What do you think?
Rate this book
Cat #1
Cat's Cradle
A frail, homeless girl and her black cat appear in placid Ruger County and as the number of bizarre murders and horrifying accidents increase, the pale little girl's health dramatically improves
Paperback
First published May 1, 1986
88 people are currently reading
578 people want to read
About the author
William W. Johnstone
1,040 books1,392 followersWilliam W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
October 16, 2024
Outrageous 80s horror from Johnstone. He packs everything into this battle of good versus evil. Mummies, demonic maggots, vile demons, a creepy little girl, and of course cats - lots of cats, hordes of the little malicious creatures. Horrific, bloody and mindlessly entertaining. Not for everyone but if you love cheesy horror movies you’ll definitely love this book.
September 16, 2024
No, not the book by Kurt Vonnegut. This is the heart-wrenching story of a little girl, Anya, and her cat, Pet. Heart-wrenching because they'll literally rip your heart out. And eat it.
Anya and Pet are twin shape shifters, born and reborn over millennia. They've traveled from Egypt to America over many years searching for "The Old Ones," leaving behind a trail of mutilated bodies as they feed. What's worse, the people they mangle reanimate and are transformed into monsters themselves... with rabies no less. And on top of that, they have the power to control common house cats, summoning entire feline armies from their kitty litter boxes across the county. The girl and her cat eventually find what they are looking for in a small Virginia town (of all places), and settle in, bringing the local sheriff face-to-face with a pandemic from hell.
William Johnstone is a pulp writer--one of the pulpiest. As such, his action scenes are terrific, but his characters kind of suck. Usually, they are just wooden and uninteresting, but not offensive. But here, we get one of the most egregious examples of a terrible character, a reporter named Mille Smith. She has absolutely no reason to be as abrasive as she is, other than Johnstone paints her as an Eighties hippie, so he thinks that requires also making her a nasty commie Karen who at first comes across has having no redeeming qualities--a resentful, vindictive, hypocritical, pot-smoking, coke-snorting, cop-loathing, small-town-hating, dirt-digging, muckraking, back-stabbing "damn nosy libber". She's like the sociopathic lovechild of Greta Thunberg and Meathead from "All in the Family". Every time she has a line of dialogue is like nails on a chalkboard. She is truly every bit as irritating as Johnstone wanted her to be. Though she does soften a bit later, the reader has had enough of her by that point, and hopes she eventually gets used as a scratching post.
She's not the only cartoonishly ridiculous character. The high school principal hates our hero, Sheriff Dan. Why the vitriol? Because Dan stole his girlfriend... In first grade. We're talking grammar school. As in six-year-olds. Yeah, I don't think that guy should be anywhere near children. His favorite film is probably "The Grudge." But that's truly the level of maturity we are dealing with throughout this story.
The plot, in typical pulp fashion, relies on ridiculous and convenient coincidences. For example, before the cat-girl shows up to wreck havoc, a teenager in this podunk town just so happens to be studying about this very same ancient pair of demons that hardly anybody else in the modern world knows about. Sure thing, Bill. Whatever you say. Another example is when a monster crawls into the basement of the high school, which fortunately is closed by order of the sheriff due to all the mysterious murders happening in town. But remember that principal I just mentioned who got cuckolded in first grade? Well, it just so happens that he decides to hang out in the high school basement at that very moment, a part of the building that nobody has used in five years, for absolutely no good reason whatsoever. I swear that Johnstone couldn't really have been this inept--he surely must have been trolling his readers!
But as "bad" of a writer as Johnstone can be, he is also one of the most charming, at least for me. He's a guilty pleasure, a big greasy cheeseburger or a foot-long hot dog covered in chili and onions. So though it's a sloppy mess, this novel is particularly tasty.
And sometimes the author has true moments of inspired genius. Two characters, Emily and Alice, are pure gold. I wish the whole plot revolved around them. Alice is an old-money, first-family Virginian debutante and Emily is a farmer's daughter, O.R. nurse, gun-toating tomboy. They are initially antagonistic, but after being stuck together in a fight for survival, their growing friendship makes for much needed comic relief and compelling character development. Johnstone clearly enjoyed writing these women. I don't understand why he didn't realize he had two muses in these characters and develop a whole series of adventures for them.
Johnstone's over-the-top, kitchen sink approach is apparent in everything I've read by him, and here it gels quite well, making this one of his more popular paperbacks. It is no surprise that it spawned a sequel, "Cat's Eye." (No, not the Margaret Atwood classic, but there does seem to be a pattern of Johnstone naming his books after more famous literary predecessors, at least sometimes.)
I really had a lot of fun with this one, made all the more impressive since the book is actually much longer than it has any right to be. This is truly an epic affair, split into three distinct parts, each boiling over with non-stop action, a huge body count of grizzly kills, a national government conspiracy, and both intentional and unintentional comedy.
That's the epitome of a William W. Johnstone book, and the only way to rate something like this is purely on entertainment value. And it sure does it's job. If you are looking to turn your brain off this spooky season with a vintage pulp packed with over-the-top gore and action, you will have a rollicking good time here. That's what makes Johnstone such an American original, and one of the kings of Eighties popular paperbacks.
SCORE: 3 evil children and half a hair ball, rounded to 4/5
WORD OF THE DAY: Bailiwick
SUGGESTED MUSICAL PAIRING: "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent
Anya and Pet are twin shape shifters, born and reborn over millennia. They've traveled from Egypt to America over many years searching for "The Old Ones," leaving behind a trail of mutilated bodies as they feed. What's worse, the people they mangle reanimate and are transformed into monsters themselves... with rabies no less. And on top of that, they have the power to control common house cats, summoning entire feline armies from their kitty litter boxes across the county. The girl and her cat eventually find what they are looking for in a small Virginia town (of all places), and settle in, bringing the local sheriff face-to-face with a pandemic from hell.
