Category: Furry/Anthro Book Reviews

(Full Disclosure: I have a story in this book: Unbalanced Scales, is the 6th story in the book. It takes place in the same universe as last year’s Brooklyn Blackie and the Unappetizing Menu, just 40 years later. I will “review” that story last. I mean, I could skip it entirely, but I do so like talking about myself and my stories.)

Mary E. Lowd returns as editor for Roar this year and completely avoids the curse of the 2nd album! The theme this year is LEGENDS. There are 17 takes on what makes a legend from 17 different authors. While some are more successful than others, there are no clunkers – for me, at least. Your mileage may vary.

As is my wont, I’ve written a little review of each story, so lets get to it.

Crouching Tiger, Standing Crane” by Kyla Chapek
A Shaolin Legend; the Origin of A School of Martial Arts

Everybody loves Kung Fu Fighting…

Sorry, had to get that out of my system.

This was an excellent story which I think took needed liberties with Ming China’s histories. Not that I’m an expert, but obviously a Furry Universe China would suffer an abundance of unavoidable diversity that the historical China did not. This is the challenge Furry writers face whenever they want to recreate a culture.

I do not know if the red boats or the suppression of the Monks actually took place in our history. It doesn’t matter (to me) because it all felt very authentic to me. I would be very curious to see what a true student of Chinese history thinks about the cultural translation.

The various species in this story are well presented, in both the framing sequences and in the legend itself. A plus on the Furriness. The snap shots of time and the years leaping ahead are handled well in most respects. Children being children are also deftly handled.

A very fine start to this year’s ROAR.

“The Frog Who Swallowed the Moon” by Renee Carter Hall
Fable: The Legend of How Frog Got His Groove On.

I’d describe the legend better, but then there would be a spoiler or two.

This is another Renee Carter Hall success of a simple, strong story that makes me jealous knowing that I could never replicate the like. The story of Frog accidentally stealing the moon is sweet and sure with a strong morale that is seemingly simple and subversively complex. It shows facets of sacrifice, the test of friendship, the taste of recovery, and the price of doing the right thing.

It is an allegory for artists twice over. As someone who lost his voice for years, only to recently rediscover it, I was moved and awed.

“The Torch” by Chris “Sparf” Williams
Modern Legacy: Media Legends

This was a very warm hearted and realistic tale of a fading television of yesterday who’s retirement plan is roughly equivalent to how many 9×12 glossies he can sign at events. Sparf has got such a very good handle on this that suddenly I’m beginning to suspect that he’s a lot older than I thought. I figured mid-30’s at most! Or perhaps he got to fill the role of Jake, the guest liaison, a lot at conventions… either way, I felt this slice of fading stardom was masterfully framed and executed.

Minor quibble: I did feel the Labrador sub-plot was a little awkward at one spot; but I’m all for shades of racism/breedism sneaking into a story. It hinted at a depth that we really didn’t get a chance to explore, so it might be my own expectations to explore the allegory of prejudice.

Beyond that, the story left me feeling rejuvenated and hopeful.

“A Rock Among Millions” by Skunkbomb
Urban Legend: A Coming of Age Story

I am a cynical sort; so if someone tried to lure me into the woods to touch a massive “something” for good luck, I’d be as dubious as this cat narrating this slice of life adventure. Sure, getting lost in the woods is the perfect allegory for how the cat’s life at the moment. No serious job prospects and siblings doing better than he is.

So far, it’s not my favorite, but the idea that this cat might actually be named “Dude” is making me smile.

There was a moment in the story when the cat says his dog friend looked like he “was waiting for a treat,” it made me wonder if there were humans in this world. Because while it provoked a good strong image in my head, I’m not sure that’s a phrase a cat would use in a world where career choices were important for it.

The dog requesting the cat take his nude photo so the cat could send it to his sister, whom the dog is crushing on, also provoked a strong image. Not a bad one for me, either, for I have only the vaguest appreciation for boundaries. And I do so love that the furry people might be into cross-pollination, but the cat has no reaction to it beyond stating that the sister has a steady.

This is a good story but the furry elements are decoration; not a strong part of the story. In other words, this cat and dog duo could be any human pairing of friends. Sure, the cat has good night vision but that didn’t really amp up the story.

“The Pigeon Who Wished For Golden Feathers” by Corgi W.
Fame and Fortune: On being a Legend in your mind

Unless you’re a saint, there’s always going to be a part of you that wants fame and fortune above all else. Epol the pigeon is no saint. Taken from the streets and rescued from a life of poverty and crime, Epol was taught skills to help raise himself above desperation by the white dove, Olanthum, who is quite possibly a saint himself. The pigeon suspects he might possibly be the best gambler among the Avian population who consider gambling a part of their religion.

Our story begins with the discovery of an open event where he can prove his talent. His mentor and father-figure suggests he not enter this competition, as the skill Epol is most proud of is cheating with his dice.

The pigeon flies off to compete and he nearly blows his own stake in creating the image he wants to project when he’s immortalized as he so richly deserves. Once committed to this course, Epol discovers that the temple is aware that cheaters will cheat and that they treat cheaters most harshly.

Corgi does a good job of bringing this game to life; makes it seem familiar, even though I’m sure that I’ve never played it. Corgi also makes it exciting; and I feel Epol’s excitement, too.

In the end, Epol does help create a legend; one of self-sacrifice and love. And, at the risk of spoiling the ending, let me assure you that there’s a reason or two for most of the cast to be birds. These reasons elevate the story nicely and make the universe you’ll share here much richer for it.

The last few pages of this tale raised the overall story from a 7 to an 8. Good Dog!

“Reason” by Heidi C. Vlach
Lore within Lore; A Legend of Aligare

Aligare is magic world with three distinct races: korvi, aemets and ferrin. They live together in patchwork social strata with equal rights and different merits. Korvi are bird-like. The ferrin are smaller mammals that remind me of squirrel-ferrets. The aemet are bug mammal hybrids. Everyone is peoples and they mostly live in harmony together.

