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Obsidian Rim #14
Catapult
Lincoln doesn’t want trouble. Briar is trouble personified. Lincoln Caster owes everything he has to the Trash Planet recycling plant that hired him, allowing him to lead an uneventful life for a change. When he’s asked to plan a heist from a less than savory rival factory, he wonders if his checkered past is the only reason he got the job.That is, until he realizes the priceless item he’s been asked to steal will save a top-secret generation ship full of cryopreserved humans…and freakishly intelligent cats.But first Lincoln has to seduce—or at least fool—the rival factory’s sales agent, cool, competent Briar Pandora, who may or may not be leading a double life as a corporate mole. He’ll have to trust her with the truth…unless her own agenda results in them becoming targets of a vicious intergalactic corporation that will stop at nothing in its quest to hijack generation ships and sell off their parts—and their passengers, be they human or grumpy sunshine, animal main characters, big secrets, blue collar hero, friend groups, found family
313 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2019
5 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Jody Wallace
47 books158 followersJody Wallace’s 30+ titles include sf/f romance, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. Her fiction features diverse protagonists, action, adventure, and humor. Her readers frequently comment on her great characters, suspenseful stories, and intriguing and creative world building. When describing her methods, Jody says: “There are two sides to every story. I aim to tell the third. And I add cats regardless.”
Outside of her fiction career, Jody has employed her Master’s Degree in Creative Writing to work as a college English instructor, technical documents editor, market analyst, web designer, and all around pain in the butt.
Outside of her fiction career, Jody has employed her Master’s Degree in Creative Writing to work as a college English instructor, technical documents editor, market analyst, web designer, and all around pain in the butt.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 10, 2021
The combination of scifi, romance and cats is irresistible. And if the cats are, as the book blurb says, “freakishly intelligent”…..well, it is impossible not to open this book.
Lincoln Caster knows the generation ship Catamaran is in dire need of maintenance. Parts needed to keep the ship’s cryo-sleeping human and feline inhabitants alive are nearly impossible to find. So when fortune puts the needed part within reach (well, more of a very long and dangerous stretch), Lincoln will do what he can for the good of the ship. When an attempt to purchase the part fails, Lincoln will have to turn to illegal means.
Lincoln likes to live by the rules (Yay for Lincoln!). To him, the thought of stealing causes discomfort. However, he is joined by the talking cat Mighty Mighty and Briar, the former saleswoman from whom he tried to buy the part. They think stealing is the only way. There is a plan you see. Every time I read that some one (human or feline) had a plan, I braced my self. Further fiascos, running, danger and humor always ensued.
The company that has the needed part has a board member (Briar’s arch-enemy) who is trying to sell the very part under the table. So add treachery to desperation and you get one mess after another.
And while all this is going on, Lincoln and Briar are – guess what? Yep, falling for each other. Opposites attract. Lincoln is reserved and straight-laced. Briar is bold and outrageous. They complement each other perfectly.
Mighty Mighty (or just one Mighty for short) is ever entertaining. Full of ‘good’ ideas that are naturally superior to any human ideas, Mighty takes charge. Sort of. Granted, Mighty can read and influence human minds, and spontaneously teleport. But truly, there is only so much a 5-kilogram (in case you are wondering, that’s about 11 pounds) 4-legged creature with no opposable thumbs can do. Since most of the galaxy is unaware of the existence of sentient cats (and it is best to keep it that way), Mighty needs his human friends to succeed. There is one particular hilarious scene where Mighty accidentally ‘inhales’ and forgets that he is supposed to remain unseen. Oops!
Catapult stands alone, but if you have read Catalyst, you will be familiar with some of the characters. This is the perfect book for cat-loving, sci-fi romance readers who appreciate a good laugh!
Lincoln Caster knows the generation ship Catamaran is in dire need of maintenance. Parts needed to keep the ship’s cryo-sleeping human and feline inhabitants alive are nearly impossible to find. So when fortune puts the needed part within reach (well, more of a very long and dangerous stretch), Lincoln will do what he can for the good of the ship. When an attempt to purchase the part fails, Lincoln will have to turn to illegal means.
Lincoln likes to live by the rules (Yay for Lincoln!). To him, the thought of stealing causes discomfort. However, he is joined by the talking cat Mighty Mighty and Briar, the former saleswoman from whom he tried to buy the part. They think stealing is the only way. There is a plan you see. Every time I read that some one (human or feline) had a plan, I braced my self. Further fiascos, running, danger and humor always ensued.