William Johnstone is a pulp writer--one of the pulpiest. As such, his action scenes are terrific, but his characters kind of suck. Usually, they are just wooden and uninteresting, but not offensive. But here, we get one of the most egregious examples of a terrible character, a reporter named Mille Smith. She has absolutely no reason to be as abrasive as she is, other than Johnstone paints her as an Eighties hippie, so he thinks that requires also making her a nasty commie Karen who at first comes across has having no redeeming qualities--a resentful, vindictive, hypocritical, pot-smoking, coke-snorting, cop-loathing, small-town-hating, dirt-digging, muckraking, back-stabbing "damn nosy libber". She's like the sociopathic lovechild of Greta Thunberg and Meathead from "All in the Family". Every time she has a line of dialogue is like nails on a chalkboard. She is truly every bit as irritating as Johnstone wanted her to be. Though she does soften a bit later, the reader has had enough of her by that point, and hopes she eventually gets used as a scratching post.
She's not the only cartoonishly ridiculous character. The high school principal hates our hero, Sheriff Dan. Why the vitriol? Because Dan stole his girlfriend... In first grade. We're talking grammar school. As in six-year-olds. Yeah, I don't think that guy should be anywhere near children. His favorite film is probably "The Grudge." But that's truly the level of maturity we are dealing with throughout this story.
The plot, in typical pulp fashion, relies on ridiculous and convenient coincidences. For example, before the cat-girl shows up to wreck havoc, a teenager in this podunk town just so happens to be studying about this very same ancient pair of demons that hardly anybody else in the modern world knows about. Sure thing, Bill. Whatever you say. Another example is when a monster crawls into the basement of the high school, which fortunately is closed by order of the sheriff due to all the mysterious murders happening in town. But remember that principal I just mentioned who got cuckolded in first grade? Well, it just so happens that he decides to hang out in the high school basement at that very moment, a part of the building that nobody has used in five years, for absolutely no good reason whatsoever. I swear that Johnstone couldn't really have been this inept--he surely must have been trolling his readers!
But as "bad" of a writer as Johnstone can be, he is also one of the most charming, at least for me. He's a guilty pleasure, a big greasy cheeseburger or a foot-long hot dog covered in chili and onions. So though it's a sloppy mess, this novel is particularly tasty.
And sometimes the author has true moments of inspired genius. Two characters, Emily and Alice, are pure gold. I wish the whole plot revolved around them. Alice is an old-money, first-family Virginian debutante and Emily is a farmer's daughter, O.R. nurse, gun-toating tomboy. They are initially antagonistic, but after being stuck together in a fight for survival, their growing friendship makes for much needed comic relief and compelling character development. Johnstone clearly enjoyed writing these women. I don't understand why he didn't realize he had two muses in these characters and develop a whole series of adventures for them.
Johnstone's over-the-top, kitchen sink approach is apparent in everything I've read by him, and here it gels quite well, making this one of his more popular paperbacks. It is no surprise that it spawned a sequel, "Cat's Eye." (No, not the Margaret Atwood classic, but there does seem to be a pattern of Johnstone naming his books after more famous literary predecessors, at least sometimes.)
I really had a lot of fun with this one, made all the more impressive since the book is actually much longer than it has any right to be. This is truly an epic affair, split into three distinct parts, each boiling over with non-stop action, a huge body count of grizzly kills, a national government conspiracy, and both intentional and unintentional comedy.
That's the epitome of a William W. Johnstone book, and the only way to rate something like this is purely on entertainment value. And it sure does it's job. If you are looking to turn your brain off this spooky season with a vintage pulp packed with over-the-top gore and action, you will have a rollicking good time here. That's what makes Johnstone such an American original, and one of the kings of Eighties popular paperbacks.
SCORE: 3 evil children and half a hair ball, rounded to 4/5
WORD OF THE DAY: Bailiwick
SUGGESTED MUSICAL PAIRING: "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent
October 7, 2016
I received an advance review copy of this from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Kensington Books/Lyrical Underground has been re-issuing the horror works of the great pulp writer William Johnstone. I have been re-reading many titles that I am sure that I read back in the 80’s or earlier with varying degrees of enjoyment. Some of Johnstone’s work seems rushed while others touch a nerve and are quite effective. Cat’s Cradle is one of the latter—so much so that I have the sequel on hand to read because I am interested in seeing where this story goes.
Cat’s Cradle is really quite a monster mash. I counted at least 6 monsters (some single, some in groups) in this story. I confess that at the halfway point I was a bit frustrated and thought it was going to be like “Rocking Horse” which was re-released recently and was plagued by a lack of focus and too much going on (and too many “monsters”). However, where “Rocking Horse” just goes off the rails, Cat’s Cradle gels quite nicely into a really exciting story and sets up a sequel quite well.
4 stars. Really enjoyed this one.
Things that are pretty much true in all Johnstone horror stories
1. The government is bad. Politicians are bad. So are cats.
2. Good guys have lots of guns. And they own dogs. And are very attractive to women.
3. The press is pretty much bad, but there are exceptions. Just not very many.
4. Satan and Satanists are everywhere. All bad things are there because of Satan and he makes an appearance or is mentioned in all the Johnstone novels. Satanists are apparently usually politicians or pharmacists.
5. There are also secret government agencies that are at least as bad as Satanists.
6. If you look at Satan you die or go mad. However, if he calls you on the phone, you only sort of freak out and it is only temporary. And this surprises no one in the story. Obviously this story is pre caller id….
