By: Gabriel King Publisher: Del Rey Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Del Rey Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 460 Publication Date: March 01, 1999 Release Date: March 01, 1999
Product Description: In the grand storytelling style of Watership Down and Tailchaser's Song comes an epic tale of adventure and danger, of heroism against insurmountable odds, and of love and comradeship among extraordinary animals who must brave The Wild Road . . .
Secure in a world of privilege and comfort, the kitten Tag is happy as a pampered house pet--until the dreams come. Dreams that pour into his safe, snug world from the wise old cat Majicou: hazy images of travel along the magical highways of the animals, of a mission, and of a terrible responsibility that will fall on young Tag. Armed with the cryptic message that he must bring the King and Queen of cats to Tintagel before the spring equinox, Tag ventures outside. Meanwhile, an evil human known only as the Alchemist doggedly hunts the Queen for his own ghastly ends. And if the Alchemist captures her, the world will never be safe again . . .
Some Updated Information As I read the reviews for the The Wild Road, I have noticed details people are omitting and/or just have wrong. Gabriel King is not a man, but a pseudonym for the the British author, Jane Johnson. This book is also part of a trilogy, followed by the Golden Cat, and the Knot Garden. It is not a children's book by any stretch of the imagination. It could be a young adult genre, but when I read it in high school, I missed much of the symbolism. Unfortunately, I think the reason some did not enjoy this book or its sequels--besides be a matter of preference--is that people are simply not used to British literature. This is not meant to be a simple read and too many are expecting it to be as such. This causes bad reviews due to lower levels of reading found among many. To answer some questions: Why are Ragnar and Pertelot the king and queen of cats? Because they contain some to the oldest bloodlines and because Pertelot was the result of hundreds of years of breeding to produce the Golden cat. It would only make sense that her mate is the king. Their lives also mirror those found in the missing dynasty of Egypt. This is stated in the lives of cats found throughout the book. What was Tag's role? While it may seem that Tag did not have a real purpose in this book, it is explored in the second book where he is the Majicou and has many abilities. Little Cy: She is an interesting character and for those who missed her role, she was the proxy of the Alchemist. The spark plug in her head was the way he could communicate and watch through her eyes. Mind control anyone? She remains this way because she is an eccentric cat who was damaged by his meddling. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, but I hope this information has helped to fill some gaps in the reviews. I, for one, enjoy this book and its sequels, though I am a little reserved on the Knot Garden. Perhaps this has helped enough that more people will enjoy the book.
Not for young kids I purchased this book for my daughter who is a lover of all things Cat! The book was supposed to be for the nine to twelve age range (my daughter is nine and an advanced reader) so I felt it would be a good choice based on many positive reviews. However, about a quarter the way through the book, my daughter brought it to me and said she was uncomfortable reading any further because a cat was going to be raped! I assumed she was incorrect, but after reading the page she was at, there was indeed a potential cat-on-cat rape scene being set up. Although the character does not actually get raped, the word "rape" is used, and I don't feel this is the most appropriate subject matter for a little girl. This may very well be a great book, but parents of younger readers should be aware that there is some fairly heavy subject matter in this story.
A Really Nice Book I really enjoyed this book, and its sequel. Anyone who likes fantasy and cats would also.
Sadly, Warriors is better I bought both 'The Wild Road' and its sequel 'The Golden Cat' for little than six bucks at a used bookstore. I was actually pretty thrilled to own them both, mostly because I've seen them at Barnes and Noble and actually wanted to read them. The sequel actually fared a lot better than this, to which I will write a review shortly, but it's a sad sight to see how a sequel is a lot better than the book that started it all.
Plot: A Black-tipped Burmilla cat named Tag is young and inexperienced to the world outside him. Nonetheless, he gets dreams of wanting to go out into the wild ad kill mice, be a wild cat, but the comfort of being a housecat is stronger, and he merely watches his dream through a slate of glass. Then he gets urgent dreams from an old one-eyed black cat named Majicou. Tag realizes he is destined to be the keeper of The Wild Road, an ancient, magical road used by wild animals. He is also the keeper of the King and Queen of cats, to whom he has to find and take to Tintagel before a spring equinox. All of this cannot be complete without the help of Majicou, his assistants, and the evil presence of a man known as the Alchemist, who hunts for the King and Queen of cats to control the wild road, and to seize the Golden Kittens that the Queen will give birth to. The Alchemist isn't an ordinary human, just like the Majicou isn't an ordinary cat.
For one, there are so many things that rightfully make me mad about this book, and for one, it lags. I mean, it is hard to get through, and for most of the time I ended up skimming through it till the end. Then I had another go at it, this time actually reading every word, page for page. It's still boring.
