Catopolis

by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Janet Deaver-Pack (Editor)

Seventeen original stories about the "city of cats"

Set in a world that exists on the same plane as humans, yet is hidden from us, Catopolis introduces readers to an assortment of cats, ranging from a feline Seer who must take destiny into her own paws to defeat a dictatorial tomcat thug...to a black cat who can call upon the powers of the "big cats" to wage a war against evil...to a cat who would be king...to the ins and outs of cat politics and the perils of using mice as ballots...to a cat burglar looking for a musical treasure for his "boss".

Genres: Fantasy, Cats, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Animals, Unfinished

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Paul Genesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just read all an anthology that I have a story in. It came out in December of 2008. The anthology is called CATOPOLIS. Yes, it’s 19 stories about the secret world of cats who mostly live in a really big city. These are the kind of stories where the cats talk to each other and discuss how they are actually the ones in charge. Sound familiar?

I wasn’t sure what to write at first, then I decided to write KITTY AND THE CITY, which is a parody of the TV show SEX AND THE CITY, except the four main characters are cats. “Cassie” is a kitty with really bad luck in relationships and she can’t seem to find a good tom. Mr. Big Paws was supposed to be the one . . .

It was a lot of fun to write and I think the story came out really well. My editor, Janet Deaver-Pack did a good job putting together some fun tails (grin). Here’s a quick review of some of my favorite ones in the anthology.


GUT FEELING by Esther M. Friesner is a hilarious story about a cat that predicts the future and must defeat a thug trying to take over the city. I laughed out loud several times while reading this story. Easily the funniest story in the bunch.

BLACK by Richard Lee Byers was a fun adventure story with a black cat who is a type of wizard who can call upon the aspects of the great cats to fight his enemies. It was a cool adventure story, very entertaining.

INK AND NEWSPRINT by Marc Tassin made me get misty-eyed at the end. It was such a well-written story about an extremely endearing character, an old news-stand cat named Sophocles faced with the end of newspapers. Every story I’ve read by Marc Tassin has really captivated me and I can’t wait to read more stories by him.

BURNING BRIGHT by Elaine Cunningham was a stand-out story in the collection and Elaine’s skill as a writer is obvious from beginning to end of the tale. I really loved the voice of her main character, a Serval cat named Mhari. It was a pleasure to find this tale, which appears toward the end of the book.

EYE WITNESS by Don Bingle was silly and crazy—a story about cats learning about the most hidden mysteries of the world. I would love to hear the author read this one out loud. I think I might wet myself laughing.

MENTOR OF THE PATALA by Bruce A. Heard was written in a voice that is quite unique to the book. It made me sit up straight and pay close attention.

AFTER TONY’S FALL by Jean Rabe: too much pasta makes this cat burglars job quite difficult. Very funny premise.

THE SCENT OF DEATH by Elizabeth A. Vaughan is one of the best stories in the anthology. It is a tale taken from the headlines and made real. Some cats have noses for food, this one can smell death. You may remember it from the headlines, and here you get the inside scoop from the cat’s point of view.

THE PERSIAN, THE COON, AND BULLETS by Matthew Woodring Stover was one of the best written stories in the anthology. Gripping and fascinating throughout. The setting of the story makes you think about world events in a whole different light. I highly recommend this satirical story written by a great writer.

FATHER MAIMS BEST by Ed Greenwood was one of the most imaginative of all the stories. It tells the tale of a cat and human team of ghost investigators. Everyone knows that cats can see ghosts. The whole thing goes in a direction I didn’t see coming and I really enjoyed the writing style.

Cat lovers definitely need to check this anthology out.

[Javier · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 puntos. A riesgo de ser injusto con alguno de los autores.

He aquí una recopilación de cuentos de variada autoría, cuya temática central, como se podrá adivinar ya desde el título y la tapa, son los gatos. Algunos relatos son realmente buenos, sobretodo los que cuentan con cierto elemento ocultista. En ellos, el desarrollo de la cosmovisión y la mitología gatunas es simplemente genial, coincidiendo varios cuentos en ciertas concepciones y detalles. Un toque de calidad.
No obstante, otros son muy malos, tal así que lograron que posponga su lectura por uno o dos meses. Este porcentaje del libro está compuesto por historias harto superficiales, en las que no se tiene en cuenta ningún elemento decididamente felino a la hora de caracterizar a los personajes, por lo que resultan planos; como "humanos con cabeza de gato". Además, ¿Sex and the kitty? ¿De verdad?
Hay buen material aquí, pero es lo que se conoce como una mixed bag. Recomendado para amantes de los gatos.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read this b/c I was making fun of someone who likes these sorts of "cat cozies" as she calls them. I didn't feel right continually berating her without actually trying to read some of the genre. What dreck this is! Out of the 17 short stories in here, one was good. Only one. Two were ok, the rest were garbage. The worst was a little tail (hehe) called "Kitty and the City". Her boyfriends name was Mr. Big Paws...I threw up in my mouth after reading that one.

