Forgot about this the previous year!
One of the better writers I have read from, this story was thrilling throughout and was slightly more on the thriller side compared to his previous books in his Zamonia collection.
It starts of with Echo the Crat (a cat gifted with the ability to speak any language and learn things very quickly) and how he was thrown to the streets. His previous mistress died from an unknown disease and he was therefore left without a home to live in. He survives many hardships on the streets until he was given the deal of a lifetime by an alchemaster by the name Ghoolian.
Echo was asked to sign a contract which stated that he would be allowed free lodging and delicacies cooked by Ghoolian himself for a month but after that, he would be asked to donate his fats to Ghoolian (which means a painful and horrific way to die).
Echo goes through many adventures and meets many new friends who ultimately help him and change the course of his fate significantly. This is a fantastic book and really a fantastic fantasy book in a land called Zamonia. A really great book that lives up to the genre fantasy, a book as great as any book related to Lord of the Rings. A definite must read.