If you’re a fan of cats and science fiction, give this book a try. I think there should be more cats in space stories (with a happy ending for the cat of course).

This book is set in the far future, when siblings Scout, Kieran and cat Pumpkin are on an archaeological quest to find data caches of vanished civilisations. The hope is that the information will help combat whatever is causing whole planets to be wiped out. They are pitted against a corporation with superior technology which will keep the information behind a paywall, but when things get dangerous, they may have to cooperate.

The book is narrated mainly by Scout, who is non-binary, interspersed with the recording of Blyreena, from the disappeared people, who tells her story. Although they are different species, they seem very similar and are both grieving. There are a lot of emotions packed into the book, plus some action adventure and a little humour. It did seem more like YA, as there wasn’t a lot of depth to the story, considering the themes. I knew I’d seen the book somewhere before but with a different cover; it was previously self-published in 2022. There are lots of people from the indie author community in the acknowledgments. It’s now published by Penguin, 2025.