Ratha's Creature

This has to be one of my favorite YA finds ever. Being fascinated with cats and animal stories, I first picked this book up because the protagonist was a large catlike animal, but it has so much more depth than just a simple animal adventure. I remember being enveloped immediately in Ratha's world,

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and pondering for hours on some of the questions the series rose for me, such as, what exactly makes intelligence, and what exactly is the moral obligation of discovery, and also is the old way of doing things the only and best way of doing things. Despite all the deep thinking themes woven intricately into the plot, it never came across as preachy, it simply brought those issues up and let them be there for the reader to ponder. The adventure Ratha faces as she comes of age and enters her world is enhanced by these themes as well. It is an engaging book on so many levels, and I would recommend the read as well worth your time!

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Ratha’s Creature is a truly imaginative work. There are plenty of cat stories out there in the publishing world, but I can honestly say I've never read any cat story that's quite like this work of Clare Bell. Bell has created a harsh prehistoric world that her cat clan lives in. This is not a

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land of magic or easy choices. Each choice leads to inevitable consequences, even when it may be the right choice to make. The author's deft handling of her characters allows for readers to suspend their disbelief and really visualize this band of sentient cats that herd animals for food.

The author manages to pull the reader into the world without lengthy scene setting or world building detours. It's a powerful story of what makes a leader and what kinds of roads they often travel. It's the story of love and loss and betrayal. It's a story of big cats in an unforgiving wilderness and how they survive. Ratha’s story is truly one to read and want more of.

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A very good book, though I thought it moved a little too fast, though I liked the characters and the concept, since I’m a warriors fan also. Review by A.M.

A very interesting and catching story with wonderful characters. I just got the impression that something is missing, some situations solve really fast and I would have loved to get a bit more background information on Ratha and her clan. apart from that, a very good book.

Ever finished a book and were just like “Uh?” That was Ratha’s Creature for me.

While well written and engaging I’m not sure what the point was. The book is about a clan of intelligent cats living in a prehistoric world. The cats have learned to herd wild game for domestic use. This allows

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them to develop a more sophisticated society, language and laws. When we meet Ratha she is a young cat learning how to catch wild game and tame it to add to their herding stock.

Ratha is more intelligent than even most of the clan cats, and has a fatal flaw of being too honest. Basically she can’t keep her mouth shut when she should. It’s gets her into trouble with friends and enemies alike.

I would say this is a coming of age story except that she doesn’t really ever seem to grow up emotionally. She may be super intelligent and a great survivor, but she never learns how to filter her thoughts so as not to offend everyone around her. It makes her hard to connect with as a reader, and leads to tragedies that could have been avoided. Ratha is the cause of most of her own problems. Even when warned by her friend Thakur she can’t seem to act any differently than her impulses. Is the author implying that no matter how “cultured” a cat may get they are still “wild”? I find that hard to believe.

What Ratha does learn is bitterness and that leads her to revenge. Even when Thakur sacrifices himself so she can live she hates him for it. It’s just really weird that in such a well written book the main character and plot can be so messy.

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I read this back when it was new, over 30 years ago. I'd forgotten most of it, I found - I remembered who/what Ratha was (kind of obvious from the cover) and what her Creature was, but I'd forgotten all the consequences and events that followed from her catching the Red Tongue. It's hard to see

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Ratha as the cub (adolescent) she is at the beginning; being feline, she's not particularly awkward, and while she tends to let her tongue run away with her that doesn't change as she grows up, or not much. She does learn, rather painfully, about the consequences of impulsive choices, but she doesn't turn away from her choices either. So - it's a novel about social change, at several levels; it's about a change that has, apparently recently, come to a feline race, where some of them can think and speak, and have names (ok, only most of the speakers have names. See: social change/upset). But if the change is genetic it's pretty heavily recessive, and the speakers are a little thin on the ground. More so after the ones who follow the old ways (and include both speakers and non-speakers) attack the ones who are trying to herd instead of hunt. It's a very strange world, with fascinating characters. The choices and consequences don't change much, though. I loved it - I still love it now. I'm amazed that I remember it so well from so long ago (OK, not the story, but the character and world), and delighted that this book, unlike many of my favorites as a teen, holds up. It's, if anything, deeper and better to the adult me than it was to the teenager. Next, please!

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I read this back when it was new, over 30 years ago. I'd forgotten most of it, I found - I remembered who/what Ratha was (kind of obvious from the cover) and what her Creature was, but I'd forgotten all the consequences and events that followed from her catching the Red Tongue. It's hard to see

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Ratha as the cub (adolescent) she is at the beginning; being feline, she's not particularly awkward, and while she tends to let her tongue run away with her that doesn't change as she grows up, or not much. She does learn, rather painfully, about the consequences of impulsive choices, but she doesn't turn away from her choices either. So - it's a novel about social change, at several levels; it's about a change that has, apparently recently, come to a feline race, where some of them can think and speak, and have names (ok, only most of the speakers have names. See: social change/upset). But if the change is genetic it's pretty heavily recessive, and the speakers are a little thin on the ground. More so after the ones who follow the old ways (and include both speakers and non-speakers) attack the ones who are trying to herd instead of hunt. It's a very strange world, with fascinating characters. The choices and consequences don't change much, though. I loved it - I still love it now. I'm amazed that I remember it so well from so long ago (OK, not the story, but the character and world), and delighted that this book, unlike many of my favorites as a teen, holds up. It's, if anything, deeper and better to the adult me than it was to the teenager. Next, please!

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Ratha is a young female in a tribe of intelligent, talking big cats who call themselves The Named. The book follows her growing up & negotiating the tumultuous power struggles of her world.

For some reason, from the brief description I'd read of this series, I expected the characters to feel like

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'aliens' - but overall, I thought this felt more like an animal story. I'd recommend it more for fans of animal stories than pure sci-fi fans (think Tad Williams' 'Tailchaser's Song', for example).

The first issue Ratha encounters is a gender issue: she is picked by her mentor to be trained to be a scout, but female cubs are generally not given this training. I felt this aspect of the book was the weakest, as it echoes the many, many, many fantasy books where the young woman has to overcome sexism to follow her dreams. However, in nature, among big cats, female felines are certainly not at all prevented from hunting and scouting. Actually, they are often the main hunters. The author put quite a bit of effort into emphasizing that her characters think 'like cats', but I felt that portraying a research-based, inventive feline-influenced society fell by the wayside.

However, I did like the interesting dynamic that Bell sets up between the intelligent cats and the non-talking (non-sentient?) cats. The portrayal of the social confusion, rumors/stereotypes and emotional turmoil this rift causes is done quite nicely.

I also liked the idea of a group of predators discovering the benefits of herding and protecting prey, and enjoyed Ratha's innovative and fumbling attempts to harness fire for her species' benefit.

The book follows a plotline of conflict, exile, then return, and allows Ratha growth in maturity and experience along the way. There are 5 books in this series, so there's plenty to-come after this one for those who want to find out more about Ratha and the fate of her tribe - but this installment ends at a satisfying juncture.

A copy of this book was provided to me by Netgalley and Open Road Media. Many thanks for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are solely my own.

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