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The Game of Rat and Dragon  By  cover art

The Game of Rat and Dragon

By: Cordwainer Smith
Narrated by: Matthew Wayne Selznick
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Publisher's summary

Future humanity has found the secret of faster-than-light travel, but it comes with great dangers. To minimize these dangers, man can pilot ships through the up-and-out with cats as their partners. Underhill shares his mind with his cat-partner, the Lady May, and must travel to the terrible open places between the stars. Only by working together can they defend themselves and the ship's passengers against the dragons in the emptiness of space.
(P)2007 Wonder Audiobooks LLC

What listeners say about The Game of Rat and Dragon

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How to meet the love of your life

I heard plot of this short story described in the Great Courses’ “How Science Fiction Works” and just had to read it.

I found it much better than the average sci-fi short story. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers, so I’ll just say it’s a great golden-era sci-fi story with a likeable main character, very cool concepts, and a neat ending.

I recommend it to fans of sci-fi and short stories.

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4 people found this helpful

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This one’s strictly for ailurophiles; you know who you are!

Oh, to be one with a partner, to know their thoughts and to know that they know yours. Is there any greater intimacy?

But having experienced this oneness, a man with the Lady May, his partner, and to have closed minds think of her only as a cat …

I love this story and am a little familiar with the Up-and-Out of Cordwainer Smith. I will listen to it many more times, to understand the setting and the objective, but I’ll listen as well to experience the deliciousness of that telepathic bond of human with cat.

The story is so beautifully written that it flows past almost as quickly as the game itself. Cordwainer Smith a/k/a Paul Linebarger is an immensely talented and sensitive writer. He notices things that would pass most people’s observation and then he shares those tidbits with us. In doing so, he is very generous.

The narrator does a good job in matter-of-fact depiction of what is a very strange scenario. I only wanted a little more emotive intimacy, but I may come to appreciate the reading more upon further listenings.

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Fantastic short story!

One of my favorites from when the short story was in the audible channels for sci-fi stories, this short story from Cordwainer Smith jumped out at me as delicious delightful fantastic and the wonderful introduction to his style of stories.

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What a future!

I fall in love with authors who surprise me on the last page--or in this case the last paragraph. I will be searching for more.

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Narration is fine. Story is terrible.

Would you try another book from Cordwainer Smith and/or Matthew Wayne Selznick?

This book made me much less likely to read anything by Cordwainer Smith again.

Would you ever listen to anything by Cordwainer Smith again?

Perhaps only if I can be assured that it far exceeds this pathetic story.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment that I wasted my life listening to a book with such an outrageous ending.

Any additional comments?

The ending is impressively terrible, and the story has very little resolution.

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