Books : Fiction : Contemporary Fiction: 1970 Onwards : Authors A-Z : K : King, Gabriel

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Nonesuch

Gabriel King
The Knot Garden

Gabriel King

There must have been some suspense for Gabriel King while awaiting Richard Adams' verdict on King's earlier book The Wild Road. After all, Adams wrote the definitive animal-as-protagonist novel in Watership Down , and King's use of feline heroes is in similar vein. But to those who have read King's assured and charming fantasies, Adams' wholehearted recommendation comes as no surprise. All the magical atmosphere that made the earlier books such a delight are present in The Knot Garden. Here, the contrast between the human and feline characters is brilliantly sustained, but the real achievement lies in how anthropomorphic cuteness is always kept rigorously at bay: although cat lovers may pick up these books, others will find them equally pleasurable, as the King novels are too intelligent to ever fall into Disneyisms.
In the quiet hamlet of Ashmore, life is tranquil and beautiful. Anna Prescott is recovering from a broken affair, and finds Ashmore the perfect place to de-stress. But Anna is unwittingly to become the instrument of chaos for the village. For Ashmore is actually at an intersection of the Wild Roads, a mystical area that exists in a time and dimension limbo. The cats who are masters of the highway are charged with fathoming the mysteries of the energies unleashed by human beings in the village. And as massive danger looms, Hawkweed the Dreamcatcher and his apprentice Orlando find themselves forced to restore the equilibrium that Anna's has destroyed.
Although King's human characters are drawn with sympathy and intelligence, it's the cannily realised feline protagonists who really compel the reader's attention. The resourceful Hawkweed has all the richness and roundedness one could wish for, while Orlando, always a little out of his depth, is the perfect foil. --Barry Forshaw
The Wild Road

Gabriel King
The Knot Garden

Gabriel King

There must have been some suspense for Gabriel King while awaiting Richard Adams' verdict on King's earlier book The Wild Road. After all, Adams wrote the definitive animal-as-protagonist novel in Watership Down , and King's use of feline heroes is in similar vein. But to those who have read King's assured and charming fantasies, Adams' wholehearted recommendation comes as no surprise. All the magical atmosphere that made the earlier books such a delight are present in The Knot Garden. Here, the contrast between the human and feline characters is brilliantly sustained, but the real achievement lies in how anthropomorphic cuteness is always kept rigorously at bay: although cat lovers may pick up these books, others will find them equally pleasurable, as the King novels are too intelligent to ever fall into Disneyisms.
In the quiet hamlet of Ashmore, life is tranquil and beautiful. Anna Prescott is recovering from a broken affair, and finds Ashmore the perfect place to de-stress. But Anna is unwittingly to become the instrument of chaos for the village. For Ashmore is actually at an intersection of the Wild Roads, a mystical area that exists in a time and dimension limbo. The cats who are masters of the highway are charged with fathoming the mysteries of the energies unleashed by human beings in the village. And as massive danger looms, Hawkweed the Dreamcatcher and his apprentice Orlando find themselves forced to restore the equilibrium that Anna's has destroyed.
Although King's human characters are drawn with sympathy and intelligence, it's the cannily realised feline protagonists who really compel the reader's attention. The resourceful Hawkweed has all the richness and roundedness one could wish for, while Orlando, always a little out of his depth, is the perfect foil. --Barry Forshaw
The Golden Cat

Gabriel King

Have you ever wondered what your cats get up to when they go out at night? Do they just sit in the garden and watch the world go by, or do they travel into the night on wild adventures that take them to faraway places that human eyes have never seen?
The Golden Cat is a follow up to the highly successful The Wild Road and is the fairytale story of Tag the tabby cat, who after the death of his mentor Majicou inherits the task of the caretaker of the wild roads. When two of the King and Queen's kittens goes missing, Tag is asked to find them. One of the three kittens is the famous Golden Cat, but which one is it? Tag soon finds himself on yet another perilous journey across the wild roads with Leonora the third kitten in tow.
It's obvious that King has a great love for the feline species, which shines out with great warmth from her writing. Observational detail rubs shoulders with moments of comedy strong enough to evoke a reaction from the hardest of hearts and elements of high drama as King delves into the darkest side of vivisection and animal cruelty. A great read in its own right and a worthy follow-up to the Wild Road. --Elly Russell
The Golden Cat

