Sa Majesté des Chats

Taken at random from the pile of Christmas presents, I was curious to dive back into some Bernard Werber, which I hadn't touched since I was... 10?

Strange experience.

Summary

Rather original premise, which is to be expected from Werber: the narrator is a cat, who is called Bastet in reference to the Egyptian goddess who is half-cat and half-human. The world is being invaded by rats, and humanity is in danger. For Bastet, the next logical step is for the cats to take over the world; for humanity to be replaced by bliss ("félicité" in french, from felis, "cat") (I really liked this play on words). But before that, we have to eliminate the threat of an army of brown rats led by Tamerlan, a white rat with red eyes who became very intelligent after humans implanted a USB plug in the middle of his forehead. This plug allows him to access the Internet and communicate from mind to mind with all species.

Fortunately, he's not the only one with this knowledge: Pythagoras, a Siamese cat who is a friend of Bastet, also has a USB socket, and Bastet manages to dig one for herself. And they have an invaluable advantage over their enemy: a USB key that contains the famous Encyclopedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge, i.e. the entirety of human knowledge.

Convinced that her destiny is to be the queen of future bliss, Bastet then takes the leadership of a small group of humans and cats who, from one adventure to the next, ally themselves with other animal species and try to prove their superiority against those rat vermin.

Impressions

Werber is a pro. The tone is light, the humor is very present. Bastet is, as one might expect for a cat, proud, impatient, grumpy. She thinks she is the queen of the world, literally, she calls her human mistress her "servant", she is fully aware of her charm, she takes advantage of others, she believes that everything is due to her... but we love her the same. The story is original and quite gripping, the sentences flow, it is easy to read.

And of course, a characteristic feature of Werber's books: the chapters are interspersed with excerpts from the Encyclopedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge, which explain facts that are always interesting and surprising, so surprising sometimes that one wonders if they are true.

But at some point, I got bored, because the book is pure entertainment. It doesn't make you think at all, or very little. In these times of pandemic and social upheaval, I needed a little more substance. I can see a teenager or an adult on vacation who wants to get away from it all immersing themselves in this book with delight.

I'd be curious to dive back into The Ants, see if I get the same impression.