The writing style of this book was a bit of challenge and I just never got comfortable with it. I love the approach and the attempt but it just wasn't a success for me. I do look forward to future works from this author, though! Lots of potential there.

3.5 stars. Fun, promising, but not my favorite. It felt like a long prologue to a story that could have been great. If the book had focused more deeply on some of its characters/settings, it could have been really good. Unfortunately, it skimmed over a lot of settings, characters, events, and emotions, leading to a flat story and an abrupt ending. I’d like to read more about the story world, though!

The morality is pretty…dystopian (i.e., human cloning, sexual deviation, creation/enslavement of rational cats and dogs. Not really graphic, though). Be warned.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley (Subterranean Press, @SubPress) in exchange for an honest review.

One of the quirkiest -- and definitely one of the most clever -- stories I've ever read. Who wouldn't love a cat versus dog tail (pun intended) where the combatants meow and bark?? I laughed out loud more times than I can count, and was sorry to reach the end. A truly unique and captivating book, well worth your time and pennies.

**My sincere thanks to the author and publisher for providing a copy free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

I couldn’t keep up with the storyline. I felt like the story has some interesting parts, some fun scenes, and the overall concept is neat. However, I couldn’t force myself to finish this book. But that doesn’t mean this is a bad book. This novel isn’t for me.

King of the Dogs, Queen of the Cats is an interesting and insightful parable about our differences, unity, self determination, loyalties, and what we owe to society. Due out 31st Jan 2020 from Subterranean Press, it's 128 pages and will be available in a limited edition hardcover and audio formats.

The novella form has always struck me as a weird hybrid between a novel and short story. It's sort of the literary equivalent of a 5km race, too long for a sprint, too short for a marathon. It's also said to be the most difficult track and field event since the athletes have to run *fast* but also ration enough energy to finish the race without crashing.

Author James Patrick Kelly has won several of speculative fiction/fandoms most prestigious awards and is a master of the form. This book kept me a little off balance in the beginning. I was drawn into the narrative almost unwillingly while I was trying to figure out what was going on and find some equilibrium with the characters' directions and how the system of which they were a part was set up, how it was failing, and even what I was hoping would be the resolution. The cover art by Jon Foster is beautifully nostalgic in a retro-1950s F&SF/Amazing style (complete with 4-fin rocket).

There's a fair bit of dreamlike description involved. The main character (a clone of an important historical leader) is negotiating his place in the failing order of things when he's presented with a choice, be part of the future or maintain the status quo as long as possible even though it's crumbling and destined to failure soon.

It might be wish fulfillment and a hope for our flawed and dying (real) world, but whatever the author's true intention with the story, it's very very well written, engaging, and powerful. I enjoyed it very much. Five stars. I hope the author revisits this world.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
This novella covers a story about a fight for equal rights between humans, and uplifted cats and dogs with human like hands. Gio is a great-great-great something clone of a prior leader on the planet Boon but he looks around and recognizes a failing system and failing world and starts to step out of the shadow of his senior clone when a circus catches his eyes.
The world itself is interesting and I’d love to know more about it, but because this is a novella there is only so much that can be covered. That said it took awhile for the story itself to really kick in for me as something that really drew me in. It felt like a really big world was being crammed into the novella and didn’t get a chance to take off as it probably could have otherwise. There was lots of tantalizing information being dropped as though it should make sense but it just became curious words combined that meant something to the MC but not so much to me.
Overall I think it was an enjoyable read, just a bit slow into getting moving.

This book wasn’t for me. The writing style made it hard for me to connect with what was going on. I felt like I was in the middle of a story I should know more about from the beginning. There are definitely some interesting parts of the world, but overall I couldn’t finish.

Cloned humans, uplifted dogs and cats with human hands and a future struggle for equal rights. But:
“Where she comes from everyone has equal rights. Right, and they live on clouds and dance with rainbows.” Ouch – great statement.
Jim Kelly has constructed a decadent, declining universe, with technology that is not understood and breaking down. It was a good read but it took a bit to get into the story.