Cat Fantasy

Love - and murder - are in the air.

It took Joe Grey’s human, Clyde Damen, nearly forever to pop the question to his girlfriend, Ryan Flannery, and what more romantic time to tie the knot than on Valentine’s Day? But dark secrets from the past soon threaten to destroy everyone’s happiness. First, a body discovered many miles away reopens a 10-year-old cold case involving a man who disappeared days before his own wedding. Then another body is found closer to home, on the grounds of a ruined estate, deserted save for a band of unusual feral cats.

ShadowClan has returned under the leadership of a new Tigerstar, but their renewed strength has brought the tensions around the lake to an explosive breaking point. SkyClan’s place among the Clans is about to be decided once and for all.

With Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami gives us a novel every bit as ambitious and expansive as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which has been acclaimed both here and around the world for its uncommon ambition and achievement, and whose still-growing popularity suggests that it will be read and admired for decades to come.

Catherine “Cat” LeBlanc has only been a samurai for a week, tackling trials by fire as they erupt with guts, grit, and a lot of explosives. As a warrior-still-in-training, her unorthodox and spontaneous fighting style has saved many lives. Now, with New Montreal recruiting soldiers for war, Cat will be on the frontlines with fellow samurai like pyrotechnic nun Gomorrah; buggy, trigger-happy Grasshopper; and goth public relations specialist Emoscythe Mordeath Noir.

As doubt sweeps through the forest, Jaypaw, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf are determined to convince the Clans that StarClan is still vitally important to the warrior code. But darkness lurks in the most unexpected places, and one cat is about to reveal a secret that will rock ThunderClan to its core.

Civilization has fallen. The solar system is blanketed with the automated weapons of ancient wars, engineered plagues, hazardous waste, rogue AI, monsters from outside our dimension, artificial disasters, and nuclear climate change. Every moment of life on Earth is a brutal fight for survival. The people of Sol carry on, but hope is at a premium. They need something more. Someone with a plan, a savior, a hero. What they get is Lily.

My life was going just fine by most standards. I ran a successful business in a tight-knit magical community, and lived just blocks from a beautiful lake and series of hiking trails. Then Selene showed up. According to some magical code I inherit my aunt's ancient familiar; a grumpy ten-pound cat with a broken filter. She fancies herself something of a saber-toothed tiger, and claims to have wrestled the thread of her ninth life from the hands of the Fates themselves—although, I'm pretty sure that last part isn't true. Almost positive.

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins—resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories—have only three unbreakable vows. First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade. Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out.

Frostpaw has returned to the lake just in time to reveal all she knows at the Gathering—but the Clans are reluctant to believe an apprentice who’s already admitted to lying about her visions in the past, and she is forced to take refuge in ShadowClan as Splashtail seizes control of her home. While the other Clan leaders debate whether to interfere any further in RiverClan affairs, Nightheart has his paws full teaching Clan ways to the two park cats who followed him home, and Sunbeam’s efforts to fit in as the newest member of ThunderClan are hampered by her concerns for her mother.

Lacey Chu has always dreamed of working as an engineer for MONCHA, the biggest tech firm in the world and the company behind the "baku" - a customizable "pet" with all the capabilities of a smartphone. But when Lacey is rejected by the elite academy that promises that future, she's crushed. One night, Lacey comes across the broken form of a highly advanced baku. After she repairs it, the cat-shaped baku she calls Jinx opens its eyes and somehow gets her into her dream school. But Jinx is different than any other baku she's ever seen.... He seems real.

In the megacity of New Montreal, those with wealth and power live in towers high above the teeming masses struggling to get by day after day. When the poor and destitute vanish, the police can’t be bothered to spend time and resources investigating. But Franny, a nun who isn’t afraid to practice what her religion preaches, sets out to find the missing by confronting street gangs with nothing but a baseball bat . . . and a lot of pent-up frustration.

Allegiances are shifting among the clans of warrior cats that roam the forest. With tensions so delicately balanced, friends can become enemies overnight, and some cats are willing to kill to get what they want. Fireheart is determined to find out the truth about the mysterious death of the former ThunderClan deputy Redtail. But as he searches for answers, he uncovers secrets that might be better left hidden....

They have always lived by the code—but only change can keep the peace. A new age is dawning on the warrior Clans. Now a new generation of warriors rises—one wrestling with the legacy of his great ancestor Firestar, one seeking to protect her troubled Clan, and one yearning to prove herself as a medicine cat—as leaders from all five Clans agree that the Warrior Code must be reformed.

Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for — or rather, demands — the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners.

The time has come for Fireheart - now Firestar, leader of ThunderClan - to face his destiny. Tigerstar's sinister ambitions have brought the whole forest to the brink of a terrible and deadly battle. Now prophecies will unfold, and heroes will rise....

Frostpaw was told to trust no cat, but a brutal attack has left her gravely injured, and she’ll need to depend on someone. When help arrives in the form of a young warrior, she convinces him to protect her as she follows StarClan’s cryptic directions toward the roots of RiverClan, where Riverstar has promised she’ll find the answers she’s been so desperately seeking.

Fireheart's traitorous enemy, Tigerclaw, has been vanquished and exiled from ThunderClan - but Fireheart can't shake the feeling that he is lurking in the forest, waiting for a chance to strike. In the heat of a blazing summer, Fireheart struggles to handle sinister omens, an apprentice with a shocking secret, and a devastated Clan leader who is a shell of her former self. And as the forest gets hotter and hotter, every cat braces for the coming storm....

The young cats who set off on a quest many moons ago have returned with a chilling message: The Clans must move to a new home or risk extermination. But the dangers waiting for them beyond their borders are impossible to predict, and the cats have no idea where to go. What they need is a sign from StarClan....

Lionpaw, Hollypaw, and Jaypaw, grandchildren of the Clan leader Firestar, are thriving as ThunderClan apprentices. Yet their new responsibilities bring new dangers, and each young cat is about to discover darkness: in the past, in the Clans - and in themselves.

ShadowClan has chosen Tigerclaw as their new leader, and Fireheart fears that this old enemy still harbors dark plans for vengeance on his former Clan. A mysterious threat has invaded the forest, placing every cat's life in peril. And Fireheart's beloved leader has turned her back on their warrior ancestors. Fireheart can't help but wonder if she's right - has StarClan abandoned them forever?