This story centers on two aemet siblings, Linden and Chard, who are tasked with maintaining the health of a plum tree that not just represents the founding of their village, Castaway, but stands as testimony to the spiritual core of the villagers who view the “shrine tree” as a literal gift of Seasu to the founders of Castaway. Yet, the tree is slowly dying.

Seasu delivers a drowning ferrin to Linden, allowing the founding legend of the village to be heard by fresh, new ears, as the little mammal, Vrin, recovers.

This is the first story of the collection, I feel, that really explores the myriad powers of a legend or myth. As entertainment, as history, as guidance, and as morality: the story gets deep yet still feels light.

There is a sense of a greater universe of stories (which there is: https://heidicvlach.com/aligare-lore/) but there’s no real need to be “caught up with” the back story.

I did have some minor trouble picturing the varied folk in this story, mind you. I think, ironically, because I was reading a Furry collection, I was sorta stuck on what animals I’m dealing with. I suspect — having put the story aside for a few days — that if I’d been reading a collection of SF or Fantasy, I might not have had that trouble.

Nicely done.

“Old-Dry-Snakeskin” by Ross Whitlock
Gospel: Apocalypse as a Folk Tale

This is a hard tale to pigeon hole, for I think the voice and structure is very much a folk tale, but it isn’t. I feel like I could spend hours breaking down the story into its component anthropological and literary elements; something I am ill-equipped to do. I would not be surprised to see students a decade from now doing just that with this story.

With the full force of over 40 years reading SF&F behind me, I honestly feel qualified to say that this story is another “Sic Transit… ? A Shaggy Hairless-Dog Story” by Steven Utley and Howard Waldrop. It has the same flavor, scope, and style.

It is and will be a classic story reprinted dozens of times over in obscure places and read in dorm-rooms as roommates make bongs out of unlikely materials. The author had better get an agent.

But, on top of all that, it’s a fun story with a snake as the hero and how often do you come across that?

“Kitsune Tea” by E.A. Lawrence
Urban Fantasy: The Power of Imagination

A fateful discovery of an abandoned dollhouse leads a young Kitsune on a quest of exploration and introspection of what it means to be Kitsune… and ultimately, what it means to be Human, in an allegorical way, perhaps.

I really enjoy Rue’s journey immensely. I did wonder at how she knew words for some things but not other things outside of her experience of living in the woods. Eventually, I gave up thinking about such silly things. No leaps in logic were daunting, any ignorance of her part were completely logical, so the author’s word choices were certainly better than mine would have been. The delivery was smooth and steady; revealing the Kitsune’s urban-sharing culture and hierarchy along the way.

The author made one of the best uses of the animal side of things in this collection. The bar was officially raised for the rest of Roar 7.

“A Touch of Magic” by John B. Rosenman
Teddy Bear Picnic: When Imaginary Friends Return

Disclaimer: I had submitted a story with a talking teddy bear amid humans, too. While I don’t think I have anything like sour grapes about the rejection I am only human. Well, I am when I’m not a typing horse, at least!

I liked George, the mild mannered bear of a man who had enough of a kid left inside of him to accept Susy the Teddy showing up out of nowhere. I liked the premise of the entities that seems to visit so many growing children and is basically anti-imaginary friend. I liked George’s interactions with his wife and non-moody child; they were so spot on. I even liked the Justin Bierber poster.

I didn’t like the confrontation scenes with the entity and I was especially put off by Susy’s language during the final confrontation. Not that I’m a prude. The contrast of what one expects from a plush children’s toy and what one gets can be used used for great effect. Here, it felt a bit like a fumble here.

In short, this felt like a story of exorcism without the religion. Not that this makes it a bad thing, automatically, but I think a little more tweaking was called for.

“Long Time I Hunt” by Erin Lale
Native American Legend: Cherokee Cat Spirit

What a wonderful piece, placing the reader in the head of a spirit cat, bound with a purpose and love to the lineage of his first human friend. It’s sweet and sad in turns, but always slightly poetic, as the spirit returns again and again to the Earth. To the possessor of his totem.

As his history and his bones are forgotten the Hunter feels his role and powers diminish over the generations. Yet, still he hunts and yearns for the companionship of his first people. The ending is elegant and sweet, giving the Hunter a reason to purr at last.

“The Butterfly Effect” by Jay “Shirou” Coughlan
Magic Cyborgs: The Cover Legend

Rahni and Roi are wolves that walk like men, the “best part of a bad plan.” They were selected to take on the burden and the risk of a new magical weapon that would help save the Kingdom from a plague of a biblical proportions. Instead of locusts, however, they faced butterflies that spread madness and steal souls.

Over the years, they fight a battle to hold the line against a mindless enemy that just seems to keep coming. I must admit to being more than a little uncertain of the full scope of the threat. Outside of the Kingdom, I infer that the remainder of the world is an ecological disaster with butterfly controlled zombies and that any surviving kingdoms are in similar straights.

Still, the story is less about the war and more about the scars. Rahni has fallen to madness and Roi has spent two decades trying to avoid the same fate, as well as trying to do the work of two. He may be overcompensating to the point of subsuming his own needs; becoming an automaton of logic… to avoid pain.

Roi is forced into time off, allowing him to experience a lot of overdue introspection. Flashbacks allow for the story to have enough action to balance the wolf’s soul-searching and to put things in perspective.
I felt something was missing, although I cannot put my finger on it. The final flashback came very close to providing it… but I’m still not sure what that would be.

“The Roar” by John Giezentanner
Prehistoric Legend: Inherit the Earth

I put this review aside for a few days because I am not at all sure how to describe the story without spoilers. Young dinosaurs adopting younger dinosaurs and trying to avoid a world full of monsters. Which seems simple enough; but it isn’t.

