The Future That Never Was - Legacy Edition of KITTY KITTY

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

WELCOME TO THE RETROFUTURE!

The Future That Never Waswas a book series project featuring an alternate space age where the Soviets colonized the belt before David Bowie sangLife on Mars; where rogue AIs took over the web; where pizza came in cans. Humankind couldn’t dream of a more exciting future. Yet, as foolishness eventually turned Earth into a nuclear wasteland, shadows began to conspire from the heart of the Moon to beyond the mysterious Planet Nine…

As of today, a newcompletelyreworked version of the book series is available onamazonfor less than a $1

However, here on Royal Road, you will find for free the old and original three seasons ofTFTW:KITTY KITTYbut alsoRADIO FREAKSandSTELLAR PATRIOTSwhere you can join sassy space cat Lee and his Desert Eagle-toting, soda-swigging human partner, Ali, in this future stuck in the late 80s/early 90s. Board the dynamic duo’s ship, the mythicalKitty, as they bounty-hunt their way through a dystopian solar system—so lock and load, and shoutCowabunga!because it’s crime-fightin’ time!

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2021
Author: Space Pickle

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 604
Views: 309,376

Chapters(110 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

carysalockeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The authors have completely captured how a cat would actually view this quirky retro-SF universe, and embodied that in their MC, Lee, a Maine Coon who travels the galaxy with his human bounty hunter sidekick, Ali.
Start reading this fun space romp for the POV cat and stay for the retro references and general hilarity. Someone else compared this to Guardians of the Galaxy, and I think that's a fair comparison. I also found shades of Cowboy Beebop and some of the atmosphere of games like Fallout (I think the retro vibe reminds me of it). Honestly, while you can draw comparisons to a number of properties, this narrative shines with a unique voice all its own. Worth the time investment to read, especially if you are a cat person or fan of unlikely heroes and a lot of spot on humor.
AnehaliaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Do you lvoe the way back to the future imagined the future might be? Or the space sci-fi of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and somewhat 90s imagined going between the planets would be like? Then this story is for you. Packed with references to those late 1900s times, this story is one for the nostalgia trip. The episodic format is perfect for the hard working individuals of Gen X and millenial generations. If you don't have much time to read anymore, and desire to read both popcorn (fun action sequences and dialogue) and well written; then Kitty Kitty is the book for you.
The episodes slowly build into a narrative, and by the end of the first volume of Kitty Kitty you can start to see that there is clearly more to the story that will come in later volumes.
Style score: The writing is very descriptive and leaves quite the visual imagery. I took off half a star for my personal gripe of some episodes starting with a paragraph of discriptive text that I had to parse through. I noticed it especially on the first episode where it took me almost a day of retrying before I finally managed to parse out the first paragraph and get past it (I have the attention span of a cat). If you have issues like me reading a descriptive first paragraph, I do highly recommend forcing yourself past that first paragraph describing how food is created becuase the story beyond that is fantastic. Other than that the episodic format was very well done with each episode being caregully contained to three chapters of about normal royal road length. As mentioned before, this is perfect for the working busy adult trying to fit some reading in their lunch breaks.
Grammar: Not too many issues. I give a 5 if it's fairly well proof read. Some minor issues, but even professionaly published stories will sometimes have issues.
Story Score: The story is awesome! 11/10 with being fed information slowly and making me want to read more. I'm excited to read the second book!
Character Score: Awesome fun characters with ente
Little RacoonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
To sum up my thoughts on the story: I think it speaks a lot when I forgot how many chapters there were in the story and just went to the "end".
Style: 5 stars. The blend between an late 80s/early 90s world style and sci fi was basically seamless. With what little knowledge I have of the time period, it was still really easy to pick out references to the media and the fashion at the time. The world was ridiculous, of course, but that was basically the point, wasn't it? It felt simultaneously absurd and believable at the same time, to the point where I had to shake my head and told myself, "I live on earth. This is 2022. We haven't colonized any planets yet."
Story: 5 stars. True to its episodic nature, the chapters were well organized into different adventures as the two main characters traveled around the system, introducing us readers to the varied worlds (along with, of course, the usual problems of civilization in general). Although there weren't many chapters released here on RR just yet, the story is going in a very nice direction.
Grammar: 5 stars. No jarring errors. Smooth flow (ehe).