For one, Tag is a silly adolescent who plays his part right, and is the only character who is a bit likeable throughout this book. Majicou, the cat who teaches him the concept of the Wild Roads, and eventually tell him a bit of his past as the Alchemist's cat, is the most selfish and rather dull character in the book. He shows up, insults Tag, gives him little advice, barely shows him the power of the Wild Roads, before he gets up and disappears. No wonder why Tag is so confused half the time. Loves a Dustbin, Majicou's fox lieutenant, isn't a better character either. He tags along with Tag, but he's annoying and just as dull and flat as his master.
The King and Queen of cats are pedigree cats, bred by the Alchemist himself. Pertelot Fitzwilliam is an Egyptian Mau, and her mate is Ragnar Gustaffson Coeur de Lion (or just Rags), a Norwegian Forest cat with hardly any brains, but is a sweet and kind cat who, for some reason, has a healing power, though that isn't discovered until the very end of the story. Both cats have fancy funny names that associate with their heritage, but it's never clear why these two are the King and Queen of cats. Is it because they're both pedigrees from an old breed? Well, that could easily be any cat that's a Norwegian Forest or an Egyptian Mau. Is it because they were bred by the Alchemist? The Alchemist is known for torturing cats to death and harvesting their powers. While the two cats are so called the king and queen, Tag eventually finds them, looses them, finds them again, and eventually get to Tintagel before the spring equinox. With the help of Sealink, a loose calico cat with an attitude who traveled around the world, and is probably one of the coolest felines I've met; and Cy, a small tabby cat who has more than loose screws in her head. Other characters are introduced, but you really don't care for them, and you hardly care for the king or queen. Also, the Wild Roads...this is what the book is about, correct? Well, it talks a great deal about them, and how animals use them for traveling, but so far, no one uses the Wild Roads! It takes you from point A to point B in a heartbeat, but I guess if the Wild Roads were used, then that would have defeated the purpose of a drawn out, tedious quest, thus making the book pretty small.
The Wild Road is a concept that sounded nice, but Gabriel King as a writer failed to give it life. So far, I see only cats using them, and mostly in the flashbacks, no less. The Alchemist...he's supposedly been around for a very long time, so is he some kind of mystic? Majicou is also extremely old, so does the Wild Road grant semi-immortality? There are just so many things that needed to be explained, that never were explained. Also, humans in this story are cruel. Extremely cruel. Like too cruel to even be believable. They torture cats, even the officers who specialize in capturing them. Since when have they used lead pellets to shoot at cats, grab them roughly and actually kick them into sacks? Are you kidding me?! It's not like the stars of the show are in Mexico; they're in the USA! Also, dog lovers, look elsewhere. Dogs in this story are depicted as stupid, unintelligent monsters. It turns out to be comical and funny when told in the eyes of cats, and cats you can't find any attachment for. In the end, when all of this mess is over, and the book is finally finished, you don't feel excited or even glad that Tag has won, the King and Queen of cats have three Golden Kittens, and Majicou has sacrificed himself to destroy the Alchemist. So many inconstancies where there should've been answers and magic that was never explained that could have been told more in its sequel. But although the sequel cuts down on the boringness of what was 'The Wild Road', it still raises a lot more questions than answers, which probably would have been solved in a possible third book, if it will ever be in production. Ah well, all I can say is that this is one book that fails to interest me, cats or no cats.
A personal favorite, but not for everyone. After reading some of the reviews on this page, I felt compelled to write one myself. I own the Wild Road as well as the Golden Cat, and read both when I was still a young student in highschool. I enjoyed the Wild Road especially but found the plot a tad convoluted and confusing, both due to the author's writing style, and the puzzling and fantastical qualities of the subject matter in general. Upon reading it at a later date a second time, I was able to appreciate it much more thoroughly, picking up on subtle nuances in the writing that made it a much more understandable read; it has since become among my favorite books. However, it is not to be mistaken as kin to Tailchaser's Song, Watership Down, The Sight, or other animal epics; if you expect to read a book of those sorts, you will probably be dissapointed. The Wild Road and The Golden Cat alike are first fantasty, and secondly animal epic; you must be open to some extremely outlandish concepts traditionally only found in the realm of fantasy and sci-fi novels to enjoy this book. It deviates vastly from the very natural, organic approach most animal epics take, delving deep into the mysticism and allegory that are usually only found as small underlying currents in the genre. Furthermore, the author of this book was clearly an animal welfarist (or even animal rights activist), as evinced be re-occuring motif of man's cruelty. Starving strays, tortured victims of vivisection, and similar themes dominate both books. This may be difficult for sensitive animal lovers and irritating to those who will percieve this as "PETA propoganda." I personally think that the element of graphic violence brutality gave the book more weight, but many found it gratuitous or offensive. In short, this book is a fantastic read if you can keep an open mind and enjoy it for the writing and particularly the fantastic characters, but if any of the above comments have made you think twice, trust you SECOND instinct and pass it by. It is certainly not a book for everyone.
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