I found this a wonderful and bittersweet story of growing up; an allegorical nod to growing up homeless and trying to avoid the bad guys. A great use of reptiles.

His bio in the back of the book provided the best and biggest laugh in the book.

“Trust” by TJ
Mysterious Lover: Hidden Legend

A comfy M/M tale with a fox and coyote in a modern setting. It’s almost funny animals. Except when the wolf’s scent sniffing abilities do come into play, these could have been normal humans. In TJ’s written voice, I found this perfectly charming. I picked up on the todd’s anxiety in slow growing strides in a very realistic way. A more zoomorphic slide might have been cluttered with the distracting details of being supplied a fox emotive gestures.

I’ll not reveal the ending, but I am a little dubious of the todd’s rejection of part of what his coyote shares… but maybe that is a struggle for another day. Or maybe I am too cynical.

“A Thousand Dreams” by Amy Fontaine
Cosmic Legend: Howls of Sympathy

Life and death and life and death again as Tarascus learns what it means to go from a meaty thing to a creature made of stars. He becomes a Legend by accident of birth and the belief of his fellow wolves

I am not sure exactly what to make of this story. It’s not a bad story; it is literally cosmic in its reach and that’s a lot of miles to cover. The ending seems very harsh and I am not sure what the author is trying to say about a universe that showed so many wonders.

The Golden Flowers by Priya Sridhar
Old Friends: When a tall tale proves true…

For the purposes of this story, let’s assume that either rhino horns do not grow back in this universe, or Sushil the rhino has a rasp in his ashram. Otherwise, this is very sweet story might fall over a bit. Over the 50 years that the rhino hid in the ashram, he became first a hermit, then a rumor, and then a nearly forgotten legend, guarding the yellow flowers that grow in the mountains.

Golden flowers that Emery needs; not just as a medicine but as a quest to prove that he is not so helpless to his parents.

I really liked the special touches, like the martins that crawled all over the rhino. I got the distinct impression that the young visiting goat wasn’t expecting them and might have been staring a bit. I especially like that I wasn’t told as much, just left the impression.

Puppets by Ellis Aen
Virtual Hero, Real Hero: Legend of Tomorrow

I really liked the setting, although I at first thought I was dealing with oddly designed superheroes/mercs. Much of the story takes place in the virtual setting(s) of a future at war. In the virtual world, soldiers are on the front lines attempting to defeat their opponents so army intelligence can get new ideas and stress test new strategies. In the real world, there is also a gigantic space war at a distance, but it is getting closer.

In these two ways, the story is similar to Ender’s Game between the war games and the real world. Except, of course, we aren’t dealing with an exceptionally bright boy too young for any of this. Stargrave is a young man, experiencing adult feelings and some regrets and survivors remorse. In the virtual world of instant gratification, he’s become a legend among the vitual warriors for keeping his Stargrave persona alive for such a long time. A battle record that follows him into the real world.

There’s also a little romance and the sweetest dance scene that I have ever read. EVER. This scene literally brought me to tears.

A part of me wants to ask the author about the virtual suicides; a sort of a mirror to the phrase “A coward dies 1,000 deaths,” but frankly, I doubt the answer would be anywhere near as meaningful to me as that one dance scene was. Anyone who’s fallen in love with someone before they met them in person, will recognize this moment.

What a great way to end this collection. I was all tears and snot typing the first draft of my review of this story.

Summation:

Overall, I liked Old-Dry-Snakeskin, The Frog Who Swallowed the Moon, and Puppets the best. The first two were the lightest of the collection, despite being about loss. Puppets, on the other hand, was far from light, but it pulled everything together and shone like a laser beacon when the time was right.

I liked A Thousand Dreams and A Touch of Magic the least. Neither were bad stories, mind you. One tale simply threw my out of the story too often. The other left me uncertain about what I’d just been told.

“Unbalanced Scales” by Bill Kieffer
My Story: A Rap Legend from Aesop’s World

I have daddy issues, and one of the things I always wanted to do was a nod to the movie, The Jazz Singer (kids, ask your grandparents). The plot of this was, basically, Jewish kid is a great singer and is poised to take over his father’s position as a Cantor (kids, ask your rabbi) in early 20th Century America. The kid, instead, takes up jazz music for fun and profit, totally pissing his father off. By the end of the movie, the father is on his death bed and finally hears his son sing on the radio and realizes there’s beauty and god in this music, too, if one is singing from the heart.

This story was my attempt to pay homage to this landmark film and the culture conflict between generations that almost every modern generation has to deal with.

In Aesop’s World, Chromatics revere the prophet Mosaic. It was founded in Homeland (the Middle East) and it is one of the three main religions that populate this setting of talking animals. There are nods (I hope they are accepted as respectful nods) to some of the traditions and teachings from that area of the real world peppered in the Chromatic culture. Any faults you see in this culture are mine alone and no reflection on their real world counterparts. The object was to portray a strong culture and religion built around mindfulness, humility, respect, and reverence that can contrast the popular culture of the time. It’s not meant to portray any group of people as cold blooded animals… except that sometimes racist and bigots will do exactly that.

I hope I presented just enough in the story to hint at what Saint George was rebelling against and what Frosty was trying to hold onto.

LEATHER SPIRIT STALLION by Raven Kaldera
category Gay & Lesbian
ISBN: 1613901313 CIRCLET PRESS ｩ2014

The writing is fine and well-paced as we are introduced to quite a different Dom. Erlik Solongo is a short Asian with a small bit of insecurities and a wonder sense of exactly how he appears to others. Unlike other Doms I might know I in real life and in books, Erlik doesn’t over compensate or denies his short comings. He simply accepts and deals with it.

