Magicats II

by Jack Dann (Editor), Gardner Dozois (Editor), Fritz Leiber (Contributor)

1 • Kreativity for Kats • [Gummitch the Cat] • (1959) • shortstory by Fritz Leiber
13 • Life Regarded as a Jigsaw Puzzle of Highly Lustrous Cats • (1991) • shortstory by Michael Bishop
35 • Bright Burning Tiger • (1984) • shortstory by Tanith Lee
55 • I Love Little Pussy • (1988) • shortstory by Isaac Asimov
71 • The Boy Who Spoke Cat • (1973) • shortstory by Ward Moore
87 • The Jaguar Hunter • (1985) • novelette by Lucius Shepard
115 • The Sin of Madame Phloi • (1962) • shortstory by Lilian Jackson Braun
125 • The Mountain Cage • (1983) • novelette by Pamela Sargent
143 • May's Lion • (1983) • shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
153 • The Color of Grass, the Color of Blood • (1989) • shortstory by R. V. Barnham
163 • A Word to the Wise • (1940) • shortstory by John Collier
167 • Duke Pasquale's Ring • [Doctor Eszterhazy] • (1985) • novella by Avram Davidson

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Cats, Anthologies, Short Story Collection

213 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 6, 2014

Reviews

[Max · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I found the first Magicats to be a mixed bag, I can’t help but find this second volume mediocre and a somewhat lesser follow up. There are only two thirds as many stories, and they generally feel less fantastic and interesting than in the preceding volume. And I feel like there isn’t enough actual focus on cats, with multiple stories that feel shoehorned in because cats are a minor element. It is nice to see the sequel to Space-time for Springers, and the Asimov story is entertaining, being in the vein of some of the stories in the first volume about people using cats to try to gain some advantage over others. The Lillian Jackson Braun story is a nice little crime tale with a cat protagonist, and is one of the best of the lot at capturing the inner life of a cat. The Mountain Cage is an excellent bit of cat fantasy showing a cat interacting with the Nazis and depicting World War II having a terrible impact on even the animal world. The idea of animals all being able to talk to each other is interesting, especially when paired with the way that the Nazi dogs are starting to lose this ability and become more like humans. It’s probably the one story in the collection I’d want to read more of, especially a novel version. But overall, while there weren’t any stories I actively hated, there just wasn’t enough here for me to be all that engaged or excited. This feels like a fairly forgettable collection, and I suspect that if there were a Magicats III, I wouldn’t be picking it up.

[Gwen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first Magicats more than this one, and there wasn't really any particular story in this one that stood out to me. Stories weren't quite as odd as some were in the first book, however, there were at least a few that I really enjoyed from that collection. I didn't hate this book, however, I didn't like it, either.