This was a good theme for an anthology and several of the stories in here were great, but I felt like most of the stories in here really needed more backstory or explanations. Especially any that were about anthropomorphic cats and also included humans and/or other anthropomorphic animals, because it took way longer than it should have to figure out who was a cat vs who was human or another animal.

4/5

If you have recently discovered a hole in your reading heart that only cat pirates can fill then rejoice; your days of waiting are over. Or hey, maybe you just want a quirky coffee table book, I won’t presume. True to its name, Swashbuckling Cats, is a fun romp of feline action and danger on the high seas.

Don’t be fooled by its piratey exterior though, within the pages of Swashbuckling cats you will find many forms of piracy from various eras and worlds. You will be confronted with stories of pirate cats, pirates confronted with cats, shapeshifting pirate cats, viking cats, steampunk ghost pirate cats, spaceship pirate cats, and many more. Emotional impacts of these stories range from comedic to tragic to adventurous.

The quality of the stories is fairly consistent, and I enjoyed seeing the different directions the authors went it despite the rather specific premise. My favorite stories tended to be the ones that uniquely took advantage of the setting, rather than just having cats that were also pirates but no one story stood out as disappointing or underwhelming.

My favorite story here was ‘Cat at the Helm’ by Rose Strickerman which was about a Magician’s cat that finds itself in the middle of a spell. The unique take on the premise and the vibrancy of the setting stood out to me. Although there are also a number of great runners up, so this anthology is at no shortage for imagination.

Thanks to Tyche books who provided me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

First, thank you to Netgalley, Rhonda Parrish, and Tyche Books for the proof.

I really wanted to like this book. The subject seems original. However, none of the stories were more than just ok, except for one.

Even worse, according to other reviews, “The Furgeldt Collector” (which I skipped as a result) is nothing but a pure feline bloodbath.

Some points: "Let the Sun Shine" was too short, but it was good. It left questions unanswered but was cute and intriguing. If the author were to flesh this out into a novel, I would read that. However, "The Growing of the Green" was too cutesy. It's cheesy and derivative.

As someone who loves cats and enjoys pirate stories, I felt like I had to read an anthology that combines these things. I like that the authors took pretty different approaches to the theme: the stories feature things like actual pirate cats, regular cats on pirate ships, cats in space ships and cats in a pirate-themed video game. However, the quality of the stories is a bit varied, which is almost always the case when it comes to short story collections.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing with me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Wow, what a book! 4,5/5, the average of my ratings for each story! (Technically 4,36 but shush.)

I really enjoyed this book even though I seem to struggle with short stories, in terms of picking the book back up after finishing one. These stories were just a joy to read and ranged from the ridiculous to the extremely dark. Of many, I'd gladly take a whole novel, a series, or even just a novella!

Would definitely recommend this anthology as a whole!

I wrote a bit for each story so I could keep them separate in my mind, and not blur them all together, but some will have some spoiler(y) things in them, so be sure to be careful when opening the spoiler tags!

The Pride by Megan Fennell:
4.5-5/5
I WANT MOOREEE.

Spoiler

DO THEY GET BACK TOGETHER?? THEY DO RIGHT? RIGHT!?!

I loved Kit and his determination. His guilt. His love. Also Felix! What a wonderfully unexpected way to start this anthology off! Unexpected how? It's from the POV of a jackal shapeshifter, who has a history with a crew of cat shapeshifters!

The Comeback Kitty by S.G. Wong:
3.5/5
I struggled with this one somehow, but I loved the world. Skyships and clockworks? Awesome! I just didn’t really connect as Kit was just not the nicest character. Like, at all. I really felt for the girl. Love that the Queen’s name is Kat though- Dutch for cat!

Spoiler

I assume they are either sisters or grew up together and ohmygod it’s a toy mouse

I discovered the ARC on Netgalley and absolutely had to read this!
A throughout entertaining anthology about Pirate Cats. There are a lot of different approaches, from classic pirate tales, steampunk airships, cats-turned-human, human-turned-cat, and spaceships, the stories don't get boring. Some read faster, some are very well-written, some make you sad, but I found something to enjoy about all of them.

This review was made possible by an ARC of the book that I received from the publisher. Nonetheless, my review is an attempt at portraying my honest opinion.

“PIRATE CATS!” was my mental cry of joy upon seeing the title, but don’t be fooled: this short story anthology has more than just stories about pirate cats. The authors interpreted the theme quite loosely, writing stories that included cats and ships in any way. The subgenres, settings, and tones of the stories vary quite broadly, which keeps them interesting. I was also quite pleased with how consistent the quality of the stories were: I enjoyed almost all them equally, which is unusual for an anthology.