The company that has the needed part has a board member (Briar’s arch-enemy) who is trying to sell the very part under the table. So add treachery to desperation and you get one mess after another.
And while all this is going on, Lincoln and Briar are – guess what? Yep, falling for each other. Opposites attract. Lincoln is reserved and straight-laced. Briar is bold and outrageous. They complement each other perfectly.
Mighty Mighty (or just one Mighty for short) is ever entertaining. Full of ‘good’ ideas that are naturally superior to any human ideas, Mighty takes charge. Sort of. Granted, Mighty can read and influence human minds, and spontaneously teleport. But truly, there is only so much a 5-kilogram (in case you are wondering, that’s about 11 pounds) 4-legged creature with no opposable thumbs can do. Since most of the galaxy is unaware of the existence of sentient cats (and it is best to keep it that way), Mighty needs his human friends to succeed. There is one particular hilarious scene where Mighty accidentally ‘inhales’ and forgets that he is supposed to remain unseen. Oops!
Catapult stands alone, but if you have read Catalyst, you will be familiar with some of the characters. This is the perfect book for cat-loving, sci-fi romance readers who appreciate a good laugh!
April 7, 2023
“Catapult” (Cat Ship #2) by Jody Wallace 3 1/2 rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: SciFi Extravaganza (plus cats). Location: Trash Planet. Time: Future. Note: This is also book 14 in the Obsidian Rim series.
“This galaxy wasn’t ready for the awesomeness that was sentient cats...”
THE SERIES: Far, far away in distance and time, there’s a place called Trash Planet. Grey skies, grey rocks, grey mountains, massive hail storms. This is where the rest of the galaxy sends their garbage because…why not? Trash Planet is also the home of the best recyclers in the Galaxy. The series is funny, and action-packed. And, as the author says: full of “cats being oh so catty”.
THIS BOOK: Lincoln Caster owes everything to the Trash World recycled box factory that hired him. (It’s the home of Su, Will, and Pumpkin from book 1). They ask him to steal a tech item to save the Catamaran, a 3000-year-old generation ship in hidden orbit. Its cryosleep pods hold 4500 humans and 3000 freakishly intelligent cats. Some awakened cats are frantically making ship repairs before the people and sentient cats are lost forever.
Briar Pandora, rival factory's sales agent, is trouble personified. But Lincoln and Briar must work together along with sentient cat Mighty Mighty to help the cats, steal the critical part, and defeat the bad guys (as Mighty Mighty says: the dog-damned pesky humans). The mind-reading, mind-tweaking, space-transporting, self-serving troublemaker cats would like to control all plans of action, but some of their ideas aren’t quite as clever as they think.
Author Wallace’s 2nd Cat Ship book has enhanced character descriptions and plot. She ups the humor when her sentient cats’ ideas for helping cause chaos. Wallace creates a shy, romantic attraction between Lincoln and Briar that is sweet, and more believable than the Su and Will romance in the 1st book. Her use of book 1 characters as background in this book really tightens and furthers the series. I’m already wondering what will happen in book 3. It’s 3 1/2 catty stars from me🌵📚💁🏼♀️Thank you to BookSirens, Meankitty Publishing, and Jody Wallace for this ecopy.
“This galaxy wasn’t ready for the awesomeness that was sentient cats...”
THE SERIES: Far, far away in distance and time, there’s a place called Trash Planet. Grey skies, grey rocks, grey mountains, massive hail storms. This is where the rest of the galaxy sends their garbage because…why not? Trash Planet is also the home of the best recyclers in the Galaxy. The series is funny, and action-packed. And, as the author says: full of “cats being oh so catty”.
THIS BOOK: Lincoln Caster owes everything to the Trash World recycled box factory that hired him. (It’s the home of Su, Will, and Pumpkin from book 1). They ask him to steal a tech item to save the Catamaran, a 3000-year-old generation ship in hidden orbit. Its cryosleep pods hold 4500 humans and 3000 freakishly intelligent cats. Some awakened cats are frantically making ship repairs before the people and sentient cats are lost forever.
Briar Pandora, rival factory's sales agent, is trouble personified. But Lincoln and Briar must work together along with sentient cat Mighty Mighty to help the cats, steal the critical part, and defeat the bad guys (as Mighty Mighty says: the dog-damned pesky humans). The mind-reading, mind-tweaking, space-transporting, self-serving troublemaker cats would like to control all plans of action, but some of their ideas aren’t quite as clever as they think.
