Reviews of the fantasy Catland
by David Garrett Izzo:

This is a charming book that should definitely appeal to younger readers. For those among us who adore felines, as the author clearly does, there is the additional benefit of seeing an alternate history for beloved pets! David Garrett Izzo has written a fable set in a time when big cats were a sentient and, indeed, heroic race, while human beings were the greedy, cruel newcomers. The spiritually aware cats have to counter the power-mad and evil human Reltih, and the trio we first met as kittens -- Huxley, Maximus and Princess -- now grown, join forces to lead the battle against the human. Catland has all the necessary ingredients for a successful fairy tale: good and evil, unrequited love and loving loyalty, heroism and ancient wisdom. When one spells the name of the cruel and avaricious human leader backwards, the fable becomes parable, and, much like C.S. Lewis's Narnia books, can be interpreted as straightforward fantasy or something a little deeper. As a story, it is somewhat predictable, but an easy and pleasant read nevertheless for the adult reader.
- Rambles
written by Jenny Ivor
published 6 September 2003

Catland named Site of the Month for march 2003 by renowned cat website Diabella Loves Cats at http://diabellalovescats.com/month.htm

Tophat thanks David Garrett Izzo The author of CATLAND, for his incredible book, for his understanding of and his compassion towards cats... and for caring for his kitties Maximus, Princess Blue, and Mr. Huxley who the characters in the book are based on. (Here is part of an email I received from David: "Max the cat is real and so are Huxley and Princess--I just made them a little bigger.") While David does not currently have a site, we made him this award anyway. Click on the book to order from Amazon. You won't be sorry. Once I opened this book I was unable to put it down. It is full of mysticism, wisdom, and beauty. You can learn a bit about this amazing piece of work below from one of the reviews the book has received. Note: Maximus, the lead cat character, is every woman's dream. You will fall hopelessly and madly in love with him!

Conan Tigard of The Reading Nook –Fantasy Place: http://www.mtbca.com/fantasy.html

In the Book of Books is the story of Maximus the First, the most famous of the large cats that ruled the world before recorded history. Maximus was born a slave of the humans. When his mother dies at his birth, Wystan the Wise, the ruler of Eagleland, who has a red feathered head with a red plume, and is also a slave, hides Maximus under his wing so the slave owners will not discover him. Three months later, Maximus is set free by the leader of Catland and the leader of the Freedom Riders, Trevenen, who adopts Maximus. Little does Trevenen know that his newly adopted son is really his second son. Maximus is taken to Catland and meets Travenen's first son, Huxley, and they become fast friends. But there is something unusual about Maximus. He is big. In fact, he is enormous in comparison to the other large cats. Later, when the Freedom Riders return from an excursion in the east, they bring back a kitten; the last of her tribe. Princess Blue becomes fast friends with the two boys. As they grow older, Maximus becomes leader of the Freedom Riders while Huxley is being trained to take over leader of Catland for his father one day. The human, Reltih, is still holding Wystan captive and is conquering all the surrounding nations. The only question is whether Maximus can withstand Reltih, who seems to be intent on conquering the world.
Catland is David Garrett Izzo's fist fictional novel. He is the author of numerous books and articles about the authors Aldous Huxley, W.H. Auden, Gerald Heard, Christopher Isherwood and Stephen Vincent Benet, all of who appear as characters in this story. Catland is a fable that can be read by all age groups.
From the beginning, I liked the story. Catland is an interesting story that grabs the reader and doesn't let them go until the end. The characters are interesting and the story is a lot of fun. The violence is extremely minimal and this book is okay for younger reads, as there is nothing offensive in the story. David Garrett Izzo spins a tale of giant cats that ruled the world with mysticism, honor and courage. I found these cats to be everything I wished humans could be today. What a wonderful world it would be if these giant cats really did exist. Overall, I would have to say that this is a very good story and can be read by young adults and adults both. So, if you love cats, whether they be small house cats or large, intelligent, gentle cats, this is the book for you.
I rated this book an 8 out of 10.

Toby Johnson, Sci-Fi award winner for Secret Matter and Editor/Publisher, White Crane Journal –Toby Johnso@aol.com