Kensington Books/Lyrical Underground has been re-issuing the horror works of the great pulp writer William Johnstone. I have been re-reading many titles that I am sure that I read back in the 80’s or earlier with varying degrees of enjoyment. Some of Johnstone’s work seems rushed while others touch a nerve and are quite effective. Cat’s Cradle is one of the latter—so much so that I have the sequel on hand to read because I am interested in seeing where this story goes.
Cat’s Cradle is really quite a monster mash. I counted at least 6 monsters (some single, some in groups) in this story. I confess that at the halfway point I was a bit frustrated and thought it was going to be like “Rocking Horse” which was re-released recently and was plagued by a lack of focus and too much going on (and too many “monsters”). However, where “Rocking Horse” just goes off the rails, Cat’s Cradle gels quite nicely into a really exciting story and sets up a sequel quite well.
4 stars. Really enjoyed this one.
Things that are pretty much true in all Johnstone horror stories
1. The government is bad. Politicians are bad. So are cats.
2. Good guys have lots of guns. And they own dogs. And are very attractive to women.
3. The press is pretty much bad, but there are exceptions. Just not very many.
4. Satan and Satanists are everywhere. All bad things are there because of Satan and he makes an appearance or is mentioned in all the Johnstone novels. Satanists are apparently usually politicians or pharmacists.
5. There are also secret government agencies that are at least as bad as Satanists.
6. If you look at Satan you die or go mad. However, if he calls you on the phone, you only sort of freak out and it is only temporary. And this surprises no one in the story. Obviously this story is pre caller id….
February 22, 2017
i received this in e-book form in exchange for a honest review*
i did not finish this book. the e-book version i received looked like someone had just scanned the paperback. the pages were small and it was really annoying. the story itself is ok and i may go back and finish it but it wasn't good enough to keep me from reading other books while trying to finish this one at this time.
i did not finish this book. the e-book version i received looked like someone had just scanned the paperback. the pages were small and it was really annoying. the story itself is ok and i may go back and finish it but it wasn't good enough to keep me from reading other books while trying to finish this one at this time.
January 27, 2016
2.5 stars
This B-style horror novel, which spawned a sequel I own and plan to read soon, was read years ago when I was a teen. Having forgotten the plot completely but recognizing the cover instantly when passing it by in a used bookstore, I'm sad to say it hasn't aged well. The plot is a cheesy dish, serving up atrocious dialogue at times, too many characters to keep track of, bizarre government goals against the Russians, and of course a strange war with Satan.
The back cover blurb doesn't do the plot justice, as they make the girl almost sound like a vampire staying around the towns residents. Instead her and her cat half, Pet, stay hidden once awakened, not just walking around confusing the common townsfolk. The opening of the story is especially bad, focusing on a silly sounding ritual that doesn't add up and seems to be aimed more toward shock effect.
Character wise, Dan as a main man was actually anjoyable, even if when he spoke to his son it became even cornier. I'm not sure why the dialogue I.Q. level dropped at least 10 points during these discussions, but no matter. His straight arrow conviction was almost cardboardish, but it was still a fun accompaniment to a B-story scenario. The villains were hokey and a bit over the top, but also creepy in a way. Gore is not served lightly, with plenty of violence and killing scenes. I wouldn't say anything happened that was too disturbing for the seasoned horror buff, but the book wouldn't please the light of heart.
Pace wise, it's swift, although because of the hustle and bustle in so many directions I sometimes have the urge to skim through several scenes. It's not a book that bores you, yet it doesn't compliment your mind in any way, demanding to be read. Johnstone writes in a talented manner, using mainly short and swift sentences. Some of his phrasing is adequately beautiful, meriting a pause and re-read of the line, while other times it seems forced and out of place. This slight inconsistency wasn't enough to bring the rating down or interrupt the flow, but with all the faults above it's not a book I would highly recommend. It did end with a dramatic bang that did justice to the story, even if the middle could have been tightened to deliver a better product. Still, if you're in the mood for campy fiction without a serious bite, this is the way to go.
This B-style horror novel, which spawned a sequel I own and plan to read soon, was read years ago when I was a teen. Having forgotten the plot completely but recognizing the cover instantly when passing it by in a used bookstore, I'm sad to say it hasn't aged well. The plot is a cheesy dish, serving up atrocious dialogue at times, too many characters to keep track of, bizarre government goals against the Russians, and of course a strange war with Satan.
The back cover blurb doesn't do the plot justice, as they make the girl almost sound like a vampire staying around the towns residents. Instead her and her cat half, Pet, stay hidden once awakened, not just walking around confusing the common townsfolk. The opening of the story is especially bad, focusing on a silly sounding ritual that doesn't add up and seems to be aimed more toward shock effect.
Character wise, Dan as a main man was actually anjoyable, even if when he spoke to his son it became even cornier. I'm not sure why the dialogue I.Q. level dropped at least 10 points during these discussions, but no matter. His straight arrow conviction was almost cardboardish, but it was still a fun accompaniment to a B-story scenario. The villains were hokey and a bit over the top, but also creepy in a way. Gore is not served lightly, with plenty of violence and killing scenes. I wouldn't say anything happened that was too disturbing for the seasoned horror buff, but the book wouldn't please the light of heart.
Pace wise, it's swift, although because of the hustle and bustle in so many directions I sometimes have the urge to skim through several scenes. It's not a book that bores you, yet it doesn't compliment your mind in any way, demanding to be read. Johnstone writes in a talented manner, using mainly short and swift sentences. Some of his phrasing is adequately beautiful, meriting a pause and re-read of the line, while other times it seems forced and out of place. This slight inconsistency wasn't enough to bring the rating down or interrupt the flow, but with all the faults above it's not a book I would highly recommend. It did end with a dramatic bang that did justice to the story, even if the middle could have been tightened to deliver a better product. Still, if you're in the mood for campy fiction without a serious bite, this is the way to go.
