Rating: 
Summary: What a Cat Thinks
Review: Many books and movies attempt to tell us how animals see the world. Unfortunately so many of them try to make the animals think and talk the way humans do. Diane Duane knows that cats are a different species and therefore have different ways of thinking. From that she created an entire book in which we see the world through a cat's eyes. The cat's words are translated into English for our convenience, but we are told when the English word just isn't a good translation, or when body language is used instead. She creates personalities and mannerisms and everything feline based on what we already know of cats, or at least the real cat lovers do. In fact, she's so accurate that you'll probably look at your own cat and wonder if you have a normal cat or a wizard on your hands. Because, you see, the cats in this novel are not just ordinary cats going about their feline ways, they are actually wizards, working hard to keep the world and New York in balance. If you are a big Diane Duane fan, you have to read this book, and if you like the Young Wizard series, then you're in for a treat, because it's set in the same world and has a few cameo cross overs. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: A Purrfectly Enchanting Tale: Another Duane Classic!
Review: Diane Duane's 'The Book of Night With Moon' is worth the time to read. The plot needs more concentration on, since it is set quite deep. It is once again a book about a battle between good and evil. The book is slow to start with, but travels deeper as you turn the pages. Rhiow may seem like an ordinary cat to her owners, Hhuha and Iaehh [Ailurin, the cat language, for Susan and Mike,] but is also a wizard! She and her intelligent teammates, Saash and Urruah, are the guardians of the Gates. They are the ones' that keep the magical threads weaved together of the way between the worlds. Arhu, a young tom, is brought to the team to be looked after. While he's still going through his ordeal, a gate suddenly breaks down and is unable to respond to anything. Rhiow and her team, along with Arhu who is still getting used to his new power, go down the Downside to fix it. They return safe but that was just the fight. Now they have to go down the Downside again and fight the Lone One, the creator of death. Here they have the final battle with the Lone One in the Downside. Throughout 'The Book of Night With Moon', Rhiow, Saash, Urruah and Arhu, go through grief, adventure and happiness together. Duane describes each and every scene well, piecing the story wonderfully together. To understand the Lone One better, preferably read 'So You Want To Be A Wizard' or 'Deep Wizardry' first. But if not, it is fairly easy to pick up who the Lone One is. Cat-lovers, fantasy-lovers and fans of Diane Duane or Patricia C. Wrede, will find this book purrfectly enchanting. Another charming tale from Diane Duane!
Rating:
Summary: A Dark and Furry Fantasy for Cat-Lovers
Review: Set in the same Universe as the Young Wizards tetralogy (and featuring guest appearances by its main characters, Nita and Kit, and their immediate wizardly supervisors, Tom and Carl), this fascinating if sometimes sad and depressing fantasy tale focuses on a team of wizards who are both Terran and nonhuman--in short, cats. It seems that we humans share this planet with many sentient species--whales, dogs, and cats among them--and in each of these wizards are born on a regular basis. Rhiow, a black New York City housecat, is one of them, the leader of a team that includes the constantly itching Saash (no, she doesn't have fleas, though her ehhif (Cat-language for humans) think she does) and the young tomcat Urruah. Deep underneath Grand Central Station to investigate the malfunctioning of one of the many Gates that lead from world to world, the trio find an injured kitten, Arhu, who turns out to be a wizard-on-Ordeal--if he survives, he'll come into his power, just as they did in their time. Gradually it becomes clear that Something very nasty is messing with the Gates, and the cats must not only help to defend the City from a plague of dinosaurs that come charging through, but penetrate to the dinos' universe of origin and find a way to stop further incursions.Reflecting her other career as a writer of sf (she's perhaps best known for several Star Trek:TOS novels including the excellent Rihannsu subseries), and perhaps a belief in the corollary of Arthur C. Clarke's maxim "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," Duane's magic is sometimes extremely technical (I can't work out how the Gates function *at all*, though the cats can). And there are a couple of places where she might have