Virginia Ripple

In a world where magical cats work with human companions and communicate through mirrors, journeyman Toby is still looking for his father, and something strange is happening in hill country schools. Author Virginia Ripple builds some intriguing artifacts into this world, blending ancient magic with modern technology, and adding very pleasing touches of science, myth, faith and even politics. Some believe in the One. Others seek New Life. But still others, cats and people, live just for the show more day, or just for the justice of the cause.

The cats of Journeyman Cat, despite their ability to speak, are very convincingly feline, from twitching eye-whiskers to a warm fine winter coat. The magic is pleasantly natural and low-key. Dialog, feline and human both, never feels forced. Death and danger are real but not overly graphic. And Christian faith feeds smoothly and convincingly into faith in the One, without ever seeming preachy. Forgiveness is a powerful theme. And somewhere there might be dragons.

Not having read book one of this series made me slightly confused at the start, but the novel really does stand alone. Clues to the past are nicely spaced, and promises for future books wait pleasingly until the end. This looks like a great read and a great series for middle-grade readers (and older) who love cats, Harry Potter, and exciting fantasy.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it show less

I wanted to like this book more than I did. It was a bit more disjointed with more viewpoints going on than before as characters split up and played out their parts. The religious aspects were far more heavy-handed.

Still, I did like it as it wound up the series nicely. It also answered some questions that were niggling at me such as how does the cat (Malkin) pairing work when normally cats are not as long-lived as humans. I don't feel a compelling need to read the War of the Malkins series, show more though.

I'd only suggest this for fans of the series. show less

I suspect this is aimed at young adults who enjoyed the Harry Potter series. While the story was about on the level of the first Harry Potter story (the snobby cat who looks down on the riffraff reminded me of Draco Malfoy), there were some interesting parts to it that kept my interest. The religion there is heavily influenced by Christianity and while there are some "preachy" parts, they don't overwhelm the story. The mystery kept me going to the end and I immediately ordered the sequels. show more Praise be for Kindle's instant delivery as I dove into the next book.

I think if you enjoy Harry Potter and like cats, you would enjoy this book. If you like the Joe Grey mysteries and also like fantasy, I think you'll be interested in this book. I wouldn't hesitate to let a young adult read this book. show less

This novel is aimed at the Harry Potter and Narnia crowds, although this book veers away from the Harry Potter feel. Toby's father is still missing, a character from the first novel is murdered, and there's much still wrong in the world. Other characters are introduced and have a larger role. Toby and Lorn are well paired.

There are some scary scenes for imaginative young ones. The religious aspect is still there. The editing got a bit sloppy with mixing "they're" and "their."

While I think show more you could read this as a stand-alone, I wouldn't suggest it. If you enjoy Harry Potter or Narnia and like cats, you would enjoy this series. If you like the Joe Grey mysteries and also like fantasy, I think you'll be interested in the series. show less