A Cat's Guide to Serving a Warlock

Dragoncat #0.5

by Chris Behrsin

A purrfect creature for nefarious deeds…

Astravar, is the most powerful warlock in the realm and one of the most powerful who has every lived. But he lacks something. He needs a creature who can help him complete the greatest spell of them all.

He knows he’ll need a cat. In fact, he’ll need the greatest cat imaginable. One from another dimension whose destiny, perhaps, is tightly knotted with his own.

A Cat’s Guide to Serving a Warlock is the prequel story to A Cat’s Guide to Bonding with Dragons which tells the story of how a Bengal cat from South Wales came to be in Astravar’s world.

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Magic, Dragons, Cats

ebook

Published December 24, 2020

About the author

When Chris Behrsin isn’t out exploring the world, he’s behind a keyboard writing tales of dragons and magical lands. He was born into the genre through a steady diet of Terry Pratchett. His fiction fuses a love for fantasy and whimsical plots with philosophy and voyages into the worlds of dreams.

Visit www.chrisbehrsin.com to learn more about him and to download a free novel.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A villainous mastermind, a cat with loads of personality and dragons. What's not to like?

This is a short but engrossing prequel which made me want to continue the series.

[Becca Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not too sure about this one. I liked the sound of the title and loved the front cover which is why I wanted to read it.
I don't feel the title really reflects anything that happened in the story. I think I got put off by the fact a cat gets slapped and crushed into a cage while a dragon is threatened to have their spines cut off.
I would say I am intrigued though by the crystals' future and interested to see how a cat and dragon fight a warlock.
I would say it's worth a read and I may continue the series if I come across it.

[Carol Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing backstory as to how Astravar acquired Ben. He’s the same self-absorbed cat we loved in A Cat’s Guide to Bonding with Dragons. We learn more about Astravar’s plan to take over all of the dimensions. As I finished the last page, my reaction was “No! It can’t be over!” The sign of a good book! I received a free copy of this book, with no obligation.

[Tsippi Jelingold · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story that tells how Ben the Bengal cat was kidnapped by the warlock Astravar and brought to his dimension. We also meet Salanraja the dragon. Ben and Salanraja are very appealing characters and I'm looking forward to reading more of their adventures.

[Alan Behan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun tale of from the Dragoncat series, a mad Warlock Astravar, who loves to watch YouTube from a dimensional portal is the most powerful warlock in the realm and one of the most powerful who has every lived, he wants to take over the world and eventually take dominion over all the realms, he needs a creature who can help him complete the greatest spell of them all, but when he plucks Ben a bengal cat from his home in Wales, it might just be his downfall, because Ben has his own destiny and is no ordinary cat, great little read, quite different to what I usually read, very enjoyable, I'm picked now to see what happens in the series, damn you, you cute little furry hero in the making, highly recommend...😁😺

[Geff Ratcheson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Addition: Please don't read this book until after you've read A Cat's Guide To Bonding With Dragons. I now understand it makes a lot more sense if read in that order.

Original review:

I received this book at no charge and agreed to write an honest review of my experience.

This is a prequel to the Dragoncat Series & also my introduction to Mr Behrsin's work.

I was interested because I love everything kitty cat (my current family consists of a long haired Tux named Georgy & myself) & I've been reading a lot of paranormal books this year (great escape & often free or cheap in e-book format)

My take away from the book is it's likely a setup for the rest of the series. I THINK a cat who was captured by an evil Warlock is going to bond with a Dragon who doesn't fit in to his world to fight the Warlock. That is speculation, based on a few things the author wrote in this short book.

This one was a little slow & a bit hard for me to get into, but I have high hopes for the rest of the series.

On to book 1; I suspect that review will be more thorough & useful; and I'm counting on enjoying book 1 more than I did here.

[Kristi Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in a very intricate and interesting magical world, this is the prequel to the series about a bengal cat who has been snatched from its opulent life on Earth as a treasured pet to become a servant of its evil kidnapper and the alternative path that could open to it. In this alternative path it is a dragon rider wielding magic and fighting against his would be master. The story has great originality and leaves the reader wanting to know what happens to the definitely self absorbed cat and the unpopular dragon who may turn out to be the saviours of a magical world. It left me wanting more.

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly couldn’t finish this book. I couldn’t handle the cat being slapped and locked in a cage so tight it was in pain and left there for two days with cockroaches eating its toes. Then the wizard looking for other items to help make it suffer more and to prepare things to kill the cat (thankfully doesn’t happen). I understand the need to make the man seem evil but there’s no need for that. I thought this was going to be a fun and cute book. Also not a great example for YA or kids reading this. Sending the wrong message about how to get animals to do what you want.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the beginning of the "Dragoncat" series, and it was very entertaining. I liked this short story which introduced Ben and Astravar to the reader. It depicted how Ben was obtained by Astravar. It painted a picture of Ben's character. I enjoyed the humorous moments found within the text. I'm looking forward to more stories in this series. I was given a free copy of the story. I have voluntarily posted this review.

[Safari · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting little story to set the scene for the main books to come. Unfortunately it wasn't available at Amazon any more but I was able to get it from the author's website. Definitely worth the effort of obtaining via book funnel.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This works better as a prequel read after the first book than before the first book. The details provided are a mostly inconsequential details of motivation of some of the important characters.
I do recommend reading it some time after the first and perhaps second volume has been read.

[Linda Rout · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story explains a lot of the beginning for the first book in this series. Very glad I read this.

[Michaelann Dahlman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming introduction to the "Cat's guide" series. I loved it & can't wait to read the others.

[Pam Michaud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting reading

[Yollanda Tutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dragons cats magic what else do you need. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next 5

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat introduction to the series, and explains how Ben winds up in this adventure

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first story I have read in this series. It definitely leaves me wanting to know more.

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed. This isn't really a story. It is the beginning of one but it feels more like the first third of a well written book. I guess if I had been warned to not expect any sense of completion but, rather, to enjoy this part of the story, I would have rated this rather higher.

[Saundra Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fast paced prequel to a new series. What is better than books about cats or dragons? Combining the two! I have already picked up the next one.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely amazing can't wait to read the next book

[Graisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute prequel to the series. A bit too much telling instead of showing, though, but still worth a read.

[April Hyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but sweet. A prequel of the 3 main Dragoncat books. It was exciting to see how the story started and our heroes came into their new adventure.