Mark of the Cat

Andre Norton

Language: English

Publisher: Century

Published: Jan 15, 1992

Description:

When Mieu, his cat-like companion, is killed by his brother in a drunken rage, Hynkkel sets out with nothing but a sandcat pendant to test his manhood and discovers a secret world of the cat in a desert cave.

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From School Library Journal

YA-- Hynkkel, a young nobleman in conflict with his father and brother, embarks with a desert sandcat upon a quest that leads to the emperor's throne. Mix together liberal amounts of magic, myth, and adventure; fold in an exotic planet and fascinating characters; add a pinch of "coming-of-age" tale and some bonding with alien creatures; and blend thoroughly to provide readers with a well-written fantasy. This is science fiction at its best. --John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

An amulet bearing the image of a sandcat becomes the focus of a young man's quest for his manhood and heritage in the latest fantasy by one of the genre's undisputed greats. Drawing its background from the world created by Karen Kuykendall in her "Tarot of the Cat People," the story of Hynkkel's journey through the Outer Region to the sacred Diamond Queendom is filled with familiar themes. Norton's distinctive style, however, transcends the limitations of the "rite-of-passage" fantasy as characters and cultures come to life under her expert guidance. A young protagonist makes this a suitable novel for both YA and adult fantasy collections.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. 

In the five queendoms, the kotti is a sacred animal, believed to possess magical powers. To young Hynkkel, the kotti Mieu is his treasured companion, his friend, his kin…until she is cruelly taken from him in a drunken rage by his violent brother, leaving Hynkkel’s heart as barren as the deserts of his homeland.

Commanded by his father to Solo—to travel into the unknown in a test of survival—Hynkkel sets out with little more than the red-gold sandcat pendant, bestowed upon him by a woman, worn around his neck as a reminder of his loss. He begins his journey with nothing…

But his trek will bring him to a cave where he will enter the secret world of the cat…

And to a trial that will mark his destiny.