January 29, 2014
Anya and Pet are a little girl and cat that were created by a Egyptian cult thousands of years ago. Every 25 years they awake, eat a few people, then go back into hibernation. A mining crew disturbs their hiding place, so when they are attacked they become mummies. And the mummies attack other people and they become rapist mummies. And the woman the mummy rapes come back to life and, well, Johnstone kind of loses track at this point.
A severed mummy arm at first starts sprouting a new body, then instead spits out flesh eating maggots that fill an entire room. Cats start attacking people en masse, and demonic Old Ones crawl out of bleeding gashes in the ground and set people on fire with their eyes.
That's the good stuff. The blah stuff is Sheriff Dan, the Johnstonian hero. His children obedient, his wife strong but knows when a woman should shut up. He spends half of his time complaining that the federal government is lying and covering things up, and the other half lying to the press and covering things up.
Most of the wordage is Dan and his crew dealing with multiple government agencies that involve the FBI, CIA, KGB, corporations, and religious groups. He also is harassed by a liberal muckraking reporter that doesn't trust the government. You'd think she'd make an interesting ally, but she's shut away in a cell and mostly forgotten about.
Dan eventually hooks up with an exorcist, because the Egyptian cult actually worshipped the good old American Satan. Then Johnstone hits his page count and wraps things up in about a paragraph.
Dan and the exorcist lure together Anya, Pet, and the Old Ones, all unholy, immortal beings impervious to physical harm, onto an electrified power grid, like a blasted monster movies from the 50s. They turn on the power and everyone goes poof, the end.
More reviews at Trash Menace.
A severed mummy arm at first starts sprouting a new body, then instead spits out flesh eating maggots that fill an entire room. Cats start attacking people en masse, and demonic Old Ones crawl out of bleeding gashes in the ground and set people on fire with their eyes.
That's the good stuff. The blah stuff is Sheriff Dan, the Johnstonian hero. His children obedient, his wife strong but knows when a woman should shut up. He spends half of his time complaining that the federal government is lying and covering things up, and the other half lying to the press and covering things up.
Most of the wordage is Dan and his crew dealing with multiple government agencies that involve the FBI, CIA, KGB, corporations, and religious groups. He also is harassed by a liberal muckraking reporter that doesn't trust the government. You'd think she'd make an interesting ally, but she's shut away in a cell and mostly forgotten about.
Dan eventually hooks up with an exorcist, because the Egyptian cult actually worshipped the good old American Satan. Then Johnstone hits his page count and wraps things up in about a paragraph.
Dan and the exorcist lure together Anya, Pet, and the Old Ones, all unholy, immortal beings impervious to physical harm, onto an electrified power grid, like a blasted monster movies from the 50s. They turn on the power and everyone goes poof, the end.
More reviews at Trash Menace.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
September 12, 2016I like reading and watching old horror stories that are based in small towns. I have read this book before but it was a long time ago.
A scrap of a girl holding a black cat with eerie eyes arrives in Ruger County. No one knows who she is. Then strange things start to happen. Bizarre killings, horrifying accidents and an insatiable beast was stalking their lovers lane. No one noticed that the girls frail body had filled out and she now had muscles. No one noticed at night her blue eyes changed colour.
I would like to thank Net Galley, Kensington Books and the author William W. Johnstone for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A scrap of a girl holding a black cat with eerie eyes arrives in Ruger County. No one knows who she is. Then strange things start to happen. Bizarre killings, horrifying accidents and an insatiable beast was stalking their lovers lane. No one noticed that the girls frail body had filled out and she now had muscles. No one noticed at night her blue eyes changed colour.
I would like to thank Net Galley, Kensington Books and the author William W. Johnstone for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 10, 2017
See more of my reviews on my blog the Book Deviant
I would like to thank the people at Kensington Books for allowing me to have an ARC of this book via NetGalley.
Government cover-ups and Egyptian cults . . . I think
I seriously have no idea what this book was meant to be. I requested it because the summary sounded so interesting, and I was looking for a horror book. But what I got wasn't what I was promised. In fact, it was nowhere near close.
Was it about an Ancient Egyptian cult, or the Christian Satan? Who was trying to cover-up what, and why? Was it the FBI, the CSI, the Russians, or the so-called "OSS" that was trying to cover-up what was going on? Were there actually sides to this conflict, because it seemed like people were non-stop "changing sides" despite no sides being clear.
Satan's spawn can't be hurt by guns but they can be burned, an arm that was growing a body in one half of the book started spouting maggots that would eat people in the next half, and that's not even half of it. The Old Ones are supposedly stronger then the wandering mummies, and they can make people explode/light on fire, but they are weakened by a crucifix held by the priest/exorcist-despite a devout Baptist being infected and turned into a mummy. So does faith work, or not?
Nothing about this book made sense???
Confusion + Confusion = More Confusion
Drugs are okay, rape jokes are disapproved but still said, women always listen to their husbands and are meek and obedient, Sheriff Dan's son's best friend just so happens to have a book that explains the Egyptian cult in question, but then it later disappears. A priest comes in about in the last 25% and just has the answers to everything, although some of the answers just don't make sense and are 100% obscure and meaningless.
None of the dialogue was realistic, most of it cringe-worthy at best. The characters weren't much better-I was constantly confused with who was who and what side they were on, and why they were there.
And that doesn't even go into the fact that the author must have some sort of life-long grudge against cats, considering that they seemed to have been shoved into the plot for no other reason than for them to maul people and tear eyes out. The plot and idea just seemed to have so many random, not-related elements thrown together in a melting pot.
One star - Overall?