“Before recorded time, the big cats ruled the world with mysticism, honor, and courage,” goes the subtitle for Catland by David Garrett Izzo. On the surface, this is a piece of fluff—but quite fun—about legendary housecats the size of human beings who inhabit a world a little like Tolkien’s Middle Earth where intelligent, even psychic, animal spirits share the earth with one another, wizards, majestic eagles, and problematic human beings, and a little like the galaxy far, far away where the Light and the Dark sides compete for the power of the Force, i.e. a world of myth and metaphorical meaning.
The story tells of the adventures of the head of the Cat Freedom Riders, Maximus the First, a black cat with a shiny white chest and burning yellow eyes. Maximus was stolen as a kitten and cared for in capitivity by a wise, magical eagle named Wystan and watched over by a wizard named Gerald. The first half of the book involves Maximus’s rescue by the red-and-tan tabby named Huxley.
The second half recounts Maximus’s conflict with the evil humans, likened to Nazis with names that are cyphers for Hitler and Mengele, men who have chosen “Second Nature” (the Dark side), that is, ego and power over collective identity and common good.
Izzo’s dedication at the head of the book reveals that Max, Huxley, and Princess are he and his wife’s household cats. But, of course, the names are also reminiscent of the 1940s and 50s poetry/mysticism circle of W.H. Auden, Gerald Heard, Stephen Spender, Aldous Huxley, and Christopher Isherwood. Izzo is a scholar of this period in English and American letters, having written and edited several books and scholarly anthologies on these mostly gay literary figures. One of Izzo’s books is a novelized account of these men’s experience of the rise of Nazism in Europe called A Change of Heart (to be published Gival Press) which examines Isherwood’s idea of the Truly Strong Man.
Catland is certainly not a roman a clef, though there are parallels between the cats and their namesakes (Huxley the red-and-tan tabby is half-blind from an eye-infection like his namesake Aldous). But it is, in fairy-tale style, another examination of the idea of the Truly Strong Man—or, in this case, Cat—which is one who would give his own life for the sake of transpersonal good (what in Catland is called “Great Mystery”
I liked this little book. As a cat-lover myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the images of giant housecats bounding to the rescue. Izzo’s writing is very descriptive. This book is a treat—with a truly mystical message.

A Change of Heart
http://www.givalpress.com
a historical novel of British authors 1929-1933
(fall 2003)

Early praise for David Garrett Izzo’s novel A Change of Heart --early fall 2003 from Gival Press: wwww.givalpress.com

Whether you are an adept of Aldous Huxley, W. H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood, or any of the artistic figures of the 1930s, you will be enlightened and entertained by David Garrett Izzo's remarkable A Change of Heart. His recreations are so astonishingly alive and accurate that you feel you are there at the creation, a sudden intimate of a brilliant and select group of artists and writers. Auden and Spender and others parry and debate, live and breathe again; the past recaptured! Izzo knows the period so deeply and has such powers of synthesis that even someone like myself who has been reading Auden for forty years will find fresh factsand will see material already known anew. Stunning, dense, just, and, in the largest and best sense, true."
Roger Lathbury: George Mason University

“David Garrett Izzo breathes new life into some of the great literary figures of the twentieth century. Historically accurate, fresh with energy, true to character (no easy feat), his prose offers rich new moments with Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, W. H. Auden, and others of their constellation. Izzo creates a wonderfully voyeuristic atmosphere."
Dana Sawyer: author of Aldous Huxley, a Biography

“A Change of Heart is a detailed portrait of a now mythical time, England and Germany in the 1930s, as told through the lives of real and fictional characters. Here are the young Christopher Isherwood, Wystan Auden and Stephen Spender, as well as the celebrated Aldous Huxley and D. H. Lawrence. David Garrett Izzo draws on his vast knowledge of the times, the people, and their work to create a novel reminiscent of Huxley’s Point Counterpoint and Isherwood’s Goodbye to Berlin yet all his own. Izzo recreates the lives and loves of young and established writers and artists, along with their artistic, philosophic and political battles.”
James J. Berg: editor, The Isherwood Century and Conversations with Christopher Isherwood

“Though daunting at the outset, Izzo's scholarship and wealth of information about the real lives of his central characters soon becomes the novel's strength. The richness of fact and detail--especially about the principles' psychological motivation, including, of course, for most of them their homosexuality--bring to life these figures of literature and literary stature. And in so doing give a deeper layer of meaning to their literature.”
Toby Johnson: LAMBDA winner 2001 for Gay Spirituality

A fictional account of the life of early 20th Century English Author Aldous Huxley.
Expertly written. Describes in detail Huxley’s literary contempories. Does a good job at covering European political intrigue of the 1930s; the struggles between the “isms” - fascism, Marxism, and democratism. Effectively outlines upper-crest British opinion of the coming war – mainly isolationist, during Hitler’s rise to power.
Independent Publishing Review

A Play:
The American World of
Stephen Vincent Benet
http://www.amazon.com

Written and performed for Benet’s Centenary celebration July 1998 in his birthplace of Bethlehem, PA

Published in 1999 by Encore Performance Publishing www.encoreplay.com or www.amazon.com

The ghost of twentieth century American author Stephen Vincent Benet (John Brown's Body, The Devil and Daniel Webster) visits a theater where he has been told by his wife Rosemary that a speaker will lecture on Benet's life and work. Benet begins chatting with the audience and soon realizes that, in fact, he is the speaker. Benet tells his story and that of his era, 1898 to 1943 that included the roaring twenties, the depression, the rise of fascism, and World War II.

Reviewed by Cynthia Gordon, Easton Express Times
“Izzo has created a remarkably moving picture of one of the literary greats of the century. The warm, well-balanced qualities of Benet shone in the performance. Ideally, Izzo will repeat his creation many times. Izzo’s performance matched his excellent script."

A Short Play:
Wrath
http://www.linnaeanstreet.com

An urban after dark mugging turns into a conversation of philosophical contemplation that ends in the Twilight Zone.

Performed by Einstein’s Bastards in NYC on January 9, 2003; published in the Web literary journal Linnaean Street fall – winter 2002.