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A Constellation of Cats
Fantasy's finest tale-spinners present a brand-new collection of four-legged fiction that will catapult our favorite felines into space, time, and the many realms of the fantastic.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 8, 2008
08/22/06
I have been reading more short story collections this year than I normally do. These collections have been grouped by theme and the latest one I've just finished for a book ring focuses on cats in fantasy, though a few of these stories I wouldn't class as fantasy.
The short story is by it's nature short and I prefer the "short shorts" and the stories in Constellation of Cats are all between 18 and 30 pages long, about the ideal length for me. They're long enough to keep me interested but not so long that I feel over committed to any one story.
The authors included are apparently fantasy writers, I didn't recognize any of the names beyond Andre Norton but I usually think of her as a science fiction writer. With the other authors, I came to each story without expectation. Some of the stories I enjoyed and some I hated. The ones I hated most were the ones that stuck most closely to the fantasy genre with castles, wizards, kings, and the like.
The thirteen short stories in this collection revolving around cats run the gamut from mediocre to entertaining. I found the most disappointing stories to be the high fantasy ones. The best ones take place in more mundane and recognizable locations.
Here is a breakdown of ratings by each story:
"The Stargazer's Familiar" by Mary Jo Putney: 4/10
It starts with the cliché of all clichés: "It was a dark and stormy night" and goes down hill from there. At least the ending is vaguely clever.
"Three-Inch Trouble" by Andre Norton: 9/10
It's a shaggy dog story with a cat as the narrator.
"Purr Power" by Jody Lynn Nye 7/10
Can some worshipers of Bast stop a battle with an army of pussy cats?
"Star" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch 10/10
"Star" was my favorite of all the stories. It's a heartwarming tale of reunion, recovery and renewal.
"Under the Sign of the Fish" by Karen Haber 5/10
A stupid woman uses magic to learn that fish and cats can't be friends.
"Every Life Should Have Nine Cats" by Mickey Zucker Reichert 7/10
A woman with cats tries to stop a long standing witch hunt.
"Once, We Were Worshiped" by Diane A. S. Stuckart 9/10
A vain cat learns her place in the world the hard way.
"Praxis" by Janet Pack 1/10
It was fantasy but I'm really not sure what happened.
"Death Song" by Bill McCay 7/10
An old cat makes the ultimate sacrifice to prevent the spread of evil.
"A Light in the Darkness" by Pamela Luzier 10/10
Another Bast/Bastet story but set in Colorado where the focus is on a mother who desperately wants her daughter back.
"Mu Mao and the Court Oracle" by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough 8/10
Um -- how can a calico be of "undistinguished markings"? Anyway, it's a story of a missing cat king, oracles and reincarnation.
"Star Song" by Nina Kikiri Hoffman 7/10
A single mother with two kids tries to find herself after leaving a Commune. She has help from a local cat.
"Ecliptic" by Von Jocks 1/10
Another all MEN are evil and all WOMEN are good story involving witchcraft and witch hunting. Yawn.
I have been reading more short story collections this year than I normally do. These collections have been grouped by theme and the latest one I've just finished for a book ring focuses on cats in fantasy, though a few of these stories I wouldn't class as fantasy.
The short story is by it's nature short and I prefer the "short shorts" and the stories in Constellation of Cats are all between 18 and 30 pages long, about the ideal length for me. They're long enough to keep me interested but not so long that I feel over committed to any one story.
The authors included are apparently fantasy writers, I didn't recognize any of the names beyond Andre Norton but I usually think of her as a science fiction writer. With the other authors, I came to each story without expectation. Some of the stories I enjoyed and some I hated. The ones I hated most were the ones that stuck most closely to the fantasy genre with castles, wizards, kings, and the like.
The thirteen short stories in this collection revolving around cats run the gamut from mediocre to entertaining. I found the most disappointing stories to be the high fantasy ones. The best ones take place in more mundane and recognizable locations.
