Fluffy's Revolution

By: Ted Myers / Narrated By: Rob Hegner

Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins

It’s not really baaaaad narration, but a lackluster performance leaves this as simply a charming listen

I mean, I don’t think Ted Myers was going for a deep indictment on humanity or our future, but Fluffy’s Revolution could’ve been a tad more than just a sweet little story.

We have 5-year old Fluffy, a GAB—genetically altered brain—cat, living with her “dad”, Professor Riordan in Kingston, NY (The new Manhattan as climate catastrophes led to NY City becoming uninhabitable). It’s 2135, and Fluffy—whom the Professor got as a tiny kitten at a flea market never dreaming she was a GAB—chose her and left her brother with the grubby little girl who was selling them for $2, This is something Fluffy is often troubled by, worrying about the fate of her brother.

As the story opens, Fluffy has as of late been getting troubling thoughts about her brother, Jack, as though he’s in danger, and that makes her decide to leave the shelter of the only home she’s known, that with the Professor in their small apartment. This is a time of the populace hating and fearing GABs, demonizing them as The Other, as terrorists out to slaughter and commit mayhem. As such, animals, especially GABs, are rounded up, and Animal Control is a system of executing them all, all in the name of safety to the public.

Though it wounds him deeply, the Professor parts with her, taking her tracking collar off and offering to move it around the apartment through the day, as Animal Control monitors the movement of GABs. And soon Fluffy is off into a world she’s never known, soon hooking up with a mouse named Hacker, whom she’d dearly love to eat, much to her confusion, until he tells her that Unity amongst GABs means getting over their baser instincts. The group of revolutionaries she joins is other GABs with a few well-meaning humans, and they stage a break-out of all animals at an Animal Control center.

Things go much awry, there are casualties, the revolutionaries are found, some able to flee, dispersed to the wind. Fluffy earlier shared a vision of Animal U—somewhere in the mountains—where GABs are welcomed and trained to use their special abilities to great extent, and that’s where all the animals are trying to head to as they run from the Law.

The story follows Fluffy’s journey, losing her friends, meeting them again, parting with them again. Along the way she encounters humans who miiiiight be Good Samaritans or who miiiiiight be out to grab her, turn her in for the bounty that’s on the head of each GAB. The sorrowful Professor is moved to search for his beloved cat and is involved with the activities of the revolutionaries, and he’s pretty much on the run too, with the help of friends who stayed back and with a woman, quite lovely, who joins him as they seek to bring justice for the GABs.

This COULD’VE been much deeper as it seemed Myers had some hard-hitting themes running through it. I mean, there’s what happens to the planet due to global climate change, there’s a form of government that is flat out based on the world’s top three corporations coming together to rule the planet. Organized religion is no longer allowed for the government to condone or vilify, thereby pretty much stopping war. And of COURSE, there’s how we treat our notion of animals, how we treat animals themselves.

But I’m afraid that narrator Rob Hegner, tho’ he does indeed seem to be trying, didn’t really devote himself much to his performance. The animals have voice boxes/mini-blasters, and each has chosen their voice. Fluffy herself chose Katherine Hepburn’s voice, and a whole lotta fun could’ve been had with an intrepid feline spouting her words… all in Hepburn’s inimitable style. Another GAB chose Ava Gardner, which also could’ve been fun (Though I wonder if today’s listener would’ve known either of those two fabulous women). Then too, there are scenes of action, scenes of heartwarming reunions which coooould be breathtaking or emotionally evocative, but Hegner just kinda sorta drones them in a flat style, making them rather miss the mark.

Still, as one friend put it recently, it’s rare to find a cat making it into a story, other than a cozy mystery, at the best of times, so it was quite nice to have an entire story where civilization depends on the guts and brains of animals, esPECially on “the haunches of one small cat.”

I’m CERtainly not sad I spent the time on this book, I just think it really had the potential for a lot more.

And by the way?

…there’s an ASTEROID heading straight for the Earth! Can Fluffy and Co. save the day…?!!