Crisis on Stardust Station is a delightfully whimsical piece of writing by author John Taloni, who dedicates the book to one of his daughters. It’s a warm-hearted tale of mutant cats on an orbiting space station with four astronauts. The narrative begins with Mrrowl stalking a mouse—which he catches, but doesn’t kill—it’s a PG book, after all—in the space station’s forest habitat. He finishes his hunt, then pads back to the habitat doorway, where he rubs up against an astronaut named John Aldrin.

Yes, you’re way ahead of me—he’s the great-great grandson of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who was one of the first men on the moon. But that’s not important now.

What’s important is that Stardust Station is suddenly hit with a massive solar flare, which renders most of its telescoped arrays useless. And, since in this future time, the station’s array supplies most of the solar power to Earth—don’t ask me how, exactly, but as you read on, it starts making scientific sense, somehow—billions Down Below are facing a rapid return to the Dark Ages—or at least the era before electricity.

Things look grim, indeed, before Mrrowl and his furry friends, who have attained sentience, pitch in to help save the station and Earth from its terrible fate.

Author Taloni, writing with a deft hand, is good at making the reader suspend belief long enough to stay immersed in the mostly plausible story line. Taloni weaves scientific jargon with skillful characterization, making the cats—who call themselves Shadow, Sharpclaw and Grayfur, to name a few—come alive as major players in the rapidly unfolding drama.

The cats converse with each other and the Highwalkers—as the humans are known in the feline world—by Pathing, a kitty kind of very powerful telepathy. More than once, they’re called upon to commune telepathically with the astronauts to iron out details of a complicated plan to get the array back up and running. There is even one cat whose telekinetic skills play a huge role in the book’s final outcome.

I like good science fiction, and this story has solid scientific roots on which to grow. The fact that the main protagonists are mutated cats who fly around in kitty ships (I’m not making that phrase up), does not diminish the book’s enjoyability.

I can recommend Crisis on Stardust Station without reservation—especially if you happen to be a cat lover. Meow, and pass the saucer of milk over here. Get your copy by clicking on this link.

Originally published on Author Ingrid Hall’s blog.