Customer Reviews

Vixens' keep

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Granted, I'm biased as I apprenticed to Mark Wallace under his alias of Baron William Blackfox of the SCA. Well known throughout the SCA world for his portraits and comic strips dealing with SCA life in a furry vein, Vixen's Keep is a tribute to both him and the women of the society that worked with him to compile a book that sums up all the difficulties of being a woman in a man's world.

If you are not familiar with the SCA, don't worry, it does not make any difference to the story. Set in the middle ages, with delightfully colorful characters, the story focuses on a girl's school of both the fighting and the social arts. Captain Rose is more than just a seasoned warrior with the foxy attributes that come with it, but she is also a wise mentor for many young women, struggling to overcome their own weaknesses and difficulties.

Captain Rose's driving ambition is to keep the fighting ladies of the middle ages from being labeled as either dykes or frail flowers putting on a show, but making them people in their own right, to be respected by their own merits, not by the merits of whatever man that speaks for them.

Not Feminist by a long shot, but rather Fem-affirming, it focuses on what is good about being female, rather than what is bad about being a man. A definate up beat book that has me smiling everytime I read it. An excellent tribute to the late Mark Wallace and his wit & humour. His tallent will be missed.

Being a furry myself, I was drawn to this book simply by looking at the cover art. In fact, the art throughout (even at the beginning) is really sweet compared to what else was out there at the time. The character development and facial expressions are there, and done quite nicely, although Mark (rest his soul) doesn't explain where Maya (the elephant) comes in...she's just there starting in one chapter and then for the duration. Speaking of development you see friendship begin between Marphissa and Alix, not to mention how the girls start to develope the muscles and strength necessary to be warriors. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, cover to cover, and can promise you won't regret making this purchase.