Ratha and Thistle-Chaser

The Named #3

by Clare Bell

Crippled and tortured by paralyzing nightmares, Newt, a solitary cat, finds a new life for herself with the strange tusked creatures of the seashore until her peaceful existence is disrupted by Ratha's scout, Thakur, who brings welcome companionship but also forces Newt to face her terrifying past. Reprint.

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Young Adult, Fiction, Animal Fiction, Cats, Anthropomorphic

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 1990

About the author

I've been really busy with the Ratha's Creature Graphic Novel project! The idea of adapting Ratha's Creature as a graphic novel is now moving much closer to reality. Our Kickstarter is 75% funded, with 5 days left.

http://bit.ly/rathakick

Tod, Dani, Ian, and Sheila have put together a real treat for Ratha fans -- a music video about how the artists are developing and visualizing Bonechewer for the Ratha graphic novel.

See it here at: http://youtu.be/CTJ_UilUX2A




















To promote it, project artist Tod Wills
is doing a Livestreaming art marathon:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/icon-day

His info headquarters for the livestream is:

http://djinni.livejournal.com/475140....

Here is a graphic you are free to use to link to the kickstarter:
http://todwills.deviantart.com/art/Ra...

Quick Kickstarter link

http://bit.ly/rathakick

If you like what you see, please pledge on Kickstarter.

A sample page from the Graphic Novel and the promo image are in my Goodreads photos, so take a peek.

I've put more info in the blog below:

If this graphic novel takes off, I will also be further inspired to write more Ratha books!



















Another good thing is happening! Imaginator Press and I are exploring the possibility of doing a Ratha's Creature graphic novel! To measure reader interest, we have a survey here, so please participate.
http://imaginatorpress.wufoo.com/form...

By filling out the survey, you'll be entered to win a $25 gift certificate from the offline or online bookstore of your choice. Help us out and perhaps win something nice to read.

Many good things have happened since my last update. The first, and best is that Sheila Ruth of Imaginator Press worked with me to get all of the Ratha books back into print. You have probably seen them on this site, in trade format, and gorgeous new covers by artist Lew Lashmit, re-copyedited (though not word of the story changed!) and lovely new interior and graphic design by 1106 Design.

The books are also available in many formats from E-Reads, Amazon, and other sites. I've set up an online bookstore on my webpage so that people can by autographed editions.

I've been publicizing the series by attending many conventions and events. Sheila and I also ran a Ratha fan art contest on the Facebook series fan page ( http://www.facebook.com/rathaseries ) and Wildfire, which was great fun and the artists enjoyed it. We also showcased about 10 artists by posting interviews and images on my upgraded webpage, http://wwww.rathascourage.com.

Even though many of these activities took me away from Goodreads, I'm glad to be back and to support Imaginator Press's Ratha's Creature giveaway.

I've also been reading lots of good books and I will be cataloging and commenting on those as well.

Clare Bell
11/7/2011




Wow, it has been a great Spring 2009!

From March 14 to May 9, I posted an experimental Ratha novelette on Twitter, entitled "Ratha's Island", which kept me very busy. You can find the entire story archived here:
First archive for Ratha's Island on the Forum http://forum.rathascourage.com/index....
While visiting the Forum, check out the Named role-play at: http://forum.rathascourage.com/index....

Ratha's Courage was a finalist for the Ursa Major Awards, and is still in the running for the ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award/

In January, I attended Further Confusion 09 in San Jose as a Guest of Honor and had a great time. I plan to go again to FurCon 2010.





Ratha's Courage is on the Ursa Major Awards Recommended Reading List for Novels. The Ursa Major Awards are the furry/anthropomorphic community's equivalent of the SF world's Hugo Awards http://www.ursamajorawards.org/ReadLi...

Ratha and the Named on Twitter! See the ClanChirps, http://www.twitter.com/rat

Reviews

[M.M. Strawberry Library & Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this way back in high school and it was an accidental find, I had to find something to read and was wandering the school library shelves looking for something that caught my eye, and I came across this book.

I'd never read anything by this author and did not know this was part of a series until I started reading the novel and seeing references to past events. Nonetheless, the story stood up well enough on its own, with enough mentions of the past to build up a clear enough picture for the reader without doing an info-dump.

As of this date, I haven't read any of the other books, but I still remember enjoying this one because of the unique plot.