Of course, it might help his confidence in knowing that he carries a spirit posse of ancestors and earth elementals with him to help guide him. Erlik is a buu (or a Mongolian Shaman, if you prefer). He reclaimed his heritage and when the book opens, Erlik has arranged his life to incorporate the old, important traditions of his Mongol ancestors while walking in modern streets.

His spirits approve.

His family does not. They consider themselves Americans who just happen to be Chinese. So, between his coming out as gay and declaring himself Mongolian (he had his DNA test, and he’s at least partially Mongolian), they’ve written him off. So, he’s on his own and cruising the leather bar scene on a shoe string budget.

I found the Mongolian aspects quite interesting and inspiring, I may appropriate at least some of that in future stories. The word, WINDHORSE, and the concept, is quite interesting to me.

The BDSM involvement was a tad too quick and risky, for me personally. Not an unusual happenstance in the BDSM romance/erotica, gay or otherwise. Although, honestly, agreeing to bottom for someone shouldn’t automatically mean that it’s OK to tie them up. I prefer rules and negotiations, but then I’m a switch.

While I would have preferred a different path, Erlik is at least established that he moves fast to BDSM with Curt early in the book and that he is honorable. Why would he go slower with Paj?

His spirits all but gave Paj to him. While the sex scenes were good, I think Erlik earning his “warrior” title by rescuing his future lover was one of the best parts of the book. I would like to see these two return in an adventure of sorts, but I may have to look elsewhere for my Mongolian flavored magic story-lines. I liked Erlik’s soul searching; it really made me feel that they were both stretching and growing.

I read 1 review that called out the author on Erlik’s choice of which portion of his heritage he chooses to “celebrate.” I do not see a problem with cultural appropriation in this book. The spirits, after all, approached him and no blood line can truly afford to be pure. He had his DNA tested, as I mentioned earlier (although that might just have been a way to see if the voices in his head were spirits or madness).

In the LGBT+ community, where it’s perfectly acceptable to pick your own family, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to pick your heritage and traditions — if that incurs some soul searching, researching, and education, then even better. More power to you.

I like the ending here. At the risk of adding a spoiler, Erlik finds a way to make Paj’s parents allies.

by Huskyteer (Alice Dryden) as originally posted on flayrah.com

This review is part of my commitment to reviewing anthropomorphic literature during Furry Book Month.

Described as a ‘dystopian sci-fi erotic novel’, Splice: Conditioning is set in a near future where natural disasters have made large parts of the USA uninhabitable and plunged many of its citizens into poverty.

One light in the darkness is the presence of Splices: genetically engineered, anthropomorphic dogs who act as companions and sex toys, as well as taking over some of the riskier or more unpleasant jobs.

Because of the dangers inherent in creating human-sized dogs capable of rational thought and tool operation, each Splice has a Conditioning Phrase known to its creators and owner, and is programmed to enter a submissive, obedient state when this is spoken.

Self-published, 2016, ebook $2.97.

Lexi, who works as a waitress in the depressing surrounds of Fort Miami, loves her St Bernard Splice, Henry, won in the state lottery. Mikey, electronics whiz-kid and club DJ, loves his German Shepherd Splice, Kaleb, the bodyguard assigned him by his Russian managers.

And yes, they both ‘love’ their Splices in that way, too.

Let me be clear: there is a lot of sex in this book. There’s sex in every chapter, and there is sex for whatever combination of male/female, sub/dom, dog/human that floats your boat, with a couple of bonus fetishes thrown in.

Although frequent and varied, it never feels out of place. The sex scenes serve to give us a deeper understanding of the characters, and they help drive the story along. Unlike some erotic novels, there’s a satisfying amount of story to drive.

Lexi and Henry save enough to buy a plot of cheap land, with the dream of turning it into a farm and living off the grid. Their advertisement for extra help is answered by Mikey and Kaleb, who are on the run from the Mafia, and another Splice, Andrea, joins them as housekeeper.

So far, so idyllic. But there’s more to Splice than sexy fun on the farm: the characters find themselves in possession of a dangerous secret that might affect the future of Splices, freeing them from their Conditioning and, in effect, their slavery. Inevitably, opposing forces would rather they didn’t investigate further, and discourage curiosity with violence.

The group sometimes seems to solve problems too easily, with Mikey in particular overplaying his computer-genius card, but there was enough suspense and mystery to keep me reading.

The world of Splice: Conditioning offers much more than a contrived setup for lots of human/dog sex. It’s a rich landscape with potential for further adventures, and I hope we’ll see some.

You can read sample chapters and side stories at Cocoa’s SoFurry account.

This book is actually a collection of three novellas about your worst nightmare: A WEREWOLF WITH A BADGE.

OK, I know for some of you (me included), the image that first comes to mind might be more erotic than horrific… but I assure you that your ride along is going to take you into some deeply, darkly, disturbing places.

Highridge is a cop that became a werewolf in an Urban Fantasy Setting where lycanthropes have a subculture and are an accepted part of modern society. And the revelation of their existence is no recent thing.

As is often the case when the werewolves are (mostly) good guys, there are worse things out there than wolfmen.

Legion Printing and Publishing, 2010, ebook $2.66 (194 pages).

Readers, do you have triggers? You will find them here. All that you think is right and wrong in the world has little to no relevance here. God isn’t dead; but he wishes he were. If Horror Noir is a thing…this is a collection of Horror Noir.

In point of fact, almost all the magical power in this world comes from death of some sort. Demons are but a thin membrane of reality away and necromancers are the first line of defense against these threats and many the public never ever hears about.

Every corpse is staked, for example. Bad things could happen when a corpse isn’t staked.

Corpus Lupus
Killing a child in a universe like this creates a lot of energy the killer can use for almost any purpose, provided he knows the best cuts. The butchering of three boys in the shadow of their tree house provided the murderer with a lot of power.

