Customer Reviews

Furry!: The Best Anthropomorphic Fiction!

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Congratulations to the editor for doing a big job of introducing us to one of the first books of anthropomorphic fiction on the market.

You do not see too many sci-fi books around with stories featuring anthropomorphic characters. You can't be wrong saying that this is a pilot book. It's aimed at rather a wide audience so that any reader could find it interesting whether they are part of the furry fandom or not.

This book is worth reading because it shows you the difference between profound stories which raise personal, psychological and social questions--and satisfactory prose largely made of dialogues between characters of most typical species. Speaking of which, it is to be admitted that having read the book up to the end I failed to find a principle character belonging to species other than felines and canids which abound throughout the book. The lavish presence of these species cannot but hint at a somewhat limited approach to depicting furries in fiction. With every next story I started reading I was honestly expecting a story about a bird or a horse just to change the dog/fox subject. There exist quite decent examples of tales about other sentient animals or non-human people, like Charlotte's Web or The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, or Maggie Furey's Harp of Winds for that matter. Why not broaden the circle of species? Canines and felines are cute but after a few stories it gets a bit tiresome.

It's worth noting that in this book there are stories which make it worth acquiring. Wings and The Foxy Lady are definitely one of these. The plots of these two stories are not the main thing; it's the portrayal of characters and relations that matters. These stories leave a trail of compassion, they involve the problem of choice and touch upon moral aspects too. Speaking from a personal point, I found the characters vivid and unique in the sense that I could not only read about their appearance but also understand their values and personality.

I've read this book to see what furry writers have to offer us regarding the plot, characters and the language. As a person with strong interest in animal psychology, I was expecting a delicious mix of good science fiction topped with an insight into societies of sentient beings possessing animal characteristics. Maybe this book is not the right place to take this quest. I would love to see sentient anthro- or zoomorphic people stand against choices hard to make, get involved in situations which would require their personality to show itself. In most of the stories, however, I could replace character species with "human" without influencing the plot much. The word "shallow" is begging to be put here, but I have no intention of being evaluative.

In order to be shown to the public and sell in large book stores, furry fiction stories have yet to reach their maturity. In writing furry fiction it is not enough to dress your character as a rat or a cat; it's about knowing your animal's specific way of interacting with the world, with other representatives of their own species as well as with other species.

Impress me. Show me what makes a sentient deer take a certain decision. Tell me why a panther character did something that could look insane to a human. Bring up moral issues and problems of communication. Furry writing is a serious business requiring knowledge of human and animal psychology and language mastery. Let me express hope that future editions of Furry!: The Best Anthropomorphic Fiction! will be proud to present us with more thoughtful and vivid stories about characters that you would remember for longer than half an hour.

If you're like me, you're tired of sword-and-magic fantasy, weary of Lord of the Rings clones and you couldn't care any less about Harry what's-his-name. You do not understand what is so fantastic about the medieval period. You are tired of humans getting all the attention. You wish Jurassic Park had been told from the dinosaur's point of view without all those humans getting in the way (and you were rooting for the raptors). We want something different.

This collection of furry stories breaks out of what is considered normal fantasy by making animals the center of attention, and it's a refreshing break!

Fully realized worlds with intelligent, humanized animals. Some by genetic manipulation, some by transformation, and many where there is no explanation. If you're willing to buy into this and get a dose of a different kind of fantasy, this is a great find! These are writers who have broken from the norm and explored the less-traveled road of animal stories for adults. Humanized animals have a nasty reputation as being cartoons exclusively for kids, but these authors write them for adults who are open-minded enough to take them seriously. There's nothing childish about them; they explore themes meant for adult minds and I'm not talking about sex. Yes, there is some (and it's all tasteful), but a lot of these stories will make you think about far-reaching subjects. Some will touch you emotionally, like good literature should.

As with all collections of short stories, the quality varies from story to story, but there are some real gems in here.

Foxy Lady--a very touching love story. It tickles the hormones without ever breaching good taste. Wish it was longer!
Canis Major--great action with a cute ending.
Wings--this one alone is worth the retail price of the book. Emotionally, it is the deepest story of them all. It gets you in the heart.

Secret Weapon--you just don't see dragons portrayed like this! The funniest in the collection.
Mercy to the Cubs--I thought the ending needed to be poignant instead of happy, but it's still a suspenseful read.
Messenger--the Eater is a unique idea.

