The Intergalactic Interloper [Delas Heras]

“I’m just worried about my cat. He’s gone missing.”

My thoughts on Delas Heras’ The Intergalactic Interloper boil down to a few words: odd, but mildly amusing. I’ll admit, this isn’t the sort of book I would typically bother to read, but it was certainly a fun one regardless. However, it’s also not a book that I would ever reread. You don’t really get a lasting emotional connection to any of the characters with this one.

The Network of a Story

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Honestly, there’s a lot going on in The Intergalactic Interloper. This is one of those books that has a wide swath of characters that are all interconnected, but you don’t see the connections until they’re brought together. The story jumps between points of view, beginning with Ollie the musician on the day he determines his cat, Pirate, has gone missing.

The interesting thing about this book is really how all the characters are brought together. The sole connection they all have exists in the form of a feline whom you don’t really get to know until later in the story. Put simply, this story would not exist without Pirate. Many of the events within the novel would never have occurred if Pirate hadn’t gone missing.

Alien Research

Honestly, the premise of this story was amusing. It basically boils down to the idea that aliens are investigating feline creatures for their level of intelligence (apparently cats are more worth their time than humans). Of course, this entire endeavor finds a hitch in the cat-hating old lady next door. I do have to pause here and add a trigger warning for attempted animal cruelty.

So, Pirate goes missing and yet is still the central focus of the entire story. He is the center of the alien research, the center of derailing his owner’s life, and the piece that brings each of the many characters in this novel all together. Everything depends on a black and white cat. It’s thoroughly fascinating and hilarious how everything culminates. I especially loved the ending, both on Earth and in space.

Narrative Storytelling

I don’t have a lot of thoughts about the narration if I’m being honest. Nothing about the voice really stands out for me. Rather it was the story, I think, that made this book interesting. It’s certainly fun to listen to as an audiobook and, perhaps ironically, I imagine I probably would have enjoyed it less if I were just reading it.

There’s just something about hearing these characters’ experiences that really pulls you in, but I kind of think any narrator would have worked for me. The Intergalactic Interloper was a thoroughly entertaining novel and fun to listen to. While I likely wouldn’t return to it, I had a good time listening.