The race is on, not just to “bring the killer to justice,” but to keep him from using that power to do… well, anything he wants.

The crime and the risk is enough for the necromancers to send in Dr. Muggs, the local necromancer and fixer. It is an awkward teaming as there is so little Muggs can tell Hightower without violating his oath of secrecy.

Things aren’t made better with Hightower’s Alpha getting on his case and trying to provoke a battle between them. Cop ethics and Pack ethics do not align well. Before the case of the child killer can be solved, Hightower is too driven by instinct to be a good cop. He takes medical leave.

The story provides good procedural and easily doles out the magical rules (which stay consistent through all three novellas). Hightower seems like a good man and an honest cop, and, in the end, he must sacrifice a little of his soul to save his life and bring a killer to justice.

Pit Wolf
The story starts out with the same police procedural trappings as Corpus Lupus but it quickly veers into outright horror as Hightower attempts to investigate an otherworldly portal. As established in the previous tale, murder is the most powerful force there is. Hightower knows death is on the other side of that door. Yet…yet…a whole apartment is missing. And the family that lived there…one or more of them might still be alive.

Now, the rescuer must be rescued from the nicely written plot of hell that apartment has become.

There is a gate-keeping monster here, too, drawn from the mind of Hightower himself. A bigger, badder wolf that Hightower must escape and, if he survives, destroy.

It’s a tense and exciting series of events where Hightower’s own werewolf instincts might betray him and the solution to this is interesting and a little mind-warping. My only complaint is the big bad is referred to as bisexual when the description obviously shows the creature to be more of a simultaneous (or synchronous) hermaphrodite.

And a rather vigorous one at that.

Now, I know (I cheated and looked it up) “bisexual’s” original meaning is exactly that: “having both sexes in one being, hermaphroditic.” Still, in a modern setting it’s rather upsetting to see one’s label used so monstrously.

I’m sure that I’ve done worse, so enough on that.

There’s some magic in a conference room that I think I could have done without, especially knowing that someone died for that Power for that trick, in whole or in part. Yet, when I reflect now, I see that this mild scene, as mundane as making flowers out of thin air could be compared to the hellish summoning and werewolves tearing out each other throats… it does hint at the shades of humanity that Hightower has already lost.

You see, in the first story, the werewolf detective knows the names of the victims who donated their ashes. He is acutely aware of each sacrifice as much as he is able. He is fascinated and not appalled by his lesson… or its cost. I am curious to now if that’s how Smith intended it.

Loop Garou
A small departure as Hightower travels with his pet monster, but he very quickly ends up investigating a magic murder. Although there is a great deal of debate about the nature of the killing.

We discover much more about the nature of magic and of the multiverse that this universe is a part of. Hightower has to face aliens and, worse, what people must do in order to survive. Plus he meets what may be the mad god at the center of it all.

This last story had a few light and disturbing moments and presented a more rounded story than the other two. It is also infinitely darker as Hightower once more allows himself to become a tool for the greater good in a secret war of sorts.

It is a darkly refreshing universe that reminds us Power has a cost.

as originally posted on flayrah.com

This article released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 license

Frankly I would not even of heard about Ulster if I wasn’t so passionate about older furry stuff, and the pedigree on this comic is very unique. Published in 2009 by Dream Field Comics (Who was about to close down operations in 2010) who are frankly better known for Softpaw Magazine. But Ulster is so unique, the artwork is dark and very stark. I want everyone to understand this is clean comic and definitely has no cub. Once you look at the art by T.D. Ward who also wrote it. You will absolutely wonder why you never heard of them. Each page is a work of art reminiscent of Gory. The world is harsh while the characters are soft. Could be an allegory to life itself. This was to be the first issue in the series, too bad we never got a second issue.

The story of Ulster is simple, it’s about a jackalope named Ulster who leaves his forest doomed by man to help his fellow animals. It is when he run into these 2 foxes that we discover life is a fragile thing. It really doesn’t end happily but Tori D. Ward, made it that way because life is very fragile. Only consisting of 30 pages the author make that point quite clear where in the end where we see the forest he tried to save completely destroyed.

Frankly this was nothing like what I expected, I figured I would get a standard furry comic. Not a statement on life that you want to look at it again and again.

If you like both a story and artwork that is very unique search out Ulster from Rabbit Valley. It costs on $5 and worth more than double that price. I will even go on record as saying possibly triple.

Trouble Issue 2 is more a curiosity than anything else. It’s comics are more a collection of interesting stories that has been turned into comics.

These being My Uncle Nick which tells what happens to a young man and his eventually journey to america. Well worth a look.

The Legacy, more how the shadow of Hitler still hangs over Germany though those who survived WW2. Very compelling.

The last is A Hairy Affair, which tells a tale of 2 guys from Universal Urine Testing and their effort to make all it’s employees go bald and loose their body hair. Funny and deserve a look.

In addition there is 5 art pieces and only 2 use anthropomorphic animals. These creatures do no appear in the comics. The better of the 2 is the take on the very old Klondike ice cream bar ad. With Bastet the cat god of ancient Egypt, who was also their god or war. Very funny.

Over all I say it is worth checking out. HERE

by Makyo as originally posted on adjectivespecies.com

You know how much we love data. If data were a person (with apologies to Brent Spiner), we’d have a total crush on them. We really like data.

So it is that we’re basically ecstatic to see the release of the Fur Science! e-book.

FurScience.com is the home for our wonderful friends over at the International Anthropomorphic Research Project, who has contributed to this site in several ways through the guise of Nuka/Courtney Plante. The IARP does several studies through the internet and through conventions – and these are scientific studies, unlike our Furry Survey, which is primarily a market survey – and through the data that they have gathered, they’ve pulled together a fantastic resource for furries and non-furries alike.

