Eye of Cat

Roger Zelazny

William Blackhorse Singer is probably the last Navajo alive. He is definitely their last tracker alive. He made a name for himself in his tracking abilities throughout the galaxy. The Interstellar Life Institute in San Diego is filled with the exotic animals he tracked and captured on distant planets. Now Billy is retired.

But the government asks Billy to return to a tracking position. There is a religious zealot alien who is heading to Earth to assassinate a high official. They would like Billy to catch her before she can complete her mission. Billy reluctantly agrees, but believes he needs help. There is one animal at the ILI that has puzzled him over the years. He has always wondered if that animal is sentient, intelligent, rather than a normal beast. He returns to San Diego and approaches the shapeshifting creature.

Billy discovers he is correct. Cat (as Billy calls him) can communicate telepathically. It had taken Cat many years to learn how to communicate with humans. Even then, he didn't deign to bother until Billy came back and tried to reach him again. Cat is a hunter. Billy and Cat strike a bargain. If Cat helps Billy stop the zealot, Cat can kill Billy for capturing him all those years ago.

Eye of Cat combines American Indian spiritualism with futuristic aliens and situations. Author Zelazny combines the ancient art of a hunter tracking his prey across ground and the future transportation of "beaming" (a la Star Trek) around Earth. Eye of Cat involves the ancient craft of tracking and hunting along with science fiction shape shifting.

Zelazny has written an intriguing tale with its opposites blending well together. Billy Singer was born in the early 1900's, but because of the time warping of space travel, is actually younger than the years he has totted up on the calendar. Zelazny relies on knowledge of Navajo traditions to create this novel. Eye of Cat is interesting reading.