Catfantastic II - Ed. Andre Norton and Martin H. Greenberg

Catfantastic II
Ed. Andre Norton and Martin H. Greenberg
Daw Books
Copyright 1991
978-0886774615

The back jacket description:

A yowl shatters the silence of the night -

It is a call to battle, a warning of danger, or the greeting of a fellow predator stalking through the darkness, heading for a rendezvous with adventure in one of the magic places - those mysterious realms undetectable by mere humans. Tonight the cats are gathering to tell their tales, of times past or yet to come, of the two-legged beings they have adopted as their own special pets.

So let us join them now, and if we are very quiet, as silent as a cat on the scent of likely prey, we may be privileged to learn some long-kept secrets of the feline kind. Listen now, the stories begin, legends of such might heroes as: Bomber, the ship's cat out for revenge on the German warship, the Bismark; Graywhiskers, who ruled his kingdom with a unique weapon of his own creation; Bat and Punkin who had patiently lived out several lives while waiting to find the only humans worthy of being theirs; Hermione, who as familiar to an astronomer would have to guard him not from falling stars but from the unexpected dangers lurking in his very own home....

Catfantastic II

Catfantastic II is the second anthology of fantasy and science-fiction based cat stories edited by Andre Norton and Martin H. Greenberg. I've read it before a couple of times, and this volume has some of my favourite stories from the whole series of Catfantastic books (all five of them), including P. M. Griffin's In Bastet's Service, which I reviewed on it's own a few years ago.

On the other hand, I feel a little bit guilty with this review. I didn't read every story in the anthology. These days, I just go looking for my favourites, one of which, as I said is In Bastet's Service by P.M. Griffin. Another, and it's made it's way to the second favourite slot, is The Last Gift by Elizabeth H. Boyer.

The Last Gift is a "how were cats created" story set within Norse Mythology, and it's absolutely out and out hilarious. Of course part of that for me might be the fact I could see my two cats in the behavior of the cats in the story. The best quote: ...creeping across the rafters overhead with larcenous intentions on the meat curing there in the smoke of the fire. They snatched food straight out of the pot... It goes on for a while and every time I read that passage I end up giggling madly, and shaking my head at the same time. I think I need to remember to look for some of Elizabeth Boyer's novels, seeing how much I've enjoyed this story.

Graywhiskers is another character I enjoyed reading about, in The Execution by A. R. Major. Talk about ingenious! Elizabeth Moon's story, Clara's Cat though, I just  found both creepy and sad - and she's normally one of my favourite authors.

Some authors who had stories in the first volume of Catfantastic reuse those characters in Catfantastic II, most notably Ardath Mayhar who writes about Hermione in the form of her reports. The offering in this volume is Hermione at Moon House. On the other hand, I missed Mercedes Lackey's SCat series of stories in this one. I know though, that her stories will be in the rest of the series.

Moonsinger - Andre Norton

Moonsinger
Andre Norton
Baen Books
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 9781416555179

The amazon.com product description:

Moon of Three Rings: It is the time of the Moon of the Three Rings when the Free Trader ship Lydis lands on the primitive world of Yiktor, a world the Combine was seeking to control for the power the Three Rings would bring them. The life of a Free Trader was all junior crew member Krip Vorlund knew. That life ended at a beast show on Yiktor when Vorlund was strangely attracted to the owner of the show animals, a delicate and mysterious woman named Maelen. Too soon Vorlund learned the nature of Maelen's sorcery, too soon he is caught up in the struggle over the fate of a world…. But his soul would remain his own.


Exiles of the Stars: The galactic trade ship Lydis is making a run to the planet Thoth when a civil war lands her in a battle of ancient powers and nameless evil, with a Forerunner treasure at its heart. The crew seems normal—until you look closely at two of its members: Krip Vorlund, a man who walks in a body not his own, and his pet, a four-legged beast hiding the mind of Maelen the Moon Singer, a woman whose esper powers can save them all—or bring them to eternal destruction.

Publisher's Note: Moonsinger has appeared separately as Moon of Three Rings, and its sequel, Exiles of the Stars. This is the first time the complete saga has appeared in one mass market volume.

This isn't the first time I've read Andre Norton's Moonsinger, but the last time was definitely a few years ago. My original review is here, and it's dated from January 2008, fairly close to the time I started writing All Booked Up. Even then, it wasn't the first time if my memory's correct. I seem to recall reading both the books in their separate editions: Moon of Three Rings and Exiles of the Stars as well, at some point back in the mists of time.

