In this last installment of the story of the Ungrukh, a group have been invited to come and live for awhile in the Grand Canyon on Solthree (Earth). Her reasons are convoluted, but it turns out that the cats have a nearby enemy and she manages to kill more than thirty of the visiting Ungrukh, enraging and energizing many, including the strange energy being Qumedon, who created the Ungrukh. Kinnear, close to retirement, returns and three generations of Ungrukh all work to bring justice to the fallen. All along I have wondered if the Qumedon is not the inspiration for "Q" in Star Trek Next Generation. Something in this last book makes me surer than ever.
**** ( )

[The Kingdom of the Cats] by [[Phyllis Gotlieb]], published in 1985, follows [A Judgment of Dragons] and [Emperor, Swords, Pentacles], both of which I acquired back when they were first published in 1980 and 1982, respectively. I didn't know about the third novel in the series until I browsed Roni's library collections--thanks, Roni! I've been searching for it for over a year and finally lucked out.

[A Judgment of Dragons] introduced readers to the Ungrukh: large, red telepathic cats that live on the stark, remote, hardscrabble planet Ungruwarkh. The Galactic Federation offers assistance in exchange for their telepathic services. Thus the adventures of Khreng and Prandra, a young Ungrukh couple, ensue. The main plot driver being a renegade Qumedni--a nigh-omnipotent energy being that bears a strong resemblance to Q of Star Trek fame. [Emperor, Swords, Pentacles] features Khreng and Prandra's daughter Emerald and her partner Raanung. This time, the story begins on the planet of Qsaprinel, where a crustacean society is threatened by human outlaws, but most of the action takes place on Earth (called Solthree in these books). [Kingdom of the Cats] features the third generation of Ungrukh protagonists, this time, Emerald and Raanung's daughter Bren and her companion Etrem, a rare genetic throwback who is entirely black. Much of the action takes place around the Grand Canyon on Solthree, opening with the massacre of nearly all of the Ungrukh residents, but quickly spreads to include several distant worlds.

These stories are classic space opera--lots of action and not much science. They are fun and serious at the same time, though. [[Phyllis Gotlieb]]'s style is unique, and her books are like nothing else I've read. She starts with the charismatic hook of intelligent, giant cats, but brings in many other types of intelligent beings. So she's one of the rare authors who creates believable aliens. Moreover, her space operas have a rare depth, anchored in both the complex characters with individual personalities and the array of issues and concepts that are incorporated into the plot. The characters are extremely diverse and representative (whether of real or entirely fictional groups), not just another legion of generic, homogeneous white folks with no particular background or culture beyond a vaguely American feel. These include Native Americans, traditional Jews, blacks, Sikhs and other Indian groups, women with a rare genetic disorder that turns their skin blue, genetically engineered amphibious men and women, homosexuals, heterosexuals, the rare person born with six fingers and toes, the wealthy and privileged as well as the down-trodden outcasts...it goes on and on. And even the most minor secondary characters are given their own personalities and motivations. Then there's the requisite supervillians--crackpot psychopaths, the lot of them. But once again, each with his or her own personality and history leading to the increasingly unhinged evil plots that entangle our Ungrukh protagonists and their allies. The books address questions of prejudice, power, politics, colonialism, etc. And all in such an engrossing style. All of them are keepers, and I'm happy to have all three of this obscure and hard-to-find collection in my library. ( )