The fact that this book made absolute no sense brought it down to two stars, but the moment the rape jokes entered and people's faces started to melt I was completely done. If you're going to write a book, you have to have more of an idea behind it than just "I'm gonna make cats seem like devil spawn with mummies and gore and satan."
Also, lets not forget the two rape scenes that were just brushes aside.
Would I Recommend?
No. Nope. Nuh uh, don't waste your time like I did. Don't even consider it, just ignore this book if you see it. Just-don't.
I would like to thank the people at Kensington Books for allowing me to have an ARC of this book via NetGalley.
Government cover-ups and Egyptian cults . . . I think
I seriously have no idea what this book was meant to be. I requested it because the summary sounded so interesting, and I was looking for a horror book. But what I got wasn't what I was promised. In fact, it was nowhere near close.
Was it about an Ancient Egyptian cult, or the Christian Satan? Who was trying to cover-up what, and why? Was it the FBI, the CSI, the Russians, or the so-called "OSS" that was trying to cover-up what was going on? Were there actually sides to this conflict, because it seemed like people were non-stop "changing sides" despite no sides being clear.
Satan's spawn can't be hurt by guns but they can be burned, an arm that was growing a body in one half of the book started spouting maggots that would eat people in the next half, and that's not even half of it. The Old Ones are supposedly stronger then the wandering mummies, and they can make people explode/light on fire, but they are weakened by a crucifix held by the priest/exorcist-despite a devout Baptist being infected and turned into a mummy. So does faith work, or not?
Nothing about this book made sense???
Confusion + Confusion = More Confusion
Drugs are okay, rape jokes are disapproved but still said, women always listen to their husbands and are meek and obedient, Sheriff Dan's son's best friend just so happens to have a book that explains the Egyptian cult in question, but then it later disappears. A priest comes in about in the last 25% and just has the answers to everything, although some of the answers just don't make sense and are 100% obscure and meaningless.
None of the dialogue was realistic, most of it cringe-worthy at best. The characters weren't much better-I was constantly confused with who was who and what side they were on, and why they were there.
And that doesn't even go into the fact that the author must have some sort of life-long grudge against cats, considering that they seemed to have been shoved into the plot for no other reason than for them to maul people and tear eyes out. The plot and idea just seemed to have so many random, not-related elements thrown together in a melting pot.
One star - Overall?
The fact that this book made absolute no sense brought it down to two stars, but the moment the rape jokes entered and people's faces started to melt I was completely done. If you're going to write a book, you have to have more of an idea behind it than just "I'm gonna make cats seem like devil spawn with mummies and gore and satan."
Also, lets not forget the two rape scenes that were just brushes aside.
Would I Recommend?
No. Nope. Nuh uh, don't waste your time like I did. Don't even consider it, just ignore this book if you see it. Just-don't.
August 6, 2019
Ugh...
January 8, 2025
Cat's Cradle by William W. Johnstone has been around since the 1980s and is one of an increasing number of books from that era being made available in digital format.
This was an enjoyable read and typical of the books I loved as a teenager. It had literally everything - monsters, flesh-eating bugs, zombies and even the Lord of Darkness himself, Satan. What more could a horror fan ask for?
It's certainly not one to be taken seriously and had me laughing out loud at times; especially when Satan uses the telephone to make a phone call. I mean, come on, a phone, really??!!!
This book was a fun way to spend a few hours on a rainy day and I'm happy to have had the experience.
I received an ARC copy from NetGalley and the publishers in return for an honest review.
This was an enjoyable read and typical of the books I loved as a teenager. It had literally everything - monsters, flesh-eating bugs, zombies and even the Lord of Darkness himself, Satan. What more could a horror fan ask for?
It's certainly not one to be taken seriously and had me laughing out loud at times; especially when Satan uses the telephone to make a phone call. I mean, come on, a phone, really??!!!
This book was a fun way to spend a few hours on a rainy day and I'm happy to have had the experience.
I received an ARC copy from NetGalley and the publishers in return for an honest review.
May 4, 2022
Ancient, evil rituals. Cat-people wreaking havoc on a small town. Demons rising up from the earth. Sounds like an awesome and crazy horror novel, right? Well, not exactly.
I went into this not really expecting too much in the way of an intricate plot or believable characters. And I was right, we got neither of those things. So, it was at least a cheesy, fun horror read with lots of wild ideas and carnage, right? Well, it didn't quite deliver on that, either.
We get a few crazy scenes somewhat early on. A little girl and her pet cat who are, somehow, one being, (part of this ancient ritual or whatever) roam the small town killing and devouring their victims. The action begins to taper off towards the middle, and the focus of the story is centered around our protagonist, the Sheriff of the town, and the drama he gets into with the higher-ups. Governmental figures show up to "take over the show", and there's a lot of cover-ups, conspiracies, and local cops and "big brother" characters arguing and deciding what to do about the situation. In fact, this book was pretty dialogue heavy and there was very little description of just about anything as the story progressed.
One of the government people sort of became the antagonist, threatening the Sheriff and his family to stay out of their way - lots of corny "tough-guy" dialogue and unconvincing characters was pretty rampant throughout the majority of this, and the gory goodness I was looking for was very scattered and isolated. Even the climax of the story didn't deliver much satisfaction, and ended quite abruptly without much resolution.
I was glad for this book to be over with. I was intrigued at first by some of the concepts of "Dark, Old Ones" rising up, and mummy and cat-like creatures brutally killing people, but found myself bored during all the political and military bullcrap. That's one of the worst things a book can do, is to be boring. And while this one wasn't boring all the way through, I found myself wanting to be done with it by the halfway mark.
Also, and this is sort of a nitpick, given how I wasn't too invested to begin with, but there were several grammatical errors - and there were paragraph breaks where there shouldn't have been, and vice versa - creating a bit of a confusing reading experience. I assume this would be the editor's fault...? Or maybe I have an early copy of the book that has since been resolved in further printings? I don't know.
