran language and attempts to act as a go-between for the humans and the Hydrans. But trouble is brewing (of course). The humans see the Hydrans as terrorists holding the child hostage, and the Hydrans--specifically a freedom-fighting radical group of them--see the humans as invaders. They are led by Naoh in a fight against the humans, and Cat is swept up in it, yet again, trying to find his feet. Cat thinks Naoh is wrong and very sick, and tries to stop the Hydrans from attacking the humans, but Naoh is too persuasive and ends up getting hundreds of people to riot. And the humans retaliate with a kind of gas that makes Hydrans unable to use their psionic abilities, rendering them helpless and confused. Cat, Miya, and Joby retreat to a quiet place to heal.
There are tons of details I've missed here, of course--Cat's attempts to expose Corporate Security's treatment of their bonded workers; Cat's friendship and relationship with Kissindre Perrymeade, his classmate who is somewhat entranced by him; his relationship with an old woman known as an oyasin who teaches him much about life and himself. But of course it all comes together in an ending that definitely isn't "happy" but just seems right. Cat is much more mature now and his exploration of the Hydran part of himself is fascinating; he always felt very human because of being raised thinking he was only human, and so it's great to see his acceptance of both halves.
As he is feeling hopeless about not fitting in with either the humans or the Hydrans, a woman smacks into him, running away from security, and drops a child's databand into his hand as she runs away. He helps her escape and ends up taken into custody himself. He is interrogated and briefly tortured, but since he knows nothing he is unable to help them catch the Hydran woman, who apparently kidnapped a human child.
It comes out that the child is Joby, a baby with neurological damage that makes him unable to control himself at all, and so his family had hired a Hydran companion for him to make him able to move and react the way he wanted to in an attempt to rehabilitate him. The woman, Miya, took off with their son for reasons unclear. Cat feels a connection to the woman, though, and ends up meeting her again very soon, when she explains herself to him. She takes him to the Hydran town and tries to help him get to know the people, though her sister, Naoh, takes an immediate aversion to him.
Miya and Cat become lovers, and Cat learns the Hydran language and attempts to act as a go-between for the humans and the Hydrans. But trouble is brewing (of course). The humans see the Hydrans as terrorists holding the child hostage, and the Hydrans--specifically a freedom-fighting radical group of them--see the humans as invaders. They are led by Naoh in a fight against the humans, and Cat is swept up in it, yet again, trying to find his feet. Cat thinks Naoh is wrong and very sick, and tries to stop the Hydrans from attacking the humans, but Naoh is too persuasive and ends up getting hundreds of people to riot. And the humans retaliate with a kind of gas that makes Hydrans unable to use their psionic abilities, rendering them helpless and confused. Cat, Miya, and Joby retreat to a quiet place to heal.
There are tons of details I've missed here, of course--Cat's attempts to expose Corporate Security's treatment of their bonded workers; Cat's friendship and relationship with Kissindre Perrymeade, his classmate who is somewhat entranced by him; his relationship with an old woman known as an oyasin who teaches him much about life and himself. But of course it all comes together in an ending that definitely isn't "happy" but just seems right. Cat is much more mature now and his exploration of the Hydran part of himself is fascinating; he always felt very human because of being raised thinking he was only human, and so it's great to see his acceptance of both halves.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2010
Given my love of Psion, this review is riddled with disappointment and someone else might give it another star out of some kind of misguided pity.
Shambling adolescent sulker stumbles through grindingly plodding narrative. In the debut novel "Psion", the behaviour matched the age, but now it drags. Despite this, two random women throw themselves at our hero and two more sexually assault him (much less exciting than it sounds, no really). Psion has a wonderful spirit of magic and mystery, of a tense combative foe in a cruel uncaring world. Dreamfall has dreams crushed underfoot by mechanical processors.
In a wonderfully backhanded review on the back cover of my edition a reviewer says "The cloud-reef backdrop is spectacular". True and desperate all at the same time...
