Rating: 
Summary: intensely rich and satisfying reading experience
Review: Gabriel King's new novel "The Wild Road" was a terrific read, for several reasons. First, the language of the novel was richly musical and wonderfully descriptive. So, too, was the dialogue. The author got the regional dialects
and colloquialisms exactly right, and the dialogue
was a true window into the souls of the characters. They were so richly drawn, each one such an individual persona! The characterizations had marvelous depth, and even more remarkable, the author had an eerily uncanny way of portraying the workings of the feline mind! I wondered how he did this! I have three cats of my own, and I saw each one of them in this exciting and quite haunting novel. I literally couldn't put the book down, and I look forward eagerly to a sequel. The only drawback was that the parts involving the Alchemist were sometimes difficult to follow- I wondered sometimes just what was actually going on. Major suspension of disbelief in a few passages! However, these problems were certainly overshadowed by the towering eloquence of the writing and the real empathy created for the main characters and sustained throughout. Highly recommended! was a true window into the soul of each
character. The characters were richly drawn, brought to life with great sensitivity and an
eerie awareness of feline sensibilities! (how did
d the author do that?!) I have three cats myself,
and I saw each one of them in this haunting book.
Rating: 
Summary: Love the world and follow your nose!
Review: I picked up this book on a whim; I had read "Tailchaser's Song" a few years previous, and wanted to see how a more recent author would try to follow in the same vain. I was utterly surprised, therefore, to find something else entirely. The story is one any cat lover would be familiar with: rich young kitten, content to be fed and played with by his "dulls," loses his way in the Great Outdoors (in this case, the London suburbs), and must make his way back home. However, it has a twist: home isn't where he left it. Instead, guided by the Majicou and his two splendid proxies, Loves A Dustbin and One For Sorrow ("Call yourself a cat!"), he instead makes his way on a journey of another sort, as he learns about the Wild Roads, life, and the nature of felinekind. Though the narrative was a bit unlike what one is used to, it was used to good effect in describing the hardships of winter from a feral cat's point of view; if it seemed a bit stark at times, it clashed that much better with the second novel, "The Golden Cat." Unfortunately, I can't give this book five stars. Firstly, the character development should have been handled better, and secondly, the beginning was a bit rough around the edges (Two cats running away together?!). However, it was all in all a great book, if a bit graphic at times, and well worth reading. I look forward to further sequels (at least one prequel-style (I believe) is planned), and I hope to see One For Sorrow again (amd will we ever see a Two For Mirth?).
Rating:
Summary: The WIld Road
Review: Very good book! Starts off a little slow, but quickly builds in action. Meet Tag, the star of the book and the little kitten chosen to protect the Queen of Cats. His job is to make sure the evil Alchemist doesn't get her or her kittens to carry out his plan to rule the world. This book is filled w/adventure, romance, and laughter. Enter Tag's world, meet new and interesting friends, adventure on the quest for the Golden Cat, and see why Tag is the 'Chosen One.' A 'Watership Down' for cats, this book is not to be beat!
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best...
Review: This book does have some good parts, and it has quite an interesting concept, but it is NOT the best cat fiction ever (as some reviewers have claimed!) If you want a good cat fiction read Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams - amazing! As good was Watership Down (a classic novel .. about rabbits - read it, too!) I found this book hard to get through, even though animal fantasy novels are my absolute favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable, if not always pleasant, hero cat
Review: First: this is less fun than reading cats as imagined by Paul Gallico and Robert Westall. Where those two authors' cats always stand firmly in relation to the human world, the people in this world are shadowy figures, either "dulls" (kitten Tag's name for his owners) or menacing. Oh, there are a few decent people who appear from time to time, but this story is a hero-quest in which animals and people coexist but are not really codependent. Second: you'll never look at your cats quite the same way again. While I have not been tempted to reread THE WILD ROAD yet, and it's been a year, it's extraordinary how many of Tag's observations and impressions occur to me on a regular basis. Result? Nobody who loves cats should miss this book. Warning: some of the book is a little hard to take-- one of the things Tag is called upon to do, by the magic cat Majicou, is rescue cats who are being captured for experimentation, and there are some pitiful animals who've been through some of it already. Also, it's very hard to resist constantly "translating" the myth into human terms. (minor spoiler: it turns out there IS a rather famous alchemist/scientist who is the villain-- with a touch of real tragedy much of his animal-abuse stems from his fascination with his pet and desire to follow the "wild road" that only cats traveln on-- but, even when this scientist acquires his famous name-- hint-- gravity-- it doesn't really illuminate very much). Resist the urge to translate, if you can. Situating the events with times and places is interesting, but not as interesting as all that. There are lots of in-jokes for cat lovers and breeders. I've never had a purebred, but I realized when I began investigating them that Tag and his companions all have logical purebred names. Loved the joke of the white cat saying "speak up, lovey, I'm as deaf as a post" (white cats genetically are often deaf).