Moonsinger is set in the same world as the original Free Trader/Solar Queen novels, which include: Plague Ship, Redline The Stars, Derelict For Trade and A Mind For Trade, though it's set far into the future from those books. At the same time there are other books involving Krip Vorlund and Maelen which have also been gathered together into an omnibus edition: Moonsinger's Quest, containing Flight in Yiktor and Dare To Go A-Hunting. I know I've read the first of those two books - the review is here, but I can't remember if I've read Dare To Go A-Hunting.

Although it's a part of the same world as the above series, Moonsinger and it's sequels also stand alone - to an extent, even from each other - at least, that's the feeling I got from Flight In Yiktor after reading Moon of Three Rings and Exiles of the Stars.

Catfantastic V - Andre Norton and Martin H. Greenberg

Catfantastic V
Edited by Andre Norton and Martin H. Greenberg
Daw Books
Copyright Date: 1999
0886778476

The jacket cover description:

Here's a book you can get your paws into as you explore the universe from a cat's-eye view. In this latest edition of tales about our furry friends you'll meet bold new adventurers, loyal companions, determined protectors, cats who can solve mysteries – or created them. You'll recognize such familiar felines as Skitty and Hermione, and encounter tabbies who are high-tech whiz-kits or wizards familiars.
Let some of today's finest tale-spinners, from Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey to David Drake and Barry Longyear, lead you along trails only the cleverest of cats could find or follow, pathways to realms only reachable with the aid of our fearless four-footed comrades.
From a world where learning the truth about the native life-form could transform a boy's future...to a cat who discovers that love can even conquer time...to a cat familiar ready to tempt her wizardly master to seek out the greatest of magics...these are fantastical romps to claim the hearts and imaginations of cat companions everywhere.

I love cat stories, and I've been a sucker for the earlier anthologies of Catfantastic. I'll admit that right from the start. I have enjoyed volumes I-III previously. This is another exceptional one in the series. As a lover of the previous books there was story after story from authors I recognized: Andre Norton had another story about Noble Warrior, P.M. Griffin's Tenth Life Cat is set using the same rules as her stories about Turtle from previous books, there's another Skitty story by Mercedes Lackey, and these are just a few of the many offerings.

There are a few stories where the cat dies at the end, fair warning, as they are more than slightly sad, but overall there are some absolutely wonderful stories. Some of my favorites included: Grow Old Along With Me by Lee Barwood (I wish this story could happen for real), Goliath by R. Davies (a bit sad, but lovely), A Cat's Tale by Paul Goode, Preliminary Report by Barry B. Longyear, Tenth Life Cat by P. M. Griffin (which I've already mentioned), and too many others to mention.

There were a couple of stories I didn't care for, but I'm sure someone else considers them to be their favorites: the story of Hermione (on stylistic grounds: the actual Story was Great, but I don't care for the Excessive capitalization Hermione uses in her Writing, much as I have in this sentence), and The Maltese Feline (I just don't care for that style of story with any characters).

So many of the authors were familiar to me from outside of the Catfantastic world too: Lyn McConchie, who's written with Andre Norton, P. M. Griffin the same, Mercedes Lackey, and several others.

A great book for any cat lover, sure to leave you purring with delight (it sure did me, and kept me up nice and late, reading). I should give it five stars if I did ratings. I think I'm going to have to set up a rating system and graphics soon, given the number of times I've said that lately.

Books bought in April

I went a little crazy in buying books this month. The list below is copied from my Unread Books list.