clarified better how her world works (why did the dinosaurs retreat to a subterranean existence? Why don't they have wizards as other sentient species do?). The story she tells is, like that of C. S. Lewis's Narnia, an allegory of Christianity, yet it partakes of early mythology from Egypt and Sumeria as well, and even has a touch or two of Zoroastrianism. What makes it all work is her characters. She obviously knows cats and has spent a lot of time observing them: Rhiow, Saash, Urruah, Arhu, and the other felines who appear briefly in the book are at once distinct individuals and recognizably animals. Even her villain, the Lone Power, is motivated and delineated in a way that makes It seem very real and understandable. There are moments of humor (Urruah's attempts to explain the concept of opera to Rhiow when they attend a Three Tenors rehearsal in the Sheep Meadow, Arhu's delighted discovery of mozzarella cheese, Saash's ongoing attempts to elude a human with a can of flea powder) and poignancy (Rhiow's return to the apartment she shares with Hhuha and Iaehh (Susan and Mike) to discover that Susan has been killed by a runaway taxi), and an epic battle deep underground between the Team and an unexpected saurian ally on the one side and the Lone Power and Its wizardly pawn on the other. The pyrotehnics and wild action salted throughout would make an eye-catching movie or miniseries, if sfx could figure out a good way to do the cats!
Rating:
Summary: Great addition to The Young Wizards series!
Review: If you enjoyed Kit and Nita's adventures, you'll probably enjoy Rhiow and her team's adventures in the line of work! True, some of it is technical, but once you get past those few paragraphs, it's an awesome read! I haven't looked at my cat the same since, and I probably never will! It's a great mix for people that love wizardly reads and cats!
Rating:
Summary: My very favorite book!
Review: It's been a couple years since I read The Book of Night with Moon, but it still sticks in my memory as being an amazing book. It's everything you could ever want in a book for me - cats, wizardry, and a great mix of reality and fantasy. It's exciting and gripped and definitely my very favorite book. I recommend this to everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Truly revealed Felines
Review: Although the main stars are of the feline persuasion, even those who do not care for cats should like this series. There is no obvious or cutesy anthropomorphism & I loved the way the tables are turned in this story. Duane's a gem of a writer & one I'll read anytime, anywhere. Her grasp of fantasy, mixed with a strongly moving plot, and a highly skilled instinct for when to be more introspective is excellent. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, but not as engaging as Duane's others
Review: The Book of Night with Moon is not, as some Duane fans might hope, what it sounds like. The mythical Book of Night with Moon figures prominently in some of Duane's other stories, but this story, while related to the others (Nita and Kit do appear briefly) isn't quite the same. It does, however, contain all the elements that Duane has used to great effect in the Young Wizard series: science, magic, mixing reality with fantasy, all in good fun.
Rating:
Summary: Love Those Cats!
Review: I have always loved Diane Duane's deft handling of alien characters in her books, so I wasn't surprised when she got the character of cats down pat. I have been owned by cats for a number of years (they own you, you don't own them)and I know that they have more personality than a lot of humans - particularly Siamese cats.
Rating:
Summary: Love magic, love cats, love NYC!
Review: This morning I was sitting in Grand Central reading Book of Night with Moon for probably the tenth time. For anyone who lives in NY and likes fantasy that takes place in contemporary time, this might appeal to you. Admittedly I'm hopelessly in love with the feline race as well, and this book just works so well! The scene with Pavorotti had me howling with laughter (and won me a few strange looks from the people around me.) Worth a read, especially if you can hang out in Grand Central to do it!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Book
Review: I must admit, this is one of the best books I've ever read. While the Ailurin vocabulary is slightly confusing in the beginning, and there are some slightly slower parts, the whole book is worked together brilliantly. I highly recommend this book whether you love or hate cats, cause that's really not quite the main point of the novel. All the characters have their distinct personalities and everything you could hope for in a good book is there.
|