Here is a breakdown of ratings by each story:
"The Stargazer's Familiar" by Mary Jo Putney: 4/10
It starts with the cliché of all clichés: "It was a dark and stormy night" and goes down hill from there. At least the ending is vaguely clever.
"Three-Inch Trouble" by Andre Norton: 9/10
It's a shaggy dog story with a cat as the narrator.
"Purr Power" by Jody Lynn Nye 7/10
Can some worshipers of Bast stop a battle with an army of pussy cats?
"Star" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch 10/10
"Star" was my favorite of all the stories. It's a heartwarming tale of reunion, recovery and renewal.
"Under the Sign of the Fish" by Karen Haber 5/10
A stupid woman uses magic to learn that fish and cats can't be friends.
"Every Life Should Have Nine Cats" by Mickey Zucker Reichert 7/10
A woman with cats tries to stop a long standing witch hunt.
"Once, We Were Worshiped" by Diane A. S. Stuckart 9/10
A vain cat learns her place in the world the hard way.
"Praxis" by Janet Pack 1/10
It was fantasy but I'm really not sure what happened.
"Death Song" by Bill McCay 7/10
An old cat makes the ultimate sacrifice to prevent the spread of evil.
"A Light in the Darkness" by Pamela Luzier 10/10
Another Bast/Bastet story but set in Colorado where the focus is on a mother who desperately wants her daughter back.
"Mu Mao and the Court Oracle" by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough 8/10
Um -- how can a calico be of "undistinguished markings"? Anyway, it's a story of a missing cat king, oracles and reincarnation.
"Star Song" by Nina Kikiri Hoffman 7/10
A single mother with two kids tries to find herself after leaving a Commune. She has help from a local cat.
"Ecliptic" by Von Jocks 1/10
Another all MEN are evil and all WOMEN are good story involving witchcraft and witch hunting. Yawn.
June 2, 2017
Despite the cover, no cats dress in fancy clothes, but they are often anthropomorphic. Not that it is a bad thing in sci-fi and fantasy stories. And being a cat lover myself, I appreciated the stories of clever, stuck up and clearly more clever for their good felines. There were several that made me choke up a bit - the elderly cat protecting his humans from a supernatural threat, and a cat saying goodbye to his terminally ill owner. It was a fun, quick read.
October 15, 2009
From oriental tales to science fiction, from inquisition and witches to contemporary commune, thirteen tales of cats and their people. Told from the cats' perspective, these tales are sometimes amusing, whimsical, occasionally sad but always entertaining.
A nice light summer read.
A nice light summer read.
December 14, 2019
Very very good stories!
I have been a cat person all my life, not only attracted to cats but also to cat stories of all kinds. The stories in this book are most excellent and satisfying and will please any cat person. Many thanks to all of the contributing authors!
I have been a cat person all my life, not only attracted to cats but also to cat stories of all kinds. The stories in this book are most excellent and satisfying and will please any cat person. Many thanks to all of the contributing authors!
July 6, 2022
The purr-fect read for feline fanciers as it's immediately obvious that each author has an intimate, life long acquaintance with the mystery that is cat. Fascinating to see the aspect of a cat's nature, attitude, behaviour, etc. that is chosen to pilot the plot lines.
May 14, 2017
Anthologies live by how strong the collection of stories in it is. Unfortunately, for me this volume had a lot of misses as well as hits. Stories like "Three-Inch Trouble" and "Star" were strong and moving, really capturing the feeling of what a cat is, and how they can affect the lives of the people around them. Others, like "The Stargazer's Familiar" and "Under the Sign of the Fish" were more disappointing, in turns tropey and somewhat silly. If you're a fan of cats this isn't a bad read, though if you're not it might be one to skip.
July 16, 2018
A friend read this, was very excited about it, and was kind enough to pass it on to me, hoping I'd be just as excited about it.
Sadly...
I'm not that big into science fiction, fantasy, and definitely not into the romance genre.
Despite what the cover would indicate, only a few of the stories were strictly from the cat's point of view, which I found disappointing.