The Fur Science! e-book is a fascinating deep dive into several of the studies that the IARP has done, ranging from demographics to therians and bronies, and everything in between. If you like data just as much as we do, you’ll certainly enjoy paging through the 174 pages of graphs, charts, and explanations. Hats off to Nuka and crew over at the IARP for pulling something like this together.

You can download the e-book for free as a PDF here, and check out the rest of IARPs information and offerings on their webpage.

This article released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 license

By Greyflank

Edited by Furry Fandom’s most beloved Eagle, Fred Patten, An Anthropomorphic Century reprints stories ranging from 1909 to 2008, including the talents of Peter S. Beagle, Philip K. Dick, Michael H. Payne, Phil Geusz, Renee Carter Hall, and more… including myself.

Starting with “Tobermory” by Saki in 1909, Fred does an excellent job putting these stories in a historical and social context. Around the midpoint, however, the historical context begins to soften just a little. The stories are excellent, but not all are milestones, so I would have enjoyed a bit more perspective in what was going on in the real world when they saw print.

Fred may have decided to let the newer stories stand on their own rather than distracting readers from the work themselves. Perhaps this was a good decision; the collection puts on no airs that of a textbook, after all – but Fred Patten is an expert historian of two fandoms (the other being anime). I couldn’t imagine a person better suited to bringing external context to these stories.

Disclaimer: I have a story in this anthology. I’ll address that story last.

“Tobermory” by Saki
Saki, aka H.H. Munroe, was a wry social commentator in the UK of the early 20th Century and the cat, with it obvious and unmistakable disdain for humanity yet its seemingly cultured behavior makes for the perfect mirror for the cultured set.

It might not be considered Furry by fandom’s standard, and the science may be weak, but it is most certainly an anthropomorphic work, allowing a cat to speak to its “betters” and finding the “betters” wanting. The nearly unanimous plot against Tobermory for his mere honesty says enough about the upper class to get Saki’s point across.

I found it amusing, although I had to reread a few sentences several times. I suspect I missed some humor simply because some references were now too obscure for me to understand. More of Saki’s stories can be found here with no annoying pop-up ads.

“Dr. Lu-mie” by Clifton B. Kruse
Amazing Stories was a pulp magazine with the thinly veiled intentions of teaching science through, well, amazing stories. This kidnapped horror piece was meant to educate young minds about termites in 1934. The most amazing thing to me is that this isn’t a story about how to kill and destroy the damn things.

The victim or hero of this piece is rather randomly invited into Dr. Lu-mie’s lair, although that might be because the tall, talking bug only knew what the local natives could teach him?

I’m not too fond of educational science fiction, but talking bugs are rare outside of truly demonic horror (at least, in my experience). I give it 6 out 10 stars and it only gets a six because it does show the evolution of anthropomorphic.

“The Blue Giraffe” by L. Sprague de Camp
A very enjoyable tale with the kind of framing sequence that I just adore, the conversational doughnut. In this tale, the conversation is an child asking his father if he was adopted. Apparently the child, Peter, is different enough from his father and mother that they can’t be related. De Camp wisely decides to skip describing the child.

The story is one of fantastic mutations and a people who just so happen to look like baboons… except, as it turns out, they are mutated baboons. He rescues one of them, they rescue him. It’s a classic “adventure” shtick we’ve seen before that suddenly forces an unwanted engagement on the civilized man.

Except the Baboons want to breed up the evolutionary ladder.

I like this story, even if the father seems to chicken out from admitting that the boy has more monkey in his mix than other “guys” he hangs with. Well, who knows maybe he is being honest or everything is a lie and he told his child to completely distract him.

Fred notes that in the 80’s on forward, the furry fandom always had fuzzy animal mutations breed true. I don’t think that’s quite true. Metamor Keep’s cursed Keepers had normal human babies… except when two exact cursed species mated.

I had unpublished stories in the ’90’s from a world I called “Story World.” A few humans were born every year to Furries that otherwise bred true. These humans were universal breeders; but I don’t think I created more than three or four stories, and my storyverse name kinda tells the much older me that maybe that was a good thing to stop there.

I enjoyed this story with primitive and not idealized Baboon Furries, and I’m old enough to wonder how much truth is in the story within the story.

“Barney” by Will Stanton
This is a short and wonderful lab rat story. Seriously amusing,
I give it four our of five lab rats. Females. Not Males.

“Expendable” by Philip K. Dick
Enough people have claimed that Dick was extremely paranoid that it now qualifies as a world-wide conspiracy against him. Still, the paranoia brings a wonderfully unique flavor to his oft imitated work.

Imagine Dr. Doolittle gone horribly wrong. Well, not the man so much, as the universe about him.

Of course, the universe has a thing or two to say about that. Man is an invader to Earth and the insects are working in secret to eliminate humans. This one man, who can suddenly and accidentally understand all bugs, cannot be allowed to destroy their plans.

It’s a charmingly paranoid story with a neat but unhappy ending. Perfectly Furry, even if we don’t see many mammals. The black widow is kinda fuzzy, so that should count for something.

“The Conspirators” by James White
This story was a joy and very complex tale disguised as an escape-adventure story. Felix the cat (not that Felix the Cat™) plays strong man for a group of uplifted mice… and some silly hamsters.

Just before the escape is completed, Felix gains a complex and deep insight to not only to the fate of the mice and, by extension, his own future, but to humanity among the stars. This is one of the most brilliant furry SF short stories that I’ve read this year so far and its over 50 years old.

Hard SF to boot, especially the scenes without gravity.

“Sic Transit… ? A Shaggy Hairless-Dog Story” by Howard Waldrop
I love Willow and Patrox and I love the fairy tale feel of it all. Published in 1976, it’s not to jarring to have Willow wanting to be breed with something… anything… even if he gets brutally rebuffed for his efforts. No, no details in the book but Willow doesn’t realize that his battle is with Mother Nature… but Patrox finally shows him how to best survive her wrath.

