No One Noticed the Cat (Hardcover)

by Anne McCaffrey (Author)
Key Phrases: one noticed the cat, Prince Jamas, King Egdril, Lady Willow (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In an enchanting and sophisticated fairy tale for adults and intelligent children alike, a cat who may be more than a cat guides a young prince through the perils of ruling and loving. After the death of Esphania's wise regent, young Prince Jamas finds that the regent's cat, Niffy, seems to have the ability to cause him to have second thoughts when he considers actions that might lead to war or other unpleasantness. When King Egdril of nearby Mauritia appears to be casting an acquisitive eye on Esphania, Jamas, instead of waging war, invites the monarch on a hunting trip to demonstrate the martial skills of the Esphanian nobility. Egdril turns out to be quite a good fellow; it's not until Jamas falls in love with his niece, Willow, that the prince discovers the real source of evil behind the Mauritian throne. After Jamas and Willow are wed, it takes all of Niffy's cleverness to save them, Jamas's princedom and Willow's relatives. McCaffrey (the Pern chronicles; An Exchange of Gifts) weaves another lively, lightly enjoyable tale, one that's likely to sell well during the holiday season.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Romantic fantasy from the author of Freedom's Landing (1995), etc. When wise old Mangan, the Regent of Esphania, dies, many of his skills and qualities seem to have been transferred to his beautiful and intelligent cat, Niffy, who at once attaches herself to the new ruler, Prince Jamas. Egdril, the bluff, hearty king of the neighboring kingdom of Mauritia, seems keen to forge an alliance with Jamas, allowing the prince to marry his niece, Willow--but the real danger is Yasmin, Egdril's wicked wife, who poisons everyone she dislikes or suspects of interfering with her ambitions. So Niffy must guide Jamas through a thicket of difficulties to save the prince and the principality. But by this time Yasmin has murdered Egdril and made her monstrous infant son heir; somehow, Jamas and Niffy must stop her if evil is not to triumph. Thin and brief but quite appealing; McCaffrey is, as always, pleasant company. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 124 pages
• Publisher: Roc Hardcover; Book Club edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451455789
• ISBN-13: 978-0451455789
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #398,860 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No One Noticed the Cat, January 26, 2005

By	Nightsky "wild soul" (Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No One Noticed the Cat (Paperback)

I have to admit, I had my doubts about this book, and they were pretty major. For one, I had never read anything by Anne McCaffrey before, and for another, my exceptionally patronizing (the worst part is she tries to pretend she's not) aunt was the one who recommended it to me. However, I thoroughly enjoyed No One Noticed the Cat. If not worth buying, it at least warrants a few reads after checking it out from the library.

Mangan, the regent of Esphania, dies happy, knowing he has left someone behind who will lead the young Prince Jamas to where he needs to be as a ruler. However, this `someone' is different then most would think: a cat called Niffy. But, in her own subtle way, she is wise. And, as Jamas' life and kingdom are threatened by an ambitious queen and an eager king, Jamas needs all the help he can get.

Though most of the summaries are a little dramatized and the plot is not as adventurous as they promise it to be, this is still a worthwhile book. It's so short it does not really matter that the outcome is obvious, and McCaffrey has a nice, if not a little eccentric, style, at least in this book. All in all, if you're not sure, check it out at the library, but if you like the sounds of it, I'd go ahead and buy it.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, June 5, 2005

By	Gillian Buchanan "Classical Music Editor at B... (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No One Noticed the Cat (Paperback)

I must say I enjoyed this book, which is essentially a fairy tale. It doesn't match up to the writing in the earlier Dragon books but it's still a good read and is in Anne McCaffrey's usual well written style. There is of course a happy ending with a cleverly thought out and very suitable end to the villainness! There is the feeling too that there could be more stories to come about the characters in it.

I have nearly all of Anne McCaffrey's books and was well pleased with this addition to the library.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute and very short!!!, June 30, 1999

By A Customer

The story "Nobody Noticed The Cat" by Anne McCaffrey is about a Prince whose father dies leaving him a large kingdom, a lot of dangerous neighbors, and a cat. However, the cat proves to be his most helpful friend, protecting him from the scheming plans of a hateful woman and other evil people and generally, being his ears and eyes. I felt that this story was cute and interesting. It is not Anne McCaffrey's best writing( In fact I would rate it quite low againest her other work) It is not something to go goggilie-eyed over. 1, it is unbelievably short!!!! 2, It gets a little boring and predictable at certain parts of the book 3, It is very exspensive for the reasons above. (I don't know about you people but I could by 2 good books for that same price almost!!) So my recommendation is to get it out of the library or if you have time, go to the book shop and read it off the rack!!! It is really not worth buying(I read it in an hour and I will probably not read it again).