Find the Beauty--I like foxes, so I have to like this one. An unexpected twist in a transformation story.
Little Monster--the most original take on a werewolf story I've ever read! Real fun!

The rest range from barely passable (only 2 or 3) to very good. I'm glad to find fantasy that does not copy TLOTR and rehash the tired old dethroned-king-peasant-becomes-unlikely-warrior-medieval-politics-group-of-friends-on-epic-journey plots that dominate much of fantasy. We've been there and done all that for over 50 years. It was fresh and original when Tolkin did it, but it's time for something different. Time to view talking animals as something other than childish cartoons. I'm glad I read this.

Well, I probably can't add much to what the other people have said here but I'll give it a shot! My writing skills can always use work if nothing more.

This book was really a great surprise for me. Since I'm a mild fan of anthropomorphics (not a crazy one) I thought this might be an interesting read, and it surely was! You have 26 stories from over 20 authors over 15 years for a plethora of variety in not just stories but also in characters and plots. You've got humorous stories, emotional stories, thought-provoking, suspenseful, exciting, romantic, weird, cute, etc. The three categories include furries (anthropomorphics) and humans living together, furries living in their own worlds, and humans transforming into furries, and from these you'll get tales of space explorers, pirates, a detective, archaeologists, assassins, bounty hunters, warriors, dragons, and more.

Here's my top ten favorites just for fun (it wasn't easy to pick them):

10. "Rosettes and Ribbons." An archaeologist girl and her teacher visit a far away land to research the secrets of the Aeran culture. However, Peli finds much more than she wanted when she finds herself hurled into a situation that could threaten her life. A long story but still enjoyable and clever.

9. "Canis Major." Midge the bounty hunter collie follows a coded message to her next mission but discovers that it won't be as easy as she thought to know who to trust and who to kill. Behold the mystery, suspense, and humor of "I'll never not call you Canis Major."

8. "Painted Memories." A girl in a spaceship is unable to remember much about her beloved homeworld until she meets someone who gives her a gift even better than that.

7. "A Snapshot from Fayetteville." Human Dimitri meets a fox-wolf hybrid in a large city and decides to go with her and learn more about the culture of the anthro world. He finds out that it's much more than everyone thinks. A good example of racism and overcoming it.

6. "Foxy Lady." When Al wins a game show and receives an anthropomorph fox woman as a prize, he isn't sure what to think about her at first. Of course that soon changes and he falls in love with her. But when Sally learns that she no longer belongs to him and has important business to attend, she's forced to leave. Will she come back or has he seen the last of his new love?

5. "To the Magic Born." A good first story that's very simple, funny, and adorable (I don't like to use that word but it's the best one I could think of) A human father spends time with his foxoid stepson and talk about things of life, such as whether or not he has the magic ability.

4. "Crucible." A cat girl on a spaceship finds herself in the middle of two very delicate situations with lives on the balance in either one. No matter what she chooses, at least one person will die and revolution will come.

3. "Graduation Day." In my opinion this one should have been the very last story (even thought Little Monster was also good). A man-turned-rabbit volunteer career counselor tries to help 6 strangely transformed high school students find jobs after graduation along with hope for their future. It's incredibly funny at times and also heart-warming. This is the kind of story that reminds us that no matter who you are or what your limitations, there is still hope for you and a place where you belong.

2. "Wings." A female dog morph takes care of a sick blind boy and tries to find a way to heal him before he runs out of time. A highly emotional story and also thought-provking one that ponders the question whether or not morphs have souls. I felt that Todd Sutherland wrote this very well and treated religious people fairly.

1. "Mercy to the Cubs: A Tale of the Furkindred." Another emotional story. I thought for sure that Wings would be my all-time favorite but after finishing this one I soon decided I had found the winner. A wolf ambassador stuck in a village he can't stand makes a truly horrifying decision to do the unthinkable and unspeakable. Half-way through the story you may find yourself, as I did, holding your breath until the end and fearing to turn the next page. I wish I could say more but I better not. If any of the stories could make you cry, "Mercy" and "Wings" have the power to do it.

