Shape-Shifter: The Naming of Pangur Ban (Pangur Ban Series Book #1) Book

I was 9 years old when I read "Pangur Ban, The White Cat," and I immediately followed it up with the only other two books in this series that were available at the school library, which were of course not the consecutive sequels in the story. I always wondered what happened in between and how it ended and wasn't able to get Finnglas and Pangur out of my head. So I managed to buy the whole set from a overseas seller a few years ago, and finally got around to reading the first one, the prequel written some years after "Pangur Ban." and one which I hadn't been able to read back then.

These stories are based off an Irish legend, I gather, about a little white cat that has the ability to shape-shift, and this first story is how the little white kitten is chosen for a witch's spell, or actually the combined spell of three witches, in order to make him their minion and do their bidding. But the spell is only half completed when Pangur manages to escape their clutches. The story also follows a small group of Christian monks and nuns who've just arrived in Wales from Ireland to rebuild an abbey that was previously destroyed in a Viking raid at the foot of a mysterious peak, Black Mountain, known by the locals to be the location of the witches' cave. Fleeing the witches, Pangur is aided by this ragtag group, some of whom believe he carries the witches' demonic taint and should be eliminated, while others see that he is just a scared kitten that should be aided by them and shown the love and compassion of the god they worship.

It's a sweet little story, but unfortunately suffers when - once Pangur has fled - becomes literally one single drawn out plot beat of him fleeing as hare, fleeing as fish, fleeing as bee, and finally a cat. The reason for this was due to the 3-part nature of the spell that the witches attempted to put on him, but it's just drawn out for far too long. There are a number of other perplexing scenes where I felt the description of the setting was inadequate and felt a little bit confused by the sudden arrival of a character somewhere without any explanation of how they got there. I felt it sorely lacked on editing and must have been rushed to publication. It was still an interesting and unique children's tale and I do want to continue with the rest of the series which I remember focuses on Pangur as an adult cat where he has a much more developed character and impacts on the story instead of the story simply happening to him.

I did enjoy reading about Niall Big-Hands, the enthusiastic young Irishman who accompanied the party as an extra pair of hands and a strong labourer but is struggling to figure out his place in the world. He's enthusiastic about everything, but suffers from the feeling that he is an unnecessary third wheel per se. His character arc was the most interesting aspect of the book, and was linked in some nefarious way to the witches' spell and the shadow of Black Mountain.