Skip to main content

novel - book identification scifi/fantasy with talking human intelligence cat


id needed for a Sci-fi/Fantasy novel....mid to late 1980's.
The only thing I can remember was the book was set in the future. There was a guy (main character) who was on a quest. He had several companions with him. The one that stands out in my memory was a cat who had been 'gene-spliced' 'manufactured' with human DNA and had the brain/intelligence of a human. The whole society was super into genetic modification.


the cat was a girl...and maybe the face of the cat was that of a woman and not a cat's face..



Answer



This might be James Kahns "World enough and Time" (which is 80s fantasy and has a cat/human hybrid). From an Amazon review:




Along the way, Joshua and Beauty make new allies and defeat many enemies. Among the former are Isis (part teenage girl, part black cat), Jasmine (a centuries-old Neuroman, essentially a robot driven by a human brain), Lon (a magnanimous and stately Vampire), and Sum-thin (another Neuroman with a taste for philosophy and opium). Among the latter are Jarl (a huge, talking bear king), Poseidon-worshipping religious fanatics, more Accidents, a genetically engineered dragon, some evil scientist Neuromans, and - of course - the three original villains who had kidnapped Rose, Dicey, and Ollie. Of these, Isis, Jarl, and all of the Vampire characters are sharply defined and interesting.



While this is the first part in a a trilogy ("New World Trilogy") you probably want to skip parts two and three ("Time's Dark Laughter" and "Timefall") which are just as clumsily written but miss the naive charme of the first installment.


Here is another fun review (don't read if you want to retain fond memories of the book) from a reader who wasn't particularly thrilled, either:



World Enough, And Time (1980) is the story of a post-Apocalyptic fantasy world, in which genetically-modified monsters threaten to wipe out the remaining population of humans.


[...]


Having chapter after chapter of lengthy, pseudo-scientific rationalization doesn't help me suspend disbelief, it merely bludgeons to death any lingering excitement I may have had.


[...]


As the book limped to its action-packed, yet ultimately meaningless, conclusion, I was stunned to find an ultimate reveal of... nothing. The big bad fizzled, the relationships built on the journey dissipated (there was a lot of shagging about for a pair of married men), and everything culminated in a lot of standing about and avoiding one another's gazes. Had I read this book backwards, it would've essentially been exactly the same story. I have no doubt that there's meaning in this - every leaf of every tree in World Enough, And Time is packed with meaning - but I have absolutely no desire to seek it out.



If there's one positive about this book it is that, although Kahn deluged the reader with world-building and philosophy, he spared us any poetry. I appreciate the self-restraint.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Did Gandalf wear his Ring of Power throughout the trilogy?

After Gandalf discovered that Sauron was back and sent Frodo on his quest to Rivendell, did he continue to wear Narya (one of the Three Rings)? It seems like a huge risk to continue to wear it after the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) started to try and reclaim the One Ring; if they managed to get the ring to Sauron, couldn't he be corrupted by his power? Whatever powers Narya bestows upon him couldn't possibly be worth the huge risk, could it? Answer When Sauron forged the one ring and put it on his finger, the other ring bearers were immediately aware of him and his intentions and removed their own rings. There is no reason why they couldn't merely do so again. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and preceived that he would be master of them, and of all they wrought. Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," Silmarillion
Post a Comment
Read more