Quick Take
- Narration: Hollie Jackson brings Cat’s irreverence and warmth to life – her timing with the snarky AI and comedic banter is one of the production’s genuine strengths.
- Themes: Cyberpunk identity, corporate corruption, chosen family
- Mood: Fast-paced and playful with real stakes underneath
- Verdict: A worthy follow-up for fans of the first volume – episodic in structure but consistently fun, with a narrator who makes 14 hours fly.
I was halfway through a gray Thursday afternoon when I started Stray Cat Strut 2, having finished the first volume the previous weekend. The series had already earned my trust: RavensDagger writes cyberpunk with genuine warmth, which is rarer than it should be. Volume 2 confirmed both the strengths I had noticed and the structural quirk its most honest reviewers flag – this is web serial fiction finding its audiobook shape, and that seam shows. But Hollie Jackson’s narration is good enough that the seams mostly disappear into momentum.
The setup picks up almost immediately after Cat LeBlanc’s improbable ascent from nobody to cyber-samurai. She is still barely a day into her new existence when the second volume drops her into an active kidnapping case involving a child and the corporation behind it, a pyrotechnic nun-samurai named Gomorrah as an unlikely partner, and a parallel threat involving shapeshifting Antithesis aliens that have infiltrated a mining town called Black Bear. This is, objectively, a lot. RavensDagger is not writing minimalist fiction.
Our Take on Stray Cat Strut 2
The series has accumulated over four million views on Royal Road, which explains both its confidence and its occasional looseness. Web serial fiction develops through reader feedback in real time, and that iterative origin shows in how this volume is structured: multiple plot threads that do not always resolve into a single unified arc. One reviewer described it accurately as more disjointed than the first book, noting that you could more easily tell it was written as a web serial originally. That is a fair observation, not a condemnation. The individual threads are well-executed; it is the connective tissue between them that is thinner here than in a novel plotted from outline.
What keeps everything from fragmenting is Cat herself. She is a protagonist built for this format – funny, self-deprecating, genuinely caring about the orphaned children in her charge, and believably overwhelmed by what she has become. Her relationship with girlfriend Lucy adds emotional grounding, and the question of how Lucy will process Cat’s transformation gives the personal storyline real weight. The snarky AI is, as multiple reviewers note, consistently entertaining. RavensDagger writes comedic dialogue the way good genre writers write action: efficiently, with rhythm.
Why Listen to Stray Cat Strut 2
Hollie Jackson is the primary reason to choose the audio version over the ebook. Her performance captures Cat’s particular blend of bravado and uncertainty without tipping into either camp exclusively. The banter-heavy dialogue – between Cat and Gomorrah, between Cat and the AI, between Cat and basically everyone she meets – lands better in Jackson’s voice than it would on the page. One reviewer listened to the entire series on audio and then returned to read it in text form, which is the kind of dual-format endorsement that speaks to the narration’s quality.
The action sequences also benefit from audio. RavensDagger writes cinematic set pieces, and Jackson paces them well. The Antithesis alien infiltration plotline in particular, with its shapeshifting paranoia and the difficulty of trusting anything inanimate, translates into genuine tension when performed rather than read silently.
What to Watch For in Stray Cat Strut 2
New listeners who have not started with volume one will be lost immediately. This is not an entry point. The series assumes knowledge of Cat’s origin, her relationship with Lucy, and the broader New Montreal worldbuilding. There are also minor plot holes and some grammar errors carried over from the serial format, as a few reviewers note – nothing story-breaking, but noticeable if you are reading carefully. In audio form, these tend to slide past without interrupting the experience.
The episodic structure means some plot threads feel more resolved than others at the end of the volume. Listeners expecting the tight closure of traditionally published fantasy series will find the ending functional but open. The series is ongoing, and RavensDagger is clearly writing toward a longer arc. This volume advances it rather than completing it.
Who Should Listen to Stray Cat Strut 2
Anyone who finished Stray Cat Strut 1 and wants more will get exactly what they are hoping for. The series appeals strongly to readers who enjoy LitRPG with genuine humor, queer protagonists who are not defined primarily by their queerness, and cyberpunk that prefers lively banter to bleak atmosphere. Listeners new to the series should start at volume one. Those who struggle with episodic, multi-threaded narratives that prize energy over architectural tidiness may find the structure frustrating, but fans of Royal Road fiction will recognize the format immediately and forgive it easily.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is volume 2 accessible as a standalone, or do I need to read Stray Cat Strut 1 first?
Volume 2 is not a standalone. It picks up directly from the end of the first book and assumes familiarity with Cat’s origin, her relationships, and the New Montreal setting. Start with volume 1.
How does Hollie Jackson handle the comedic dialogue and the snarky AI character?
Very well, according to most listeners. Her timing with the AI banter and the fast-paced back-and-forth dialogue is frequently cited as a highlight of the audio production.
Does the LGBTQ+ content feel central to the story or incidental?
Cat’s relationship with Lucy is a genuine part of her emotional arc – it is not backgrounded or treated as a quirk. At the same time, the series is not primarily a romance; the relationship is one thread among several.
The series originated on Royal Road – does that web serial origin affect the audiobook experience noticeably?
Yes, in that the structure is more episodic than architecturally unified. Multiple reviewers note this explicitly. It reads more as connected episodes than as a single plotted novel, which some listeners find charming and others find slightly disjointed.
