Tailchaser's Song

A fantasy written by Tad Williams in 1985
Reviewed edition by Daw from 1986
A paperback has 370 pages
ISBN 0-88677-374-1

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In an age long past, Meerclar Allmother brought forth Harar Goldeneye and Fela Skydancer, who gave rise to all Folk. Among them, most prominent were Whitewind, Hearteater and Firefoot, the three firstborn not rivalled except by each other. It was Hearteater who let the rivalry and greed overshadow his mind, devising a dark plot to humiliate his brothers. In a dubious success, Whitewind was killed and Hearteater fled the wrath of his other brother ...

All that, however, happened a long time ago. The story of the three firstborn is but a legend for the Folk now. Most have more immediate worries to take care of, such as young Fritti Tailchaser, whose beloved Hushpad suddenly disappeared. Fritti learns that Hushpad is not the only one of the Folk that is missed, and decides to set out on a journey to bring her and perhaps the others back. Soon, Fritti is to find out that the legend of the firstborn is more than just an old myth ...

Review

Just curious - reading the synopsis, did you realize the story is not about humans but about cats ? And I must admit that reading about young Fritti saving all catkind does put the oh-so-typical saving-all-mankind fantasy stories into a proper perspective :-).

Be warned - the book is more of a fairytale than a typical fantasy story. You will surely find moments that feel familiar - such as the squirrels promising help to Fritti - but that takes nothing from the book itself. A charming story, I rate it as a good one.

Rated as good by Ceres on 1999-06-03

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