valhecka's review
5.0
I DON'T CARE I DOn'T CARE CAT WIZARDS VERSUS BETTER-CTHULHU IN POSTWAR HOLLYWOOD ENGRAVE EVERY WORD OF THIS ONTO THE INSIDE OF MY SKULL.
No but seriously this is among the best historical fantasy/sf adventure novels I've read. I think only about half of that is my degree of attachment to Duane's conception of wizardry and cosmogony. Yes, it's from the perspective of a cat, and that seems twee, but this cat is a cranky 30-something NASA-level project manager with coworker conflicts and adolescent trainees to jerk into shape and she's just so extremely relatable, Rhiow, to me, a tired millennial who is 32 and ill and reading about cat wizards so I can have a positive feeling.
Plus: Damon Runyon, Walter Winchell, late-Golden Age starlet/studio jockeying, absolute parades of cats, Ith the pastrami-loving not-quite-dinosaur, blending of Mayan and Aztec cosmogonies, the astounding sense of place Duane conveys, and the way her dialogue leaps right into your ears.
Masterful.
[I love cats. I love every kind of cat. I just want to hug all of them but I can't hug every cat]
No but seriously this is among the best historical fantasy/sf adventure novels I've read. I think only about half of that is my degree of attachment to Duane's conception of wizardry and cosmogony. Yes, it's from the perspective of a cat, and that seems twee, but this cat is a cranky 30-something NASA-level project manager with coworker conflicts and adolescent trainees to jerk into shape and she's just so extremely relatable, Rhiow, to me, a tired millennial who is 32 and ill and reading about cat wizards so I can have a positive feeling.
Plus: Damon Runyon, Walter Winchell, late-Golden Age starlet/studio jockeying, absolute parades of cats, Ith the pastrami-loving not-quite-dinosaur, blending of Mayan and Aztec cosmogonies, the astounding sense of place Duane conveys, and the way her dialogue leaps right into your ears.
Masterful.
[I love cats. I love every kind of cat. I just want to hug all of them but I can't hug every cat]
mtk_reads's review
5.0
Far and away the best of the the three - time travel! Cat magic! Soulmates! ...yes, yes, I'm predictable, we knew that already.
lleullawgyffes's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
wetdryvac's review
5.0
Both a lot more grim, and in some respects fluffier than the previous books. Lots of fun in new ways.
bentgaidin's review
2.0
'The Big Meow' just didn't land for me, to my disappointment. Some of it are things I might warm up to after some reflection and on rereading; it's another time-travel story, right after the last one, and to a time period (40's Hollywood) that I don't really care one way about. It's also about defeating an entity from outside the universe that's supposed to be worse than the Lone Power, which feels kind of like a narrative cheat at first introduction. What I think will stick with me, though, is that half-way through the book I was thinking that whatever my quibbles with the plot were, at least I was getting to spend more time with Rhiow as a calm, capable leader, and enjoying her wit and detachment from the foibles of humans and the games of toms and queens alike -- and then the story introduces a romance for her, and she becomes flustered and much concerned with how a tom could love her even though she's been spayed. This is entirely my personal issue, but I _liked_ that she maintained a network of close relationships outside of the realm of sex, and indeed this is a plot point of the last book, that she would work with and appreciate and befriend a tom without desiring him, or even desiring to desire him. Here, the idea of a platonic friendship seems to disappear once one side expresses an interest, or the working-in-pride that she has with other wizards. It could be a cat cultural thing, but it's never come up this way before, it doesn't feel necessary, and I just don't like what it does to her character. ... Otherwise, it's a decent book. If Ace representation isn't a sticking point, or if you like that era of Hollywood and would recognize the characters, bump it up a star or two and you'll really enjoy it.
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