THE GUARDIAN'S GAMBIT

Cats with astonishing abilities protect one another and their “hoomans” from malevolent creatures in Konkol’s fantasy novel.

An unnamed kitten taken in by “hoomans” joins a family of cats. Ajax immediately takes to the “little guy,” though Loki and Gaius, the felines’ leader, only reluctantly warm up to him. There’s a lot for the kitten to learn, starting with “the Dreaming,” a world outside of the real one that cats can enter when they’re napping. Gaius names the kitten Shaman, which, like most cat names, is the preferred variation of a hooman-provided name (“We avoid using hooman names. They can’t stick to one”). But Shaman also earns this moniker by virtue of his unprecedented level of powers (like forming magical barriers), which makes him a bona-fide “Conjurepurr.” Ajax barely has time to train Shaman before a monstrous Elder Nightmare attacks them in the Dreaming. Gaius needs to figure out who exactly the target is as well as who’s truly behind the assault. He gathers allies in the region, including formidable Guardians like Ajax, to face off against Elder Nightmares, coyotes, and infected spirits. Konkol’s novel, for the most part, takes itself seriously and seems aimed at a YA audience. The battles are harrowing and lives are lost, though the cats, of course, have nine apiece. The villains are genuinely horrifying, especially a spider-like creature with bony, syringe-tipped tentacles. There’s a fair amount of cat jokes, from “purr-puns” (the cats have abilities like “telepurrtation”) to felines sometimes hitting the catnip too hard. Readers have just as much to figure out as Shaman does in this densely packed tale, including different cat roles (Gaius is a “Spiritchaser”), the 19 Abyssinial Gateways in the Dreaming, and a number of mysterious characters introduced along the way. There are also entertaining action scenes and an irresistible camaraderie between the characters, most touchingly in the father-son dynamic between Ajax and Shaman.

An indelible furry cast and dreamlike world fuel this superlative story.