(More stories I liked just as much but didn't know where to put them include "Rat's Reputation," "Secret Weapon," "Beneath the Crystal Sea," "Castlefail," "Repas du Vivant," and "Little Monster")

Now as you probably already know this book is not for children (thank goodness!) and contains some PG-13 elements, and I feel like I should warn you about them in case you're someone who cares like I do. You'll occasionally run into bad language, including the F word in "A Snapshot from Fayetville" and a handful in "Graduation Day" plus other words. You'll also run into some senusuality that may not put the book in the adult category but should still be noted. "Foxy Lady," "How George Miles Almost Saved the World," and "Beneath the Crystal Sea" are likely the most descriptive, and it's the last one that really gets close to the line. However, not all of the stories are like that and for anyone who thinks this book is all about a gross fetish, that's not the case. Most of the love stories don't include physical love.

Now for some of my few complaints. The picture of the cat-human morph on the cover of the book looks amazing though I wish the nose looked more... uh... complete. Some of the stories lack important descriptions I wanted to know, especially what kind of anthros the characters are. (you have to just guess sometimes) It's also a shame that the illustrations from Best in Show couldn't be here and I really wanted to see them. However, the biographies at the end of the book are a nice treat.

I will admit that I didn't buy this book--I only borrowed it from a library--but if I had bought it I would say that it's definitely worth the price. If you want a break the from usual fiction, appreciate anthropomorphics, and love variety as much as I do then get this! Just as Elizabeth Barrett said, the stories will make you laugh, cry, and think. Give it a try.

One final note. Fred Patten, please make another one!

FYI, This book is/was also published as "Best In Show" by Sofawolf Press.

This anthology is very good and I heartily recommend it. It contains stories from authors on my "buy-on-sight" list and I had nearly laid out the cash for it before I started reading the descriptions and realized it sounded awfully familiar. It's darn good, but I don't really need two copies. :)

I think the biggest strength of this anthology is its variety. With twenty six different authors, you are almost guaranteed to find something new. I already knew Brian Antoine and Phil Geusz were excellent furry authors. In this anthology, I discovered "The Color Of Rain" by Gene Breshears, "Crucible" by Kim Liu, "Messenger" by Mel White, and more. If you like anthropomorhic short stories, this is for you.

P.S. The Sofawolf version has cover art by Ursula Vernon, which you might prefer. :)

I definitely didn't expect to like this because, lets fact it, both the title and the cover hint otherwise (actually...they more like howl otherwise).

But despite any of my inhibitions, I actually enjoyed the vast majority of the short stories in this collection. Had a lot of nifty ideas and situations and characters to sample from anthro fiction. Slight Odd at points but generally awesome. Most fun I've had reading a short story collection a long while.

All the stories I read in this book were great. I was only supposed to read this book in school in my break between classes but I could stop reading. I was sad to have finish such a good book. Some adult themes but very mild. I recommend this book to any one who likes anthropomorphism or any one who likes to read.

If you pick up this book just for pure entertainment you will not be disapointed, the stories inside range from the merely wonderfull to the fantastic in quality.
Great for a moment of reading durring morning commute or a moment of relaxation in a quet corner of a waiting room.
If however you are like me, and you want more then just entertainment for its own sake you will find that this book reprisents allso the posibility of studing different tecniques and stiles of writing.
Now, admitidly when you do this you run the risk of being a little confused, unlike a textbook the transition from one story and one tecnique to another is sudden, litterally the turn of a page, however there are few other examples out there where you can study and be entertained at the same time.
Just dont let the entertainment distract you from the study.

... of course, I helped select the stories and wrote one, so I'm rather biased. Nevertheless, we sorted through a pile of over 100 stories that itself was winnowed down from fifteen years of fanzines devoted to anthropomorphic animal fiction, so a lot of work and care went into the selection. The stories range from contemporary fiction with nothing more odd than a werewolf to completely realized fantasy worlds populated entirely with anthropomorphic animal characters. If you liked "Watership Down." C.J. Cherryh's Chanur series, or even just werewolf stories, give it a shot--there's probably something here you'll be glad you found.

This book is the best bargain I have ever gotten. It is a must read for Furries. And Non-Furries will enjoy it just as much.The stories are well written and well catigorised . I will read them again and again.

This book is the literary manifestation of sexual repression and malformation. Coherent stories, decent prose, actual plot and character development, but all in support of repressed bestiality. Though non-furries will find it readable and perhaps even enjoyable as fiction, the true reason behind each and every one of these stories is furthering the spread of the mental abhoration that is furrydom.

Do not support this book or any of its benefactors.