[Nicole Bunge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost done with this. Interesting perspectives these authors come up with. You'll have to get over the "By Bast's tail" and hairball references that EVERY author falls back on. That's kinda why I keep putting it aside. Even if you love cats, some tropes get obnoxiously repetitive really quick.

My favorite story so far is "Old Age and Sorcery" by Lee Martindale - very Authurian/Merlin dynamic. And "The Guardian of Grimoire Hall" by Christopher Welsch is another memorable one, about "feline envy" from a human wizard. I don't think I'll ever look at my cat without thinking "I want ...the secret of storing sunlight in your eyes to see in the dark."

I also liked Elaine Cunningham's "Burning Bright" - which has a Serval cat. And "Ink and Newsprint" by Marc Tassin - I'm a sucker for a 'bookstore/newspaper stand" cat though.
"After Tony's Fall" by Jean Rabe is really original - gangster Italian cats - who knew? (and a very unusual heist that won't make sense until the end.)

My kitty will be happy when I'm done with this, as he gets reflexively snuggled every time I finish a story. KITTY DO NOT WANT!!! *heh* Poor pookie-butt.

[Melissa McCauley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute premise if you’re a cat lover, but frankly, none of these stories were GREAT. There are cats who solve mysteries, run for political office, fight in war zones, do magic, write blogs…I finished it yesterday, and frankly I’m already having a hard time remembering them, except (Sorry!) for how much I hated the “Sex in the City” parody, which is just personal prejudice because I think that show is awful.

[David Boughton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased Catopolis for fifty cents at a used book sale. It was one of the only books there that intrigued me and I figured reading a short story now and again would be a good way to pass the time.

I'm happy to say that I greatly enjoyed Catopolis. I'm a big fan of cats. My own is currently dozing nearby as I write this. One of the longest-running series I've read is the feral cat fantasy series Warriors by the Erin Hunter collective. That being said; it's nice to branch out into another book that offers a different perspective on the lives of cats. In fact it's not just one perspective, but several. More bang for your buck.

The stories range from magical exploits to simple dramas. There are certain common threads(the cat goddess, Bast, is mentioned in quite a few times,) but each story definitely has its own unique flavor. There's a tale about a kitty knight battling the forces of darkness, one about a mayoral election, one that's pretty much a three page setup for a gag, and one that's Sex and the City with cats instead of people. And that's only the tip of the iceberg.

I only really have two big gripes with this book.

First of all; the editing was fairly sloppy in some of the stories. Yes there were the usual grammatical and spelling errors that novels tend to miss, but as this is a book of short stories I would think those mistakes would be easier to catch. There was one especially egregious incident where a character's name was changed halfway through the story. Being an aspiring author myself, I find it a little hard to believe that anyone can overlook a mistake as big as that in their writings.

My second complaint is that the blurb and the prolog both state that all of these short stories take place in the same continuity, but that seems to be far from the case. The secret society of Catopolis is only mentioned in one tale, and never again. And the others in the collection offer such differing takes on cat culture that they don't really seem reconcilable with each other. At least to me. Also, a few clearly take place in different places around the world. This one is more of a personal grievance. I tend to get stuck on little details like that.

In any case, those aforementioned issues are not enough to derail this book. Catopolis is funny, exciting, and sometimes even touching. I highly recommend it for cat lovers, and for people looking for a decent read to pass the time.

[Sergey Selyutin]

I only read Matthew Woodring Stover's story, so I cannot give the whole book a rating. The story - 'THE PERSIAN, THE COON, AND BULLETS' - is good, with a twist at the end and rather interesting characters. Not a masterpiece, but surely a competent job. Definitely worth reading.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these were pretty good; some of these were awful.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing collection of short stories featuring cats. A couple were decent, but the rest were either barely ok or downright awful.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice collection of urban feline fantasy short stories.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a dear friend in publishing, who shall go nameless unless she decides to out herself (not that it's that difficult to figure out), who likes to bring home random stuff to give to me to read. She knows I read like the wind, and thus am often willing to risk total dreck because it's not that much of a time commitment. She's given me some really awesome stuff on purpose, and some really awful stuff by accident, and some really awful stuff on purpose because she thinks it's hilarious.