Cute story. It’s very telling that this allegorical tale premiered in STELLAR 2, Science Fiction stories collected by Judith Del Rey. Fandom, Writers, and Publishers were all struggling to define what SF really was. In the mid-Seventies, SF was whatever the publisher said it was.

“Crow’s Curse” by Michael H. Payne
According to Fred, the Ottergate universe is the first Furry Fan series to contain professional quality stories. I can’t argue with the quality, but I wouldn’t envy the person who went back to read all the Boards and archived Geocities sites to be sure. (Plus, it predates my entry to the online Furry universe, so why argue? :-D)

I love the complexity, not just of the world, but of the characters and their turmoil. I read a lot of pieces from a few years before (and many years after). A great many Furry (and TF) writers are often too content to let impulses, wants, and needs overlap into a gray quagmire of unquestioned actions and pat justifications. It advances the plot.

The plot is merely a vehicle to a story.

This story’s a journey into temptation and beyond. Sure, it’s about guilt but there’s also world-building. Without trotting out a single human, it speaks elegantly about Humanity and society.

So far, it’s one of the most well-rounded tales in the book, giving a nod to fantastic story elements while still allowing an out to a “mundane” explanation of the science of the world. It’s also an allegorical tale (which Furry is so great at) of addiction and the shame that can come with “slipping.”

I would prefer this universe over the Red Wall universe, so now I need to add Payne’s “Blood Jaguar” to my reading list.

“Nine Lives To Live” by Sharyn McCrumb
Stray cats can turn up anywhere, like in this story with transformation via reincarnation. It’s not an uncommon ‘trope, so it doesn’t feel as fresh as it might. Still, just a bit above average.

Despite being a tale of murder and revenge, there is a lightness here that I like. Danby’s hand/paw is sorta forced to commit murder because his human murderer turns out to be a pretty decent cat daddy.

“Vole” by John Gregory Betancourt
Short, sweet and funny in a backhanded way. It certainly got me to want to read Rememory by John Gregory Betancourt. Now, if only I could find a non-Kindle version.

“Choice Cuts” by Edd Vick
I subscribed to Electric Velocipede in the early 21st century, so I got to read this in the “non-furry” version. It was and remains a very, very good story. Making it furry certainly adds more color and flavor, but it doesn’t really change the plot. In the “normal” version, I recall that I was quite happy with how the Farmers accepted Robin’s change. It was, as I recall, little more than a transgender change. It was the near future and I like that race changes weren’t that big a deal. That sex reassignment only produced a little bit of awkwardness.

In the furry version, these Unchanged Farmers are basically surrounded by monsters. Not that their colony couldn’t have some fancy genetic stuff compared to the modern day, but the refugees implied that their technology was more limited to detection and not correction. So, I wouldn’t think a talking squirrel would be so easy to accept. Hell, they maybe never seen a wild squirrel in their lives, except on whatever media they have up there.

I’d have like to see more of the farmers coming to terms with their surroundings and the new culture they were throwing themselves into. But that would have made it a different story, I suppose.

I love the term NullPop and the lack of curiosities explanation. It’s a good world. I wonder if Edd Vick has ever revisited it.

“Transmutational Transcontinental” by Phil Geusz
A wonderful and classic Transformation story for which the Rabbit has always been good with.

It’s short on action, but long on animals.

Note: The intro to this story implies otherwise, but the website that ran the contest this story won is still around, with the submitted stories: although the contests themselves were short lived.

“Daylight Fading” by Chris Hoekstra
My fondness for Metamor Keep runs very deep. I’ve been involved in this storyverse/shared universe for almost 20 years, on and off. But it has quirks, beyond the triad of shape-changing curses set upon the Keep and its defenders.

One of the hardest things for me to get used to was the modern attitudes and speech patterns of those supposedly in the medieval period. After watching A Knight’s Tale and a few translated movies I began to accept that they weren’t speaking in English, so I shouldn’t get hung up on that… and if the Keepers seem too sophisticated for a feudal society, than it was simply because they’d had to step up their game during the last seven years under this twisted curse.

If you don’t like Daylight Falling, the only good reason for that is that the dialogue and settings might be a bit jarring if you are looking for Ye Olde Phantasy setting. Or maybe not, the scope of fantasy novels have changed a bit since 2000.

It’s a slice of relationship life as the Kayla and Rick work to build bridges or take down walls… not an easy thing as they were both cursed. All the real work was pretty much played out in other stories. We are down to relationship basics… are we both ready to take the risk? And will we?

Is it Furry? Well, the plot’s not terribly furry. We could easily make it a story about two recovering drug addicts with very limited changes. Or any mix of scarred people. But there’s some very nice furry flavor text in here that is worth reading and enjoying and if you visit the website and read Rick’s stories in order, I think you’ll enjoy all this tenfold.

“The Dog Said Bow-Wow” by Michael Swanwick
Two con-men walk into post-Collapse London. One is a human. The other a bio-engineered canine. The titular dog, Surplus, has quite a tall tale that starts out with an SF feel that very quickly goes fantasy the second it all goes South.

In addition to a nice little matchstick plot, we also get a little philosophical insight into the price our creations pay for their roles. Rogues in a rich environment.

No wonder Surplus and Darger had other tales told.

“Cat ‘n’ Mouse” by Steven Millhauser
I started out thinking that I would hate this story. A cat and mouse chase scene or scenes in text? How is this going to be a fresh or exciting thing? I figured that it was just here to fill a historical slot.

Well, what does this horse know?

This was more than a bit surreal and yet the best cartoon setting in text that I have ever seen. Whimsically dark with action and deeply introspective, the Cat and Mouse story is about conflict and escalation. And the best and most unexpected parts are when we get inside the heads of our furry leads.