1. On The Prowl - Anthology (Romance) Mass Market Paperback
2. Knight Of Darkness - Kinley MacGregor - Fiction (Romance) Mass Market Paperback
3. Sword of Darkness - Kinley MacGregor - Fiction (Romance) Mass Market Paperback
4. **Lover Eternal - J.R. Ward - Fiction (Romance) Mass Market Paperback
5. **Lover Awakened - J.R. Ward - Fiction (Romance) Mass Market Paperback
6. **Lover Revealed - J.R. Ward - Fiction (Romance) Mass Market Paperback
7. Lover Enshrined - J.R. Ward - Fiction (Romance) Mass Market Paperback
8. Dark Lover - J.R. Ward - Fiction (Romance) Mass Market Paperback
9. Lover Unbound - J.R. Ward - Fiction (Romance) Mass Market Paperback
10. Sword and Sorceress VIII - Fiction (Anthology) Mass Market Paperback
11. Sword and Sorceress XV - Fiction (Anthology) Mass Market Paperback
12. Sword and Sorceress XIV - Fiction (Anthology) Mass Market Paperback
13. Sword and Sorceress X - Fiction (Anthology) Mass Market Paperback
14. Sword and Sorceress VI - Fiction (Anthology) Mass Market Paperback
15. Sword and Sorceress IX - Fiction (Anthology) Mass Market Paperback
16. Alta - Mercedes Lackey - Fiction (Fantasy) Mass Market Paperback
17. Rocket Ship Galileo - Robert Heinlein - Fiction (Science Fiction) Trade Paperback
18. The Number Of The Beast - Robert Heinlein - Fiction (Science Fiction) Mass Market Paperback
19. The Real Middle Earth - Brian Bates - Non Fiction (History) Trade Paperback
20. To Sail Beyond The Sunset - Robert Heinlein - Fiction (Science Fiction) Mass Market Paperback
21. Lammas Night - Fiction (Anthology) Mass Market Paperback
22. Roman Poets Of The Early Empire - Poetry - (Primary Source) Trade Paperback
23. Redline The Stars - Andre Norton and P.M. Griffin - Fiction (Science Fiction) Mass Market Paperback
24. Derelict For Trade - Andre Norton and Sherwood Smith - Fiction (Science Fiction) Mass Market Paperback
25. Readings In Medieval History - Patrick Geary - Non Fiction (History) Trade Paperback
26. Troilus And Criseyde - Geoffrey Chaucer - Poetry (Primary Source) Trade Paperback
27. Falls The Shadow - Sharon Kay Penman - Fiction (History) Trade Paperback
28. The Reckoning - Sharon Kay Penman - Fiction (History) Trade Paperback
29. The Early History Of Rome - Livy - History (Primary Source) Trade Paperback

Books read and reviewed in March

Books read in March were mostly reviewed. However, there was one, Beast Master's Circus that I didn't get to reviewing and as it has now been a couple of weeks, I doubt it will get a review at all.

It's been a Fantasy and Urban Fantasy month for the most, heavy on Patricia Briggs, with some David Weber and other authors thrown in for good measure.

Anyway, the rest of the books for the month are:

Marked: A House Of Night Novel - P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
A snippet from my review:

I think the story was decent, it did catch my attention in a few different places and kept me turning the pages, but event for a teen book, I found it too quick a read, and I'm not fond of the high-school set stories that are so popular right now.

Beast Master's Ark - Andre Norton and Lynn McConchie
A snippet from my review:

Honestly, I think this is the best of the Beast Master novels, but perhaps I'm influenced by the fact that this was the first of the books in this series that I read.

Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs
A snippet from my review:

The book starts immediately after the end of Iron Kissed, making it seem more like one book in two volumes, and the action starts almost from the first page. Mercy's mother turns up, having read the articles in the paper about the events of Iron Kissed, and then, minutes later, Stefan, the vampire, pops into the room, literally, having been tortured. From there things don't let up for an instant.

Storm From The Shadows - David Weber
A snippet from my review:

I enjoyed reading Storm of Shadows, but I've got to say, when I came to the end my reaction was "When's the next book coming out?". Weber has left the book screaming for a sequel, which according to the note in the front of the book is going to appear at some point in the future (hopefully sooner than five years from now like this one was from The Shadow of Saganami).

The Shadow Of Saganami - David Weber
A snippet from my review:

Overall, that's the thing about David Weber's science fiction. He's created very detailed characters, worlds and political systems. Everything holds together very well with not too many "hey! that can't work" moments.

The Shadow Queen - Anne Bishop
A snippet from my review:

Set after Tangled Webs and the Black Jewels Trilogy, The Shadow Queen connects the events and time of the stand-alone book The Invisible Ring with the later books. All I can say is WOW! This book kept me up two nights running. Frankly, I preferred it to Bishop's last book, Tangled Webs. It had the scope the previous book didn't. On the other hand, unlike the other books set in this world, there was no villain to contend with. Instead, it was a book of rebuilding, learning to trust and going on with life.

Cry Wolf - Patricia Briggs
A snippet from my review:

Overall, this is a good start to an interesting series, and I'm looking forward to the next book I've seen rumored on Amazon.com (though it's not showing up on the Chapters/Indigo site yet.