Overall, I can really only recommend this if you're willing to wade through pages of boring, unrealistic dialogue to get to the occasional splatter-fest. This read like a really bad B-movie but was seriously lacking in horror - the very genre of the book!
For me, this was my first William W. Johnstone horror novel, and I think it will also be my last.
1.5 / 5 (rounded up to 2)
I went into this not really expecting too much in the way of an intricate plot or believable characters. And I was right, we got neither of those things. So, it was at least a cheesy, fun horror read with lots of wild ideas and carnage, right? Well, it didn't quite deliver on that, either.
We get a few crazy scenes somewhat early on. A little girl and her pet cat who are, somehow, one being, (part of this ancient ritual or whatever) roam the small town killing and devouring their victims. The action begins to taper off towards the middle, and the focus of the story is centered around our protagonist, the Sheriff of the town, and the drama he gets into with the higher-ups. Governmental figures show up to "take over the show", and there's a lot of cover-ups, conspiracies, and local cops and "big brother" characters arguing and deciding what to do about the situation. In fact, this book was pretty dialogue heavy and there was very little description of just about anything as the story progressed.
One of the government people sort of became the antagonist, threatening the Sheriff and his family to stay out of their way - lots of corny "tough-guy" dialogue and unconvincing characters was pretty rampant throughout the majority of this, and the gory goodness I was looking for was very scattered and isolated. Even the climax of the story didn't deliver much satisfaction, and ended quite abruptly without much resolution.
I was glad for this book to be over with. I was intrigued at first by some of the concepts of "Dark, Old Ones" rising up, and mummy and cat-like creatures brutally killing people, but found myself bored during all the political and military bullcrap. That's one of the worst things a book can do, is to be boring. And while this one wasn't boring all the way through, I found myself wanting to be done with it by the halfway mark.
Also, and this is sort of a nitpick, given how I wasn't too invested to begin with, but there were several grammatical errors - and there were paragraph breaks where there shouldn't have been, and vice versa - creating a bit of a confusing reading experience. I assume this would be the editor's fault...? Or maybe I have an early copy of the book that has since been resolved in further printings? I don't know.
Overall, I can really only recommend this if you're willing to wade through pages of boring, unrealistic dialogue to get to the occasional splatter-fest. This read like a really bad B-movie but was seriously lacking in horror - the very genre of the book!
For me, this was my first William W. Johnstone horror novel, and I think it will also be my last.
1.5 / 5 (rounded up to 2)
September 15, 2018
I purchased Cat's Cradle, like I do so many of my books, from the local bookstore. As we all know, bookstores are passing away as many readers have elected to keep their libraries on their Kindle's or other tablets. Me, personally, I love a paperback book. Love an autographed one even more. But, in a sea of paperback books, Cat's Cradle stuck out to me because of it's cover. From my google search, this particular book has many covers but, the one i have is textured and shows a white baby with a cat's head and tail lying in a crib. This cat deity seemed interesting until I learned that she was from a secret religion born in ancient Egypt and I felt that her pale skin should be of a darker hue.
This horror story was written in third person and fits right in among others of its genre. Although the story did not frighten, it definitely sucked me into a world of hypothetical fear. What would I do in this situation? How would I escape? How could I help? As an author myself, I can appreciate Johnstone choosing to write in third person because I write all of my books in the first. But, from writing in the third, the story can be properly told to cover more details and further guide my imagination.
I tried convincing my mother, a pastor's wife, that this was a Christian book because it consisted of Satan, God, priests and prayer but, I had no such luck in deceiving her. In Cat's Cradle, Dan Garrett is the sheriff in Ruger County; not too far from Richmond which is less than two miles away from where I live in Virginia. And his life and the lives of the people in his county gets practically destroyed as Anya and Pet, the evil little girl and cat that have made residence in the county, have eaten their way through town and summoned the Dark Ones.
My favorite character in the book was Lou Lamotta, the ass hole OSS agent. The way he was described, he seemed like just my type of man.
My favorite part would have to be when Dan Garrett's wife, Vonne, challenged Lamotta out in front of their family home.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars because, at some places, the wrong names were used during dialogue and I was thrown off for a bit. But, I would most definitely recommend this book to others.
This horror story was written in third person and fits right in among others of its genre. Although the story did not frighten, it definitely sucked me into a world of hypothetical fear. What would I do in this situation? How would I escape? How could I help? As an author myself, I can appreciate Johnstone choosing to write in third person because I write all of my books in the first. But, from writing in the third, the story can be properly told to cover more details and further guide my imagination.
I tried convincing my mother, a pastor's wife, that this was a Christian book because it consisted of Satan, God, priests and prayer but, I had no such luck in deceiving her. In Cat's Cradle, Dan Garrett is the sheriff in Ruger County; not too far from Richmond which is less than two miles away from where I live in Virginia. And his life and the lives of the people in his county gets practically destroyed as Anya and Pet, the evil little girl and cat that have made residence in the county, have eaten their way through town and summoned the Dark Ones.
My favorite character in the book was Lou Lamotta, the ass hole OSS agent. The way he was described, he seemed like just my type of man.
My favorite part would have to be when Dan Garrett's wife, Vonne, challenged Lamotta out in front of their family home.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars because, at some places, the wrong names were used during dialogue and I was thrown off for a bit. But, I would most definitely recommend this book to others.
