Until Midnight (& Sometimes Later)

A Beautiful Friendship
by David Weber

Hardcover 2011 Baen Books www.almadenbooks.com ISBN: 978-1-4516-3747-2 Rating: 5 paws (out of 5)

David Weber is an exceptionally well-known writer among those who read science fiction, most particularly for his military science fiction series featuring Honor Harrington. The series spans Honor’s career in the Royal Manticoran Navy from midshipman to Grand Duchess and Admiral. And wherever Honor went, she was accompanied by her treecat, Nimitz, usually riding on her specially-padded shoulder.

Honor was born on Sphinx, a planet in the Star Kingdom of Manticore–a world settled by colonists from Earth. Treecats were the native sentient species on Sphinx, six-legged, telepathic, and looking something like domestic cats with very long prehensile tails. Treecats and humans sometimes formed an empathic lifelong bond.

A Beautiful Friendship is the story of Stephanie Harrington, one of Honor’s ancestors, and the colonist who made first contact with the treecats. This is a coming-of-age story, showing interactions between human and treecat even as Stephanie is growing up and trying to figure out what to do with herself and her future. It’s a colonization story, set on a pioneer planet that still holds many dangers, with people exploring and learning about their new home. And it’s also a classic “first-contact” story, handling the complicated twists and turns that occur when the colonists realize that they share the planet with another sentient species–and that species was there first!

Most of the story is told from Stephanie’s point of view–this is her story, make no mistake. Occasional scenes and chapters fill in gaps using some of the adults as viewpoint characters where absolutely necessary to the plot. The other main viewpoint character is Lionheart, Stephanie’s treecat, or as he is referred to by his clan, Climbs Quickly. The chapters from his point of view, explaining treecat society and motivations is a real treat. The treecats find “two-legs” very confusing. For those familiar with Carole Nelson Douglas’s Midnight Louie mysteries, these chapters are a similar read to those from Louie’s viewpoint (a Las Vegas private eye with four black paws–see here for a review of Midnight Louie’s latest).

While Stephanie is an exceptionally bright girl, she is also quick-to-anger, and fiercely protective of those she loves. When she is in trouble, she looks for a logical solution to the problem, and really tries to think outside the box. But sometimes there isn’t an easy or quick solution, and she ended up frustrated, but that made the book a more satisfying read as she worked her way through more complex and layered problems.

I particularly enjoyed the insight into treecat society and their description of human activities–“Why should they need a nest place so large?” I also enjoyed the brief forays into the economics of colonization, and the concept of aided immigration: paying for your passage to the colony and earning the right to vote sooner versus having the government cover your passage and then paying taxes for several years before you voted in planetary elections.

While clearly aimed at and marketed as a young adult book, A Beautiful Friendship is suitable for people of all ages, most especially those who have shared a special relationship with a feline at some point in their lives.

A Beautiful Friendship is based on a short story of the same title, which appeared in the anthologies More Than Honor and Worlds of Weber.

REDEMPTION: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America
by Nathan Winograd

Redemption is divided into several sections–it begins with a history of animal sheltering in the United States, starting with the birth of the “humane society” in the 19th century as one man’s compassionate vision. It chronicles the movement as a whole, showing how it slowly went wrong and somehow began to focus on killing animals rather than saving them, finally ending up where we are now.

It explains how the blame was shifted from animal control agencies to the public and the animals themselves, through initiatives like “LES”–Legislation, Education, and Sterilization. LES supports laws to license cats and dogs, animal limit laws, required spay/neuter, legal prohibitions on the feeding of feral cats and gives animal control broad seizure powers. Shelters weren’t taking the next step, however, and providing low cost spay/neuter options, nor were they trying to reduce shelter deaths. They were too busy pointing fingers.

It details the first success story in American sheltering–when Richard Avanzino took over the San Francisco SPCA and began implementing programs aimed at saving lives rather than just abiding by the status quo. Policy changes during his tenure would eventually lead to no healthy animals being killed in San Francisco, and greatly reduce overall shelter deaths.

And it’s the story of a man, Nathan Winograd, who saw the success of No Kill in San Francisco, and took the lessons learned there to upstate New York, where as Director of the Tompkins County SPCA he built on the success of San Francisco to create the first No Kill community in America. Later, he would move on to found the No Kill Advocacy Center, with a goal of creating a No Kill nation.

It lists the steps needed to achieve No Kill, and where and how it worked–in urban American, in rural America, in the South, etc. and how various programs can lead the way there. It tells you what you can do to help.