[Chantelle Mast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm continually impressed with the amount of character depth the writer creates in these stories while still being able to maintain a 'realistic' and natural feel to the novel. The reader is never in danger of forgetting that this is still a story about closely knit group of wild animals and their very harsh reality.
This was another creative story featuring Ratha and her Clan. I was so excited to see Thistle-Chaser (Newt) come back into the frame! This installment had a little less action and political play and a little more dramatic environment theme and character development.
Supporting characters were, as usual, well rounded and were accurately represented. I really enjoyed the different variations in how they communicated with another and the sense of intricate dynamics going on, the scenes between Thakur and Thistle-chaser as they began to learn about and accept each other were exceptionally touching.
Background setting was very well-done and fascinating. I really enjoy the authors innovative and individual way of describing the other creatures featured in the book, they are no less vivid in the minds eye despite the easy and very simple way they are described to you.
Writing style was both challenging but concise, accurate and simple but still giving enough detail to follow clearly. The voice was fluid and comfortable and the story progressed at a moderate pace.
Overall; another short, easy-to-follow, dramatic and exciting read. This series as a whole is a great choice for young readers that find themselves enraptured by the animal kingdom and the constantly fluctuating dynamics of life within a pack or pride.

[Twyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favourite book so far in this series. My favourite part was when Ratha and Thistle-chaser became friends, forgiving what had happened in the past. My least favourite part was when Mishanti was injured very badly from Thistle-chaser and Ratha's fight, and both him and Ratha almost died of the cold.

[Carrie-Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the inclusion of the water beasts!
This book had me alternately wishing Ratha would fail, and succeed at the same time, simply because of how wonderfully Clare Bell had created Thistle Chaser's personality.
And lets not forget, I'm always a sucker for a happy ending.

[Rosemary Krystofolski]

Wonderful third book in The Named Series

Wonderful third book of The Named Series. In this book the sentient group of prehistoric cats called The Named are having trouble on clan ground because of changes in the weather so their leader, Ratha sends out members of the clan as scouts to attempt to find other animals that they can keep for herding purposes. When Thakur goes on his journey he finds new animals that he calls sea mares (probably the prehistoric animals of seals or manatees) and he meets a mysterious young female cat who seems to be unnamed but Thakur believes that she is the offspring of The Named, somehow. At first the young female he meets cannot talk and one of her forlegs is crippled from an injury that occurred when she was a kitten but Thakur helps her learn to speak and helps her heal her leg. Fessran was unable to get pregnant this mating season and yearning for cubs so she finds and adopts an unnamed cub who was Shongshar's grandson and when Ratha finds out she wants to abandon the cub. However it doesn't work out that way and everything comes together and we find out where the pieces of the puzzle join together.

[Rose of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Newt/Thistle-Chaser’s experiences as she learned more about herself and the relationships that she's able to have, now that she's able to think and speak for herself. She's so well thought out. It's so realistic that a character like her who wasn't given a chance as a young cub, not to mention was bitten and lamed, would be stunted in her development, physically and mentally. Thakur was so patient and kind with her as he was teaching her. He is undoubtedly my favorite character in this series.

Thistle-Chaser is a sweetheart, I can't wait to see more of her and Ratha patching things up in the next book. I’m glad that she accepted her given name and the fact that Ratha is her mother and they can be friends.

These books read so well, it’s so easy to get through them quickly. I adore these characters. I’m sad there’s only 2 books left in the series.

*There's a missing word "be" on page 63 in the sentence, "If she ever found the one who was, she promised herself there would {be} blood and fur scattered until she took the hated one's life in payment for her pain or gave up her own."*

[Siobhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone says this series is like Warriors. It is, but better. My library did not have the first or second books, so I settled for this one and I was not disappointed.

The best part of this book was Newt's choice of where she would live in the end. The ending the author chose was perfect because Newt probably would fit in better where she chose to live.

Warnings- there is talk of mating and there is some blood (because they're wild cats and they fight)

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I can’t believe how much I enjoyed this one. Ratha and Thistle-Chaser plays out as an emotional rollercoaster as both mother and daughter come to terms with their past traumas.


I’m just going to say I highly recommend this series at the time of finishing the third book. I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner. Hopefully the last two books hold up.

[ᛚᚨᚱᚲᚨ × ᚠᛖᚾᚱᛁᚱ (Semi hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mother against daughter.

#1 Ratha's Creature 3.5 ⭐
#2 Clan Ground 3 ⭐
#3 Ratha and Thistle-Chaser 3 ⭐

[Casimir Laski · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third entry in Clare Bell’s Book of the Named series sees Ratha confronting the sins of her past as she attempts to ensure the survival of her clan, and features the proper introduction of an interesting foil to the fire-taming leader that readers have come to know. [7/10]

[Thomas Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!

[Hannahpopish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ratha a leader of a clan is haunted by her past, her kits wounded and left for dead she finds her past forever unchanged. When a young cat loyal to his clan finds a lame wounded she cat, he finds out rathas past has yet to get even worse. The stray clanless cat is helped by the young clan cat her strength is restored and is ready to take her revenge on her unforgiving mother.

[Alyeska Giles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!

[Brennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

this one was different conflict-wise but i rlly loved it
mostly bc i love thistle
and its just really nice to see rasha maturing in a slow and realistic way
like every book shes realizing lessons and learning from her mistakes while still maintaining her hot-headed personality
thistle tho AH
i love love her and thakur's frienship
bc its so pure and good
mostly bc they are both pure forces coming together

[Leonca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as much as the first two in the series. There were some surprisingly touching moments, as well as the scenes of brutal life-or-death struggle I’ve come to recognize as a theme. The third book offers some especially interesting ideas with the exploration of psychological trauma, language, and feral children. I’ve never seen an animal story quite like it, and it’s made all the better by the rich use of body language and senses to flesh out the character’s feline nature.

