Culdesac

Culdesac by Robert Repino, 110 pages

This novella is a follow-up to Repino's Mort(e), which begins a war between animals and humans, sparked by a biological change in the animals that allowed them to grow, walk on their hind legs, and have complex intelligent thought. Culdesac takes place during the war, and focuses on the titular bobcat, who leads an elite strike force that paves the way for the animal army. The whole of the novella takes place in a small town that Culdesac's force has secured for the animals, though some of the animal residents (being former doted-upon pets) aren't sure of their loyalties.

If you wrap your mind around the incredibly odd premise, it's an intriguing series. I liked Culdesac better than Mort(e), mainly because the biological change has already happened and the parameters are already set; this one reads more as a wartime/post-apocalyptic novel instead of sci-fi (but with, you know, animals).