Iron Kissed - Patricia Briggs
A snippet from my review:

As with Moon Called, and Blood Bound, the actual perpetrator of the crimes is left a mystery until the very end of the book, so that each time you think you know who it is, the author throws in another twist to keep you guessing (something that I really enjoy as I hate being able to predict what's going to happen in a story before it does).

Blood Bound - Patricia Briggs
A snippet from my review:

I like that it's not all about the supernatural, that there is some of the ordinary as well, ranging from work at the mechanic's shop to interacting with kids (albeit often in animal form). The other books in this genre that I've read seem to be so tangled with the supernatural/paranormal that there's nothing unconnected.

Moon Called - Patricia Briggs
A snippet from my review of this first book in the Mercy Thompson world:

I loved this book as, even though it seems to have all of the staples of the urban fantasy world, it had some unique twists as well and it kept me guessing right to the last page. I'll admit that I'm not overly familiar with the type of book, only really having read a few of the authors, namely Laurell K. Hamilton, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Tanya Huff, but Patricia Briggs is an author I'm enjoying a lot.

Tangled Webs - Anne Bishop
A snippet from my review:

This is the sixth book in the Black Jewels series, set about a year after the events in the trilogy and Dreams Made Flesh. Overall, perhaps the writing isn't the greatest, but the story mostly makes up for it. The book certainly kept me up far past bedtime, anyway, and had me laughing at the character interaction between the members of the coven and the SaDiablo family.

What's In A Name Challenge Update

I'm updating my list and re-posting the rules for the What's In A Name challenge this coming year.

The requirements are to read a book from each of the categories (taken from the introductory post at the What's in A Name blog:

*Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a "profession" in its title. Examples might include: The Book Thief, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Historian
Done: Beast Master's Ark

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title. Examples might include: Twilight, Four Past Midnight, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Done: Marked: A House Of Night Novel

3. A book with a "relative" in its title. Examples might include: Eight Cousins, My Father's Dragon, The Daughter of Time

4. A book with a "body part" in its title. Examples might include: The Bluest Eye, Bag of Bones, The Heart of Darkness
Done: Either Bone Crossed, or Blood Bound will work.

5. A book with a "building" in its title. Examples might include: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little House on the Prairie, The Looming Tower

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. Examples might include: Insomnia, Coma, The Plague
Done: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

I've only got three of the categories left to fill. It's looking more and more likely that it will be The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien for category five though.

Beast Master's Ark - Andre Norton and Lyn McConchie

Beast Master's Ark
Andre Norton and Lyn McConchie
TOR Books
Copyright: 2002
0765340097

From the cover of the book:

Beast Master Hosteen Storm has endured great perils to carve out a life for himself on Arzor, the colony planet he's called home since the destruction of Earth by the alien Xik. On a planet with alient life forms and untold secrets from its pre-Human past, there are always dangers in the wild, especially in the vast desert and rugged mountain region known as Big Blue.

But nobody has ever experienced a threat like the devastating scourge the natives call Death-Which-Comes-By-Night. Something is killing grazing animals ...and has begun to attack humans as well, leaving nothing behind but the bones of its victims.

Hosteen, aided by his telepathically linked animals, knows that if he can't stop the killings Arzor will be decimated. His only ally is a young wiman who has beast master ability, but was raised to mistrust others with such a power. At stake is the safety of all those on Arzor, and on other colony planets as well. Because Death-Which-Comes-In-The-Night is a scourge that, if not stopped, here could spread...

Billed as "The first new exciting BEAST MASTER adventure in decades", Beast Master's Ark lives up to it's name. The story continues on from the books Beast Master and Lord of Thunder, which were written several decades previously.

Andre Norton is one of those writers which never seems to go out of date. Despite several decades between the volumes in some of her series, the books are still popular, good reads, and the series still fits together seamlessly.

There's a sense of falling into the middle of the story, due to the start, when there have clearly been some problems occurring before the start of the story. Some of the problems and issues are articulated as the story progresses, but others are left unexplained.

For a science fiction novel, there really isn't too much of an emphasis on technology, the story is more about the character interactions, which is a nice change from some of the sci-fi out there.

Honestly, I think this is the best of the Beast Master novels, but perhaps I'm influenced by the fact that this was the first of the books in this series that I read. There are two sequels as well: Beast Master's Circus (which I'm reading right now) and Beast Master's Quest.