If I had one critique to offer it would be that in some places there are repetitions that can be a bit awkward. Sometimes characters will make the same observation two or three times within a few pages. Not distracting enough to ruin the overall work, but it could have been tightened up just a bit.

[Emily Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably my least favorite book of the Named so far. That being said, it is still an excellent book that happened to be a little too convenient for my personal taste. This involves the return of a character from the original book: Ratha's daughter Thistle-Chaser. Turns out she wasn't so empty-eyed after all. When drought has the Named looking for other sources of food and herds, they come to the ocean where Thistle-Chaser, calling herself Newt, has set up some version of life. The meat of this story is the disequilibrium of Ratha who is forced to examine her choices of throwing out cubs she didn't see as worthy of being Named. So, philosophy wise, it's fantastic, and I think Clare Bell should continue to be proud.

[Annalise Nakoneczny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book when I was younger, and there are a lot of things I still love about it. I love the intelligent cats, I love the plot, I love the complex mother-daughter dynamics and the family points that span multiple books. The series is really coherent. However! Upon reading this as an adult I realize how much telling Bell does instead of showing. This is also a bit of a morality tale which I personally find frustrating. Fessran, fierce and loving and flawed, is one of the most compelling characters for sure. Ratha and Thakur, the main characters, come across as kind of self righteous and puffed up. But over all it's fun and emotive, and when was the last time you read about a society of intelligent prehistoric cats anyway?? Hmm??

[Kai C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ratha and Thistle-chaser was excellent book and I think maybe my favorite out of the series so far. It was very moving and I enjoyed every moment of it. I always seem to underestimate how much Clara Bell's book will hook you. Its very worthy of being a called awesome young adult book and she makes the whole animal perspective super interesting. I am glad to find how each book just gets better and better. The plot in this one very sentimental and it is always fun to see what kind of creature Ratha's clan will find next. I am looking forward to making time to read the next one. However, I am little nervous to see how this series will end, I really almost don't want to see it finish.

[Reeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!


I really enjoyed this book. Newt was a very interesting character. Of course, the reader knew that she was Ratha’s daughter. I felt really bad for Newt. She tried so hard to understand and she wanted to learn, Ratha was too fast to judge. I miss Bonechewer and I wish he hadn’t of died. I’m glad Newt has a good life with her sea creatures and little adopted cub. Poor Fessran wanted cubs so bad. I’m glad Ratha and her daughter got to become friends after everything that happened. I’m glad Ratha won’t judge cubs so harshly anymore. It really made me sad!

[Sparrowkeeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

The exciting third installment to the 'Ratha and the Named' series continues to bring external and internal conflict. It was a thrilling read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Clare has just risen to become my favorite author of all time - her books have everything books should have: external and internal conflict, character development, original plots and entrancing worlds to fall into. Good job, Clare!

~Sparrow

[Queen Clam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book!
I love the relationship between uncle and niece. (Thakur and Thistle-chaser)
Thistle-chaser seems to remind me of what I'm like today. Slow at thinking. Not really good at school though if something is stuck in my head I can never forget it. It's like that was with Newt. She seems to look at things differently and other cats look at her differently too like her mother.

Really good book. READ IT

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I read this when I was a pre-teen, but I was wrong. Upon reading this over the last couple of days, I could see that I had never read it before. And how refreshing it was! I found myself really warming to Thistle-chaser, and feeling the teensiest bit angry at my hero, Ratha, for crippling her own daughter. As the story drew to its brilliant conclusion, I was enraptured. Ratha and Thistle-chaser reunited at last! How beautiful.

[Zuko's Honor · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book wasn't my favorite in the series, it was still great. The only thing I didn't exactly like about is was that it told things from Thistle-chaser's point of view most of the time, and I wasn't extremely interested in her and the way she spoke. I think that Ratha could have been included in the story a bit more, since she's my favorite character and is in all of the books' titles. Anyway, after a while, I began to like it a little more, and the end was nice and sweet.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book and the one before it (Clan Ground) are much better than the first book. If you want to give this series a try (and any cat-lovers should), persevere through the first one and these two will make up for it. Very much looking forward to the last two books in the series.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing much happens and the story seems like something just to fill time. I enjoyed it anyway; I liked the re-appearance of Thistle-Chaser, and some great discoveries were made with the Un-Named!

[John M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would like to read more of this series.

[Lilian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favourite book in the series so far.

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is by far the best for me, I haven't read Ratha's challenge or Ratha's courage but I like it. The book brings back Bonechewer a bit and Shongshar from the first and second book I love it

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much!

[Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty short but a good book, and the characters are really deep!