Character: 5 stars. It was very easy to distinguish between characters, not just their appearance, but the way they talk and interact with others. Seen from the perspective of Lee, us readers received his commentary on things every once in a while, and the comedy that came with it was quite fun to read. Even minor characters had their own personality, and it really felt like I, as the reader, was interacting with "people" and not just NPCs besides the main characters.
Overall a very enjoyable read that with its style and episodic nature was very easy to pick up on, and certainly deserves, if not even more, of its popularity. Sheeeeesh.
MisterViiRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story was an experience. I can tell that it is a work of passion for the author, since it bleeds through every scene. I would compare it to Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy meets Cowboy Beebop, with how quickly things move. If you try to skim, you will go right out of orbit. If I had to guess it is the main reason why people would strugle to read this work. I remember as a kid having to read Hitch Hikers 3 sperate times to understand what was going on. That was the charm and also the pain of the story, which is exactly what is happening here.
Style: Zaney, it is a sci-fi romp with a smoking cat and their human partner with fast past action. There was one main thing I struggled with. It is fast pace, very fast pace. One cannot read Kitty Kitty at warp speed and understand what is happening. The good part is the episodic format. The few times I did get a bit lost it was quickly cleared up and the episode/mini-arc ended.
Grammar: An auto 5/5 since there were no issues reading the story.
Story: The story is exactly what one can expect from reading the title and is delievered in a consistant manner. Good news is that if you like this type of writing, the author is quite determined and has kindly made guides to understand the progression of the story.
Character: The cat steals the show. Lee brings the sas and her human partner Ali brings the charm. They are well thought out characters and their dialouge is perfect for this type of story. The main issue I had was that they suffered from being too over the top sometimes. The shopping adventures of Ali gave me stress just reading about and Lee is full of sass. She is a cat, but the sass is a lot.
In conclusion, this is a great series if you have fond memories of Hitchhikers and want to read something in a similar vein. Just be prepared to really focus on the story so you don't lose track, since it is non-stop action flying right at you in the shape of a cat.
EDIT: I have purchased and read the entire series on Amazon. 5
MoonlightGardensRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I came into this story believing I wasn’t going to like it, I’m going to be completely honest. I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised. This is a well-written story for the lovers of sci-fi and even some of those who aren’t.
Style (5/5)
It flows well and, honestly, I don’t have any complaints.
Story (5/5)
It has a strong opening that draws in readers immediately. Through the episodes, it continues to hold the readers’ attention with action. Some may be able to call it more like a connected series of short stories, with each episode having its own contained plot while contributing to a larger story.
Grammar (5/5)
I didn’t see any grammar mistakes. If there were any at all, they were minor.
Character (5/5)
The characters are fun and entertaining. I’m going to be honest, there’s not a lot anymore that can make me smile while reading—but this story does just that. The characters feel natural and, even within the first 2 episodes, the duo is well-defined. There’s really nothing else to say here, except this is an overall very good story.
This review isn't long enough... Look, I really don't have anything to complain about, alright? It's a good story with great characters. Go read it!
Raz ScrivensRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Overall: This was one of the most fun stories I've perused on Royal Road. I like all kinds of stories, be they serious, funny, quiet or action-packed. The Future That Never Was is densely packed with fun and wrapped in a layer of literary coziness that's difficult to describe and pretty rare. My advice: Take the plunge and start reading!
Style: This story sports some rich prose and some exquisite descriptions. "Twelve tons of alloys and ceramics with flaked coral paint, the legacy of a triumphant past; a 3.5 by 10 meters beauty of Earthen-armored hull in the shape of the eponymous bird, with a long-forked tail surrounding the turbine of a real next-generation post-nuclear Baltimore-IV engine from sixteen generations ago." A lot of people, including myself, can write whole paragraphs that aren't as richly meaty as that single sentence above. Beautiful style! I'm not sure if this was professionally edited or not, but it sure reads like it was.
Story: The story is the one thing that was only mildly imperfect for me, but that could be because I didn't get far enough into it. Some might say the setup of a sci-fi bounty hunter is a bit rote, but she has a talking cat and it's set in an alternate timeline, so it's already carved a completely unique niche! I don't know much about any overarching plot so far, but the exposition is doing major work.
Grammar: I couldn't find any flaws. Maybe they're there, but they flew under my radar.
Character: If the greatest selling point of the story is the retro sci-fi feel, the strange twist of history where technology developed very differently, then the second greatest part is easily the characters. Our feline narrator and his human companion Ali make for a great bounty hunting duo. As the reader, you'll want to kick back with them in their ship for a road trip through the asteroid belt. It just sounds so cozy. I'll be coming back to this one for sure!
