After the “war with no name” a cat assassin searches for his lost love in Repino’s strange, moving sci-fi epic that channels both Homeward Bound and A Canticle for Leibowitz.The “war with no name” has begun, with human extinction as its goal. The instigator of this war is the Colony, a race of intelligent ants who, for thousands of years, have been silently building an army that would forever … silently building an army that would forever eradicate the destructive, oppressive humans. Under the Colony’s watchful eye, this utopia will be free of the humans’ penchant for violence, exploitation and religious superstition. As a final step in the war effort, the Colony uses its strange technology to transform the surface animals into high-functioning two-legged beings who rise up to kill their masters.
Former housecat turned war hero, Mort(e) is famous for taking on the most dangerous missions and fighting the dreaded human bio-weapon EMSAH. But the true motivation behind his recklessness is his ongoing search for a pre-transformation friend—a dog named Sheba. When he receives a mysterious message from the dwindling human resistance claiming Sheba is alive, he begins a journey that will take him from the remaining human strongholds to the heart of the Colony, where he will discover the source of EMSAH and the ultimate fate of all of earth’s creatures.
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Difficult to follow the logic of the story.
Very different
Whatever you think this book is about, you are probably wrong. I was. Take Watership Dow, Animal Farm and throw in a little bit of Lassie Come Home and you’ll get close. It’s got great characters both human and animal and gives a unique twist to your standard Post apocalyptic novel. I have not read the books that follow, but I’m looking forward to it.
A former castrated house cat during the human extinction revolt becomes a top assassin in reckless suicide missions with the hopes of finding his friend. It is a war to end human dominion on the planet and rid the world of this reckless species and pave the way for a new world with freedom for all species, or is it? A great read where at times, I was not sure was the tale was going.
I look forward to the next book in the series.
It’s a different take on an animal themed book. It’s definitely NOT for children but it is a twist on the hero quest.
The giant ant apocalypse book starring sentient cats that I never knew I needed. Sure, it’s a spiritual successor to Watershed Down and Redwall, but it comes at the idea from an angle that asks a whole host of new and delightfully unsettling questions of the reader. Who are our pets to us? What happens to the world when people are no longer able to reckon with the damage we’ve caused? What does it mean to wake up in a new world you were never meant to inherit? This one has stuck with me, to the point that I vividly recount major plot points and character beats more than three years after reading this novel. If you’re at all pulled in by thoughtful speculative fiction with plenty of action, heart, and (yes) even romance, this is the apocalypse book for you.
Mort(e) is a great easy read full of new prespectives. Thrilling, heart warming and tragic – this novel will possible give you an new outlook on man and animal.
Just a cat fan
For a while, walking, talking house pets was interesting. But the plot got a little lost I thought.
An odd book, certainly. And sad. But it was fun was mostly to read if you can deal with giant ants a la THEM.
I make it a personal rule to finish a book I start. Some books, after all, just take a few pages to get going. I am a cat person, and thought this book, logically, would be about a cat. Turns out is a story about people who are part cat, dog, chicken mouse, etc … Just too off and disappointing for me. And I read and enjoy Chine de Mieville, who really gets into odd and alien characters. I did not get past the first chapter and have no plans to reconsider.
After awhile, it just didn’t make good on its premise – er – promise.
I was very entranced from the beginning. I listened to the audio version and it was superb.