Which is how I ended up with a short story collection about cats. (I would like to point out that I own no cats, nor am I particularly interested in cats.) I think she picked it mostly because the cover design is quite pretty and clever.

Unfortunately, most the stories are not nearly so clever. They're not bad, mind you. Some are reasonably entertaining. "Old Age and Sorcery", about an elderly cat wizard, has an entertaining tone if not a particularly brilliant plot. "After Tony's Fall" features a feline mob enforcer after a surprising prize. "Ink and Newsprint" and "The Scent of Death" were somewhat charming, and I'll admit "The Persian, The Coon, and Bullets" was more clever at the end than I thought it would be.

But the overall impression is just...meh. Most of the stories are pretty lifeless and lacking in much originality at all. I'm not sure if it's surprising or not how many of them feel exactly the same as the one you just read. I guess if you were totally obsessed with cats, which is who this book is aimed at, you'd love reading them just because they're about cats. Unfortunately, I'm not cat-crazy enough to overlook lackluster writing. Go read through the Strange Horizons archive or something if you want some good short stories. For that matter, I vaguely remember some of the Catfantastic collections being stronger than this, and there's at least four of those.

[Myth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a cat lover and was really looking forward to this book. I gave it every chance I could stand to, but in the end I really didn't get into it. It bored me. I couldn't even finish it, though I might give it another go after a break.

Some of the stories were good, but a lot of them felt too much like they were Human stories imposed on the world of cats. The stories were often cliche and didn't feel authentic. It was more like, "what if cats were people".

In a few of the stories I found the author too desperate or a complete snob. It seems to be a trend in short stories to show a literary snob side. I suppose this appeals to some people, but not to me.

In my own way, I'm a literary snob, but I want to read books that make me feel the characters and the world is authentic. I don't want to be "convinced" or told that this is "literature", I want to FEEL that it is.

I don't sit around and listen to classic music and comment on art from the 16th century. Sure, I can, I might, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy Gintama or Naruto or modern music.

I just don't feel the authenticity from snobs. That said though, not all of the stories seemed that way. When I get in the mood for short fiction and for picking through the rest of the book, I'll try to do a decent review of each story.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of the anthologies I've read recently have been pretty awful. With books of short stories, it's hard to stop reading if the first few stories are bad, because there is always the hope that the next one by a different author will be better. There is no need to hope for that with this book, because each story is as good as the one before it. The editors did a great job getting good authors to contribute and the authors all submitted worthy works. I love cats and it's good to see that they are being treated well in fiction.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a quick reader, love cats, and like short stories, but this book bored me. Out of seventeen short stories I only found four to be decent. Two of the short stories I couldn't even finish; they were more excruciating then having a wisdom tooth pulled. It took me several days to read this book (unusual for me) just because I reached a point where I just didn't want to keep reading it. But I always feel like I have to give a book a fair chance, and especially with short stories, that means finishing the book. I finished it (mostly) and I can officially say, meh.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was cute. Every story is original and interesting. It's a book by cat people for cat people. If you don't spend your days with cats this will not make you smile. But it made me smile. None of the stories were GREAT though. All were just average. Still if you like cats, you might like this.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute premise if you're a cat lover - short stories about the underworld that cats exist in...from their politics to fighting evil forces to their secret love lives. However, the stories fell short for me.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of short stories regarding the secret lives of cats and cat society. All the stories are by different authors and some I really enjoyed while some were just so-so (hence the 3 star review). An easy read and one I'd recommend especially for "cat people".

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories featuring cats as protagonists in a world like ours. Each story is by a different author, and they were very distinct in their styles. None of them were outstanding, but all were enjoyable on some level. Definitely for cat admirers.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the stories weren't that great, but others like Ink & Newsprint were so heartwarming and cute, that I began to cry at the end.

Also absolutely loved Kitty and the City. Adorable.

It's a nice, quick read for a vacation. =)

[Donald J. Bingle]

One of my earliest stories appears in this anthology, not published til nine years after I wrote it.

[Jutta]

i'm reading this a story at a time.

1-2 june 21, 2015

[Dayna Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories all cat lovers will purr over. These stories center around cats and their secret world and mythology. A great collection of stories by a great selection of authors.

[Mary MacKintosh]

Collection of short stories.