“Quite a lovely animal, captain. I find myself strangely drawn to it.” — Mr. Spock
The android Data had a ginger tabby cat named Spot in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Mr. Barclay had a white Persian cat named Neelix on Voyager. Chief Miles O’Brien had a white and gray cat (with an abundance of hair) named Chester on Deep Space Nine. Scott Bakula was a cool cat who starred as Captain Archer on Enterprise (plus there was that Shore Leave Planet cat thing). The ever-present Mr. Spock dug cats, famously being drawn to the sleek black cat Sylvia on the original series. And the animated series even featured a cat as a bridge officer with its Lt. M’Ress.
A crew being upstaged by a fantastic cat is a rite of passage, a staple, a linchpin in the world of Star Trek.
Enter the latest: a Maine coon cat named Grudge. Star Wars has The Book of Boba Fett, and this week, Star Trek Discovery has The Book of Grudge, available now here at Amazon.
It’s the latest gift book of the type seen recently in The Wisdom of Picard, the Kirk Fu Manual, Mr. Spock’s Little Book of Mindfulness, and from Alien, Jonesy: Nine Lives on the Nostromo.
It’s 96 pages of cat humor, photographs, and sketch art, all featuring Discovery’s latest and greatest heroine.
From publisher Hero Collector:
Sharper than a claw and more stunning than a phaser blast, The Book of Grudge’s Prime Directive features Grudge’s take on everything from space travel to the proper care and training of an array of alien species, Star Trek-inspired quotes, and haiku meditations on Grudge’s most favorite things, including napping and people (as long as they’re far enough away).
Make no mistake, Cleveland Booker’s massive – and massively cool – cat, Grudge is no mundane mouser. This taciturn tabby is, in fact, “a Queen.” She knows it, and everyone aboard the Discovery knows it, too… though some realize it just a bit too late!
Grudge, a queen actually played by boy cats Leeu and Durban, is quite the fantastic cat, and like Mr. Spock, you too will find yourself strangely drawn to Grudge.
It’s cute. It’s fun. And it would make a great Valentine’s Day gift or an office gift exchange choice. Star Trek Discovery: The Book of Grudge is available this week here at Amazon, and at brick-and-mortar bookstores.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
