Customer Reviews

Psion

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I discovered this jewel of a book completely by accident one day in my univerity's library. It was shelved in the children's storybook section, oddly enough. An obvious, glaring mistake. I knew it had to be something more, not only by its thickness, but by it's title. Show me a five year old who would know how to pronounce the word 'psion.' I checked it out, and damn, am I glad I did. Vinge gives her stories a character, a mood, and a depth that is absent from many sci-fi novels, which love to focus on infathomable technology instead of a good story. You can't help but to like Cat, and to feel for him throughout the hell he's put through. 'Psion' is just the first in the Cat trilogy, followed by 'Catspaw' and 'Dreamfall.' If you like your sci-fi with just the right amount of character and the right amount tech, then get these three books if you can. And be sure you get them all at the same time, or you'll find yourself going nuts waiting to read the next part.

Branded as half alien by his emerald green eyes, homeless, illiterate Cat discovers his psionic talent and is plunged into a conflict that will test his mental powers, his strength of will, and his loyalties. On one side is the Center for Psionic Research, where the empath Jule offers Cat the only love he's known in his life and the Feds want to use him as just another tool; on the other is the rogue psion Quicksilver, ruthless and powerful, who offers Cat power beyond his dreams; and on yet another stand the Hydrans, psionic aliens, kin to Cat, who seek him as their promised savior and show him the keys to unlocking his amazing telepathic abilities. Cat's world is vividly and richly detailed, from the hard, jagged streets of Oldcity, to the glittering, acid beauty of the penal planet Cinder, to the complex layers of the characters' own minds. It is an amazing, absolutely believable future, an unforgettable world.

I first read "Psion" three or four years ! ago and fell in love with it, reading it until it literally fell apart (fortunately, I have since then acquired a new copy). I don't think I have ever read a better book on telepathy and telepaths. Joan D. Vinge explores not only the scientific aspects of psionics, but the characters who bear this gift/curse: what it feels like to be forever an outcast, punished for what should be revered, cursed for what should be a blessing. Humanity is both ugly and beautiful, and neither: characters such as Jule, beautiful outcast of a ruling family, Siebeling, the doctor with a wound in his heart that he will not let heal, and Quicksilver, whose psi is limitless and whose soul is empty, provide strong foils for Cat as he grows and changes over the course of the book, gaining, losing, and living. So much of the action takes place within the characters' minds that it seems like a brief telepathic experience--senses, memories, emotions are all given to you by Vinge's expert writing. Cat him! self is a fascinating character: tough, vulnerable, needy, ! cynical, so used to standing alone that he doesn't quite know how to react to someone caring for him, or him caring for them. Half-breed Hydran, he is accepted fully by neither humans nor aliens, reaching out without knowing where he is reaching to.

"Psion" is well worth the read, and more. It is not just about telepathic politics, or the workings of a future society. What it really deals with are the inner workings of people, minds and hearts--an endlessly fascinating topic. The two sequels, "Catspaw" and "Dreamfall", as well as the short story "Psiren" (takes place between "Psion" and "Catspaw", located in the anthology "Phoenix in the Ashes") should also be read, parts of Cat's continuing saga. All are action-filled, philosophical, and unbelievably good.

To say more would give away the fun. Read.

Enough said.

Psion is about a penniless orphan boy named Cat because of his strange appearance. For his entire solitary life Cat is discriminated against for reasons unknown to him. But one night he is caught by government officials, and instead of selling him into legal slave labor they send him to an institute for psychics. There he is told he is an exceptionally powerful telepath because rather than having a remnant of alien blood as do the other psychics he is half alien, which accounts for his catlike pupils, and the government wants his help in catching a renegade psychic who sells his power and wants to destroy those in power. This from the people who insult, abuse, mistreat, and cheat him and his kind whenever possible. When Cat is sold into the slavery by the people he had only just begun to trust and is then recruited by the feared Quicksilver he has to decide which side he's going to choose. Whether he is going to join Quicksilver and have riches rather than derision or whether he will risk his life and try to trick Quicksilver for the people who betrayed him and the empath who was the only one who ever cared. Only.... While he is there, he meets the other half of the family tree.

If you can get this book do it. You certainly won't regret it.

Psion is followed by a short story in Pheonix in the Ashes, Catspaw, and then Dreamfall.

This book has to be one of the BEST books on telepathy and futurism.Vinge is the Master at Spinning tales of the Future and the Kind of would-be-but-broken hero. Her concepts of telepathy and how she tells/explains them rivals Anne McCaffrey's own Talent series. But how she explains the power structure of the future and how the combines and the FTA rely on tellhassium is ingenious! One of the best I have read in a LONG time.

Joan D. Vinge is a solid sci-fi author, and I read this book before I read the Snow Queen books. This is a really cool book about a half human/alien child who has had a rough life due to his heredity. It is the first of several books, and I recommend them all.

I just finished re-reading this book for I think my 10th time. It hasn't lost it's flavor over the years, and I enjoy it more each time I pick it up - sorta like going back for your favorite flavor of ice cream time and again, providing much the same enjoyment that a good vanilla/strawberry fix provides.

SYNOPSIS:
Psion is about a street kid who is half alien. His alien half provided him with the ability to read minds, but he is helpless to use the talent. Some trauma so deeply hurt him that he is incapable of using his psychic abilities. Cat is taken to this institute where government agents try to put humpty back together and 'fix' his mind reading abilities. He befriends a fellow mind reader Dere and falls for a sweet girl Jule, a teleport who is the only person who believes Cat is not worthless. Jule believes Cat can help the government mind readers stop an infamous terrorist/mind reader/teleporter/telekenesis multi-talented 'Quicksilver' from taking over the FTA mines.

Cat gets kicked out of the institute and sold into a slavery into the very mines that Quicksilver wants to overtake. The Cinder mines are haunted by an alien race of teleporting mind reading Hydrans. Cat is half Hydran and quickly becomes their 'key' to ending the humans reign on Cinder. Hydrans are helpless and cannot hurt or kill anyone without feeling the effects mirrored back at them.

Cat is essentially a spy in a nest of mind readers, so he walks a fine and frighting line, as he and his small group try to thwart Quicksilver and his revolutionaries.

What I love about it:
The characters are portrayed in such a complex manner. The book is in first person format and you know and feel everything Cat does, the good the bad and the ugly.

It is a timeless book that has drawn me back time and again for the pure enjoyment of entering Cat's heart in his harsh and heoric world.

Negatives:
I still want to know if Seibling is Cat's father. That question is never answered in any of the Cat books. Ever hear of DNA tests?

SPOILER:
The final confronation scene on Cinder is confusing. The knowledge that Seibling forces Cat through a 3 way joining to kill isn't obvious from the scene. The recap helps the reader to understand exactly what happened.

This book is on my top 10 sci-fi books of all time. I love it. 'nough said.

Joan Vinge was one of the first sci-fi writers I read and I instantly fell in love with her stories. Cat the main character in Psion has had a rough life and you pull for him through the series. The books are gritty and the way Vinge tells a story keeps you wanting more. I definitely recommend.

It's not the most well written book, but it does have some very interesting ideas and images in it. I read it when I was a teen, and reordered it. It's still a great read.

I've worn my original copy out, so I bought this 25th anniversary edition when it came out. I've read the entire series so many times I've lost count....and I and expect I'll re-read them many times again in the future!