04 Catfantastic [Paperback]

With that pet peeve of *this* cat-loving science fiction writer soundly petted (I've got six girls and only one guy-cat in my current menagerie), my highest compliments go to Elizabeth Ann Scarborough for "Born Again" and to Anne Braude for "The Quincunx Solution." In each of these very different tales, we have a cat who is simply that - a feline without any telepathic, telekinetic or other special powers - responding in kind to his human companion's love and devotion. Each tale has plenty of fantastic elements (this is a scifi/fantasy anthology, after all!), but its feline hero remains delightfully ordinary in the midst of extraordinary happenings. That's why these two stories pleased me most, because they capture so beautifully the bond between human and companion animal.

With one exception, the rest of the tales kept me reading and made me glad the editor saw fit to include them. The one that I stopped reading after a few pages had almost no dialog, with the writer spending most of her prose providing backstory - which indicates to me that this particular tale would have been better as a novella, at least (or maybe even as a novel). Its author clearly needed a great deal more space than the short story format provides in order to tell her story engagingly.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of "Mistworld"

As with all compendiums there are some good, and some bad stories, but I feel that the good drasticaly outweight the bad. I've found this to be a well collected anthology series and would highly recommend it to anyone who is fond of cats!

Braude, Anne: "The Quincunx Solution" - Quincunx lives with Margaret and her father (who, after inheriting a modest legacy, retired from his work as an apothecary to squander the family's money on alchemy). Sensible daughter/scatterwit father story.

Carr, Jayge: "Circus" - The felines here include both housecats and an alien masquerading as a lion in an interstellar circus. Cool.

Edghill, India: "Tybalt's Tale" - Here is the tale of the Prince of Cats (who have no king, since a cat speaks for himself).

Fontenay, Charles L. "Miss Hettie and Harlan" - Harlan's the cat; he can talk.

Gladney, Heather; Clayton, Don; Osborne, Alan Rice: "The Tale of the Virtual Cat" - Decades ago, when mice were still used, somebody thought it was funny to hook up their drivers in the new lattice software to data about *real* mice. Now Mice are a big problem for Virtual Reality operating theaters, so a surgeon suggests a tried-and-true method for exterminating mice. (In case anybody gets the notion that it's always easy to shut down a computer system and reboot, consider why the phone company is stuck with a lot of antiquated computers before posting negative reviews.)

Griffin, P.M.: "The Neighbor" - Finally, a followup to "Trouble" from _Catfantastic_, rather than one of the Bastet stories from 2, 3, and 5.

Hamilton, Jane: "Arrows" - The arrows in this case are elfshot; 2 mischievous jinn have accidentally messed up a stray cat's life, and are trying to undo the damage.

Horwood, Sharman: "Tinkerbell" - The spirit of the former ship's cat still helps her human companion through Jump in times of great need.

Lackey, Mercedes: "SCat" - See my review of her collection _Werehunter_.

Linaweaver, Brad & Fredsti, Dana: "Professor Purr's Guaranteed Allergy Cure" - Bastet, for reasons never explained, decides to kill all dogs, all humans who don't like cats, and 'return the world to the true religion'. Only one cat hater, portrayed as a complete sleazeball, is to be spared when the cats take over. (The cat massacres of the 14th century, which contributed to the Black Death, are mentioned, but didn't merit such treatment.) Apparently Bastet only approves of freedom in that you're free to agree with her or die. I'll pass up this 'paradise.'

Lindskold, Jane M.: "Noh Cat Afternoon" - The Daimyo offended the Fox Spirits' lord, so the Fox Spirits have entered a troupe in his Noh competition, to use his generosity against him when they win the prize. But the geisha Okesa, a cat in human guise, has other ideas.

Major, A.R.: "Totem Cat" - Who's in charge, he who sits on the cushion or those who hold doors and empty litter pans? :)

McConchie, Lyn: "Deathsong" - A dravencat story (see also Catfantastic 5).

Norton, Andre: "Noble Warrior, Teller of Fortunes" - Installment #4 (see the other volumes of Catfantastic). Thargun was separated from Emmy at the beginning of tale #3, and has now been picked up by a band of Gypsies.

Pack, Janet: "One with Jazz" - Jeff's cat Satchmo has an uncanny ability to tell good jazz from bad, so Jeff makes a foolish wager.

Scarborough, Elizabeth: "Born Again" - Peaches has earned Nirvana, but he isn't interested unless it's his cushion by the heater back home.

Schaub, Mary: "The Cat, the Sorcerer, and the Magic Mirror" - Concludes the Flax & Drop stories from 1, 2, & 3; Drop is now back in cat shape.