This collection of stories was nominated for a 2021 Canadian Aurora SFF award. As the name suggests, the stories are about cats on the high seas -- cats and pirates, or cats as pirates.

It's a mixed bag, with some outstanding stories and some mediocre, but the collection is charming and fun, perfect for cat lovers. ( )

May 26th was the virtual release party for this book of short stories. I'm a friend and fan of Rhonda's. I'm not a fan of cats (a barn cat peed on me when I was 10) but I can appreciate them and I figured I'd get around to reading it at some point. Lo, and behold, a few days after the release party when I was looking through available books on NetGalley I saw it was available. So I asked for it and was approved!

Overall, this short story collection is a good one. I always love to see the diversity achieved with the same prompt. These swashbuckling cats aren't confined to nautical vessels. And the cats include ghost cats, pirate cats, shape-shifting cats, and kittens. Definitely not a one size fits all anthology.

My favorite story was "Buccaneer's Revenge" by JB Riley. It tackles the pirate cat angle completely differently from the others. No, I won't spoil it! There are puns for names which some might find childish or silly. I found them quite clever and they made me smile.

My second favorite story was "All Cats Go to Valhalla" by Chadwick Ginther. From the title it's easy to guess this is a viking themed story. From the opening line you know it's bad but you don't know just how bad this journey is for another paragraph or so. Does Odin allow cats into Valhalla or do they go to Folkvangr with Freyja? You'll have to read it to find out. ( )

Not a review. Includes my story "A Royal Saber's Work is Never Done."

Swashbuckling Cats – Nine Lives on the Seven Seas
Edited by Rhonda Parrish

Twitter as a tool for authors to brainstorm and collaborate…that is what I believe happened with this anthology of tales that star feline characters with rather human abilities…and sometimes magical ones, too. Allusions to multiple lives, friendship, piracy, love, families, ghosts and so much more…this was a fun read and one that kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories I read and plan to read the rest later.

I found The Pride a to be a tale of trust and belonging while some might consider it more about betrayal and friendship across cultures (wild dogs and cats). The next book had a hint of the oriental and was about managing to achieve a third life before disappearing forever occurred. There was one with the question of whether or not cats that die go on to Valhalla that reminded me of The Rainbow Bridge I hope my own cats crossed when they passed on. So many stories and fun ones, too.

I believe that those who enjoy cats and perhaps see them as “more” will enjoy this collection as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tcyche Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars ( )