The Pride (4/5) – The first story of the anthology was totally not what I was expecting. It’s a gritty story about shapeshifters and the personal journey of a jackal who was kicked off the ship of cats he served on, longing for redemption. Along the way, he gets tied up with a pack of jackals who do not take kindly to cats.
The Comeback Kitty (4/5) – This story is a sweeter one than the previous one, but still absolutely not cutesy and full of tension. It’s set in historical China and features a cat who has died and needs her human’s help to earn her Queen’s approval and the right to be resurrected.
The Motley Crew (4/5) – In this story, a gang of human pirates finds a strange stowaway who they are worried wants to eat them. Luckily for them, there is more to this cat than meets the eye, and it would just like their help with something. I loved the mystery that slowly unravels in this one.
Whiti te Ra (Let the sun shine) (4/5) – This one has the most homey feeling in the collection. It takes place in modern day New Zealand, on a small boat on a lake. The main character and her adopted stray cat both possess the ability to walk on water. What starts off as a seemingly calm, relaxing day on the lake with friends turns into something much more unexpected for our protagonists.
The Growing of the Green (4/5) – This is the first sci-fi story in the anthology. I loved how this story manages to be both a fun, tongue-in-cheek story about cats in space, while still tackling themes of colonialism and the British-Irish relations.
The Cat and the Cook (4/5) – When their ship’s cat dies, the crew in this story replaces it with an angry, vicious cat. The ship’s cook is the only one who manages to get on its good side. I was charmed by this tale of friendship and adventure.
Pirates Only Love Treasure (5/5) – In a world of cat-people, a pirate decides to retire by heading to an uninhabited island. Of course, the island turns out not to be the peaceful retirement destination that he was hoping for. This was an incredibly heart-warming and touching story, that I was delighted to read.
Buccaneer’s Revenge (4/5) – This is the most creative and original story in the anthology, yet it still managed to have the most of the pirate-feeling I was expecting. I loved how well the cat body language was done. Oh, and don’t get me started on the wonderful puns. I don’t want to go into any more detail, because this one is best going into blind.
The Furgeldt Collector (3/5) – In this story, our protagonist is a law cat who collects “furgeldt,” that is body parts of criminals to pay for their crimes and to help other cats in their resurrection. It’s full of action and has great world-building. This story didn’t grab me quite as much as the others, but was still an enjoyable read.
Cat Out of Hell (5/5) – Here is my personal favorite of the collection. It’s a portal fantasy with a lot of Egyptology worked in. It was exciting, fast-paced, and had a lot of personal drama and anguish. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next and loved how it was resolved.
The Perfect Kibble (5/5) – This one is another tale set in space, and it’s one that will make cat owners laugh in recognition. I loved how creatively the story was structured and unfolded. I’ve read Krista D. Ball’s work before, so I wasn’t surprised that I enjoyed this story so much.
All Cats Go to Valhalla (4/5) – This is another one that totally manages to set itself apart from the rest. It’s a dark, violent tale of Viking cats, murder, and legends.
Cat at the Helm (4/5) – I just loved this cozy, funny story. It’s a tale about a feline familiar, magical rivalries gone too far, and magically-powered VR games. The cat’s perspective is done here particularly well.
A Royal Saber’s Work is Never Done (5/5) – This was a great conclusion to the anthology. I love the mood in this one. It’s full of romance, adventure and political intrigue. The world-building is fantastic. It’s got everything I’d want in a naval cat story.

This anthology provides all the variety and depth I look for in a good anthology. While I am not sure if I’d called any of the individual stories award-worthy (though, I’ll have to keep a few favorites in mind for Hugo nominating season), this was a great anthology that truly shows off the breadth of the speculative fiction genre. I was genuinely surprised by how much I was still enjoying the stories at the end, having expected that even I, despite my love of cats and pirates, would start tiring of a seemingly narrow theme after a while. If anything, I enjoyed the later stories even more. The authors really took up the challenge and showed off how many interesting things you can do in speculative fiction with even such a specific topic.

This is a perfect little read for cat lovers looking for something to pass the time during the pandemic. I spent a number of happy hours reading these stories with a sleeping or purring cat my lap, as I’m sure you will too.

Recommended for: cat lovers who needs more felines in their speculative fiction, those who enjoy creative and unique themes in their short fiction

Not recommend for: people who aren’t charmed by these fuzzy felines or don’t enjoy speculative short fiction