And the image of the noble, dumb Norwegian forest cat ineptly trying to care for his lady love (until Tag arrives and scolds him that it's food, not a pillow, she needs). And later seeing the Norwegian Forest cat zig zag down a tree (one of their talents!) It turns out this pair of illicit lovers (escaped from their breeders to be together) are the king and queen of cats whose rescue is Tag's task. The poetic language and vivid description make this a book of substance. Think of it as a sort of Arthurian quest with a feline hero (in fact, Tag is called on to bring the cats to Tintagel, which is an Arthurian site, of course) and the occasional vagueness or darkness shouldn't be too troubling. This is a fairy tale for adults.
Rating:
Summary: Rich cat fantasy--take a walk on the wild road
Review: A very enjoyable, pleasurable, yet philosophical read that you will want to put down from time to time to take it all in. A great amount of description nudges, catlike, the narrative along,with spectacular lyrical writing and many active verbs. It surprised me to see one of my co-reviewers describe the style as a passive/preponderance of wases. Sentences like "A shaggy-coated pony stood, one leg bent, in a muddy corner, looking boredly over a gray wooden gate." (p 254) or "Clouds roared past the moon." (p 301) hauntingly insinuate themselves as turning points in the story, as if the wild roads themselves embody a heretofore undiscovered sense of cat story-stelling. The hero beings, mostly furry feline, one just furry, one a bird, each have a distinct personality and a complicated and enlightened (enlightening!) sense of self. Humans, rarely present, don't come off so well. Tag, the naive lead hero, is a fun, optimistic, energetic and playful APPRENTICE of the mysterious master cat guardian of the wild roads, Majicou. My one reservation would be that having finished the book and enjoyed it tremendously (in spite of some of the graphic gore which was necessary to the story) it will be a long while before I attempt the sequel or anything of the same subgenre like Tailchaser's song or Watership Down. I especially want to read Golden Cat and Watership Down, but this is so saturated with senses of 'furry beast, 'spiritual enlightenment and honesty,' and 'the grim tortures of reality,' that I will need to take quite a break from this sort of thing. And this is my first one. And naturally if this is derivative, I wouldn't know it because I haven't read those others, but I certainly doubt it. It's a very rich, satisfying and sweet read, but I'm full.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging Feline Fantasy
Review: I read Tailchaser's Song years ago and found it unentertaining. I recently read The Blood Jaguar as well and found it plodding. So, I entered into reading this cat fantasy with much trepidation. Happily, I wasn't disappointed. This adventure seen through the eyes of calicos, Burmillas, Egyptian Maus, Norwegian Forest Cats, and the ever popular Tabby with Foxes and Magpies tossed in for spice is a pleasure from head to tail. All of the animals have seperate personalities and King writes affably. If you like fantasy with a difference, give it a shot.
Rating:
Summary: Eh, could be a -lot- better...
Review: First off, go hit the library if you want to read this book. Don't bother wasting the [$] the used book store will charge you. The story is only worth one read-through, even though the plot isn't bad. What hit me with this book, and it's sequil was the writing style itself. Neither the store, nor the charactors managed to snag my interest, yet on looking back they -should- have. Good for one read-through, and only if you like cats. ^_~
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