Shambling adolescent sulker stumbles through grindingly plodding narrative. In the debut novel "Psion", the behaviour matched the age, but now it drags. Despite this, two random women throw themselves at our hero and two more sexually assault him (much less exciting than it sounds, no really). Psion has a wonderful spirit of magic and mystery, of a tense combative foe in a cruel uncaring world. Dreamfall has dreams crushed underfoot by mechanical processors.
In a wonderfully backhanded review on the back cover of my edition a reviewer says "The cloud-reef backdrop is spectacular". True and desperate all at the same time...
January 6, 2012
Oh Joan D. Vinge. Why did you revive a series I enjoyed years after? I loved Catspaw and thought the ending satisfied Cat's tale quite well. Enter Dreamfall, which is just a mess of a novel. I'm giving it a 2 because I think Vinge's writing is still solid, I just truthfully think that there was no reason for us to go back and see how Cat's doing when his story felt complete prior. I wanted to enjoy this one, but I was just so frusrated with what the story was doing and how it moved, and that essentially killed what little enjoyment I had.
October 15, 2012
Tangible residue of cast-off thoughts from beautiful, enigmatic cloud whales - I don't see how anybody could read that phrase and not want to go on and read the book about it. Of course it's not as good as you imagined - how could it be?
March 5, 2017
The first time I read Dreamfall, I did it not long after reading Psion and Catspaw. Dreamfall wasn’t the sequel to Catspaw I’d wanted, which affected my rating of the book.
Twenty years later, far less fresh with the material, I tackled it again and probably more objectively for itself as a single book. It’s not bad and I finished it pretty quickly out of wanting to see how things turned out, but for this book--and this series--the reader needs to be able to deal with the protagonist constantly being tormented physically, emotionally, and mentally, sometimes to the point of becoming ridiculous and nearly funny (to me at least), sometimes in ways that some readers might find triggery This book is especially thick with torment; even by the standards of the other books in the series I found it a bit extreme.
I think I picked up the worldbuilding and cultures better this time than on my first read.
Twenty years later, far less fresh with the material, I tackled it again and probably more objectively for itself as a single book. It’s not bad and I finished it pretty quickly out of wanting to see how things turned out, but for this book--and this series--the reader needs to be able to deal with the protagonist constantly being tormented physically, emotionally, and mentally, sometimes to the point of becoming ridiculous and nearly funny (to me at least), sometimes in ways that some readers might find triggery This book is especially thick with torment; even by the standards of the other books in the series I found it a bit extreme.
I think I picked up the worldbuilding and cultures better this time than on my first read.
December 25, 2020
If you go into this series expecting a happy ending, you're gonna have a bad time. In fact, if you go into this series expecting anything other than soul-crushing depression and abject, chronic melancholy, you're gonna have a bad time.
It's almost as if the author measures the literary quality of her works by the amount of misery and pain she can inflict on the protagonist. To her credit, just when you think the main character has hit bottom, she pulls the false bottom out from under you so you can continue watching him tumble inexorably downwards.
I don't expect all novels to be happy-go-lucky fairy tales, but nor do I go into a book expecting to need therapy when I'm done with it. There was almost nothing redeeming about this book unless you're a shareholder in pharmaceutical companies that specialize in anti-depressants.
Yeah, so....not a huge fan of this book or the series.
It's almost as if the author measures the literary quality of her works by the amount of misery and pain she can inflict on the protagonist. To her credit, just when you think the main character has hit bottom, she pulls the false bottom out from under you so you can continue watching him tumble inexorably downwards.
I don't expect all novels to be happy-go-lucky fairy tales, but nor do I go into a book expecting to need therapy when I'm done with it. There was almost nothing redeeming about this book unless you're a shareholder in pharmaceutical companies that specialize in anti-depressants.
Yeah, so....not a huge fan of this book or the series.
Read
November 9, 2010Poor, poor Cat. He's like the universe's personal chew-toy.
Also, I'm pretty sure "Namaste" is not an alien expression. I suppose it could just be symbolic?
I keep waiting for Cat to grow a pair and start taking some agency in his life instead of just reacting (often in the worst possible way) to the shit that constantly comes his way.
I mean, he has the potential to be a major player, but he's always too scared to live up to it unless someone's got his balls in a vice- which they usually do- and even then he never goes far enough.