There are a lot of amazing ideas put forth in this book, and I urge anyone who loves animals to read it. There are several key concepts that Nathan goes back to again and again. One is that No Kill is achievable if the people involved believe in it and work with a goal of saving lives. Another is that the building blocks of No Kill are simple, and that each piece helps: volunteering at the shelter, feral cat trap-neuter-return, spay/neuter before adoption, fostering, breed rescue, etc. These building blocks are things that individuals can contribute to, each according to their abilities, resources, time, etc. We can all help.

This is a very personal book for me, for a number of reasons. I lived in Tompkins County until a few years ago, and was very aware of the issues facing the SPCA, and the problems they had with funding. In the early 1990s, the Tompkins County SPCA was handling both dog and cat control for the county, with the towns funding some of the dog control. Everything else was paid for by donations. A task force was formed to look into licensing cats as a revenue stream to fund cat control. I sat on that task force. Ultimately, the task force recommended against licensing as a revenue stream–but we discussed many of the same issues brought up in Redemption. I met Nathan when he first became Director at the SPCA, and had a front-row seat as many of the events described in the book happened.

Later, when Redemption was first published, Nathan came back to Tompkins County, and spoke at the SPCA as one of the stops on his book tour. He is a fine speaker, and is both passionate and knowledgeable about animals and the No Kill Revolution.

I make no claim to being impartial about this one–my copy of Redemption is personally inscribed. Highly, highly recommended.

Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme: A Midnight Louie Mystery
by Carole Nelson Douglas

Hardcover August 2010 Mass Market Paperback October 2011 A Forge Book ISBN: 978-0-7653-1863-3 Rating: 5 paws (out of 5)

Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme is the latest entry in the long-running Midnight Louie series of mysteries. Temple Barr, a petite redhead working as a Public Relations specialist in Las Vegas, seems to fall over dead bodies at the drop of a hat. In this installment, two separate bodies show up (or the pieces thereof) and everyone is struggling to figure out who they are, who killed them and why.

Mingled with the mystery is the ever-more-complicated romantic relationship in Temple’s life, the trials and travails of Mystifying Max, her amnesiac ex-lover currently seeking his memories while traveling in Europe and the comic relief of trying to be the next big time in Vegas, from a PR angle.

The charm of this series from the very beginning lies in the unique points-of-view. The chapters alternate between various viewpoint characters, two of which have remained consistent throughout the series: Temple Barr and Midnight Louie. Louie is a Vegas native (unlike Temple) and helped show her the ropes when she relocated there. He is also something of a sleuth and utterly fearful. And he is solid black, sleek, and about sixteen pounds of domestic shorthaired cat. His chapters are among the most fun to read.

For those who haven’t been following the series, there is a review of The Show So Far, ably explained by Louie, including the current cast of characters and a list of the prior books in the series, as a prologue to the story. So, if you like, you can dive right in.

My recommendation: start at the beginning. It’s worth it. This series starts out fun, featuring a visit from two scottish folds and keeps getting better. Pampered persians, sneaky siamese, a mysterious birman, and a gang of street cats (mostly solid black) all have reoccuring roles through the series, along with a few dogs.

It’s even easy to keep track of. The first book is Catnap, followed by Pussyfoot. With the third book, Cat on a Blue Monday, a pattern emerges. The subsequent book titles are of the form: Cat in a Color Something, where color is the next letter in the alphabet (B for Blue, C for Crimson, etc).

If you’re a cat lover, you’ll enjoy these books. If you don’t believe me, just ask Louie.

The Cat’s Job Special Edition
by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Chapbook 2010 SRM Publisher Ltd. ISBN: 1-935224-07-7 available at http://www.pinbeambooks.com Rating: 5 paws (out of 5)

The Cat’s Job is an engaging smorgasbord of short features starring various and sundry fantastic felines. Some of them are true tales about real cats, spun by master storytellers. Others are pure fantasy. All are fun to read and will touch your heart.

Within you’ll find out about the interesting assortment of felines who have shared the lives of the authors through the years, about the cat who saves the world (on a regular basis), and who the King of the Cats really is. You’ll read about cat behaviors that might seem odd, but are perfectly believable to anyone who lives with cats.

You’ll giggle and sometimes you’ll cry, and you’ll enjoy every single word. This is a beautifully put together collection, chock full of entertaining tales. Recommended for anyone who loves cats, and suitable for all ages.

