A Basquet of Cats

by Christian Bieck

A Tale of Cats and Mages

Gentza is a young black cat living a happy life in the Basque lands of medieval France. He shares an intimate mind-to-mind connection with his human friend and companion, the Archmage Zumar Etxartea.

When his human companion is captured, along with the mage lady bonded to Gentza’s friend Kitty, it is up to the cats to save the day.

They must use their feline magic and build a coalition of animals to face dark enchantments, mean people who exploit animals, and a band of truly bad cats.

Can they find a way to set the world aright?

For young adults and animal lovers of all ages.

320 pages, Paperback

Published April 21, 2026

About the author

I've come to publishing late in life, but not to storytelling. For me, it started when I read C.S.Lewis's 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' at around the age of six. It was an entrance-way to the fantastic in the literal sense! Telling my own stories would take a while longer, and I started that, again, in the literal sense of oral telling via dungeon mastering in AD&D (1st edition!), and later improvising bedtime stories for our son.

Jump to today. My preferred writing style turned out to be cozy(ish) fantasy of all persuasions, whether urban, rural, fabulist, or secondary world. My debut novel, A Basquet of Cats, launched on April 22nd 2026; it's historical fantasy, starring magical cats. Also, I've published several short stories in various anthologies.

Follow me on my personal blog; if you sign up for updates, you get three short stories into your inbox for free! Check out all social media links on linktr.ee/chbieck.

Reviews

[Erin Quill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Basquet of Cats focuses on Gentza’s bond to his mage and his friendship with Kitty, another magical cat. When Gentza’s mage and Kitty’s mage are attacked by a band of Bad Cats, Gentza and Kitty must find a way to stop the Bad Cats and set the world to rights.

This was a fantastic story and I wanted to keep reading even when I had other chores and activities to attend to. The magic and storytelling blended so seamlessly that I felt like I was in the story on an adventure rather than just reading about it. I’ll definitely look for more books by Christian Bieck in the future!

[Rayvn Whyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful cast! It was hard to put down, and not only was the world interesting, but the characters each had unique personalities and always leave you wanting to know the story for each one!