I guess he's afraid to turn into another Quicksilver, but hey, Rubiy's ideas weren't ALL wrong.
Also, I'm pretty sure "Namaste" is not an alien expression. I suppose it could just be symbolic?
I keep waiting for Cat to grow a pair and start taking some agency in his life instead of just reacting (often in the worst possible way) to the shit that constantly comes his way.
I mean, he has the potential to be a major player, but he's always too scared to live up to it unless someone's got his balls in a vice- which they usually do- and even then he never goes far enough.
I guess he's afraid to turn into another Quicksilver, but hey, Rubiy's ideas weren't ALL wrong.
August 12, 2013
A good science fiction novel which uses the genre to examine the oppression of
"the other" and the universal struggle for "human" (or alien) rights.
"the other" and the universal struggle for "human" (or alien) rights.
December 29, 2024
I truly wish Joan D Vinge had written more books. She writes such amazing worlds, the type that create surreal artwork in your mind. It’s unsurprising Michael Whelan did covers for so many of her books as she creates vividly alien ecosystems, filled with sentience and mystery. I just want to visit the temple she described and live there for a few days near the reefs and the cloud whales.
And then the pacing! Each chapter is a cliffhanger. So well plotted, so hopeful and hopeless at the same time.
This series is interesting as it’s a cyberpunk with the sort of character that is always getting beat up. His feelings of loneliness and his distrust of people is rooted not just in what he’s observed, but what you see him experiencing. So the chip on his shoulder and willingness to absolutely destroy other people entirely makes sense. It’s different than the typical hard-boiled detective, while at the same time kind of working off of it.
I love also how much of what Vinge wrote was complicated and true. There was a kidnapping that lead to an escalation, that lead to an excuse for the party in control to do what they wanted — deny food, go into homes, kill people, torture leaders. Just like real life.
And just like real life, the same power that oppresses the native population, is also dangerous to its workers, and even more dangerous because it doesn’t work with the people native to the ecosystem.
Now, it’s a bit… odd the way she approaches culture and race. The world is obviously multiracial and multicultural. And there are parts that seem very enlightened, for lack of a better word. But then we also get these moments that are odd, like the word “Namaste” being a word in the Hydran language and the Hydrans also following “the Way”. Not to mention the race of Hydrans appears to be white haired in addition to the cat eyes. Is that an aesthetic choice or was it part of the greater trend of showing white people as oppressed to explain to them how racism worked? (A la X-Men, etc.) I couldn’t say.
This was the last book in the series. In some ways, the series ended perfectly. Cat always makes things better but the damage caused can never fully heal. And so it ends, not on a cliffhanger, but on sort of a lonely and bittersweet note.
But it definitely felt like Vinge meant to continue. She wrote Miya stuck on the planet in order to heal Joby, but with the ability to hack the computer system. There were further mysteries about the cloud whales I’m sure. The Kissindre plot line didn’t feel finished, if anything I’m expecting she’ll end up with someone Cat already knows. And then Cat ended the series hired for a new job — and still unhealed as his power goes. I felt there was at least one more book in there.
And then the pacing! Each chapter is a cliffhanger. So well plotted, so hopeful and hopeless at the same time.
This series is interesting as it’s a cyberpunk with the sort of character that is always getting beat up. His feelings of loneliness and his distrust of people is rooted not just in what he’s observed, but what you see him experiencing. So the chip on his shoulder and willingness to absolutely destroy other people entirely makes sense. It’s different than the typical hard-boiled detective, while at the same time kind of working off of it.
I love also how much of what Vinge wrote was complicated and true. There was a kidnapping that lead to an escalation, that lead to an excuse for the party in control to do what they wanted — deny food, go into homes, kill people, torture leaders. Just like real life.
And just like real life, the same power that oppresses the native population, is also dangerous to its workers, and even more dangerous because it doesn’t work with the people native to the ecosystem.
Now, it’s a bit… odd the way she approaches culture and race. The world is obviously multiracial and multicultural. And there are parts that seem very enlightened, for lack of a better word. But then we also get these moments that are odd, like the word “Namaste” being a word in the Hydran language and the Hydrans also following “the Way”. Not to mention the race of Hydrans appears to be white haired in addition to the cat eyes. Is that an aesthetic choice or was it part of the greater trend of showing white people as oppressed to explain to them how racism worked? (A la X-Men, etc.) I couldn’t say.
