Once in every age, there comes a special cat. His mission is not to rule, but to guide the rulers to their destiny, to uphold the balance of the natural world, and to discover the leonine heart and spirit that is the legacy of all cats everywhere. Now, in the grand storytelling style of Watership Down and Tailchaser's Song, comes an epic tale of adventure and danger, of heroism against insurmountable odds, and of love and comradeship among extraordinary animals who must brave The Wild Road. Secure in a world of privilege and comfort, the kitten Tag is happy as a pampered house pet--until the dreams come. Dreams that pour into his safe, snug world from the wise old cat Majicou: hazy images of travel along the magical highways of the animals, of a mission, and of a terrible responsibility that will fall on young Tag. Armed with the cryptic message that he must bring the King and Queen of cats to Tintagel before the spring equinox, Tag ventures outside. But had ancient Majicou somehow misjudged? Tag barely knows his own backyard and is scarely equipped for a quest out into the wide world! But ready or not, Tag is catapulted into the unknown to face danger and win allies in the wily urban fox Loves a Dustbin, and the far-seeing magpie One for Sorrow. Along the way, others will join their quest: Cy, the strange little tabby; Sealink, the globe-trotting cat with an eye for a handsome tom; and Mousebreath, wise in the ways of the world. Together, this band of frightened yet courageous animals will brave the wild road to seek the King and Queen. But finding the royal pair is only half the challenge, as an evil human known only as the Alchemist doggedly pursues the Queen for his own ghastly ends. For the Queen, a descendant of the legendary line of Golden Cats, holds the key to an ancient prophecy that foretells enormous power for those who control this rare and extraordinary breed. And if the Alchemist achieves his goal, the world can never be safe again. A stunning literary achievement, The Wild Road is a sweeping feat of the imagination, an amazing mystical highway to an unseen place known only to cats and their chosen, trusted companions. YA?This book promises readers a fine fantasy, but delivers much more?an epic and emotionally powerful story of animals, humans, and the ethics of their coexistence. A frame tale relates the spiritual traditions of cats and the history of their relationship with humans. The Wild Road of the title is a dimension containing the memories of all animals that have gone before. An evil sorcerer has tortured cats for many lifetimes in a quest to harness the power of the Wild Road and now, as a modern scientist, he is on the verge of succeeding. With a masterful use of language and plotting, King gradually reveals the true identity of the sorcerer and the great humor, love, and resilience of the small creatures destined to oppose him. Descriptions of felines suffering in human hands are graphic and horrible, but true to life; this is a war. Yet readers will find comfort in the wisdom the characters gain and the joy they find in life despite the evil they must fight. Like J. R. R. Tolkien, King creates humble and ordinary beings who undergo great trials, find extraordinary courage, and fight the good fight against impossible odds. Like Richard Adams, King breathes life into a rich and varied cast of creatures who talk, yet remain true to their animal natures. For teens who have appreciated other books that evoke a greater universe than that described by consensual reality, The Wild Road should be equally well loved and remembered.?Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Young gray kitten Tag lives an easy housebound life with his ``dulls'' (people) until he's tempted to dash outside, where, distracted by a magpie, a fox, and a mysterious old one-eyed black cat named Majicou, he gets lost and must adopt the precarious life of a stray on east London's hard streets. There is, of course, a purpose to all this: Tag's task, so Majicou says, is to find the king and queen of cats and bring them to Tintagel before the spring equinox. Majicou--he's the caretaker of the wild roads, ancient energy channels used by animals to travel in space and time, and composed of the souls, or ghosts, of cats--warns Tag of the evil Alchemist (King's hint that he's really Isaac Newton, thoroughly nasty though he may have been, is hard to swallow) who's trying to gain control of the roads through magic, selective breeding, and by horrible experiments on cats. Tag soon discovers the King, Ragnar, and the Queen, Pertelot Fitzwilliam, but loses them after the Alchemist makes a magical grab for Pertelot (she's key to his plans). So, with his helpers, the magpie One for Sorrow, the fox Loves a Dustbin, Mousebreath the cockney cat, Sealink the New England calico, and poor, mad Cy, who has a spark plug implanted in her head, courtesy of the Alchemist,