If you think Jonathan Livingston Seagull is unclassifiable, wait until you see Richard Bach"s latest, Rescue Ferrets at Sea. It"s a fable that"s simple as a children"s book, but packing a message about spiritual self-empowerment. Rescue ferrets are, of course, the animal kingdom"s answer to the Coast Guard, daredevils responsible for the safety of all nonhumans at sea. Our heroine, Captain Bethany Ferret, brings a reporter aboard the J-boat Resolute as she races to save calico cats, ships" rats, and the odd Indonesian parrot from imminent shipwreck near the Strait of Juan de Fuca (near the island where author Bach lives). The reporter, Miss Chloe, also happens to be a rock star--surely you"ve heard of Zsa Zsa and the Show Ferrets? But Chloe ("Call me Clo, please") is no spoiled, shallow celeb. She"s got her paws on the ground (except when she"s on a boat), and she"s philosophical about showbiz. "If celebrity"s magic, it"s a screen, and I"m forever outside," says Clo. "I wish sometimes somebody would see me and not some... some mirror flash they want to be me." After 32 years as a bestselling author and human-potential pundit, Bach knows a bit about celebrity and its illusions. Mostly, this is a straight-ahead action fable about ferret heroism and self-rescue. It has more characters than it can develop (and runelike passages in secret ferret language), because Bach has in mind about 60 more books in the Ferret Chronicles. Second in the series: Air Ferrets Aloft. --Tim Appelo