This was the last book in the series. In some ways, the series ended perfectly. Cat always makes things better but the damage caused can never fully heal. And so it ends, not on a cliffhanger, but on sort of a lonely and bittersweet note.
But it definitely felt like Vinge meant to continue. She wrote Miya stuck on the planet in order to heal Joby, but with the ability to hack the computer system. There were further mysteries about the cloud whales I’m sure. The Kissindre plot line didn’t feel finished, if anything I’m expecting she’ll end up with someone Cat already knows. And then Cat ended the series hired for a new job — and still unhealed as his power goes. I felt there was at least one more book in there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2019
Dreamfall is (at least while this review is being written) the last book in the Cat saga, and despite not being as good as the previous book I still found plenty of things to enjoy. Such as the meta-narrative about racism, the characters, and the writing. Joan D. Vinge has clearly spent a good amount of time developing the story and how it would affect the characters, their choices, and how the story would change depending on that. Point being that nothing in the story felt unnatural.
Dreamfall suffers from some of the pitfalls of Catspawn, where the story acts as a mystery, but keeps adding things to make the story make sense, making it impossible to predict the end. Not a bad thing in most fiction, but in mystery stories, it is a problem as half the fun is seeing someone manage to either put together a puzzle or see someone put together a puzzle you couldn't finish. It also suffers from the use of destiny by another name, snuffing out a lot of the tension of the story. I will say that the use of destiny isn't all negative, as people are manipulated by it in clever ways.
When the chips are down I'll say that I definitely had fun with this book, and the series for that matter, and would recommend it to fans of young adult fans who wants something aimed at them, but with a bit of a bite to it.
Dreamfall suffers from some of the pitfalls of Catspawn, where the story acts as a mystery, but keeps adding things to make the story make sense, making it impossible to predict the end. Not a bad thing in most fiction, but in mystery stories, it is a problem as half the fun is seeing someone manage to either put together a puzzle or see someone put together a puzzle you couldn't finish. It also suffers from the use of destiny by another name, snuffing out a lot of the tension of the story. I will say that the use of destiny isn't all negative, as people are manipulated by it in clever ways.
When the chips are down I'll say that I definitely had fun with this book, and the series for that matter, and would recommend it to fans of young adult fans who wants something aimed at them, but with a bit of a bite to it.
October 29, 2019
I'll admit that I'm currently stalled out a bit short of the halfway point, and I don't see myself finishing unless a Cat #4 book ever shows up (because let's be honestly, this series isn't a trilogy. it only "looks" like a trilogy because there's only 3 books... lol).
I feel like Vinge thinks it's going to be SO INCREDIBLY SATISFYING for the reader to watch Cat finally stand up against the System that has damned him since birth. Except... it's just this random third party conflict that Cat has no actual stake in other than, idk, a college research paper. It feels like Vinge was trying to make a big point about the treatment of native americans, the suppression of their culture, forced to live on reservations, etc... except I don't think she realized that Cat (both the book and the character) didn't really have anything to do with it. Cat wasnt raised by Hydrans and as a half-breed has truly no connection to his heritage or his people. Which would have been a more interesting book subject than the plot forcing him to care about something that doesn't make any difference to him other than the fact that he accidentally stumbled across some coincidental plot.
Anyway, this book feels a bit silly and awkward, and I think I'm done.
I feel like Vinge thinks it's going to be SO INCREDIBLY SATISFYING for the reader to watch Cat finally stand up against the System that has damned him since birth. Except... it's just this random third party conflict that Cat has no actual stake in other than, idk, a college research paper. It feels like Vinge was trying to make a big point about the treatment of native americans, the suppression of their culture, forced to live on reservations, etc... except I don't think she realized that Cat (both the book and the character) didn't really have anything to do with it. Cat wasnt raised by Hydrans and as a half-breed has truly no connection to his heritage or his people. Which would have been a more interesting book subject than the plot forcing him to care about something that doesn't make any difference to him other than the fact that he accidentally stumbled across some coincidental plot.