Naughty No More
by Marilyn Krieger

Trade Paperback 2010 Bow Tie Press ISBN: 978-1-193395893-7 Rating: 4 paws (out of 5)

On the surface, Naughty No More is a book about the problems you can run into when you own a cat, and how to correct them. And it’s a manual on clicker training, and how to use it not only to correct problems but to teach your cat to perform tricks. More than any of these, though, it’s a book about how to bond with your cat, whether you’ve just acquired your first kitten, or added a new adult to a multi-cat household.

What I especially like about Naughty No More is that the emphasis is put on understanding why your cat is behaving in a particular way. Different cats will exhibit the same behavior for wildly divergent reasons, and the first step to changing that behavior is recognizing their motivations. A careful reading will also give you valuable insight into why cats act the way they do.

The book groups problem behaviors by chapter (improper elimination, introducing a new cat into the household, etc.), and breaks each issue down into multiple variations. Each possibility is then subjected to a thorough analysis of cause and effect, followed by multiple suggestions and examples of how to correct the problem.

The prose is very clear and easy to understand, and the layout includes lots of explanatory pictures. Everything is broken up into easy to digest pieces, and the instructions are very encouraging for the novice. Someone already frustrated with a misbehaving cat would be able to find answers here, and the recipe for success always includes directions for how to take a step back (if the cat isn’t responding well) and move ahead more slowly. More difficult concepts and training goals build on simpler ones explained earlier in the text.

By the end of the book you can be teaching your cat to jump through hoops!

This review was published in the TICA Trend, as well as Bengals Illustrated magazine and Savannahs Illustrated magazine

The Theory of Cat Gravity
by Robin Wood

Chapbook 2000 Livingtree Books ISBN: 978-0-9652984-2-1 available at http://www.robinwood.com Rating: 5 paws (out of 5)

Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to get up when a cat’s been sitting in your lap? Or why so much stuff just accumulates under the bed, even when you vacuum regularly? Why is it harder for you to move around as you get older? The Theory of Cat Gravity answers all these questions and more. It will have you laughing out loud, with its sensible, logical explanations for some of life’s odd little phenomena–all of which are actually caused by your cat.

I’ve owned The Theory of Cat Gravity for years, and I never tire of re-reading it. Robin Wood’s Unified Pet Theory holds together as it is built up step-by-step, and will have you reading it aloud to your friends and family. This edition includes not only the theory, but also its proofs and its corollaries (for the completist in you).

The entire chapbook is decorated (illustrated) throughout by the whimsical art of Diana Harlan Stein, which enhances it even further. It’s highly recommended for anyone who has ever lived with a cat and suitable is for all ages, although young children may prefer to use the illustrations as a coloring book.

Murder Past Due: A Cat in the Stacks Mystery
by Miranda James

Mass Market Paperback 2010 Berkeley Prime Crime Books ISBN: 978-0-425-23603-1 Rating: 4 paws (out of 5)

Murder Past Due is a typical cozy mystery in many ways–it’s set in a small southern town, it doesn’t include any graphic descriptions of violence, and much of the investigating is done by someone who isn’t in law enforcement. But it’s a far above average read. The plot twists and turns lead Charlie Harris on a merry, yet very feasible chase that keep him and the reader guessing until the very last scene.

Charlie also has a somewhat unusual sidekick–Diesel. Diesel is a maine coon, albeit a very intuitive, well-trained one. He is painstakingly well-described, other than a minor exaggeration of coon size. Charlie is in the unique position of being able to take his cat with him almost everywhere he goes (even his parttime job!), and both his attitude toward Diesel and Diesel himself resonated with the cat owner in me.

Charlie is a nicely developed character and is easy to identify with. I found his actions logical and reasonable, making for a cohesive, believable plot. The pacing was fairly steady throughout, never boring, and picks up just a bit near the end as things get more exciting. More than anything else, this is a fun read.

This book will appeal to anyone in the cat fancy who likes a good mystery! And there’s more to come: Classified as Murder, the next book in the series, will be published in May 2011.

I am now the “official” book reviewer for the TICA Trend (the official magazine of The International Cat Association). I’ll be reviewing both fiction and non-fiction, the only requirement being that the books be relevant for the Trend’s audience–the Cat Fancy. So look for books about cats, and books where cats are prominent characters.

Once the reviews have been published, I’ll also be posting them here as well. From time to time I will also be posting reviews of books by this year’s guests at Darkovercon, to help get people excited about the con. And possibly other books that strike my fancy.