CATALYST a Book Review

[lydamorehouse]

CATALYST

Nina Kiriki Hoffman

Tachyon Publishing (2006)

Science Fiction

171 pages

 

 

A short synopsis:  Kaslin, a bullied immigrant kid from a broken home, accidentally wakes up a hibernating spider-like alien species and becomes modified by them to act as an ambassador to first contact.

 

Even though I’ve met Nina Kiriki Hoffman at several WisCONs, I’d shamefully never read anything by her before.  Several months ago, however, I tasked myself to read all the Philip K. Dick nominees for this year.  CATALYST was one.

 

I read this book in one day.  Anyone who knows me, knows that this is a huge compliment.  First of all, I’m slightly dyslexic and what normally takes one person a few days to read, I read in a month.  The only other book that holds this distinction is Orson Scott Card’s ENDER’S GAME.  My point is, Hoffman is an awesomely compelling writer.  This book has a very young adult feel (apparently Hoffman has written several YAs, which I might now have to track down) because of the young protagonist, although there is certainly some content in CATALYST that would qualify for some as adult (sexual situations).

 

I have no idea whether of not Hoffman attempted to sell this book to a bigger New York house or not, but I suspect that it’s possible that the sexual situations in this book might have scared them away.  I’m not sure how old Kaslin, our hero is supposed to be, the image on the cover leads me to think he’s a teenager, maybe thirteen, but some of the things that happen in the book make me hope he’s closer to eighteen.  Publisher’s Weekly says CATALYST  “careens like a pinball among the bumpers of science fiction, young adult literature and softcore porn.” 

 

It was that last part that surprised me… and intrigued me.  I found the relationship Hoffman presented between Kaslin and Histly, the bully, to be the most fascinating.  Histly is augmented.  She has razor sharp fingernails, enhanced speed, and neurotoxins she can employ on Kaslin to paralyze him (or make him puke).  We learn in a flashback that Histly once paralyzed Kaslin on the school grounds and kissed him (the scene is very non-consensual) so hard that he had bruises and injuries.  He’s running from her when he stumbles into the cave that contains the hibernating aliens. 

 

Later when the aliens have modified Kaslin to the point where he can manipulate his surroundings, he rescues Histly.  But, before he frees her from the wall she’s encased in, the aliens push Kaslin into kissing Histly (apparently to satisfy their curiosity about human sexuality).  Their second kiss is gentler, though Kaslin considers reprisals, but it is really no more consensual than the first.  Histly, however, decides she likes it.  She also decides, once Kaslin frees her, that his attraction to her entitles her to some kind of strange possessiveness.  At one point, she informs him, “You’re mine now.  I own you.”  It’s kind of scary, especially since she continues to threaten and bully him and, even as he’s kind of warming to her (apparently he’s very into “tops”) she buys him – literally paying for his “work rights” from Kaslin’s gambling-indebted father – and thereafter owns him like a slave.

 

They also have sex.  A lot.  They have sex in the alien caves, and, in one particularly odd scene, in front of Kaslin’s mother.  During one sex scene, shortly after Histly has explained that she bought his work-rights, Histly wonders if sex is actually part of his job now.  He’s also clearly more attracted to Fidi, Histly’s sister, but explains that he can’t have a relationship with her because Histly would tear his eyes out… and he doesn’t seem to be expressing a whole lot of hyperbole there.

 

I wanted to write about this book because I don’t know how I feel about it yet.  I find myself a little disturbed how into Histly Kastlin is, right from the beginning, when he imagines her return stare in the classroom as predatory…and the not yet overtly sexual bullying begins.  Yet, Hoffman manages to make this relationship kind of hot.  But they’re thirteen!  (Or, at most, I think sixteen – either way, uh, hello, I’m a parent of a four year old boy here.  Not okay!)  But, Kastlin’s mother shows absolutely no concern about her son’s sexual explorations.  Histly’s parents, on the other hand, are affronted when Histly kisses Kastlin at the dinner table, even though the reader knows she’s actually getting alien food from him.

 

I tended to not think about the age of the characters, or, if I did, I told myself these were future teens on an alien world, with different culture than our own.  I mean, the truth is, plenty of other cultures (now and throughout time) wouldn’t necessarily consider a sexual union at this early an age as squicky.  Plus, I know there are YA books out there which tackle much more explicit stuff, like the infamous THE RAINBOW PARTY. Still, I don’t know.  I wish they had been explicitly older.   The only real clue to their age is that Histly is taller than Kastlin yet, he still lives with his mother and goes to school, and the back cover copy says that Kaslin is “on the edge of sexuality.”

 

But did I like it?  I did.  Is Hoffman a superb writer?  She is.  There are many blurbs that compare her to Bradbury, and I think that those compliments are well deserved.  I was telling Shawn, in fact, that CATALYST had a kind of old-fashioned SF feel that I hadn’t experienced since I was a teen myself.  I can also understand how it got short-listed for the Dick.  It’s thought provoking and engaging.

Comments

[ashkta.livejournal.com]

That does sound pretty interesting, and I'd love to see how exactly the author handles this story, and also see what kind of style she has. I'll have to add it to my list. :)

n00b

[skinismy13.livejournal.com]

you need to recommend some starter science-fiction/fantasy books for me, because there are so many that i am lost. or maybe i'll just raid your house while you're not there. muahahahahaha. ha. =)

basically what i'm getting at is that your archangel series got me intrigued by the genres that inspired you. in other words...shoutout to lyda!!!

Re: n00b

[lydamorehouse]

Yeah, good idea. I'll put my mind to a list of "starter" science fiction/fantasy books.