Book #15: The Last Free Cat, and TV

[thistlechaser]

The Last Free Cat by Jon Blake.

While this book had an interesting idea, it was perhaps the most unbelievable book I've ever read.

Set in the near future, the cat flu forced people to kill all wild/feral cats and everyone who owned one had to turn them in to be put down as well. The flu was too dangerous and spread too easily for people to have cats anymore. (Or was it.)

A giant company took over the "business" of cats -- they did all the breeding, neutered every cat they sold, controlled the whole market. Cats sold for 40 million euros or some crazy figure like that. Only the richest people in the world could own a cat.

Then a girl finds one in her garden. There are no free/wild cats left in the world, but one goes strolling into her garden. Though the punishment for having an unregistered cat is death, the mother lets her keep it.

Then the girl tells a kid at school about the cat. A kid she doesn't even like.

The cops find out she has the cat, and that's where the book really goes downhill. She and the boy she told lead a chase that would make the worst movie or TV show look like a masterpiece. These two kids outsmart every adult they meet. In a physical fight, they beat multiple cops. The two kids hitch a ride with a trucker. The boy watches the trucker drive. Five minutes into the trip the trucker stops the truck. The boy physically beats the trucker in a fight and then the two kids drive away in the tractor trailer, able to drive perfectly after watching for five minutes.

And then things get even worse. There's this whole subplot about the Free Cat Movement and it comes out that maybe everyone lied and there was no cat flu to begin with! That somehow the company tricked the entire world into destroying their cats so they could corner the market.

Every single adult was just so stupid in this book. The girl was caught at the end, but someone made a distraction, and all the cops watching her went to check it out, allowing her to just walk away.

I read a lot of young adult books. So many of them are well-written and just as enjoyable for an adult as for younger people. This was not one of those books.

(Side note: I did wonder at how many YA books I read, then I read an interview with an author. Many new and established writers are now writing YA instead of adult books because it permits them to write shorter books -- they don't have to pad 100 extra pages into their books. YA books can have just as mature, dark plots as adult books.)



[Two of five stars] Interesting idea, unbelievable story (not in a good way...), April 16, 2013

Though I'm not a young adult, I read a lot of YA books. Many of them are well-written and entertaining enough for an adult.

Unfortunately this wasn't one of them.

The basic idea of the book seemed interesting, so I bought it. Unfortunately it was one unbelievable event after the next. The two main characters (children), beat adults (cops even) in physical fights, outsmart them endlessly, beat odd after odd, etc. The two kids rode with an adult in a tractor trailer truck for a few minutes, then after beating the (adult) driver in a fight, jumped into the truck and drove off without problem. The kid, after watching the adult drive for a few minutes, knew how to drive the truck just fine. I, an adult who has been driving a car for many, many years, unlikely could drive a tractor trailer.

Add onto that a typical teenage "romance", and I just can't recommend this book.



Book #16 will be Old Man's War by John Scalzi. I've only read a few pages of it so far, but I'm loving it.

And on to TV...

Game of Thrones is working for me less and less this season. I can't imagine how I'd follow the show if I hadn't read the books. I should have posted about it earlier in the week, I can't even remember all the things that annoy me now. :P There's just one...



Cutting off Jamie's hand seemed to come out of no where. I suppose not, since he's a kingslayer, but they went from "You're talking down to me, I'll threaten you with a knife near your eye so you doFOOLED YA! CHOPPING OFF YOUR HAND NOW!". And shouldn't the wrist have been spurting blood? There was a slight pool on the table, nothing more.

Ah! And I remembered another thing. Unless Podrick walked away from the whores (which is possible), they gave him his money back? And the other two believed that? That whole scene didn't seem to fit.

Also, seriously, I'm tired of naked women and breasts. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm tired of so much sexuality on a show.



I'm running out of time, so I'll have to end this with just a short recommendation: I watched the first ep of Naked Castaway for the novelty of seeing a naked guy walking around on a beach trying to survive alone, but it turns out to be really interesting (in addition to how odd it is seeing a naked manbutt on TV).

Comments

[tersa.livejournal.com]

Cutting off Jamie's hand seemed to come out of no where. I suppose not, since he's a kingslayer, but they went from "You're talking down to me, I'll threaten you with a knife near your eye so you doFOOLED YA! CHOPPING OFF YOUR HAND NOW!".

Straight out of the book.

I can't remember the details from the book, but one thing to remember: Jaime Lannister is looked at as the best swordsman in the Seven Kingdoms. He's the precious son of Tywin Lannister. There is almost no better insult than leaving him alive but taking his sword hand.

Unless Podrick walked away from the whores (which is possible), they gave him his money back? And the other two believed that? That whole scene didn't seem to fit.

The implication, given Bronn and Tyrion's reaction after that, is (a) Pod was so good in bed, they refused his money, or (b) they realized that was odd. They didn't say they believed it, the scene ended with Tyrion asking Pod to tell him everything that happened. Whether that's for puerile voyeurism or because he smells a scheme from Littlefinger (which I just now realized might be the case) isn't clear yet.

