What if human existence on Earth had a practical reason?
John Gaines never thought of that, until his untimely death in a horrible car accident. The young locksmith from Oxville goes on an odyssey beyond the realms of death, and - finally -, comes back to his loved ones. But are they ready for him?
"The Catalyst" merges the characteristics of a paranormal adventure story with an alien abduction science-fiction novel. Meanwhile it’s meant to be entertaining, it raises questions about human nature and answers them in a dystopian fashion.
Bence Tóth is a technical writer from Hungary who never expected to write for a broader audience beyond vehicle workshop manuals. That changed when his Facebook mini sci‑fi series, titled The Catalyst, received encouraging feedback from friends. The series was later revised and expanded into a novel, which was published in December 2019. The Catalyst explores questions every human being faces: why we exist and whether there is any practical meaning behind our existence. The novel represents the author’s personal conclusions on these themes, shaped into a science‑fiction adventure. Drawing on his background—his father worked on several Soviet and international space missions—the story incorporates elements inspired by official alien encounter reports.
This fast-paced Sci-Fi adventure novel takes the topic of alien abductions out of the ordinary context. In fact, it takes everything out of the known context, but in a logical way. It makes you rethink everything around you: your purpose, the life as whole. Tense, with a thriller-like atmosphere, it’s also unique and fresh. Well-built story with a double-twist at the end. Looking forward to a sequel!
Nowadays it is quite difficult to find sci-fi movie or book that can bring something new or unique to our lives. What I mean by that is this whole UFO/alien/little grey topic is portrayed so diversly that I'd never thought that I can be surprised or entertained by another version been released/published. This book is a real pageturner. Literally unputdownable. I really admire art in which you get lost, captivated, entangled, involved and you forget about the fact that you are currently reading a novel or watching a movie. You breathe and feel with the characters. This book can offer you this experience on a silver plate...or at least between its black covers. Very easy to envision every single scene introduced with elaborated stlye and language. I'd be immensely astounded if this story did not inspire a movie producer or director to make a motion picture of this visionary masterpiece. From the bottom of my heart, I recommend it to everyone (sci-fi fan / curious) if their mind is hungry, because this book is 'food for thought'. Thanks for the author and staff to share it with the public. Cheers!
Our life is not final. At least, we hope it's not just a tiny interruption of the eternal non-existence. This book tells about a fantastic possibility, that we might be created by superior creatures. Unlike the gods of different religions, they are not benevolent. However, they are not malevolent either: they just use us as tools to accomplish something they want. It's a very unique writing, nothing like anything that has been written in genre of science-fiction before. It is something new: hard to find out where the author comes from, who were his influences. It is chilling, it is unpredictable and exciting. Might it be a future classic? Time will tell. I highly recommend it!
Unpredictable and captivating sci-fi/paranormal adventure story. Blood-freezingly dark, and utopistic with strong criticism towards humanity. Definitely a new and unique reading in this genre. Truly exiting!
A clever, unpredictable plot and a lot of stimulating ideas in this first novel from Hungarian author Bence Toth. A sophisticated first novel for those who like science fiction on the edge.