Anyway, this book feels a bit silly and awkward, and I think I'm done.
Read
June 26, 2021Cat goes to a planet called Refuge with Kissindre and Ezra, where he does research for Tau. He still cannot use his psi, and faces prejudice for being half alien and half human. He connects with a community of aliens like him, who are oppressed by the Tau government. He finds himself helpless to stop the deadly consequences as a revolution unfolds around him.
This book was so disappointing. It continues Cat's story but left unanswered questions, like why does he have the Draco logo tattooed on his hip, and who his father is. Once Noah was introduced her character dominated the flow of the story and drove the book to the end. Although Cat was the protagonist the drama of the plot was centered more on Noah.
This book was so disappointing. It continues Cat's story but left unanswered questions, like why does he have the Draco logo tattooed on his hip, and who his father is. Once Noah was introduced her character dominated the flow of the story and drove the book to the end. Although Cat was the protagonist the drama of the plot was centered more on Noah.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2024
This book is extremely well written, with excellent worldbuilding and realistic characters. Furthermore, it tackles xenophobia a very reasonable way. No one is innocent. You get the sense that if the shoe was on the other foot, the uncanny valley between humanity and the Hydrans would just cut the other way, still dividing the two species with suspicion and fear. Even the heroic characters are forced into situations where the lines between right and wrong are blurred, as they are compelled to make choices that pit their family ties against their racial loyalties and societal obligations.
So why have I rated Dreamfall so low if it is so good?
Like the October Daye series, this novel is unrelentingly grim, without any smart aleck protagonist or comic relief supporting characters to lighten the mood. While I enjoyed reading it, I can't imagine wanting to wade my way through that much self-flagellation again. Perhaps Cat, in other novels in the series, is less riddled with self-loathing, but in this one his self-recrimination and guilt are crippling. In a nutshell, not my cup of tea, although it may be yours.
So why have I rated Dreamfall so low if it is so good?
Like the October Daye series, this novel is unrelentingly grim, without any smart aleck protagonist or comic relief supporting characters to lighten the mood. While I enjoyed reading it, I can't imagine wanting to wade my way through that much self-flagellation again. Perhaps Cat, in other novels in the series, is less riddled with self-loathing, but in this one his self-recrimination and guilt are crippling. In a nutshell, not my cup of tea, although it may be yours.
January 19, 2024
This is the novel where Cat finds his alien family and it all falls apart. Everyone suffers, Cat, the oppressed noble savages and myself, who was definitely expecting something else than Native Americans in space. Maybe its the hardest thing to pull off - a believable non-human civilisation, and here Vinge definitely didn't succeed. The humans were evil, oh so evil (and sort of generic cyberpunk megacorporation-crime family - and based on names, mostly Asian!) Also, the author seemed to have forgotten events from the previous novel. Avatar before Avatar and I really didn't like Avatar. Two stars because I still liked Cat's character.
August 13, 2024
Very mixed feelings on this trilogy as a whole. What I found most striking is how each book feels like a product of its time--Psion (1982) articulating common nascent Cyberpunk themes and conflicts; Catspaw (1987) bringing in a lot of excess and soap-opera and yawnfest sex into the mix; and finally Dreamfall (1996) regurgitating the pop pseudo-Spiritualism of the mid 90's (Magic Native American tropes, softcore Buddhism).
I found this book fairly difficult to engage with despite the writing being probably above-average. Most of the characters are stereotypical, the plot is entirely predictable, and it all just felt so plodding, with the MC constantly thrown into the sort of miseryporn grinder that Robin Hobb would subsequently build a career off of. The ending, while "ending" the story of Cat, is fairly unsatisfying in concept (intentional) but unfortunately in execution as well.
I found this book fairly difficult to engage with despite the writing being probably above-average. Most of the characters are stereotypical, the plot is entirely predictable, and it all just felt so plodding, with the MC constantly thrown into the sort of miseryporn grinder that Robin Hobb would subsequently build a career off of. The ending, while "ending" the story of Cat, is fairly unsatisfying in concept (intentional) but unfortunately in execution as well.
