1982 science fiction novel by Roger Zelazny
Eye of Cat
is a 1982
science fiction
novel by American writer
Roger Zelazny
. It was among his five personal favorite novels from his own oeuvre.
Plot summary
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]
When the
galaxy's
most skilled
hunter
is asked to use his skill to protect an important political mission, he realizes that he needs specialized aid. Thus Billy Singer must seek the
shape-shifting
telepathic
creature only known as
Cat
, whom he had caught and trapped for a museum. Cat agrees to help on the condition that, once the mission is over, he be given the chance to hunt his former captor. Billy accepts Cat's offer. However, Billy has been growing increasingly
fatalistic
in the time leading up to the story, and originally offers to let Cat kill him with no struggle. Cat, a hunter, refuses, encouraging Billy to flee. Billy does so, but remains fatalistic, with Cat reading in his mind a wish to die and his foreknowledge of a final location. Billy must reconcile his personal
chindi
to evade Cat. Billy turns increasingly primitive, away from the technology of the day, and eventually returns to his
Navajo
roots. Traveling across the world using
teleportation
technology, he eventually comes to
Canyon de Chelly
where he regresses to a state where he can, or believes he can, walk in the
spirit world
. At the same time, a collection of
psychics
try to pool their powers to help him and to attack Cat. Cat is able to kill one by destroying his mind, but even so the dead man seems to linger as a part of their group consciousness.
Billy is eventually able to kill Cat, but then has to face his
chindi
, who is his death wish, in a battle that pits him against his own shadow. The novel ends with Billy apparently united with his other self.
Notes
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The dedication page reads "To
Joe Leaphorn
and
Jim Chee
", two Navajo Tribal Police characters in detective stories by
Tony Hillerman
. Zelazny took much inspiration from Hillerman's stories of Navajo life and culture. Hillerman repaid the compliment by having one of his characters reading a Zelazny novel while on a stakeout.
The creature "Cat" is referred to as a Torglind
Metamorph
, last of its kind from a planet long since destroyed when
its star went nova
. The alien's plight parallels that of Billy Singer, who has become displaced from his people and traditions.
The book also contains several long
cosmogonic poems
with many beings from the
Navajo pantheon
in as characters.
Eye of Cat
was nominated for the 1983
Locus Award
.
[1]
Citations
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General sources
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]
- Levack, Daniel J. H. (1983).
Amber Dreams: A Roger Zelazny Bibliography
. San Francisco:
Underwood-Miller
. p. 37.
ISBN
0-934438-39-0
.
- Chalker, Jack L.
; Mark Owings (1998).
The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923?1998
. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. p. 669.