The city of Tabat exists in a steampunk magical world where intelligent beasts such as unicorns and dragons exist but have no legal rights. Their status is in part a reaction to the depredations of the sorcerers who created many of them in the Shadow Wars, which destroyed an entire continent, but over time, humans have come to depend economically on the exploitation of their labor and sometimes even their physical bodies.
Tabat started as a proposal for an area for an online game my friend James was creating in the mid-nineties. I wanted to do a seaport, and I was inspired by the building system that James had created, which allowed one to add conditional descriptions to a room, ones that would only appear if certain conditions were met, such as it being high tide, or spring, or some combination of similar factors. I loved that, and created things like a street whose tiles underfoot changed according to the lunar cycle.
The game never came to pass, but several years later I returned to Tabat. At the time Armageddon was closed to players every Saturday in order to allow the staff to coordinate and conduct maintenance. I suggested that a MUD set in a very small area would allow the players to socialize and roleplay, and set about recreating the city, mapping it out and beginning to figure out some of its history. That project also never was completed, but finally in 2004 I began writing stories set in Tabat and the surrounding world, because I knew it so well.
As I’ve written in it, it’s continued to grow in clarity and new landmarks have appeared, such as the Piskie Wood, the Great Tram, and the waterfall in the Duke’s Plaza. Its growth has been shaped by my interest in and reading of early American history. I’m very fond of Tabat, and I’d like to see it reach the heights of other fantasy fiction cities, such as Ambergris and Lankhmar.
I’m currently writing Volume IV of the Tabat Quartet, Gods of Tabat. The other books in the series are:
- Beasts of Tabat (Book One of the Tabat Quartet), WordFire Press
- Hearts of Tabat (Book Two of the Tabat Quartet), WordFire Press
- Exiles of Tabat (Book Three of the Tabat Quartet), WordFire Press – Order now!
Reviews
I can honestly say that Cat Rambo’s Beasts of Tabat is one of the best and most interesting fantasy novels I’ve had the pleasure to read during recent years. -Risingshadow.net
Complex fantasy steampunk for adults – Amazon review
Big love for the exacting, rich, and detailed worldbuilding of Tabat. – Amazon review
It’s got everything you could want in a novel: addictively satisfying prose, unforgettably compelling characters facing frustrating dilemmas, political intrigues, romance and combat, magical creatures, and moral ambiguities–all set in a world that’s so skillfully realized that you’ll think you’ve been there and you’ll dream about it for the rest of your life (I do). Oh… and best of all… there’s a sequel coming later this year! – Huw Evans
Stories Set in Tabat
Every Breath a Question, Every Heartbeat an Answer (novelette), Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 2021
Broken All My Boughs and Brittle My Heart, Unlocking the Magic, 2019
The Bumblety’s Marble, Paper Cities, 2008
The Dead Girl’s Wedding March, Fantasy Magazine, 2006
Events at Fort Plenitude, Weird Tales, 2008
Every Breath a Question, Every Heartbeat an Answer (novelette), Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 2020
The Ghost-Eater, Thirteen: Stories of Transformation, 2015
Hoofsore and Weary, Shattered Shields, 2014
How Dogs Came to the New Continent, Patreon, 2015
I’ll Gnaw Your Bones, the Manticore Said, Clarkesworld Magazine, 2007
In the Lesser Southern Isles, Black Sails, 2007
Love, Resurrected, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 2011
A Merchant Has Maxims (novelette), Unfettered III, 2019
Narrative of a Beast’s Life (novelette), Realms of Fantasy, 2008
Primaflora’s Journey (novelette), Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 2015
Sugar, Fantasy Magazine, 2007.
Documents of Tabat (related flash pieces)
- A Souvenir of Tabat on Quarterreads
- Spinner Press Advertisement
- A Brief Treatise on Magical Energy and the Practice of Eating Beasts
- Ducal Correspondance
- Pests of Tabat
- A Handbill Posted Outside Figgis’ Bakery
- Arriving in Tabat
- The Markets of Tabat
- The Statues of Tabat
- Fashions of Tabat
- Street Foods of Tabat
- Gardens of Tabat
- Flowers of Tabat
- Artists of Tabat
- A Glimpse From the College of Mages
- An Auction Handbill
Here is an updated version of the chronology of Tabat according to existing stories/novels.
The Shadow Wars
- Love, Resurrected (appeared in BENEATH CEASELESS SKIES)
- A Twine of Flame (available in EYES LIKE SKY AND COAL AND MOONLIGHT)
Early Tabat
Modern-day
- The Bear* (appeared in AIOFE’S KISS)
- The Bumblety’s Marble (appeared in PAPER CITIES and EYES LIKE SKY AND COAL AND MOONLIGHT)
- DOCUMENTS OF TABAT, forthcoming.
- Dryad’s Kiss* (appeared in GRYPHONWOOD)
- Events at Fort Plentitude (appeared in WEIRD TALES and EYES LIKE SKY AND COAL AND MOONLIGHT)
- The Ghost-Eater (available in XIII)
- Hoofsore and Weary (available in Shattered Shields)
- I’ll Gnaw Your Bones, the Manticore Said (appeared in CLARKESWORLD and EYES LIKE SKY AND COAL AND MOONLIGHT)
- In the Lesser Southern Isles (appeared in BLACK SAILS and EYES LIKE SKY AND COAL AND MOONLIGHT)
- BEASTS OF TABAT (novel, Wordfire Press)
- HEARTS OF TABAT (novel, Wordfire Press)
- Narrative of a Beast’s Life (appeared in REALMS OF FANTASY and EYES LIKE SKY AND COAL AND MOONLIGHT)
- Primaflora’s Journey, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 2015.
- A Souvenir of Tabat (available on Quarterreads and forthcoming in DOCUMENTS OF TABAT)
- Sugar (appeared in FANTASY and EYES LIKE SKY AND COAL AND MOONLIGHT)
Legends and Fairytales
- The Dead Girl’s Wedding March (appeared in FANTASY MAGAZINE and EYES LIKE SKY AND COAL AND MOONLIGHT)
- A Key Decides Its Destiny (appeared in SAY… and EYES LIKE SKY AND COAL AND MOONLIGHT)
*Not currently available in-print. Email Cat if not having them makes you too sad.
Cover Images:
If you’re coming to Emerald City Comic Con, stop by the Wordfire Press booth to pick up the book!