Andre Norton - Upcoming Books

According to the Chapters/Indigo website, a number of Andre Norton's books are supposed to be due out again in the near future either on their own, or in omnibus editions. She's one of my favorite science-fiction authors, with series like The Solar Queen and Beast Master.

Star Flight
May 26th, 2009
An omnibus volume containing the books The Stars Are Ours and Star Born. I don't think I've read either book, actually.

The Game Of Stars And Comets
April 7th 2009
Another omnibus edition. This book has four: Voorloper, The X Factor, The Eye Of The Monster, and The Sioux Spaceman. Of this volume, I've only read Voorloper, I think. It was certainly a good story. The Sioux Spaceman looks like it will be interesting, according to the description.

From The Sea To The Stars
January 27th, 2009
This book contains Sea Siege and Star Gate. From the description, Star Gate looks as though it will be a good read. Sea Siege, on the other hand, I read a couple of years ago and I didn't care for it especially. It's been long enough now, that I don't remember why particularly.

The Search For The Star Stones
Released November 4th, 2008
This omnibus volume contains the books The Zero Stone and Uncharted Stars. Unlike the other books listed, I already have both as separate books, but I have yet to read them, so I have no comment to make.

Flight In Yiktor - Andre Norton

Flight In Yiktor
Andre Norton
Tor Books
Copyright: 1986
ISBN: 08125472717

Flight in Yiktor is in many ways the sequel to Moon of Three Rings and Exiles of the Stars. However, although Krip and Maelen are major characters in the story, they are not the viewpoint characters. That honor goes to Farree, a new character.

The story builds on the previous two, especially the events of Exiles of the Stars, and more of the history of the Thassa is learned.

I can't help but wonder. Is this the only book with Farree? I'd like to know more about him and his background. Despite this being a re-read, the book was as gripping this time as it was when I first read it. In fact, I liked it better, I think. I remember being disappointed that the story wasn't from the combined viewpoints of Maelen and Krip as were the first two books.

Andre Norton - Moonsinger

Moonsinger
Andre Norton
Baen Books
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 9781416555179

Moonsinger is Baen Books' omnibus edition of Moon of Three Rings and Exiles of the Stars. Baen claims that this is the complete saga, however, there is also Flight into Yiktor, which involves the characters: Krip Vorlund and Maelen. In addition, the copyrights for the books were originally much older than the 2005 (Exiles of the Stars) and 1996 (Moon of Three Rings) printed in this edition. Perhaps the author redid the copyright to enable this edition? Another note: in order to fit both stories in the one volume, the print is, I find, unusually small. It's only harder to read in bad light.

Moonsinger is a Free Traders novel, set in the far future from the Solar Queen series, which it does make references to: the planet Limbo and the use of cats on board ship, as well as the endless conflicts between Combine and Free Traders. It is really interesting to see how things have changed and yet not changed in the intervening years.

Moonsinger involves more magic/mind arts than the Solar Queen novels, and in fact 'esper powers' as they are referred to are an accepted talent of many, as well as being a mainstay of the Thassa of Yiktor.

I'm talking around the plot and story, trying not to give anything away, so all I'll say is that Moonsinger is a good science fiction read, and for all that the stories are old, they are not dated in any way. I suspect that this will remain a classic piece of science fiction for a good while longer.

Mercedes Lackey & Andre Norton: Elvenborn

Elvenborn
Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton
TOR Books
Copyright 2002
ISBN: 0312864566

The third book in the Elvenbane, Elvenblood, Elvenborn sequence, and so far, the last.

This book evolves the Elvenlords from the villains of the first book (with the exception of Valyn) a process which started in the second (Sheyrena and Lady Moth). The background and history of the Elvenlords is more explained as well.

We see a number of returning characters (Triana and others) as well as new ones. One neat link between the first book and this one is the appearance of Kaeth, the brother of Serena, mother of Shana. In The Elvenbane it is said that he was taken away for training as an assassin, but never actually was a character in the story.

Will there be a sequel? Its been six years since Elvenborn came out, and in that time period, Andre Norton died. Is Mercedes Lackey going to continue this series on her own?

It would be interesting to see more books in the series, so long as they don't end up repeating what's already happened, but instead cover new ground. There's still no conclusion to the Young Lords' rebellion, a slave revolt is brewing, and there have been murmurs already in Elvenborn of breaking the treaty between the Elvenlords and the Halfbloods/Wizards. Of course, with the last one, we've already seen one war between the two sides.