The Cats' Lair [Paperback]

C.H. Foertmeyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2002

What if the Bible were not complete? What if something existed, so beneficial to mankind that it had been intentionally omitted in order to protect its existence through complete secrecy? What if there were a place named Father Mountain, and within it, Ahveen? What if there were Guardians?Jim Preston and Red Porter, twenty-year-old workers at Miller Foundry in Rockaway, Illinois, are about to find out the answers to all these questionshigh on a mountain in a remote region of northwestern Colorado. But by the time they reach twenty for the second time, it will be no more than a faint and hazy dream to them, knowing no more than what they have been permitted to learn by the Guardians of Father Mountain and their "former" selves.Inside The Cats' Lair resides the hope of the world...OutsideJim and Red are threatening that hope...Born into two lives, their second lives would not reveal to them what their first presence had discovered about The Cats' Lair.What then led to their discoveries in their first lives? Curiosity...and an old map.What stopped them in their second lives? The answer to that resides within The Cats' Lair...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

C.H. FOERTMEYER was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1949 and again lives there, where he divides his time between web authoring, writing, and a full-time job. Mr. Foertmeyer received his formal education at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (July 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595237789
• ISBN-13: 978-0595237784
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,266,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

C.H. Foertmeyer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1949, and the eldest of four children. After graduating from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, he returned to Cincinnati to pursue his career in the paint coatings industry. He married in 1978 and raised two wonderful stepchildren and a lovely daughter, Jennifer, in his Lockland home. Today, Mr. Foertmeyer divides his time between web authoring and fiction writing. He now resides in Forest Park, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. His daughter lives in nearby Greenhills, Ohio and is the inspiration of his writing, inspiring him to write his first novel at age fifty-three.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cats' Lair, August 20, 2002

By 

AAM Reviews (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cats' Lair (Paperback)

It's been a while since I've read any book as exciting as THE CATS'
LAIR! This one was so interesting and spellbinding that it
pulled me right out of my break from reviewing.

When Jim Preston finds a map while searching an abandoned farm, he
immediately makes plans to take time off work at Miller
Foundry in Rockaway, Illinois and head to Colorado. Enlisting his life long
friend Red Porter in his adventure.

The map leads them both to Father Mountain and to the Cats' Lair.
Nothing in their short twenty years on this Earth will prepare
them for what they are about to stumble upon. They will both certainly
experience a few different lifetimes and after all is said
and done they will learn some very important lessons. The riddles of time
will teach them to look to the future and the past
while making important decisions in one life that will have a very real and
devastating effect on their next one.

I absolutely don't want to give away even one secret to this book. Let me
tell you that I enjoyed this story so much that I read it
in one sitting. And I found the end of the book to be just as exciting and
clever as I hoped it would be!

C.H. Foertmeyer is quite the excellent storyteller! All his characters are
very interesting and personable. They hold you
spellbound from page one. Especially the nervous Guardians that must
guard time. Mr. Foertmeyer keeps your mind spinning
and thinking as fast as you can to determine how one action on the part of
the characters will effect their future and their past.
What a marvelous ride he took me on!

Overall, THE CATS' LAIR is a must must must read!! And C.H.
Foertmeyer is an author that you'll want to watch for!
Review by: Stacey Bucholz

5.0 out of 5 stars Midwest Book Review - imaginative, thought-provoking story, March 16, 2003

By 

Laurel Johnson (Kansas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cats' Lair (Paperback)

An imaginative story line and the author's thought provoking lessons on life made The Cat's Lair delightfully different. This is the second C.H. Foertmeyer book I've read and won't be the last. The way he tells a story is distinctly his own, and I like the way his mind works - "outside the box."

This unusual tale begins when Jim Preston finds an old map sealed in a mason jar while he's out metal detecting. The map is of Father Mountain in Colorado and an area named Cat's Lair. Jim Preston lives in Illinois and is so intrigued by the map that he decides a road trip is in order. His pal since childhood, Red Porter, takes time off work and tags along for the ride. In a sleepy little burg named Clermont, the friends stop to eat at the Hummingbird Cafe and meet a lovely young woman named Laura. Despite being a local, she knows nothing of the Cat's Lair but has hiked and camped on Father Mountain often. Jim and Red are decent, friendly sorts, so she agrees to guide them in their search.

The author does not keep his readers hanging long before the mystery of Cat's Lair is revealed. In a deep pristine forest that looks like man never stepped foot in it, the map leads them to their destination. The three adventurers breathe air untainted by the modern world, drink pure sweet water from a crystal lake, and stumble onto a realm hidden since time began.

An invisible portal leads Jim and Red into a secret world, manned by beings with powers beyond human comprehension. A benign Father - God? An Alien? - has placed these Observers and Guardians of the Kindred on Father Mountain from the day of Creation. Inside Cat's Lair, time is concentric, curvilinear, converging on itself in ways Jim and Red cannot decipher at first. They move forward and backward in time, searching for their own existence while Laura waits, lives out her life, and finally dies in old age without ever seeing them again. And that is just the beginning of this tale!

Except for some mild swear words, The Cat's Lair is suitable reading for teenagers and adults. The cover is sturdy and attractive and the print easy to read ...
Good job, Mr. Foertmeyer! What's the next intriguing subject in your writer's repertoire?