My favorite story was the one where the little alien creatures got loose. I also liked the one where the guard found out his true purpose. The last story was pretty good.
All in all, just not my bag, I guess.
Sadly...
I'm not that big into science fiction, fantasy, and definitely not into the romance genre.
Despite what the cover would indicate, only a few of the stories were strictly from the cat's point of view, which I found disappointing.
My favorite story was the one where the little alien creatures got loose. I also liked the one where the guard found out his true purpose. The last story was pretty good.
All in all, just not my bag, I guess.
December 18, 2022
I didn’t truly expect to read through this but it held my interest. There were several stories I enjoyed very much but also several stories with too many missing pieces for me to really understand. I did enjoy how unique they were and that each story had you were guessing what part the cat was going to play. Another lesson of _don’t judge a book by its cover_ I enjoyed this enough to finish the whole thing.
December 11, 2025
Fun, fantastical, sweet, silly, magical, lovable, and clever! A great collection of short stories featuring CATS!!!!! One of my favorite short collections of the year!
“Fantasy's finest tale-spinners present a brand-new collection of four-legged fiction that will catapult our favorite felines into space, time, and the many realms of the fantastic.” (From the book blurb)
“Fantasy's finest tale-spinners present a brand-new collection of four-legged fiction that will catapult our favorite felines into space, time, and the many realms of the fantastic.” (From the book blurb)
July 13, 2019
Mostly stories of witches which really are not my thing , only a few stories weren't following the theme of witches.
Its worth the read but again with most compilation books stories are hit and miss, the best one was Star that made me cry but was such a touching story.
Its worth the read but again with most compilation books stories are hit and miss, the best one was Star that made me cry but was such a touching story.
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December 9, 2023Between the cover art and the blurb, you'd think this book would feature a collection of stories in which the protagonist is a cat. Sadly, only three of the thirteen stories are told from a cat's perspective. The remaining stories center on humans with the occasional appearance of a cat.
May 2, 2019
Different than the Catfantastic books, but still very good.
currently-reading-anthcoll
October 5, 2017The Stargazer's Familiar by Mary Jo Putney
Three-Inch Trouble by Andre Norton
Purr Power by Jody Lynn Nye
Star by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Under the Sign of the Fish by Karen Haber
Every Life Should Have Nine Cats by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Once, We Were Worshiped by Diane A. S. Stuckart
Praxis by Janet Pack
Death Song by Bill McCay
A Light in the Darkness by Pamela Luzier
"Mu Mao and the Court Oracle" by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough read 2/5/2005
♦ "Star Song" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman read 2/3/2005
"Ecliptic" by Von Jocks read 2/4/2005
Three-Inch Trouble by Andre Norton
Purr Power by Jody Lynn Nye
Star by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Under the Sign of the Fish by Karen Haber
Every Life Should Have Nine Cats by Mickey Zucker Reichert
Once, We Were Worshiped by Diane A. S. Stuckart
Praxis by Janet Pack
Death Song by Bill McCay
A Light in the Darkness by Pamela Luzier
"Mu Mao and the Court Oracle" by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough read 2/5/2005
♦ "Star Song" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman read 2/3/2005
"Ecliptic" by Von Jocks read 2/4/2005
August 30, 2009
This is a collection of (13 to be exact) short stories where cats play a major role in the lives of humans they have adopted. These cats have special and unusual talents that they use to protect their human companions. I enjoyed this book.
May 13, 2013
A collection of short stories featuring cats. Includes authors: Mary Jo Putney, Andre Norton and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough.
The two stories I liked were: The Stargazer's Familar and Under the sign of the fish.
The two stories I liked were: The Stargazer's Familar and Under the sign of the fish.
April 2, 2010
A Constellation of Cats (Daw Book Collectors) by Various (2001)
March 22, 2014
This book is a collection of short stories about cats. Most of the stories were "meh". There were a few that I liked quite a bit, but the majority of them varied between cheesy and uninteresting.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews