Ratha's Challenge: The Fourth Book of the Named

Overview

As Ratha struggles to reconcile with Thistle-chaser, the daughter she once tried to kill, the Named are locked in another struggle when they confront a strange clan of hunter cats who are driven by and completely dependent on the telepathic song of their leader, True-of-voice. When an accident leaves True-of-voice on the brink of death, Ratha must choose whether to destroy or to save the hunters. It is her daughter who has the knowledge to show Ratha the way . . . if she can listen. Ratha's Challenge features a teaser for Clare Bell's Ratha's Courage-the first new book about the big cat and her clan in thirteen years.

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Author Information

Bio of Clare Bell

Born in England in 1952, Clare Bell moved to the US in 1957. She worked in oceanography, electrical engineering, test equipment design and mechanical engineering before she wrote her first book, Ratha's Creature (Atheneum-Argo Margaret K .McElderry 1983), the story of a prehistoric wildcat who learns to tame fire. Since then she has continued to write fantasy and science fiction for children and adults. She says, "I am still fascinated by prehistoric animals and big cats, as showcased in the five Ratha series novels. I consider my two little cats, Danny and Athena, to be research assistants as well as companions and have learned a lot from them." "My stories show sociological themes as well, exploring the changes that are brought about in culture through technology, even one as crude as fire. I also enjoy creating plausible and workable prehistoric animal and alien characters. The central theme of my fiction is evolution, a result of my being influenced early by the works of C.S. Lewis, Olaf Stapledon , and Arthur C. Clarke. Bell has degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering, biology and chemistry and she works in technical areas in addition to writing fiction. She built and designed electric vehicles and spent a year in Norway working on the Ford Think EV. She raced EVs in the Arizona Public Service Company-sponsored Solar and Electrics competitions, held from 1991 to 1998. Her electric Porsche 914, known by her racing number, #13, was a well-known top-placing competitor in these races. She was also involved with the Women's Electric Racing and Educational Team (WE'RE-IT), racing the Porsche and a converted race-Rabbit, #6 Hop-along. After moving to a remote site in California's coastal mountains, Bell and her partner put together theirr own solar and wind systems and experimented with a power-generating waterwheel. A naturalized citizen of the US, she now lives with her partner-become-husband, Chuck Piper, in the hills west of Patterson, California. Please visit her website at rathascourage.com.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Puffin

Filesize

1.28 MB

Number of Pages

272

eBook ISBN

9781101005934