----

Me, I'm loving this season, but partially because I know what's happening in most cases. The way they're handling Theon is brilliant.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah! Ha, makes my "I can't imagine how I'd follow the show if I hadn't read the books" comment funny then. I didn't remember it happening that way in the books!

So long as it wasn't (a), I'd be fine with it. Plot by Littlefinger (or someone else)? Believable. That a teenage virgin is so good in bed that women who take sex for money refuse his money? I don't buy that.

I'm not liking the change in Theon (though that might change once we see where the character ends up). That whole Reek subplot was one of my favorite ones in the book, I grumbled that we're missing out on it in the show (though with the show's speedy pace, it wouldn't have fit very well).

One thing I forgot to put in my main post: I'm kicking myself that I didn't spot Iwan Rheon. He was one of the big things I was looking forward to this season! I have to fish the ep out of my garbage bin and rewatch those scenes.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

I'm not liking the change in Theon (though that might change once we see where the character ends up).

I'm...confused?

As far as I can tell, they've captured the spirit of the Reek subplot, if it is what I think you're referring to which is mindfucking Theon so badly as to reduce him to almost a simpleton.

That guy saying he's !Asha's servant? I would bet real money is Bolton's bastard, Ramsay, the guy who did the mindfucking in the books (The Mary Sue thinks it's him, too, which they may have confirmed by knowing the actor was cast in the role, haha. I haven't checked).

Which would mean everything that 'servant' is doing is the beginning of the mindfucking him. Giving him false hope. Taking it away.

Also makes the torturer's "You fucking bastard" all the more amusing, because Ramsay really is a bastard. :D

I'm kicking myself that I didn't spot Iwan Rheon.

Who?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I really need to rewatch the ep. So often I multitask while "watching" TV (do stuff on the computer while listening to it, not looking at the screen), I really missed too much of the scene.

Iwan Rheon is the fellow who played the "rescuer" in the GoT scene we're talking about, but he was Simon in Misfits as well. I loved the character and actor in Misfits, so I was looking forward to seeing him on GoT. I'm really bad at spotting actors from other shows though (likely related to the whole "I don't look at the TV screen" thing :P ).

[tersa.livejournal.com]

So often I multitask while "watching" TV (do stuff on the computer while listening to it, not looking at the screen), I really missed too much of the scene.

...then I wonder how much that habit is contributing. There is so much non-verbal communication going on, if you're missing the visual cues, you're missing a lot of the story. :)

Iwan Rheon is the fellow who played the "rescuer" in the GoT scene we're talking about, but he was Simon in Misfits as well.

Ahhhhh.

My 'what the what the what???' recognition moment was seeing a flash of Burn Gorman (from "Torchwood") as one of the wildlings. IMDB doesn't assign a name to him so maybe he was some kind of glorified extra.

The show is turning into another Harry Potter thing for me: all the British actors popping up!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

then I wonder how much that habit is contributing.

A whole lot. I'm trying to break it, but I get bored (and feel like a useless lump) if I do nothing but sit and watch TV when most shows are on, then when I get to a show that really needs attention (like GoT), the habit continues.

Amusingly, I used to save shows that needed my full attention to watch while I was at work. That's no longer an option though.

And yes! I heard the Torchwood guy was a wildling, and some modern day singer was one of the crows. (The guy who sang the song in the closing credits, I think?)

[evilgrayson.livejournal.com]

Looking forward to the review of Old Man's War. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

So far, loving it! If nothing else, after a near-steady diet of YA books, it's nice to have an older main character.

I really like his writing style so far though -- that I'm only a couple pages in and I already like the main character a lot says something. :D

[loup_noir]

I've been meaning to read this for years, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of it. I did read his "Red Shirts," and he ran out of plot long before he finished the story.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oooh, he's the one who wrote Red Shirt? I passed that one over a few times. A couple people recommended it to me, a number of people didn't like it, so it seemed like a pass.

[wow-hazmat.livejournal.com]

Also, seriously, I'm tired of naked women and breasts. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm tired of so much sexuality on a show.

I've finally gotten around to watching a few of the first episodes of season 2 and... well, it's incredibly annoying because ALL the nudity is women and it's all very porntastic. Like, super porntastic. Bleh.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yep. There's a short bit of male nudity somewhere in the first couple seasons, but most of it? Naked women, of the porntastic variety. It gets very, very old. Rarely is there an ep without naked breasts (if not more).

[jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)]

The Last Free Cat- ok, that premise sounded interesting at first, but wow does the rest of it sound awful so no way will I ever look for this one!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I had forgotten what The Last Free Cat was about, it was fun reading my review. You're right, that was quite an awful book, though the idea had such potential!

[jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)]

Have to admit, I was sleep-deprived and still coming off strong medications (post surgery) when I read it, so that very well could have something to do with my level of -ahem- appreciation. Or lack of discernment. Ha. In fact, I later looked up what else this author has written- mostly picture books. That quickly killed any interest I had in looking for other YA novels by him. (And it doesn't read like YA, though it's listed as such. Felt much more like a J fic book to me- probably because younger readers would gloss over the improbabilities, too!)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I hope you're recovering and feeling better!

I suspect you're right. Young readers would have no issue at all with child characters outsmarting the adults. Heck, that's probably a feature to them!