Ratha and Thistle-chaser
First edition cover
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| Author | Clare Bell |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Books of the Named |
| Genre | Adventure, Fantasy |
| Publisher | Penguin Group |
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Publication date
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1990, reprint 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 272 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 126225347 |
| Preceded by | Clan Ground |
| Followed by | Ratha's Challenge |
Ratha and Thistle-Chaser is a young adult novel, third in the series The Books of the Named by Clare Bell. The series follows a group of sentient, prehistoric large cats called the Named, led by the female cat, Ratha. It also deals with their struggles against the group of non-sentient cats, the Unnamed. On October 18, 2007, it was reprinted by the company Penguin Group.
Ratha, who gave birth to three cats in the first book, Ratha's Creature, had a non-sentient kitten who she named Thistle-chaser with the Unnamed cat she called Bonechewer. Ratha, in a fit of anger with Bonechewer, bit her daughter when she got in the way of her and Bonechewer's fight. This causes Thistle-chaser damage that, due to the lack of therapy, caused one of her legs to shrivel and becomes useless over time. Bonechewer, after witnessing what happened, tells her to leave and she does, regrouping with the Named. After Bonechewer is killed, Ratha has no clue as to where her offspring went.
Thistle-chaser, the daughter of the Named clan leader, Ratha, has no recollection of her past or true name. Due to this, she lives alone on a coastline, befriending the seamares that reside there, and goes by 'Newt'. In her dreams, a creature she knows as the Dreambiter, which bites her foreleg, often makes her go into seizures and fits of panic. A clan cat, Thakur comes across Thistle-chaser while searching for water. He befriends her and starts having her swim in a lagoon which acts as therapy for her shriveled leg. When he reports of the water and seamares that live there, Ratha decides to move the clan and their livestock to the coast, going as far as to capture the seamares. Thistle-chaser is upset by this and frees them, making Ratha, who refuses to believe that Thistle-chaser is her daughter, order the clan to attack Thistle-chaser if she tries anything like it again.
Thistle-chaser eventually learns that Ratha is her mother and realizes that the Dreambiter would be destroyed if Ratha was killed. Ratha bit Thistle-chaser when she was young, which was the cause of the Dreambiter. Thistle-chaser decides to attack Ratha and the two get into a fight. When Ratha gets her foot stuck between two rocks, Mishanti, an Unnamed cub which Ratha was going to abandon, gets caught in the fray and tries to defend Ratha. In her fury, Thistle-chaser goes after him, only to be stopped by Ratha, who calls her names and brings her back to reality. Thakur and Fessran, another clan cat, arrive soon and together with Thistle-chaser bring Ratha and Mishanti to safety.
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