May 6, 2023
A well conceived and evocative piece of fiction that may be underrepresented in fandom. Vince clearly thought through aspects of psi powers very well. In terms of idea the book is chock full. Characters are interesting as well. It does suffer at the end for - insert spoilers here - a deus ex machina of “someone from outside the system will save us!” Even though the author qualifies it well with pathos and early telegraphing that this is the only solution.
December 22, 2019
The end of a wonderful series, though left open to far more, lived up to my expectations. Joan is, by far, one of my top five favorite authors, if not the #1 simply because of this series. It's been nearly ten years since I finished the series and I still have all three books in my bedside table. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it was the last!
October 5, 2022
The third book in the series, I picked it up first, not realizing... Now reading Psion, the first of the series. I love Sci-fi and this is definitely a GoodRead. Joan D Vinge is one of my favorite authors. I hope she continues the adventures of Cat...
September 5, 2024
I enjoyed Catspaw. This book, however, fell short. No action to speak of, Cat constantly feeling helpless and confused as usual, boring.. just blah. No energy, no sense of wonder, that I love about science fiction. Ms. Vinge dropped the ball on this one.
November 6, 2017
The book seemed like just a reason for the author to pile more abuse on Cat.
November 27, 2018
Loved this series as a teen and early 20-something. It might be time for a re-read. Joan Vinge is a favorite sci-fi author.
July 18, 2019
I really enjoyed the story of this one. Enough to start looking for the rest of the books!
August 28, 2021
Third book of Cat after Psion and Catspaw. Solid scifi.
February 24, 2023
Timeless, beautiful and heart-wrenching. I wish there was a follow-up novel.
June 26, 2023
Overall, enjoyed this series. I think maybe this book least of the 3?
July 3, 2025
What an epic wonderful read of book 3 of this three book Cat series. Last 100 pages will partly break you then reward you. The finish could break you.
March 14, 2016
Recommendation: If you insist on completing the trilogy. Otherwise, Catspaw (#2) is the must-read while Psion (#1) is solid.
Rating: 2-2 ½ stars I read it, enjoyed parts of it but it has problematic tropes and nonsensical premises I can’t accept with a unsatisfying ending.
Pros
Get up close and personal with Hydreans…
Cons
...Who are a classic example of Magical Native Americans, with Noble tokens
Insta-love
Sucktastic ending
It’s basically Psion redux with insta-love only it’s open ending isn’t the beginning of a trilogy, it’s the dissatisfying result of one. It’s not all bad but I love Cat, he’s what I read for, found pleasure in when others didn’t. His ending SUCKS. It pisses me off. Sure, I can imagine how things will go after the last sentence but I don’t want headcannon, I want closure.
Maybe it’s more fitting with the theme and it take another book to make it right but still. Vinge made me care, connect with him and I’m left to drift among the stars asking questions without answers…Okay, so it definitely fits with the tone and message of the Cat books but that doesn’t change my discontentment.
I’ll gladly take and read more of Cat’s life and to leave it hanging so precariously is disappointing.
Before Hydreans were described vaguely with little information on daily life and culture but in Dreamfall we get up close and personal, which initially convinced me to read it. However, it’s obvious they’re Magical Noble Native Americans, which is hardly acceptable. Toss in how people keep bringing up how their civilization was declining when Humans popped up and how their welfare is tied to the land and it becomes enraging.
Reading this made me realize what felt off about Psion’s villain. For someone proclaimed as so radical and dangerous, he hadn’t actually planned on harming anyone. He was just willing to fight back, cut off their valuable supply. Yet the good guys are being used and trying to convince humans that they’re valuable tools. Why is it always “Be a monster or be a useful tool”? The fight for the rights of people to be recognized is still being fought on the terms of the oppressors, which is something I’m not down with.
Not only that but the big drama of the book is this conflict between two sisters: one a radical terrorist willing to harm and the other subjugating herself to prove how harmless and useful Hydrean’s powers could be to their oppressors. In Psion there was much the same but instead both men on each side of Cat were irritating fucks who learned their lesson. Instead, the same dichotomy shows up wearing my patience and one woman is clearly the favored option. Cat praises her and is punished for how he bucks the status quo.