Author Wallace’s 2nd Cat Ship book has enhanced character descriptions and plot. She ups the humor when her sentient cats’ ideas for helping cause chaos. Wallace creates a shy, romantic attraction between Lincoln and Briar that is sweet, and more believable than the Su and Will romance in the 1st book. Her use of book 1 characters as background in this book really tightens and furthers the series. I’m already wondering what will happen in book 3. It’s 3 1/2 catty stars from me🌵📚💁🏼♀️Thank you to BookSirens, Meankitty Publishing, and Jody Wallace for this ecopy.
February 6, 2023
This series continues with another fun science fiction adventure story on Trash World. Trash World’s economy is based on recycling the universe’s trash, and the social structure is controlled by unions. This author did a wonderful job of world-building! The characters from the first book show up again, including the undercover, sentient cats urgently trying to make repairs to their ship before the people and cats in statis are lost forever. They urgently need a scrap part that a bad guy has stolen and intends to sell to slavers. This book introduces Lincoln, a quiet tech immigrant to Trash World and Briar, a highly skilled saleswoman who had worked for the bad guy’s union. The book has twists, turns, suspense, some romance and evil bad guys as Lincoln and Briar work together to help the cats, acquire the critical part and defeat the bad guys. This series is science fiction entertainment at its most entertaining. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 17, 2023
Clean Cons and Cats' Claws
Catapult, the second book in the delightful Cat Ship series, was equal to the first. If you like quirky, adventurous sci fi with healthy dollops of humor and romance, and especially if you like cats, you'll love the whole series as much as I do. There's danger, suspense, hilarity, and fascinating speculation on future tech and what humans can do with relics and parts reclaimed from scraps.
I was a little disappointed at first that the three main characters (including the cat) were different from the three in the last book, because I loved them so much, but I grew to love the new characters just as much. The cast is only expanded. You'll love the series more if you read the books in order, but each has its own storyline.
Human or cat, Jody Wallace is a masterful developer of characters. She's also a terrific world builder. Trash Planet feels real enough to live in and the post-war recovery of the Obsidian Rim is beholden to their industriousness, even if visitors look down on its inhabitants.
They underestimate them at their own peril. Sort of like how humans underestimate cats.
Thank you so much to Jody Wallace, Meankitty Publishing, and BookSirens for the opportunity to read a free advance reader's copy of Catapult. These opinions are my own, without obligation to anyone.
Catapult, the second book in the delightful Cat Ship series, was equal to the first. If you like quirky, adventurous sci fi with healthy dollops of humor and romance, and especially if you like cats, you'll love the whole series as much as I do. There's danger, suspense, hilarity, and fascinating speculation on future tech and what humans can do with relics and parts reclaimed from scraps.
I was a little disappointed at first that the three main characters (including the cat) were different from the three in the last book, because I loved them so much, but I grew to love the new characters just as much. The cast is only expanded. You'll love the series more if you read the books in order, but each has its own storyline.
Human or cat, Jody Wallace is a masterful developer of characters. She's also a terrific world builder. Trash Planet feels real enough to live in and the post-war recovery of the Obsidian Rim is beholden to their industriousness, even if visitors look down on its inhabitants.
They underestimate them at their own peril. Sort of like how humans underestimate cats.
Thank you so much to Jody Wallace, Meankitty Publishing, and BookSirens for the opportunity to read a free advance reader's copy of Catapult. These opinions are my own, without obligation to anyone.
January 25, 2023
Cat crazy
Lincoln is a quiet, calm and nearly non-verbal tech at the Trash Planet's recycled box factory. when an old Gen-ship salvage goes wrong, He's given the job of getting it back. Turns out it's vital to saving another gen ship's human and feline cargo. Briar is the human agent for the company that heisted the salvage ship. She's Lincoln's opposite, and you know what they say about opposites and attraction… But first, there is industrial espionage, and a herd of super-intelligent sentient cats to deal with, and you know what they about herding cats… The hoops Lincoln and Briar jump through are many and challenging, especially because the cats' idea of "Helping" causes endless confusion, nail biting, and premature aging. This is a subtly funny, dizzyingly suspenseful tale of love in the time of lawlessness, and I enjoyed it immensely. HFN, with more to come, and this voluntaryARC review recommends reading this and grabbing the next book ASAP.
