Exiled

Clan of the Claw #1

by S.M. Stirling, Bill Fawcett (Editor), John Ringo

First entry in a new series with three big all new linked novellas from multiple best-sellers Harry Turtledove, John Ringo & Jody Lynn Nye, S.M. Stirling, and Michael Z. Williamson!  After the extinction asteroid DOESN’T strike Earth, the dinosaurs keep evolving – but so do the mammals.  We mammals have achieved human-like shapes, but now it’s cold-blooded, magic-using reptiles against the hot-blooded, hot-tempered descendants of cats.  

In a heroic, bronze-age world similar to 300, the Mrem Clan of the Claw and its sister warbands are expanding their rough-and-tumble territory, but now they face the Lishkash, masters of a cold-blooded empire of slave armies and magic.  It’s mammalian courage and adaptation against reptile cunning in a clash of steel and will that will determine which line shall inherit the Earth.

About contributor John Ringo:   

“[O]ne of the best…practitioners. . .of military SF.” –Publishers Weekly.

"[F]ast-paced military SF peopled with three-dimensional characters and spiced with personal drama as well as tactical finesse" – Library Journal

“[Ringo’s work] “attains a terrible beauty not unlike that of the Norse Eddas…” – Publishers Weekly 

"If Tom Clancy were writing SF, it would read much like John Ringo.” – The Philadelphia Weekly Press

About contributor Harry Turtledove:   

“…the master of alternative SF.”  –Publishers Weekly

“Outstanding enterntainment.” –Booklist

About contributor S.M. Stirling:   

“Stirling eloquently describes a devastated, mystical world that will appeal to fans of traditional fantasy as well as post-apocalyptic SF.”  –Publishers Weekly on Stirling’s The Scourge of God

About contributor Michael Z. Williamson:

“Williamson's military expertise is impressive.” –SFReviews

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Alternate History, Short Stories, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy

294 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Stephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.

MINI AUTO-BIOGRAPHY:
(personal website: source)

I’m a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft. I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.

Reviews

[Jack Doud · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories in this anthology were mediocre overall. I should have been warned when for the first story, Turtledove stole names from the musical Cats for his cat characters and names of pain medication for his dinosaur characters. The authors were inconsistent in the details of the world, the stories were bland and the cover art has nothing to do with the book.

[Annette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Checked this out when it turned up on a "S.M. Stirling" book search in the library card catalog. The elevator pitch sounds promising enough: set on an earth where the asteroids didn't strike and end the age of the reptiles, five of sci-fi's best and brightest collaborate on a tale of sentient cat vs. telepathic lizard as the former fight to complete a mass migration away from their flooded homeland.
In practice, however, a mishmash of styles and lackluster writing combine to create an uninspired and frankly uninteresting collection.
Stirling's story is the best in a poor field, where most of the other authors seem to have called it in, writing well below their potential. Turtledove's opening chapter especially was so downright Boring that I nearly put down the whole thing right there. (Had there been anything else semi-compelling on my shelf at the time, I would have!) I've read Ringo but not Nye, so I presume she was responsible for the terribly unsubtle sexual overtones (both hetero and homo) running through their co-written closer, which was also filled with irritating characters I would have not mourned had the authors the courage to kill them off. The only surprise here was Michael Z. Williamson, who's "Battle Tide" in the middle of the book was surprisingly decent. Admittedly, I approached it with very low expectations, having abandoned the last book I read by him less than half-way through.
In addition, there are universe inconsistencies running through that annoy the detail-oriented reader. Does the Mrem's "Dancing" require physical proximity and multiple participants or not, and how fragile or powerful is it? Is there actually a permanent psychic link between the Dancers (Tutrledove vs. Ringo/Nye)? Are last names really that big a deal to the cats (Turtledove, Stirling), or do they function more like ours (Williamson, Ringo/Nye). Do the Lishkash actually have a *society* of sentient, clothing wearing, semi-free individuals, or do the godling nobles rule by brute force of mind over primarily dumb animals (Williamson)? None of these are insoluble, but their presence highlights the difficulty of creating something coherent with this many authors involved.
All in all, I do not recommend it and will not be picking up any sequels.

[Clayton Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent xenofiction on an alternate Earth; essentially derived humanoid cats (think Razorclaw Shifters from Dungeons & Dragons or The Elder Scrolls's Khajiit) with bronze metallurgy, primitive Paleolithic to early Neolithic herding and hunting culture and a communal clan system fight against magical wizard dinosaurs who live in castles; who can PSI dominate other creatures and who rule over their own kingdoms practically as gods made flesh over a slave fiefdom.

... it's a freaking ride of a book. Highly recommend.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this alternate universe nothing caused dinosaurs to become extinct. From them evolved a manlike creature that had strong mental powers and sought to control the world. Also involving were cat creatures similar to man. The two species were mortal enemies. Five authors have written four stories that follow the cat creatues flight to freedom similar to the Exodus of the Bible. This was an interesting read written by some prominent science fiction story tellers.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories in a shared world or intelligent cats and dinosaur decendants. As is usual in these things the stories are all a little differnt in style, but all good from a good group of writers (if you like your fantasy with no humans at all).

[Lori]

Did not finish - 1st story was written by an author that I haven't read before and was not interesting enough to keep me interested.

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelant mid-length stories, the regular authours outstanding, the regular week story tellers still week. love the theme sort of hate the mind control stuff.

[Pete731 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good anthology, hangs together well.

[Barbara Ghylin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first one. Was not that impressed. Maybe I will come back and read the second one later

[Robert Gilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little series of stories. Cat people vs Dino folk. Looking forward to reading the second book in the series.