The feedback loop thing still gets me though. Before it had little enough impact in Catspaw to overlook while in Psion I took Cat’s damage as PTSD to rationalize it. However, in Dreamfall there’s a deadly altercation between a Human and a Hydrean.
It means you can’t defend yourself, which I have a huge problem with. It’s talked about how it evolved that way to help them manage and control their powers, but that sounds stupid unless the Hydraens themselves made it so because evolution isn’t guided or linear, you adapt to the environment and that feedback loop seems like the quick way to an evolutionary dead end. And the scene where “everyone’s fears about Hydraens and Humans fight were realized” is stupid because they wound up dead, like everyone knew they would. Where’s the threat to Humans, exactly? Even if there were a Hydra for every Human (there’s not), they’d all be dead. They’d have to outnumber them vastly to be able and willing to sacrifice one person for every human and survive to tell the tell. Sounds like “Yellow Peril” and its ilk bullshit.
Rating: 2-2 ½ stars I read it, enjoyed parts of it but it has problematic tropes and nonsensical premises I can’t accept with a unsatisfying ending.
Pros
Get up close and personal with Hydreans…
Cons
...Who are a classic example of Magical Native Americans, with Noble tokens
Insta-love
Sucktastic ending
It’s basically Psion redux with insta-love only it’s open ending isn’t the beginning of a trilogy, it’s the dissatisfying result of one. It’s not all bad but I love Cat, he’s what I read for, found pleasure in when others didn’t. His ending SUCKS. It pisses me off. Sure, I can imagine how things will go after the last sentence but I don’t want headcannon, I want closure.
Maybe it’s more fitting with the theme and it take another book to make it right but still. Vinge made me care, connect with him and I’m left to drift among the stars asking questions without answers…Okay, so it definitely fits with the tone and message of the Cat books but that doesn’t change my discontentment.
I’ll gladly take and read more of Cat’s life and to leave it hanging so precariously is disappointing.
Before Hydreans were described vaguely with little information on daily life and culture but in Dreamfall we get up close and personal, which initially convinced me to read it. However, it’s obvious they’re Magical Noble Native Americans, which is hardly acceptable. Toss in how people keep bringing up how their civilization was declining when Humans popped up and how their welfare is tied to the land and it becomes enraging.
Reading this made me realize what felt off about Psion’s villain. For someone proclaimed as so radical and dangerous, he hadn’t actually planned on harming anyone. He was just willing to fight back, cut off their valuable supply. Yet the good guys are being used and trying to convince humans that they’re valuable tools. Why is it always “Be a monster or be a useful tool”? The fight for the rights of people to be recognized is still being fought on the terms of the oppressors, which is something I’m not down with.
Not only that but the big drama of the book is this conflict between two sisters: one a radical terrorist willing to harm and the other subjugating herself to prove how harmless and useful Hydrean’s powers could be to their oppressors. In Psion there was much the same but instead both men on each side of Cat were irritating fucks who learned their lesson. Instead, the same dichotomy shows up wearing my patience and one woman is clearly the favored option. Cat praises her and is punished for how he bucks the status quo.
The feedback loop thing still gets me though. Before it had little enough impact in Catspaw to overlook while in Psion I took Cat’s damage as PTSD to rationalize it. However, in Dreamfall there’s a deadly altercation between a Human and a Hydrean.
It means you can’t defend yourself, which I have a huge problem with. It’s talked about how it evolved that way to help them manage and control their powers, but that sounds stupid unless the Hydraens themselves made it so because evolution isn’t guided or linear, you adapt to the environment and that feedback loop seems like the quick way to an evolutionary dead end. And the scene where “everyone’s fears about Hydraens and Humans fight were realized” is stupid because they wound up dead, like everyone knew they would. Where’s the threat to Humans, exactly? Even if there were a Hydra for every Human (there’s not), they’d all be dead. They’d have to outnumber them vastly to be able and willing to sacrifice one person for every human and survive to tell the tell. Sounds like “Yellow Peril” and its ilk bullshit.
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