The end result is that all the cartoon violence we laughed out over the years become not funny but somewhat horrifying and we get to see the toll this takes on the long term combatants. And once you accept the horror, a dry, sadistic undertone of humor might be detected.

“Pig Paradise” by Scott Bradfield
This was a wonderful slow burner of a story that explores the emotional expanse of prejudice and working relationships. At first, my real sympathy was with Harry Wolf, who apparently really, really needs to be liked and get approval from those around him. I KNOW that feeling.

I didn’t feel much sympathy, at first, for Hubert Pig, who seems something of a bigot and easily annoyed. Yet… And yet, within a few pages I saw the burden Hubert’s anxiety is creating for the pig. I know those feelings, too. He can no more help his anxiety than Harry can suppress his need for approval.

And then these two are neighbors, so the poor pig doesn’t even get much relief at home.

Things escalate in a natural – and emotionally honest – fashion. These two are reacting and living under a political system on governmental, corporate, community, and family levels that are revealed with a very deft hand. Their wives and children with only a few lines are fleshed out nicely, and while they seem very wise in their support of the spouses and each other, they also commit a cruel deed that suggests there’s at least one shallow end of the pool.

But people are like that. People fall short everyday and then… well, life goes on.

The story builds up to the destruction of one of these men… and where the average Furry writer might end the story with that destruction, Scott Bradfield does not.

And it’s those last few pages that really made me realize the level of craft and art in this story, as well as the understanding of humanity and Urban society.

“Sergeant Chip” by Bradley Denton
There’s a whole sub-genre in Furry Fiction about Uplifts for military reasons and editor Fred Patten wisely packed this one to top and represent them all. This story won the 2005 Theodore Sturgeon Award and you don’t have to be in much more than a page in to seem the glimmer of why. Chip sounds like a military person and he sounds very much like a dog. When he comes to a concept he doesn’t understand, he accepts that. It’s either mission critical or it’s not… but he does it without a lot of buzzwords like “mission critical.”

What does a dog need with buzzwords?

I am not overly fond of the story delivery conceit of Chip mentally transcribing English dialogue for the English illiterate girl to write down, but it does work in the added benefit of showing that Chip has earned his stripes by becoming a leader; rather than a mere soldier.

I hear Fred is putting together a Dogs of War anthology. If this story is the bench mark, it’s going to be quite a collection.

“Gordon, the Self-Made Cat” by Peter S. Beagle
What a wonderful story about the power of challenging one’s self and challenging the assumptions of others!

A wonderful allegory doing what furry does best by a master storyteller.

The first draft was apparently written in the 40’s, but the idea of self-determination by sheer stubbornness and hard-work still seem as relevant today. Even more so to a group of Furries who believe you are exactly what you decide to be!

This story is so wonderful, I’m considering having children just so I can read it to them!

“The Wishing Tree” by Renee Carter Hall
We started this collection with a 100 year old science fiction story, one of the newest genres in prose, and we are ending with this wonderful allegorical animal fable, one of the oldest prose genres (prose historians may send angry and educational corrections… I’ll read them eventually).

There are so many things I could say about Hall’s writing. One of them being that I am jealous that I could never write such a pleasant tale. My impulses are too dark and mean and I cannot not master them – or at least, I have not yet.

And in this story, we see the unintended victims of alcoholism and mild neglect who deserve a better life. Under her keyboard, she is able to weave a sweet and funny tale that any of us could read to our children.

That’s a talent, and one I admire. And here’s my story…

“The Good Sport” by Bill Kieffer
I wrote this story in 2000 and it was nominated for the Ursa Major Award in 2001. One of the rules of Metamor Keep is that there are no conspiracies to overthrow the Duke. Well, I just had to see how far I could bend that rule with my Reavers.

While this introductory story isn’t about overthrowing anything, I think it’s a nice story about some boys playing in the woods… and one of the boys doesn’t understands the rule as well as he thinks…

This story introduces, I believe, the first cis-gender gay male Keeper who isn’t a rapist; Lars. While homosexuality is tolerated in Metamor Valley, it’s only because of the curse (TV Tropes covers this a bit).

Eragon meets Game of Thrones and Redwall in this fun epic fantasy.

For many, this book is a furry re-hashing of fantasy tropes: we start out with a farmboy in a rural place barely part of the map in the world Lyssia. Trouble strikes when the boy’s true nature (the ability or curse of shifting into a wolf) comes out. After accidentally killing his mother and escaping his enraged father through the Dyrewood, Drew begins a journey to discover that his real father, much like Eragon’s, was actually a man of power, in this case, one of the shapeshifting kings, a Werelord. Drew struggles to understand his shapeshifting power as well as its place in this world he is only beginning to explore. Amid assassins, torture, and his own fleas, Drew discovers the true beast inside.

While the plot is fun and certainly action-packed from cover to cover, the text is lacking many elements as far as quality. To begin, the style and audience do not mix very well. With a middle-grade vocabulary and style (as well as the “young adult” marketing), one would naturally assume this is for children in middle school. However, the Games of Thrones torture, gore, and violence make you question that quite a bit. It is constantly disorienting and jarring as we have this very naive protagonist in a very simple world with simple politics and one-dimensional characters all around, and suddenly, knives are raked across the protagonist’s ribs, and he’s being whipped repeatedly, leaking lots of blood. You get the point.

The writing is lacking in other areas as well. The rare commas make some sentences almost unreadable; logical fallacies prevail; and redundant phrases abound.

I tend to ignore small writing issues when writing reviews, but when they completely distract the reader from the story, that warrants the critique. Overall, I left this story with just the broadest sense of confusion: what readers were meant to read this? Who were the editors of this project?

On the plus side, this was a fun addition of a fantasy novel into the copia of werewolf literature, and the cover art and book formatting were stellar. Would recommend this book to anyone interested in Game of Thrones.