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Book Cover |
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Excerpt |
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Trevenen's Son Was Huxley
He
was named after his grandfather, a great scientist. Huxley was a
reddish-tan and white striped tabby as was his father. His mother was
black and white, but the first kitten usually takes after the father, a
second after the mother. Huxley did not yet know his mother was missing
and thought that she was just visiting in the north. Trevenen dreaded
when he would have to tell Huxley. Trevenen could hardly admit it to
himself, hoping against hope that she might still be found. This would
not be. He now hoped to distract Huxley with a mission: the care of this
poor little orphan on his neck.
Trevenen
untied the sack and placed it carefully at Huxley's paws. "Look here,
my son and see what I found." Out crawled a near-starved kitten. Its
ribs showed through sparse, thin fur. As weak and skinny as he was, the
kitten was already longer than the older Huxley, and his shoulders and
hips were broader even though there was hardly a muscle to be seen on
them.
Huxley
put his twitching nose to the ground as he approached the poor orphan.
Their noses rubbed and the black and white little one reminded Huxley of
his mother. Huxley licked the skin and bones and the kitten purred for
the first time since leaving the side of Wystan the Wise. "Father,"
Huxley sighed, "he is so weak, the poor thing." Huxley tried to lift
him with his teeth by his neck as his mother had done when he was very
little. The black and white kitten was too heavy, and Trevenan completed
the task as he and Huxley brought the kitten into their burrow near a
thick grove of tall and widetrunked trees. When Huxley brought food, the
kitten could not eat fast enough and they worried he'd get a
stomachache. When he was finally full, the kitten, exhausted, fell
asleep. Huxley did a Floppy and pulled the kitten across his body so he
could feel warm and loved. The kitten would cling to his new protector
all that day and night. As he slept, Huxley asked his Father. "What is
his name?"
"I
don't know Huxley," he said and then told him the story of the rescue
and the great red-headed eagle. Huxley was spellbound, for eagles were
almost never seen, and were distant creatures that were thought to be
deep into the Great Mystery. Before Maria had disappeared, she and Trevenan discussed names for a second son and had decided on one.
Trevenan fell in love with the kitten immediately and knew he would be
as close to a second son as one could ever be. "We will call him Maximus.
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Synopsis |
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In the Book of Books is the
story of Maximus the First, the most famous of the large cats that ruled
the world before recorded history. Maximus was born a slave of the
humans. When his mother dies at his birth, Wystan the Wise, the ruler of
Eagleland, who has a red feathered head with a red plume, and is also a
slave, hides Maximus under his wing so the slave owners will not
discover him.
Three months later, Maximus is set free by the leader of
Catland and the leader of the Freedom Riders, Trevenen, who adopts
Maximus. Little does Trevenen know that his newly adopted son is really
his second son son. Maximus is taken to Catland and meets Travenen's
first son, Huxley, and they become fast friends. But there is something
unusual about Maximus. He is big. In fact, he is enormous in comparison
to the other large cats. Later, when the Freedom Riders return from an
excursion in the east, they bring back a kitten; the last of her tribe. Princess
Blue becomes fast friends with the two boys.
As they grow older, Maximus
becomes leader of the Freedom Riders while Huxley is being trained to
take over leader of Catland for his father one day. The human, Reltih,
is still holding Wyston captive and is conquering all the surrounding
nations. The only question is whether Maximus can withstand Reltih, who
seem to be intent on conquering the world.
Catland is David
Garrett Izzo's fist fictional novel. He is the author of numerous books
and articles about the authors Aldous Huxley, W.H. Auden, Gerald Heald,
Christopher Isherwood and Stephen Vincent Benet, all of who appear as
characters in this story. Catland is a fable that can be read by all age
groups.
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Review |
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From the beginning, I liked
the story. Catland is an interesting story that grabs the reader
and doesn't let them go until the end. The characters are interesting
and the story is a lot of fun. The violence is extremely minimal and
this book is okay for younger reads, as there is nothing offensive in
the story.
David Garrett Izzo spins a tale of giant cats that ruled the
world with mysticism, honor and courage. I found these cats to be
everything I wished humans could be today. What a wonderful world it
would be if these giant cats really did exist. Overall, I would have to
say that this is a very good story and can be read by young adults and
adults both.
So, if you love cats, whether they be small house cats or
large, intelligent, gentle cats, Catland is the book for you.
I rated this book an 8 out of
10. |
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