February 6, 2023
The birth of twins, one human and one cat. As a child the girl and the cat feed on an old couple. The blood made them appear more healthy. More killings appeared over hundreds of years. Grotesque, macabre, cannibalistic. A 25 year cycle of sleep then the killings happen again. The twins sleep disturbed in an abandoned dark cave. The jumped man, his eye gouged in the socket by the girl, the cat slashing the cheek with its paw. Another man his intestines on the ground, his arm and leg chewed off, a gaping hole in his stomach. The twins feast. After being attacked people start to turn into mummies and severed limbs start to regrow. Government cover ups, a small town terrorised , cats appearing in the thousands, cats devouring, stripping flesh, enjoying the taste of humans no more canned cat food for these felines. Satan's spawn crawling out of the Earth able to make people catch fire, skin peeling, brains bubbling and exploding. A priest trying to perform an exorcist. Trying to electrify evil. A typical bonkers Zebra treat that still confuses me but highly entertaining.
November 1, 2016
I am having so much fun rediscovering the horror of William Johnstone. Now, while these are technically rereads, I was so young when I read them (really, too young for the books), reading all of these feels like the first time.
Cat’s Cradle is the kind of horror that made helped to craft the horror industry into what it is today. The Johnstone formula is present. The isolation in a small town. Horror that rapidly amps up into a frenzy. And an epic battle of good and evil. And it’s all tied together with some extremely well drawn characters – some you love, some you hate, and many who end up in bloody pieces.
And in this one, a horde of seriously evil cats.
The book is pure fun, absolutely gory, and a tremendous horror read!
*ARC Provided by Net Galley
Cat’s Cradle is the kind of horror that made helped to craft the horror industry into what it is today. The Johnstone formula is present. The isolation in a small town. Horror that rapidly amps up into a frenzy. And an epic battle of good and evil. And it’s all tied together with some extremely well drawn characters – some you love, some you hate, and many who end up in bloody pieces.
And in this one, a horde of seriously evil cats.
The book is pure fun, absolutely gory, and a tremendous horror read!
*ARC Provided by Net Galley
September 2, 2021
2.5 Overall. Not a terrible read, just sort of off. Goes in lots of diff. directions, and not really needed to do so. Very fun with the ancient cat people and diff mythology there. Did not need all the gov. bs side of it though, did not help the story along or improve it, seemed to hinder it more. Lots of characters and background given on most, but not needed as not all that important to the story, and maybe a bit more could have been given on the main characters. Also made it a bit harder at times to remember who each person was.
August 10, 2023
What an intense horror story between good & evil!
I absolutely enjoyed this book. As much as I love cats I was so glad that good prevailed. It was a great page turner and I couldn't put it down for long. Definitely lost some sleep with this one. I'm looking forward to reading Cat's Eye next.
I absolutely enjoyed this book. As much as I love cats I was so glad that good prevailed. It was a great page turner and I couldn't put it down for long. Definitely lost some sleep with this one. I'm looking forward to reading Cat's Eye next.
March 2, 2019
This story would definetely make a B-horror flick, but I enjoy reading Johnstone's horror novels. Classic Good vs. Evil, God vs. Satan. In a rural county in Virginia, the devil's child and cat are awakened by an engineer in a mine. Bad mistake. Before this, Johnstone gives a background to how the girl came about and what has been happening over the course of about 2 centuries.
Well, all Hades breaks loose. The girl and cat survive on human flesh. If you happen to survive their attack, you turn into a beast. Also, Satan calls upon the cats in the town and county to attack humans. This book is full of gore and is not for the weak stomach. It is actually one of Johnstone's goriest I've read, next to The Uninvited and Bats, also good horror novels.
This story gets complicated as the sheriff and state troopers are trying to figure out what is going on, then the Feds get involved, headed by an insane person. The angle with the Feds, OSS, CIA, FBI and so on gets complicated at times. The main reason they're there, is to try and harness this evil and use as a weapon against the Russians. Yeah, right! Did not work as several are killed....
To find out what happens, read the book.
Only a couple of things about this novel that are negatives, lots of cursing and disregard for a few Christian denominations.
Well, all Hades breaks loose. The girl and cat survive on human flesh. If you happen to survive their attack, you turn into a beast. Also, Satan calls upon the cats in the town and county to attack humans. This book is full of gore and is not for the weak stomach. It is actually one of Johnstone's goriest I've read, next to The Uninvited and Bats, also good horror novels.
This story gets complicated as the sheriff and state troopers are trying to figure out what is going on, then the Feds get involved, headed by an insane person. The angle with the Feds, OSS, CIA, FBI and so on gets complicated at times. The main reason they're there, is to try and harness this evil and use as a weapon against the Russians. Yeah, right! Did not work as several are killed....
To find out what happens, read the book.
Only a couple of things about this novel that are negatives, lots of cursing and disregard for a few Christian denominations.
September 7, 2019
When I found this book, I put it on top of my to read pile. My love of cats, zebra horror books and cheesy kitsch drew me in. unfortunately the book did not live up to all my expectations. William W. Johnstone knew how to throw some craziness into his books. The thing that brought this down for me was all the different agencies bickering among themselves. This group can do this. That group has to do this. I just wanted some cat mayhem.
This was a real grab bag of horrors. We start of with a ritual that brings us a little girl and her cat. Which are twins! Throw in some mummies. Zombies. Maggot like creatures. Hundreds and hundreds of cats out for blood. The Old Ones, servants of Satan. A priest who has fought Satan before. Insane dialog and this could have been much more. The ending seemed rushed and disjointed.
This was a real grab bag of horrors. We start of with a ritual that brings us a little girl and her cat. Which are twins! Throw in some mummies. Zombies. Maggot like creatures. Hundreds and hundreds of cats out for blood. The Old Ones, servants of Satan. A priest who has fought Satan before. Insane dialog and this could have been much more. The ending seemed rushed and disjointed.
