Ratha and Thistle-Chaser

I read this way back in school and it was an accidental find, I had to find something to read and was wandering the school library shelves looking for something that caught my eye, and I came across this book.

I'd never read anything by this author and did not know this was part of a series until I started reading the novel and seeing references to past events. Nonetheless, the story stood up well enough on its own, with enough mentions of the past to build up a clear enough picture for the reader without doing an info-dump.

As of this date, I haven't read any of the other books, but I still remember enjoying this one because of the unique plot.

In this third book about the Named, some prehistoric speaking cats, Ratha's clan faces new challenges as they travel from their home ground to survive a drought. They have to deal with a new environment on the seacoast, challenges to their beliefs when Fessran tries to adopt an abandoned Un-Named cub, struggles to manage new animals they try to make into herdbeasts, and a spectre from Ratha's past- a disabled and emotionally crippled cat they encounter who has been living the life of a scavenger but proves to have plenty of intelligence and spirit.

This book has a lot of strong elements and themes running through it. The question of intelligence, the treatment of those who differ in their mental or physical abilities. Issues of show more controlling anger, child abuse, and the mis-management of animals whose needs are not understood. Unfortunately, the storyline isn't as compelling as the previous books in this series. The plot has some awkward points, and I didn't feel as connected to or invested in the characters this time.

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