SR FauthRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I warned you author. I Warned you, with a CAPITAL W, That I was gonna leave an advanced review. All for the PPG reference. Yeah, that was the clencher.
This review has spoilers. So if you don't want spoilers then go read the damn fiction. It's amazing.
With that being said, let us begin:
STYLE SCORE: 5/5 Cyberpunk meets Dora the Explorer. Its fast-paced, violent, filled with amazing literary references, touches on so many aspects of pop, sub, and fully automatic culture its astounding. This fiction fills a niche I didn't realize my cold dead heart was missing. Now it's even colder and deader. Because I laughed myself right back into my coffin. This is an amazing blend of so many aspects it's hard to describe. Just read the damn thing already.
STORY SCORE: 5/5 The story is well developed, fast-paced, has numerous goals with the characters while being well balanced enough to maintain that speed. Not a lot is missed, not with a talking cat, a psychotic blond bounty hunter, and a number of characters that either get iced, spaced, or receive a signature .40 cal to the face. Overall it's a blend of current and techno-pop, and certainly achieves the level of art.
GRAMMAR SCORE: 4.5/5 The grammar was fine overall. Being someone who struggles with it myself it is difficult for me to find those instances where it rears its head. But find them I did. However, in no way did any of the errors I found detract from the story. Which was amazing by the way. Why aren't are you reading it yet?
CHARACTER SCORE: 5/5 The characters are well developed, funny, intuitive, immersing, and bring all the good lines to the table. honestly the female human (ish) MC reminds me of my own MC. This is hilarious because they seem to be the same brand of psycho. I loved it. Go read. Seriously. This is your last warning.
OVERALL SCORE: 5/5 I love it. Definitely, a follow and like for me. I cant wait to see where this goes, even as I struggle to split my time between life and this. I won't even warn you
StrongHorseRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
If you're old enough, or familiar enough with the culture of the 80's and 90's, you will really appreciate the world this story it set it. I won't waste time overviewing the synopsis as it looks like hundreds before me have done so, but suffice to say this is a top-rated series for good reason. Definitely worth the read. If there was a "Graphic design" category, I would rate that 5 stars as well.
I'm seeing some minor complaints about grammar, but I didn't notice anything glaring. Either those issues were fixed since those reviews were written or I just have lower standards.
I found the characters witty when they wanted to be, crude when they wanted to be, but always entertaining. And, come on. A cat? One of the characters is a cat! What a refreshing change of pace to read a character's perspective wanting (and hating!) all the things a cat would want and hate. And it isn't just a gimmick! It matters that the cat experiences the world through the body of a cat instead of a human. Even a cat-like person would not read the same!
The prose is written to a professional standard. Undeniably. No breaking of the POV contract, no tense confusion, imagery used appropriately, natural dialogue. The craft just gets out of the way so you can enjoy the story. The reading comes effortlessly.
My only reason for even slightly marking down the story is as a warning to some that might not be ready to read an episodic story. If you're looking for one over-arcing narrative that can drive forward a single story, this isn't it. It does seem to make most sense reading from the beginning forward, but I have no doubt I'll be coming back to reread favorite episodes when I'm done.
Can't recommend it enough. Do yourself a favor, and read this story!
AWebsterRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Just a quick review to say I'm enjoying your story so far.
And that I want you to keep posting.
I was pulled into reading your story by seeing your cover art in one of the forums. Hence I wanted to give you props for that.
Just a quick review to say I'm enjoying your story so far.
And that I want you to keep posting.
I was pulled into reading your story by seeing your cover art in one of the forums. Hence I wanted to give you props for that.
Banner CaygeonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a story about a talking cat, a rambunctious young woman, set in the 80's/90's in space, in a futurepast that doesn't exist....AND IT IS AWESOME. This is just a pure joy to read.
Trying to summarize or make a snynopsis of this work sounds stupid...but it's so so far from that. It's hyperstylized and has just the right amount of everything.
There are so many great banger lines too:
"He would remain ignorant [of how a cat can fly a spaceship] until the end of his pathetic existence shortened by the radiation from nuclear reactors"
"...with a cardboard box on top of her head. This sugar bishop was swimming after the remnant cereals that floated on her path like Ms. Pac-Man"
My review probably comes a bit early, I think I'm chapter 3 but I'm in love with the world. The mix of future and past has hints of Guardians of the Galaxy but the author makes it work far better than the movie did. There's also some really cool world building going on with the politics and industry of our solar system. I'm looking forward to reading more, but felt it prudent to tell others how much I loved it now.
The cat character is perfect. The Kitty is perfect. The sapiens is perfect. I can't write anymore, just read it. It's the best fun I've had on this site yet!