July 9, 2020
A shade short of Koontz
I chose the review title because I was trying to capture why I gave it three stars, which in my nomenclature means "good", but not "very good". Most Koontz books in my experience are four stars, consistently strong, with not a lot of variability in their effect on the reader, unlike someone like Stephen King, who may have a few three star books but also has some five star books. Anyway, every book can't be 4 starts and not many can be 5. Would give it a 3.5 if that were an option. Well written (a handful of errors that were almost surely Kindle conversion issues, not a big deal), well-drawn characters (if not a few too many to keep up with and care about), intriguing storyline. Will certainly read more Johnstone.
I chose the review title because I was trying to capture why I gave it three stars, which in my nomenclature means "good", but not "very good". Most Koontz books in my experience are four stars, consistently strong, with not a lot of variability in their effect on the reader, unlike someone like Stephen King, who may have a few three star books but also has some five star books. Anyway, every book can't be 4 starts and not many can be 5. Would give it a 3.5 if that were an option. Well written (a handful of errors that were almost surely Kindle conversion issues, not a big deal), well-drawn characters (if not a few too many to keep up with and care about), intriguing storyline. Will certainly read more Johnstone.
May 11, 2019
Warning and spoiler alert: Do not read this if you are sensitive about feline cruelty.
Egyptian cults, government corruption, and a little girl named Anya on a worldwide murderous rampage spanning many centuries. She ends up in Rutgers County, Virginia in 1985 and is up against hillbillies, horny teenagers, and a sarcastic, yet stubborn sheriff. I was reminded a little of Laymon’s gore and Lonsdale’s southern humor on this one, but was intrigued with the crime-thriller angle that Johnstone muscled into the mix. I will hopefully post a review of the follow up shortly.
Egyptian cults, government corruption, and a little girl named Anya on a worldwide murderous rampage spanning many centuries. She ends up in Rutgers County, Virginia in 1985 and is up against hillbillies, horny teenagers, and a sarcastic, yet stubborn sheriff. I was reminded a little of Laymon’s gore and Lonsdale’s southern humor on this one, but was intrigued with the crime-thriller angle that Johnstone muscled into the mix. I will hopefully post a review of the follow up shortly.
May 20, 2019
Rating: 5/10
Pages: 412
Well, while this book had some good plot lines, many of the intriguing parts, such as Anya and Pet. I wanted more of their origins. Overall, you can tell it is an older novel, but if you are looking for psycho killer cats attacking people on the nature walk, might be your book. Complete with flesh-eating worms, this is your book. It definitely is not deep into explanation, but for a silly, gory book that somehow makes me envision stuffed cats chasing after teenagers high on ozone-destroying Aquanet.
Kindle
Pages: 412
Well, while this book had some good plot lines, many of the intriguing parts, such as Anya and Pet. I wanted more of their origins. Overall, you can tell it is an older novel, but if you are looking for psycho killer cats attacking people on the nature walk, might be your book. Complete with flesh-eating worms, this is your book. It definitely is not deep into explanation, but for a silly, gory book that somehow makes me envision stuffed cats chasing after teenagers high on ozone-destroying Aquanet.
Kindle
May 31, 2019
This is the horror I loved as a much younger girl. Now, I do not care for so much blood and gore. I liked the premise of the story but thought there was much stuff that was irrelevant to the story. I am not sure if I believed the parts about the cat attacks, the maggots eating people, or the CIA coming to stop any further experiences before he town is dead.
January 6, 2022
Holy shit! This book was AWESOME! First time reading anything by William W. Johnstone and it was a goody! This book has it all; Gore, government conspiracies; Satan and so much more. One of the best books I’ve read in 2021 and I can’t wait to read book 2 in the series. READ THIS BOOK! You won’t regret it. 5 stars! Best ending of any book I’ve read since 2017!!!
March 21, 2022
There is so much going on in this story. Devil possessed girl/cat hybrids, mummies, rabies infected humans, secret government agents. Like a 80’s horror flick that just threw everything plus the kitchen sink at you. The ending doesn’t even try to be an ending, just bam, and now there has to be another book. Not to be taken seriously, I kinda liked the vibe it gave off. Just chaos!
September 9, 2016
The Cat's Cradle just reminded me of a B rate movie, I think it was trying really hard to be scary. Some of the dialogue was very silly and the plot had too many things going on. It was gruesome, I must say, very descriptive. Yet in general it was okay, really not a series I'd continue or re-read.
July 3, 2020
I remember being in my 20s reading this book and it was fast, smooth and easy to finish. His writing gave you hope that something could be written and that it would be satisfying all the way from te beginning to the very end.
April 9, 2019
I love my dog!!!
Fabulous read! Straight to the point, no deviations, I couldn't put this book down. It was such a change to read something without flashbacks or unnecessary details, loved it but I'm definitely off cats!!!
Fabulous read! Straight to the point, no deviations, I couldn't put this book down. It was such a change to read something without flashbacks or unnecessary details, loved it but I'm definitely off cats!!!
April 24, 2019
Great read!
First time reader of your books and this definitely didn't disappoint me! Great writing, storyline and characters! Definitely made me keep one eye on my cat, Scooby, at all times...lol! Great balance between gruesome, creepy, good and evil!
First time reader of your books and this definitely didn't disappoint me! Great writing, storyline and characters! Definitely made me keep one eye on my cat, Scooby, at all times...lol! Great balance between gruesome, creepy, good and evil!
May 13, 2021
Looked for this book forever! I couldn't remember the title but I remembered the cover. I started to read this in high school but never got to finish. I'm so glad I found it during the early days of the Covid pandemic.
January 30, 2018
Good book. Easy read
Good religion horror book. Along with some science fiction thrown in.and some government conspiracy theory also. Over all well rounded.
Good religion horror book. Along with some science fiction thrown in.and some government conspiracy theory also. Over all well rounded.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews