The Kingdom of the Cats

Starcats #3

by Phyllis Gotlieb

Two only star cats, far from home, looking for adventure.

Genres: Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1985

About the author

Phyllis Fay Gotlieb, née Bloom, BA, MA was a Canadian science fiction novelist and poet.

The Sunburst Award is named for her first novel, Sunburst. Three years before Sunburst was published, Gotlieb published the pamphlet Who Knows One, a collection of poems. Gotlieb won the Aurora Award for Best Novel in 1982 for her novel A Judgement of Dragons.

She was married to Calvin Gotlieb, a computer science professor, and lived in Toronto, Ontario.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book at Half Price Books in anticipation of Thanksgiving and time for me to read adult books. I usually try to pick up at least one book by an author I haven't read before. This was the winner.

I was really confused in the beginning. Then I decided that this was one of those books that starts the reader and the story in the middle. I decided to slow down and focus on figuring out who everyone was. Eventually I got deep into the story and became less lost.

Then I came onto this site and learned that this is actually the third book in a series!

I've ordered the first two books but this one held up well on its own.

[Mandy Muise · Rating 2 out of 5]

had no idea that this was the third book in a series… might have been a less painful read if i had realized that. in my defense, it is super not clear that a judgement of dragons is ALSO a cat book 🙃 i didn’t realize it was a series until i started writing this review and read other ones!!

anyway, the world building was insanely dense (book three vibes i guess) and the plot was so difficult to follow

BUT

this weird little cat book is able to casually weave together a wild world, one that moves us from classic scifi into a courtroom drama. i grew fond of it. i made it through eventually, but wow. was some heavy lifting to finish it.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kingdom Of The Cats his is the third and final book in the Starcats series by Canadian science fiction writer, Phyllis Gotlieb. I've enjoyed the series and other books by Gotlieb very much. She has a unique take on the Science fiction novel.
I had issues with Kingdom of the Cats even as I ultimately enjoyed the whole of the story. It was very complex, which in itself is not a bad thing. What I mean is that it was often difficult to ascertain where in the universe we were at a particular time and who was speaking or performing actions or who even the heck they were.
As I mention, complexity is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can make you pay more attention to the story, which was the case for me.
So there, now what was the story about? A group of Starcats, including Emerald and Etrem and 'the twins' come to the Earth and are placed in what I presume is the Grand Canyon. A catastrophe occurs, in which the majority are killed by a secret band and they are skinned as well. The rest of the story focuses on the investigation; by the Cats, Earth police and GalThree investigators. As well, we have a situation on a separate planet, where smugglers are killing and stealing special pearls. Into the mix as well is the Quemedon being who was responsible for locating the Cats on their planet and who has influenced their lives in both of the initial stories' A Judgment of Dragons and Emperor, Swords, Pentacles.
Once you wrap your mind around the complexity, if you are able to, you find a rich, interesting story, with more history of the Cats, fascinating, sympathetic character and lots of action. Well worth trying, but if you want to, you should read the stories in order to gain a familiarity with the Cats and their lives and friends. (3.5 stars)

[Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, albeit challenging, conclusion to Gotlieb's Ungrukh chronicles. Readable without the first two volumes, but it will probably make more sense and have more of an impact if you read the first two volumes first. The complex plot follows several characters trying to get to the bottom of the murder of several of the Ungrukh, giant alien telepathic cats (really; it works better than you'd think) visiting Earth. Spans planets, folds in smuggling, Native American mythology, mind control, and a virtually omnipotent alien. Gotlieb's elliptical and poetic style, and her fondness for showing alot of complex effects before explaining causes, might make this one a challenge for readers who just want a nice light romp, but it rewards the effort. Gotlieb manages a great emotional resonance without sliding into sentiment (or even very far into sympathy). highly recommended to anyone who takes SF seriously.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Phyllis Gotlieb, humanity is universal and nothing is truly "alien." Her GalFed setting contains perhaps hundreds of sentient species spread over thousands of worlds. Each alien species is "human" in that the alien peoples share our approximate level of intelligence but also they share our emotions and foibles—no matter how different physically they may be from us Solthrees.

No matter what course evolution takes, in other words, sentience will always be "human" sentience. And that goes for the intelligent cats, the Ungrukh from the planet Ungruwarkh. Gotlieb's talking great cats are not the rabbits of Watership Down. They are a little more intelligent than Solthrees, but also they are well balanced pragmatists. 

The Kingdom of the Cats, third and final volume of Gotlieb’s Ungrukh Trilogy, was published in 1985. Each book roughly speaking follows the adventures of one generation of an Ungrukh family. Prandra and Khreng are the couple from the first in the series, A Judgment of Dragons, and we witness the passing away of both in The Kingdom of the Cats. Their daughter Emerald and her husband Raanung are the main characters in the second volume, Emperor, Swords, Pentacles, and then their daughter Bren and her husband Etrem feature in The Kingdom of the Cats. Bren and Etrem's son Embrin is born in this third volume, and he is the great-grandcub of the original Prandra and Khreng. It's a tribute to Gotlieb's skill as a writer that I found myself getting moist-eyed at the passing of Prandra and Khreng and the birth of their great-grandcub Embrin. An Ungrukh lives only about half as long as the typical Solthree, though their relatively short lifespan doesn't seem to bother these eminently pragmatic cats.

In The Kingdom of the Cats a group of Ungrukh has accepted a GalFed invitation to come to Solthree to live in the Grand Canyon, whose Arizona landscape must be similar to Ungruwarkh's. A terrible tragedy ensues when some of the Ungrukh are shot and skinned by Solthree hunters. The book follows the outcome of this event, and like all of Gotlieb's books involves a criminal organization, a variety of alien types, and lots of ESP. The Ungrukh themselves are valuable to GalFed because the female Ungrukh's have strong ESP that can be employed by GalFed.

Gotlieb tells us much more about the Ungrukh, their abilities and personalities and their society, in The Kingdom of the Cats. For example, "Ungrukh were neither humble nor easily intimidated, although they knew their limits" (p. 132). Then, when the news of the murders is brought to the Ungrukh home planet, 

On Ungruwarkh the Tribes snarled and rumbled. GalFed had dispatched a Khagodi with news of the slaughter, and the Ungrukh were both too proud to show their feelings and too aware of the consequences of picking a fight with 600 kg of female Khagodi with esp equal to over a hundred class-ones. (p. 74)

When Raanung is speaking with Man of Law, the Lyhhrt lawyer the Ungrukh have hired to prosecute the Solthree acused of killing their compatriots, the following exchange occurs after the murderer eludes prosecution by escaping:

"Ungrukh," asked Man of Law, "has the justice of Sol Three failed you?"

”How can it?" said Raanung. "The woman is alone and running, without power or wealth, friend or family, any kind of love, none to feed her, naked as any shivering soul who goes down into the Dead World, except that she bears the burdens of terrible crimes and the hatred of many victims. On Ungruwarkh we do not wish such justice on anyone." (p. 279)

Would a Solthree plaintiff be so wise and magnanimous? Perhaps, but it would be unusual. Raanung's response is I think normal for an Ungrukh. At the end of the book there is a stunning further revelation about the Ungrukh—they are a uniquely talented people. 

In a brief epilogue, Gotlieb writes, 

This is the last in the series of Ungrukh chronicles under the comprehensive title The Kingdom of the Cats. Though there will be no more histories of Ungrukh, more may be told about them: GalFed will probably call on them if it needs their services, and they will come if they feel like it. Should they wish to give other accounts of themselves they will do so whenever they come to Sol III.(p. 284)

The Ungrukh Rrengha will play a role in the third volume of Gotlieb's later Lyhhrt Trilogy, Mindworlds. Aside from this one character, she will write no more about the Ungrukh. I am sorry to say goodbye to them at the end of The Kingdom of the Cats. However, I'm sure I will reread Phyllis Gotlieb's GalFed books. Her writing is dense and literary, and probably needs a second or third reading to appreciate it fully.

As I mentioned, the universality of human nature is the common theme that runs throughout the GalFed books. The genius of Phyllis Gotlieb is that it might just turn out to be the way things really are. When we meet some alien species, if we find out we can make small-talk with them, then Phyllis Gotlieb will be proved correct.  Effectively, it means that nothing is completely alien. Wherever we go, we will find ourselves. The GalFed books, including the Dhalgren Duology, the Lyhhrt and Ungrukh Trilogies, and several short stories are literary science fiction with an edge in this respect, a philosophical point that far transcends the talking rabbits of Watership Down.

I have read and reviewed all of Phyllis Gotlieb's GalFed books now aside from Heart of Red Iron and Birthstones. She has become one of my favourite science fiction writers. I am amazed that she is so little known and read. None of the Ungrukh Trilogy, for example, made it into hard back; and none of the GalFed books had more than one print run. They are not easy reading certainly, and perhaps an acquired taste. Nevertheless, Phyllis Gotlieb belongs among the science fiction greats in my estimation.

[Lucy Cummin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this last installment of the story of the Ungrukh, a group have been invited to come and live for awhile in the Grand Canyon on Solthree (Earth). Her reasons are convoluted, but it turns out that the cats have a nearby enemy and she manages to kill more than thirty of the visiting Ungrukh, enraging and energizing many, including the strange energy being Qumedon, who created the Ungrukh. Kinnear, close to retirement, returns and three generations of Ungrukh all work to bring justice to the fallen. All along I have wondered if the Qumedon is not the inspiration for "Q" in Star Trek Next Generation. Something in this last book makes me surer than ever.
****

[2Due · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has been my first approach to this author's works and has been a fascinating read, but I found a bit of obstacles in the way.
I was expecting quite more adventure since on the cover it says "Two lonely cats away from home looking for adventure", it felt like the main characters were barely there and just waiting for things to develop. I found some parts just boring, too much focus on side characters and I'm not a fan of incestuous relationships...
It's been challenging to understand few parts in the story, there was this approach of "first do things then explain them" that could easily confuse the read at first, but once you understand how it goes, it's not that hard to follow.
Although, I found the alien species very fascinating, the god entity, the different characters, how they interact with one another was really interesting and well put, there were many aspects I've never seen in other stories and I'd have loved to see this more explored instead of the Silver characters...