Tailchaser's Song
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| Tailchaser's Song | |
 US Hardcover Edition |
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| Author | Tad Williams |
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| Cover artist | Braldt Bralds |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publisher | DAW Books |
| Publication date | November 21, 1985 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and Paperback) |
| Pages | 333 (Hardback) & 400 (Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-8099-0002-5 (Hardback) & ISBN 0-88677-953-7 (Paperback) |
Tailchaser's Song is a fantasy novel by Tad Williams about a personified cat named Fritti Tailchaser.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
The novel is set in the world as cats see it, with Man being a mysterious and distrusted creature in the eyes of feral cats. Contrary to their own opinion, the cats, or the Folk, as they call themselves, are not the dominant lifeform on the planet. The novel takes the approach that all creatures consider their kind to be the dominant species of the planet. With this premise, Williams tells his tale of fantasy adventure and heroic bravery.
[edit] Plot summary
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
Fritti Tailchaser, a young ginger tom cat sets out to stray from his home and clan, the Meeting Wall Clan, in search of his catfriend Hushpad after strange disappearances of the Folk have been reported. He and the kitten Pouncequick set out on a long journey to visit the Court of Harar with the intention of finding out the mystery of the disappearances--a journey that will take them to cat Hell and beyond.
[edit] Folk and Folklore
The cats of Tailchaser's Song have a well established system of songs, poems, and godly figures, such as Meerclar the Allmother and her Two, Harar Goldeneye and Fela Skydancer, and the three Firstborn cats. The cats, as one brethren, call themselves 'the Folk'. The novel contains a developed system of cat speech and style as well, to go with their customs.
[edit] Firstborn
(Quote from the novel):
- "In the Hour before time began, Meerclar Allmother came out of the darkness to the cold earth. She was black, and as furry as all the world come together to be fur. Meerclar banished the eternal night, and brought forth the Two.
- Harar Goldeneye had eyes as hot and bright as the sun at the Hour of Smaller Shadows; he was the color of daytime, and courage, and dancing.
- Fela Skydancer, his mate, was beautiful, like freedom, and clouds, and the song of travelers returned.
- Goldeneye and Skydancer bore many children and raised them in the forest that covered the world at the beginnings of the Elder Days. Climbfast, Wolf-friend, Treesinger, and Brightnail, their young, were strong of tooth, sharp of eye, light of foot and straight and brave to their tail-ends.
- But most strange and beautiful of the countless children of Harar and Fela were the three Firstborn.
- The eldest of the Firstborn was Viror Whitewind; he was the color of sunlight on snow, and of swiftness....
- The middle child was Grizraz Hearteater, as grey as shadows and full of strangeness....
- Third-born was Tangaloor Firefoot. He was as black as Meerclar Allmother, but his paws were red like flame. He walked alone, and sang to himself."
[edit] Influences
It has been noted that Tad Williams may have been influenced by poetry and literature written about cats, such as Rudyard Kipling's The Cat That Walked By Himself and T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. For example, cats have three names, much as described in "The Naming of Cats" from Eliot's book. It is also worth noting the development of mythology and language for the animals is reminiscent of Richard Adams' Watership Down.
[edit] Language and Pronunciation
Tad Williams has come up with a very large variety of terms used by the cats to express themselves and explain things. Included in the book is a complete glossary, as well as a character 'directory' and a map of Tailchaser's world. Also included are Williams' notes on pronunciation, which apply not only to spoken words but to first names as well (such as Fritti, Harar, or Meerclar):
| “ | 'C' is always pronounced 'S': thus, Meerclar is pronounced 'Mere-slar.' In the instances where an 'S' has been used, it is only to clarify the pronunciation. For example, I felt that 'Vicl,' although the true spelling, was a little boggling; hence, 'Visl'. 'F' has a soft 'fth' sound. Vowels tend to conform to Latinate 'ah-eh-ih-oh-ooh.' | „ |
[edit] Trivia
- In Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy by Wayne Barlowe, a Toothguard, one of the creatures which guards the dark in Tailchaser's Song, is one of the featured illustrations.
- The name of the cat deity Meerclar is a nod to the work of Michael Moorcock, one of Williams' favourite authors: Meerclar of the Cats, a Beast-Lord, is a deity called upon by Moorcock's protagonist Elric in the short story "The Flamebringers" (aka "The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams").
[edit] External links
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