Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #573202 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
Readers will find enough suspense, adventure, and even romance to satisfy them. -- Booklist

Review
Readers will find enough suspense, adventure, and even romance to satisfy them. (Booklist)

About the Author
Clare Bell lives in Patterson, California.

Customer Reviews

They Just Keep Getting Better!
I have read all of the books of the Named,and in my opinion,this is the best one so far! In this book,we meet a group of cats who are intelligent like the Named,but who live in a trance,obeying the internal 'song' of their leader,True-of-Voice.Ratha and the rest of the clan are puzzled by these face-tail(wooly mammoth) hunters and view them with hostility.Only Thistle-Chaser,who is asked to come by Thakur,truly understands them and is capable of hearing the song.But she can never get very far in communicating with the hunters,because the Dreambiter prowls the caverns inside her mind,and whenever Thistle gets close to the song she has painful,violent fits.She needs the help of her mother,Ratha,to defeat the Dreambiter so that she can hear the song.But will Ratha have the courage to do so?And even if she does,will she be able to reach out to the hunters and,when True-of-Voice is injured,save save them?Or will she destroy them because they are alien?You'll have to read the book to find out,but I will say this;it is wonderful!Thistle falls in love.Ratha grows up and becomes a little wiser.And both of them learn some important lessons about love and reconcilliation.Ratha's Challenge is a beautiful book that we can all learn from.In my opinion,Clare Bell is as good as Madeline l'Engle and C.S.Lewis!

Old Love Revived
Recently, I found and purchased Ratha's Challenge by Clare Bell. The last time I recall reading this book and the others in the series, I was a girl in Junior High school. I loved it then and I am loving it now.

For years, I had been searching for this and others in the series. Web searches brought little until I took one last chance and searched through Amazon.com's database. Here, after trying for only a moment or two, found it.

The book itself is wonderful. Receiving it after only a few days from purchase, even better. The company from which it came from is fast and courteous.

Two thumbs up!

Before "Warriors", there was Ratha
I've noticed a surge in recent decades of books of speaking animals forming their own societies. And I am perfectly okay with it. "The Named" revolves around a group of fierce cats in prehistoric times, led by Ratha. In this particular book, Ratha must deal with her daughter who is not happy being with the Named and goes off to find her own path with a group of cats very different from the Named. Clare Bell's writing is simple, haunting, and very effective as she makes the lives of cats living in an unfamiliar and untamed world come alive. Yes, the cats are the victim of plenty of personification, but hey, it works and I believe that is the idea. Bell not only creates a society of sentient cats (which is very respectable fantasy) but brings in serious and solemn ideas that get the reader thinking. I want to read the other books of the series now.