Clare Bell (1) (1952–)

In the ancient Aztec empire, a young girl is taken captive from her remote jungle tribe and made a slave. She attempts an escape to freedom but fails, is sold to a different owner, and initially has only the lowest of tasks- emptying chamberpots. Unexpectedly someone discovers she has a natural gift for writing (in pictorial glyphs) and suddenly her life changes. She is trained to be a scribe, sent to live in a new place, and eventually attracts the attention of the highest rulers, who not only want her skill in depicted and copying sacred texts, but also strive to control and manipulate another great gift she possesses- to turn into the form of a jaguar. An ability she wasn’t aware of at first, its expression such a frightening and confusing thing. Other people in her life emerge who can teach her to handle the jaguar side of her nature, but for a long time she struggles to accept it, fearful that as a jaguar, she will not recognize those around her, and might harm even her friends . . . This was one of the author’s first published books, and I have to admit much as I love her work, it’s not one of her best. The writing felt kind of rough, not so polished. While I really liked the ideas the story explored, but the whole thing felt dry and held at a distance, as it were. I would have preferred far more from the girl’s point of view, but I appreciate how the sections told from the ruler’s perspective gave the reader a fuller understanding of the issues involved. Mainly about power struggles.There's also theme of the conflict between animal instincts and human nature. And of course because it was about the Aztecs, there was a lot on the beliefs and human sacrifices, particularly about how some people in the novel found that distasteful and wished to worship other gods, or turn the religion back to an older iteration, and the efforts to make changes. Very compelling story, one I can’t stop thinking about, even though I was a bit frustrated with the telling… (meer)

I was blown away by this book when I first read it long ago as a pre-teen. I’ve read it multiple times, though it’s been decades since the last re-read (until now). Of course the surprises no longer leap out at me, but the story is very much still engaging, I loved revisiting all the details, and I grasped much better than my younger self, the parts that took place in historical Egypt. Warning: I love this book so much I want to say a lot about it, so there’s gonna be SPOILERS, though I’ll try not to give everything away. It’s about a race of sentient cheetahs, that live in a far-distant future when humans have abandoned Earth. The planet is not in great shape- the cheetahs struggle to survive harsh conditions, with rapidly diminishing plant life and scant prey to make their living from. Kichebo is a young cheetah born into difficult circumstances, to say the least. Her mother dies in an accident when she’s very young, and her aunts begrudgingly raise the orphaned cub (cheetah culture frowns on this, she was supposed to be left to die). They're first appalled, then frustrated when she starts to mature. Her adult fur coat grows in completely black, with gold tear lines and tail tip. This anomaly is a serious threat to her survival- it’s nearly impossible to hunt, when she is so visible against the pale desert scenery. She learns to manage by using ambush techniques, or sticking to crepuscular times, but longs to run freely out in the open, to be the way a cheetah is supposed to be.

So there’s all that- this daily struggle to survive, this one cheetah in particular dealing with trying to accept her differences and find a way to fit in. I would have been totally satisfied to read an entire novel just about that. The cheetahs are so alive, their personalities very distinct, their catlike mannerisms, customs and expressions reminding you strongly that these are not anthropomorphized characters, even though they talk to each other. But then! Strange alien flying craft start to appear, and it becomes obvious they’re tracking the cheetahs, focusing on Kichebo in particular. Which makes things even harder for her. Things happen, and she ends up fleeing to live on her own. One day she finds an alien craft crashed in the desert, on fire. There’s a naked apelike creature trapped in the wreckage- she drags it free intending to eat it, but then doesn’t. For some strange reason she is reluctant to kill the creature, ends up letting it follow her, then eventually adopts it in a manner of speaking. It is a humanoid, somewhere in the toddler age range. The relationship that slowly develops between the lonely outcast cheetah and this little defenseless human is so believable and tender- and not without its amusing moments either. I loved the details about how Kichebo tries to communicate with the creature she ends up calling Menk, tries to teach it to speak– but finds its lack of ability to use expressive gestures, having no tail or whiskers- such a handicap that she can only get the most basic messages across. Imagine! A story in which animals pity humans for the limitations of using just verbal sounds to communicate. This story got better and better.

There’s more. Kichebo, Menk and another elderly cheetah they meet, take up residence in a place no other cheetahs are interested in, because it’s near an ancient human ruin. Odd things happen when Kichebo walks among the massive crumbled buildings. She’s taken by fits (that sound like epilepsy) and makes a mental connection to another black cheetah who lived far, far in the past- in ancient Egypt during the time of Tutankhamen. So now there’s another parallel storyline, about this other black cheetah who lived among royalty, with details on how the Egyptians kept cheetahs in captivity, trained them to course prey, some of their customs of worship, court intrigue surrounding the young King Tut, and much much more. (I admit when I was a kid a lot of this part went over my head, even though I found it fascinating). For her part, Kichebo is at first terrified by this telepathic time-travel with a long-extinct conspecific, then she becomes eager to learn more about herself, from the only other black cheetah she’s ever encountered. Is he real, though? Her elderly companion gently suggests that maybe Kichebo made the whole thing up, that heatstroke and her strange fits are giving her delusions.

So they travel past the ruins to a site Kichebo had learned about from her friend in the past, just to prove to herself that he really did exist. She finds far more than she expected to. Long ago this ending section of the book felt rushed and confused to me, I didn’t quite grasp all the implications. But this time around it was pretty clear. Kichebo the rare black cheetah, at last gets the answers she’s sought her whole life- why she looks so different from all the others, why she felt compelled to keep Menk as a companion instead of eat her as prey, even about some abilities she wasn’t aware she had, and where her future might lead her.

If only there was a sequel or companion novel to this book! I’d snap it up in a heartbeat. Done writing now, before I tell all the things I’ve skipped over here. Have to leave something for other readers to discover- if you can find a copy of this novel count yourself very fortunate.… (meer)

I picked this up at a used book store for a dollar because the cover attracted me. And it turned out to be one of the best shapeshifter novels I have ever read!

The Jaguar Princess melds shapeshifter fantasy with historical fiction set during the Aztec Empire. Mixcatl is a young girl stolen from her jungle village to become a slave in the capital city. Her artistic talents soon come to light and she becomes a scribe. But, she another talent even more rare. She is one of the jaguar people; descended from ancient rulers of this land. Will she be the one to free her people from the cruel Aztec king whose sacrifices grow more and more demanding?

I enjoyed the story so much because I immediately identified with the protagonist. She is spirited, intelligent and curious. One of my favorite scenes is at the beginning when, upon arriving in the city, she hears the rumor that if a slave touches the walls of the palace, they are freed. Naturally, she makes a run for it! She doesn't succeed, yet after she becomes a scribe she doesn't try again. The author shows that a person can change as they grow. Mixcatl has been indoctrinated to her new society - readying her to remain here and fulfill her destiny.… (meer)