Gabriel King

Have you ever wondered what your cats get up to when they go out at night? Do they just sit in the garden and watch the world go by, or do they travel into the night on wild adventures that take them to faraway places that human eyes have never seen?
The Golden Cat is a follow up to the highly successful The Wild Road and is the fairytale story of Tag the tabby cat, who after the death of his mentor Majicou inherits the task of the caretaker of the wild roads. When two of the King and Queen's kittens goes missing, Tag is asked to find them. One of the three kittens is the famous Golden Cat, but which one is it? Tag soon finds himself on yet another perilous journey across the wild roads with Leonora the third kitten in tow.
It's obvious that King has a great love for the feline species, which shines out with great warmth from her writing. Observational detail rubs shoulders with moments of comedy strong enough to evoke a reaction from the hardest of hearts and elements of high drama as King delves into the darkest side of vivisection and animal cruelty. A great read in its own right and a worthy follow-up to the Wild Road. --Elly Russell
Penguin Modern Stories: No. 12

Olivia Manning, Francis King, Gabriel Josipovici, Ian Cochrane
Auf geheimen Pfaden.

Gabriel King
Up-hill

David John King
The Wild Road

Gabriel King
Nonesuch

Gabriel King
The Wild Road

Gabriel King
Nonesuch

Gabriel King
Untitled

Gabriel King
The Wild Road

Gabriel King
The Golden Cat

Gabriel King

Have you ever wondered what your cats get up to when they go out at night? Do they just sit in the garden and watch the world go by, or do they travel into the night on wild adventures that take them to faraway places that human eyes have never seen?
The Golden Cat is a follow up to the highly successful The Wild Road and is the fairytale story of Tag the tabby cat, who after the death of his mentor Majicou inherits the task of the caretaker of the wild roads. When two of the King and Queen's kittens goes missing, Tag is asked to find them. One of the three kittens is the famous Golden Cat, but which one is it? Tag soon finds himself on yet another perilous journey across the wild roads with Leonora the third kitten in tow.
It's obvious that King has a great love for the feline species, which shines out with great warmth from her writing. Observational detail rubs shoulders with moments of comedy strong enough to evoke a reaction from the hardest of hearts and elements of high drama as King delves into the darkest side of vivisection and animal cruelty. A great read in its own right and a worthy follow-up to the Wild Road. --Elly Russell
The Golden Cat

Gabriel King

Have you ever wondered what your cats get up to when they go out at night? Do they just sit in the garden and watch the world go by, or do they travel into the night on wild adventures that take them to faraway places that human eyes have never seen?
The Golden Cat is a follow up to the highly successful The Wild Road and is the fairytale story of Tag the tabby cat, who after the death of his mentor Majicou inherits the task of the caretaker of the wild roads. When two of the King and Queen's kittens goes missing, Tag is asked to find them. One of the three kittens is the famous Golden Cat, but which one is it? Tag soon finds himself on yet another perilous journey across the wild roads with Leonora the third kitten in tow.
It's obvious that King has a great love for the feline species, which shines out with great warmth from her writing. Observational detail rubs shoulders with moments of comedy strong enough to evoke a reaction from the hardest of hearts and elements of high drama as King delves into the darkest side of vivisection and animal cruelty. A great read in its own right and a worthy follow-up to the Wild Road. --Elly Russell
The Knot Garden

Gabriel King

There must have been some suspense for Gabriel King while awaiting Richard Adams' verdict on King's earlier book The Wild Road. After all, Adams wrote the definitive animal-as-protagonist novel in Watership Down , and King's use of feline heroes is in similar vein. But to those who have read King's assured and charming fantasies, Adams' wholehearted recommendation comes as no surprise. All the magical atmosphere that made the earlier books such a delight are present in The Knot Garden. Here, the contrast between the human and feline characters is brilliantly sustained, but the real achievement lies in how anthropomorphic cuteness is always kept rigorously at bay: although cat lovers may pick up these books, others will find them equally pleasurable, as the King novels are too intelligent to ever fall into Disneyisms.
In the quiet hamlet of Ashmore, life is tranquil and beautiful. Anna Prescott is recovering from a broken affair, and finds Ashmore the perfect place to de-stress. But Anna is unwittingly to become the instrument of chaos for the village. For Ashmore is actually at an intersection of the Wild Roads, a mystical area that exists in a time and dimension limbo. The cats who are masters of the highway are charged with fathoming the mysteries of the energies unleashed by human beings in the village. And as massive danger looms, Hawkweed the Dreamcatcher and his apprentice Orlando find themselves forced to restore the equilibrium that Anna's has destroyed.
Although King's human characters are drawn with sympathy and intelligence, it's the cannily realised feline protagonists who really compel the reader's attention. The resourceful Hawkweed has all the richness and roundedness one could wish for, while Orlando, always a little out of his depth, is the perfect foil. --Barry Forshaw