TIME CAT [Paperback]

"Time Cat" was the first book by classic writer Lloyd Alexander. It's a fluffy but enjoyable time travel adventure for cat-lovers and historical fantasy buffs alike; there's a little roughness around the edges, less detailed writing, but it's a pleasantly whimsical little trip through time.

Jason is up in his room after a fight with his mother and brother, with only his cat Gareth for company. To Jason's surprise, Gareth suddenly starts speaking to him. He is, surprisingly, a magical cat who can travel through time and space -- to any nine lives in the past. He takes Jason on a trip through time, to ancient Egypt where the boy-pharaoh wants to worship him; the Roman empire, where they are recruited by a legion and then captured by Celts; ancient Ireland, where they make enemies with a court magician and friends with a very special saint; Imperial Japan, where a young Emperor is given Gareth and a bunch of kittens as a gift; Renaissance Italy, where the two bump into a talented young painter; Spanish-dominated Peru, where they befriend a scatterbrained, silver-tongued young captain; they introduce a special cat to the Isle of Man; witch-hunters in medieval Germany; and finally making friends with a kindly cat-peddler in 1775 Boston.

"Time Cat" has no central plot. Instead, it is a series of vignettes: A couple of chapters are devoted to each time period. It's like an extended daydream, displaying what are presumably the time periods that interest (or possibly frighten) Alexander himself. He also displays some educational material about cats -- how they were seen through history, things about Manx cats, and about all the roles that cats can play in a person's life.

Jason is a sympathetic kid, very quiet in nature (except for the brother-punching incident near the beginning) with some clear insights into cats and some fuzzier insights into history. Gareth is a cool, calm, wise, serene -- the ideal cat. And he talks too! There are too many supporting characters to cover adequately, but some stand out in particular, such as Diahan, the Irish princess who shows signs of Alexander's later heroine Eilonwy, and Don Diego, a scatterbrained, homesick young Spaniard who gets things wrong -- but a few things very right.

Even people who don't like time travel stories may like this one, for its lack of pretension or faked dilemmas. And for cat lovers, this is a delightful little historical treat.

Time Cat
By: Lloyd Alexander
Reviewed by: D. Kim
Gareth, the Time Cat, is the pet of Jason. The introduction starts by telling me that Gareth can talk, and Jason was surprised, but not at the fast that he CAN talk, but from what his cat said. Gareth told Jason that he didn't really have 9 lives. He can only "visit" nine other places. When Jason suddenly asks if he can see the places that Gareth can go to, he warns Jason that it would be dangerous, and no one would be there to help. Jason accepted, and they were off on their journey. Jason has been in danger, such as being threatened that he would be eatened by crocodiles or being executed for doing accused wrong. But in the end, Jason got a souvenir for the long journey.
This book was interesting to me in its details of realistic danger. In desperate situations, desperate measures were actually come to. In many adventure stories that I have read, there was something or someone that saved the day, for SURE, so that there wouldn't be any panic. But this book is different from those others. Jason was about to be eaten by crocodiles, when until he made the right decision. In this quote, it clearly tells you the adventure. "Your head is full of wisdom. I can tell you now:If you hadn't agreed, you've have very likely had to take your chances with the crocodiles.
In other cases, It was paradise to Gareth and Jason. When they enetered the royal Imperial Palace, they were told what to do until the emperor had stopped it. Then they both did what they had to do. Gareth as the teacher of the kittens there, and Jason as the protector. Ichigo, the celestial presence, (emperor) was told what to do to the visitors, until he had told him that he was emperor. "You threaten me? You dare threaten your emperor? I could have you boiled in oil! Humble yourself in the Celestial Presence!" This had shown Jason and Gareth that he had finally changed and stood up to his uncle fujiwara. My favorite part of the book was when Jason and Gareth went to the place of Cerdic Longtooth. It was a place of people who feared the animals that surrounded themselves in the forest. The wildcats, the "feared" animals, were soon found harmless when they were treated VERY nicely and left alone. Jason had taught them that they shouldn't hate them and kill them, so things changed.

Time Cat, by Lloyd Alexander is an excellent fictional book about a cat named Gareth and his owner Jason. When Jason walks upstairs to his room he finds not only that Gareth can talk but can also go back in time. Jason had always thought Gareth could talk if he wanted but never guessed that he could go back in time. "I don't have nine lives but I can visit them" said Gareth "but first you must accept these rules." Once Jason accepted, he looked into Gareth's bright orange eyes. Gareth slowly winked...

This book has many strengths such as excellent cliffhangers at the end of each chapter to make you want to keep reading. The second strength is that the many different time periods they experience are based on true facts (when gareth visits Egypt, he is the sacred animal and all of the Egyptians praise him.)

Alexander is very descriptive with his writing and makes every sentence interesting and starts off with a good hook every chapter. I think this book has no weaknesses and is extremely well written. Lloyd Alexander is a great author and as written The Prydian Chronicles The Westmark Trilogy and The Vesper Holly Adventures along with many other books. The High King was a Newberry Medal winner. I would recommend this book to any type of reader and I believe anyone who stars reading will not put it down until it is finished. This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it to anyone.