Lincoln is a quiet, calm and nearly non-verbal tech at the Trash Planet's recycled box factory. when an old Gen-ship salvage goes wrong, He's given the job of getting it back. Turns out it's vital to saving another gen ship's human and feline cargo. Briar is the human agent for the company that heisted the salvage ship. She's Lincoln's opposite, and you know what they say about opposites and attraction… But first, there is industrial espionage, and a herd of super-intelligent sentient cats to deal with, and you know what they about herding cats… The hoops Lincoln and Briar jump through are many and challenging, especially because the cats' idea of "Helping" causes endless confusion, nail biting, and premature aging. This is a subtly funny, dizzyingly suspenseful tale of love in the time of lawlessness, and I enjoyed it immensely. HFN, with more to come, and this voluntaryARC review recommends reading this and grabbing the next book ASAP.
February 8, 2023
Solid follow-up to the first book in the series Catalyst. Introducing new characters and new danger for the cyro-sleepers of a 3,000 year old generation ship hidden in orbit around trash planet.
I absolutely love Jody Wallace’s ability to create characters that evolve and grow throughout the story/series! I was very happy that Su, Will & Pumpkin the protagonists from the first book appeared in this 2nd story. I hope they and our new friends, Lincoln, Briar and Mighty Mighty carry on into the third book!
Trash Planet, the Unions and the complicated goings on of the Obsidian Rim have captured my interest and I will most definitely be searching out the other authors playing in this magnificent sandbox!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I absolutely love Jody Wallace’s ability to create characters that evolve and grow throughout the story/series! I was very happy that Su, Will & Pumpkin the protagonists from the first book appeared in this 2nd story. I hope they and our new friends, Lincoln, Briar and Mighty Mighty carry on into the third book!
Trash Planet, the Unions and the complicated goings on of the Obsidian Rim have captured my interest and I will most definitely be searching out the other authors playing in this magnificent sandbox!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 27, 2023
A really interesting idea along with memorable characters. This story somewhat suggests a mashup between two older TV shows-- Quark and Red Dwarf. There is a lot of humor, old, somewhat tramp-like starships, and an entire planet dedicated to trash. There are also a lot of cats. Not like the cat in Red Dwarf, but evolved, smart and a bit sarcastic. What's not to like?
The story moves along at a fast pace with surprising twists. This book is part of a series which I will read more books.
I received an advanced review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily
The story moves along at a fast pace with surprising twists. This book is part of a series which I will read more books.
I received an advanced review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily
April 14, 2023
The cats are back, causing chaos, doing their own thing when they choose. The ship is falling apart, and replacement parts are hard to come by. Can they get the human passengers out if stasis? I really liked book one. Book two is slower paced which is why only 4 stars. Book two in the Cat ship part of a much larger series of books by Jody Wallace. An easy read book with a humorous touch and a bit of romance; can be read as stand alone, but makes more sense if read in Cat ship book sequence. Thank you to BookSirens and Jody Wallace for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.
January 16, 2023
Catapult is Book 2 i the Cat Ship Series by Jody Wallace. I enjoyed this book. I think it is fun to have 2 intelligent cats, Pumpkin and Mighty Mighty, along with the "humans" in the ship. I like the characters and the story is still on the Trash Planet. Catapult has Lincoln and Briar joining forces to stop the evil Jenna. I believe that this is excellent SiFi/Fantasy. I am looking forward to reading book 3, Catagenesis. I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.
March 23, 2023
This is the second book in the Cat Ship series. It started a bit slowly for me, as I really enjoyed the first book and it didn't pick up right away. However, now that I've finished it, I actually like it a bit better than the first book! This story is a bit grittier than the first, but the additional characters, the action, and the plot were very enjoyable.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 16, 2023
This is an excellent sequel. It can be read as a stand alone, but it is better to read the prior book first. I was drawn in and was sorry to see the end. The cats are very believable. The relationships are complicated and believable as well. By the end I'm wanting to know more about the cats and their people as well as the universe they live in.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 19, 2020
The cats make the story for me. I love their unique personalities. The world building is great and creative. A fun read!
October 23, 2021
This Catship series has the perfect blend of imaginative SF and fun humor. Sentient cats with really interesting characters make this book work from beginning to end.
September 11, 2023
I would take a world run by cats, though.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews