Customer Reviews

Ratha's Challenge: The Fourth Book of the Named

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have read all of the books of the Named,and in my opinion,this is the best one so far! In this book,we meet a group of cats who are intelligent like the Named,but who live in a trance,obeying the internal 'song' of their leader,True-of-Voice.Ratha and the rest of the clan are puzzled by these face-tail(wooly mammoth) hunters and view them with hostility.Only Thistle-Chaser,who is asked to come by Thakur,truly understands them and is capable of hearing the song.But she can never get very far in communicating with the hunters,because the Dreambiter prowls the caverns inside her mind,and whenever Thistle gets close to the song she has painful,violent fits.She needs the help of her mother,Ratha,to defeat the Dreambiter so that she can hear the song.But will Ratha have the courage to do so?And even if she does,will she be able to reach out to the hunters and,when True-of-Voice is injured,save save them?Or will she destroy them because they are alien?You'll have to read the book to find out,but I will say this;it is wonderful!Thistle falls in love.Ratha grows up and becomes a little wiser.And both of them learn some important lessons about love and reconcilliation.Ratha's Challenge is a beautiful book that we can all learn from.In my opinion,Clare Bell is as good as Madeline l'Engle and C.S.Lewis!

Recently, I found and purchased Ratha's Challenge by Clare Bell. The last time I recall reading this book and the others in the series, I was a girl in Junior High school. I loved it then and I am loving it now.

For years, I had been searching for this and others in the series. Web searches brought little until I took one last chance and searched through Amazon.com's database. Here, after trying for only a moment or two, found it.

The book itself is wonderful. Receiving it after only a few days from purchase, even better. The company from which it came from is fast and courteous.

Two thumbs up!

I've noticed a surge in recent decades of books of speaking animals forming their own societies. And I am perfectly okay with it. "The Named" revolves around a group of fierce cats in prehistoric times, led by Ratha. In this particular book, Ratha must deal with her daughter who is not happy being with the Named and goes off to find her own path with a group of cats very different from the Named. Clare Bell's writing is simple, haunting, and very effective as she makes the lives of cats living in an unfamiliar and untamed world come alive. Yes, the cats are the victim of plenty of personification, but hey, it works and I believe that is the idea. Bell not only creates a society of sentient cats (which is very respectable fantasy) but brings in serious and solemn ideas that get the reader thinking. I want to read the other books of the series now.

Just when I thought the third book was my favorite, the forth in the Ratha series came out and took first place! All the characters became more genuine and multi-faceted. In Ratha's Challenge, the author was able to fully develop her characters; she filled them with depth, and made them more real. The story itself is also fascinating! It has meta-physical undertones and I love the way Ms. Bell leads the characters through their moral dilemmas with integrity, intelligence, and amazing courage. This is another page-turner, filled with thought provoking themes, social commentaries, engaging characters, and an innovative story-line. The ideas of "self" consciousness (collective and individual) that come up in Rath's Challenge are intriguing, and I was impressed by the way the author handled the entire subject. Clare Bell really knows how to write a story that inspires, as well as entertains her readers. Keep going deeper Ms. Bell, the deeper you go the better the tale gets! Great Story!!!!