EDITOR’S PICKThis delightful, imaginative story by Ness centers on the intergalactic adventures of 13-year-old Rolo, a “juvenile male hooman” headed for Earth from his home planet of Blorx, where he’s been raised as a pet. Accompanied by his quagling, Quiggles, Rolo is desperate to see if hoomans can really live “off-leash” on Earth, as the stories say. However, the pair immediately runs into trouble when they meet catlings — horse-sized cats that make up Earth’s police force — who arrest Rolo for illegal spacecraft parking and harboring an unlicensed pet. That spells disaster, as Rolo is sent to the pound and Quiggles is scheduled to be euthanized. But a daring escape and a chance encounter with earthling Ailey change their fortunes.
Middle-grade readers will embrace Ness’s entertaining world, brought to vivid life by Sofia Komarenko’s lively illustrations, where cats are in charge and humans are subjugated. Rolo and Quiggles meet a slew of colorful characters in their escapades as they find refuge on a flying circus ship, run into magical artifacts that promise them entrance to an underground world called Zorx (where Rolo’s ancestors may be living), and dodge the dangers of bounty hunter Wicks and her gang of apes. Rolo, who expected Earth to welcome him with open arms and point him to his ancestors, quickly learns the universe is a much larger — and more dangerous — place than he ever imagined. He sums up his frustration in pitch-perfect teenage lingo: “Quiggles, Earth sucks.”
Though action-packed and loads of fun, Ness’s follow-up to Rolo the Pet Earthling offers shrewd insights as well, drawn from the inhumane treatment earthlings receive at the hands of the ruling cats. The book’s awareness of pet population practices hits home, but equally important is its message about found families and appreciating what you have, marking this series as one to watch.Takeaway: Cats rule the universe in this lively intergalactic tale.
A boy finds danger, adventure, and friendship on an Earth ruled by felines in Ness’ middle-grade SF novel, one in a series.
In this entertaining sequel to the SF adventure Rolo the Pet Earthling (2023), 13-year-old Rolo escapes the planet Blorx (where “hoomans” are pets) and lands on Earth, accompanied by his brainy, one-eyed, multi-limbed companion Quiggles. Expecting to meet free “hoomans,” Rolo learns that felines now dominate the Earth. After being hauled to the vet for a rough tongue bath and vaccinations, he is taken before a judge who rules that, because he’s beyond his “cute years” and too old to be adopted, he is to be locked up in the “Litterpool Pound for Stray Hoomans.” Rolo escapes, stows away on a sky-ship belonging to the elephantlike Madame Marvelli and her Fantastical Flying Circus, and is discovered by prickly 11-year-old human Ailey, who performs with the troupe. Ailey agrees to help him find the legendary home of Earthlings who went underground generations before.
The book is a wild ride filled with humor and action, but Ness adds emotional depth with Rolo’s inherent optimism, the pain behind Ailey’s prickliness, and the reasons for Madam Marvelli’s kindness and understanding (and bounty hunter Wicks’ cruelty). Feline behavioral quirks are delightfully on display: Wicks (whose apelike minions’ repartee is a hoot) is distracted by a laser pointer; a cat watches “funny hooman” videos; a tabby baker blissfully kneads dough; Rolo’s judge deliberately knocks a cup of pens off the bench; and a human catnip smuggler is sentenced to scoop litter boxes. There’s a bit of shivery horror in the mix, too, as the author (in the voice of an unnamed feline narrator) explains that humans’ rampant genetic tinkering in the 2100s led the now-sentient cats to rebel during the “Night of the Billion Claws,” reducing humanity by two thirds and ushering in the “great Felion Empire.” The epilogue includes an intriguing teaser for the next book in the series, involving Rolo’s encounter with a pirate crew of outcast canine “houndrels.” Komarenko’s vivid, imaginatively conceived digital illustrations complement the action.
An enjoyable SF fantasy with a likable young protagonist, memorable characters, heart, and humor.
Midwest Book Review
D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer Rolo on the Planet of the Cats continues the adventures of Rolo who grew up as a pet on an alien planet in the first book, Rolo the Pet Earthling. Here Rolo discovers the mythical planet Earth, in search of his ancestors, only to find that the cats have overthrown the hoomans and claimed the planet as their own.
Rolo flees the pound, only to find his adventure further expanded by his meeting with Ailey, who offers to help Rolo locate his people if he will help her flee Earth and its cat overlords.
In short order there appears a fortune-telling elephant, a friendly one-eyed alley cat, and all kinds of encounters that place Rolo and Ailey in dangerous situations packed with tension, from locating the magical Zorx key and stowing away on a ship to confronting dangerous cats.
Illustrator Sofia Komarenko captures the action with colorful drawings peppered throughout, which kids will appreciate.
Hans Ness takes the time to inject play and humor into the story, creating important moments of creative comic relief:
“En garde!” yelled Rolo, standing on a table, thrusting a long banana-fish toward Ailey. (A banana-fish is a meat-fruit shaped like a long banana, with an outer peel of silvery scales and tasty meat inside.) Ailey, too, was on the table, wielding a long fish in one hand and a pan-shield in the other.
This nicely supplements more serious conversations about family, heritage, and the special challenges Rolo and Ailey face as they search out a place in the universe:
After a moment, he said quietly, “I never really knew my parents. That was pretty normal for earthlings back on Blorx. Things are so different here — I’m still trying to figure it out.”
The result is a rollicking ride between a daring escape from cat overlords, an adventure to the lost hooman city, a developing friendship, and the tale of a “stray earthling” seeking a new home.
Libraries seeking a fun, zany sci-fi adventure for advanced elementary to middle-grade readers will find Planet of the Cats a winner, whether it’s chosen as a stand-alone adventure or as a vivid companion to the first Rolo alien world saga.
