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11th out of 186 books
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58 voters
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The Catswold Portal
A striking new reissue of an epic fantasy by popular Harper author Shirley Rousseau Murphy, featuring a princess's dangerous quest to reclaim her throne...and, of course, cats
There is a door in an artist's garden: an elaborate carved passageway into a realm ruled by a dark sorceress queen. There entities strange and wondrous roam the Netherworld--yet none as astonishing
...moreMass Market Paperbound, 432 pages
Published
January 25th 2005
by Harper Voyager
(first published April 1992)
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Melissa is Catswold royalty. She’s a shapeshifter who takes both cat and human form and she comes from a stubbornly independent race. She’s beautiful, powerful, and special, but she has no idea who she is. Melissa’s earliest memories are from age 9 and she doesn’t know where she came from, what she is, or who her parents were. In order to find these answers, she summons a Lamia from the Hell pit. It starts her on a quest to discover her own identity, one that inevitably leads her out of the...more
Loving books about cats but wanting a break from Warriors, I decided to give this one a go. I also love fantasy, so all things were looking good. Then I read the large amount of mixed reviews. I wasn't in the mood for a slow book, so I hesitated reading this at first. Luckily, once I'd started, I found it hard to stop. This took up the majority of my free time over the four days it took to read. Even in these cold winter months, I found myself getting up an extra ten minutes early just to fit in...more
Read this 3 times. What a great great book. Whether you like Cats or not this has the mystery and suspense to keep you reading and then wanting more. I stole the next comment right from the Authors tag. Because Shirley Rousseau Murphy knows cats and she couldn't have said it better.
There is a door in an artist's garden: an elaborate carved passageway into a realm ruled by a dark sorceress queen. There entities strange and wondrous roam the Netherworld––yet none as astonishing as the shape–s...more
There is a door in an artist's garden: an elaborate carved passageway into a realm ruled by a dark sorceress queen. There entities strange and wondrous roam the Netherworld––yet none as astonishing as the shape–s...more
This was a fun read and I enjoyed it, but this is not a fantastic book. There were whole plot threads and characters (Prince Efil didn't need to be fleshed out) that I realized later were completely unnecessary and, had they been taken out, could have left more room for the main story. Some important things got shorted or "convenienced" away, like Melissa suddenly "remembering" the changing spell when it became convenient to the story for her to be able to change. And I was 5...more
It's funny how different a book feels when you reread it years after you first devoured it. I read Catswold Portal around '93 or '94 (when I was transitioning from Jr. High to High School) and I was enchanted with it. Just loved it. I recently reread it and now I can only think...
...how did this book make sense when I was a kid? There were plot holes (nothing sizeable, but noticeable), and while I think the key to great writing is to imply and not spell things out for people, thi...more
...how did this book make sense when I was a kid? There were plot holes (nothing sizeable, but noticeable), and while I think the key to great writing is to imply and not spell things out for people, thi...more
In 1957 San Francisco, a garden shed is closed by a carved wooden gate that happens to be a portal to the netherworld ruled by evil Queen Siddonie. The only one who can oppose her is Melissa, who turns out to be a princess of the Catswolders, who can shift form from humans to felines. Like the characters, the book is a shapeshifter, alternating between silly and enchanting. The author is reaaly good at capturing feline character, so this should appeal to any cat fancier.
I read this a while ago and just found it in the garage. I remember liking it a lot, but this time around I just did not have the patience for it, so I skimmed it quickly, but it might be because I have a lot on my mind lately. Still, it is a good story, and the whole shapeshifting thing coulda ended up being cheesy but didn't. I could totally see this as a movie.
Great read, especially for cat-lovers and fantasy fans. The intertwining stories and characters from the Netherworld and the Upperworld ("real world" California) was very entertaining - hard to put down! Excellent incorporation of mythology into a unique view. I wish there were more books about the Catswold Portal!
I read this book long ago and remember thinking even as a kid, "The characters aren't very believable." But I do also recall thinking that it was a fun idea, and it made the town of Carmel stick out in my mind ever since. So...two stars.
Loved loved loved this book when I was younger. And I still love this book. I loved the idea of the story and how she wove everything together, I just can't say in words how much I enjoyed this book!
This, along with Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy and Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October get read by me about once a year, because I adore them all so much.
This book can be kind of an emotional roller coaster if you're into it. It can also be a bit dry during the first half, but things pick up.
This is the obvious inspiration for her "Joe Grey mysteries" which I love. This is slow to start, and I almost didn't finish it. It helps to know that this is set in the 1950's and not in current times, even though it was published in 1992. Do you have to read this to enjoy Joe, no. Does it help, yes.
rich, compelling fantasy based on lore in early Joe Grey novels, will read it again
I loved this many years ago when I read it. Not sure it would stand the test of time
I loved it very much!! I recommend this book for all cat lovers!!!
GREAT for cat/shape-shifter fans. Or fantasy in general. I dunno.
Ruby Tombstone
marked it as unread-on-my-shelf
This looks so bad...... it just might be awesome.
Makings of personal mythology.
Neh. Wouldn't reread it.
This book may sound strange, but for some reason it works. It's about cats who live in an underground world and are able to transform into humans, and how they happen to meet and interact with the upper human world. It's a fantasy, war, and love story.
I found this book by having read the Joe Grey mysteries by the same author--about 2 cats, Joe Grey and Dulcie, who are able to talk and help solve mysteries in their town, but only their owners know they can talk.
It all sounds crazy, ...more
I found this book by having read the Joe Grey mysteries by the same author--about 2 cats, Joe Grey and Dulcie, who are able to talk and help solve mysteries in their town, but only their owners know they can talk.
It all sounds crazy, ...more
My mom gave me this book after she read it and I thought it sounded silly, to be honest. But I read it because I didn't have anything else to read at the time.
It was great! It was a nice mix of fantasy, adventure, mystery, and romance. It was also clean. I would highly recommend this book.
It was great! It was a nice mix of fantasy, adventure, mystery, and romance. It was also clean. I would highly recommend this book.
I really wanted to like this book. I love cats, have 3 of them but that is not really what this book is about. Not quite sure what it is about because I was totally lost. I really tried to read it but had to stop at about page 150 when I felt it was all a waste of my time.
this was by far my favorite book as a child. It is heavily fantasy oriented with characters that morph between human and adorable yet noble kitty cats. I think I had my first fantasy due to a certain love scene that in retrospect was probably mostly bestiality. Good stuff.
i hoped this book would tide me over the weekend. But i didn't even get to the fourth chapter!
i thought it had everything: cats, magic, shapeshifting, alternate dimensions...
But it just didn't do it for me. Pooh.
Cats and magic and shapeshifting OH MY. I loved this book dreadfully when I was younger, and now the copy I could have SWORN our public library had has disappeared. It is truly tragic. D:
This book was on my mom's holiday gift list but it arrived late so I decided to read it before passing on. I'll read just about anything, but so far this is touch and go...
A fascinating look into the realm from which Joe Gray, Dulcy and Kit might have come.
yikes! sex scene! wasn't expecting that in fifth grade...
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Shirley Rousseau Murphy is the author of Cat in the Dark, Cat on the Edge, Cat Under Fire, and Cat Raise the Dead, and has received five Council of Authors and Journalists Awards for previous books. She graduated from San Francisco Art Institute, has worked as a commercial artist and has exhibited paintings and sculptures extensively on the West Coast. She and her husband live in Carmel, Californi...more
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