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     I’ve always been impressed with Tim Susman's ability to choose stories for his various compilations, such as his fantastic short story collection "Breaking the Ice".  And his most recent venture, the literary journal "New Fables", is absolutely no exception.  He has picked some great stories from many talented writers throughout the fandom, including Michael Payne, Phil Geusz, Renee Carter Hall, Kevin Frane, and Watts Martin.

     In "New Fables 2007", Kevin Frane contributes a story that takes us to a realm of magic where a wizard gets a strange request from a lonely raccoon.  Then Ryan Campbell delivers his thought-provoking story “A Non-Biodegradable Fox”, which mixes anthropomorphic fiction and taxidermy in a stunning way.  And even Tim Susman adds his own piece to the collection.  His story “The Shifting Sands” is a suspenseful take on anthros in the military who are asking questions they shouldn’t be asking.  I couldn’t put down.  It was so good I immediately picked up “New Fables 2008”, and now I must say, I’m hooked on New Fables. 

     Renee Carter Hall graces the 2008 edition with her story “The Wishing Tree”, which takes you to the beautiful backwoods and warms your heart with a tale of a cunning raccoon that gives two hounds an intriguing proposition.  Then Watts Martin brings us his tale "The Narrow Road in Morning Light", which drops you into the middle of medieval Japan with a strong samurai heroine that had me hooked to the very end.

     I can’t wait to get my copy of  "New Fables 2009", which is out now from Sofawolf Press.  Renee Carter Hall, M.C.A. Hogarth, and Kyell Gold contribute stories to the most recent issue, and I'm excited to see what they've come up with.  So head over to sofawolf.com and purchase a copy of "New Fables".  You'll be happy you did.

Two forest critters attempt to pilfer junk food from campers in this fun cartoon romp. “The Quest for Cheese Puffs” by Sean Silva  Read by Chris Hvidsten Sound effects from the FreeSound Project AD Flash 006 - Quest for Cheese Puffs - Two forest critters attempt to pilfer junk food from campers in this fun cartoon romp. “The Quest for Cheese Puffs” by   Read by Sound effects from the

Well, I must confess to being a little surprised that I'm posting the first review of X. I know it's not available on the web quite yet, but a lot of copies sold at AC. Heck, I felt like I was dilly-dallying waiting this long to post. Well, diving right in:

While I'm guessing that many of the people who read this community have followed the publicity avidly, or at least know the concept, I'll give some background. X is an anthology, edited by Kyell Gold, of ten stories inspired by the ten commandments. Each story is accompanied by an illustration. The story features the creme-de-la-creme of the furry creative world, with Stories from Kyell, K.M. Hirosaki, Whyte Yote, Renee Carter Hall, and art from Heather Bruton, Blotch, Adam Wan, Shinigamigirl and others. I may be well read by furry standards, but I recognized 9 out of 10 authors, and knew 7 out of 9 artists (Heather Bruton is represented twice).

Name recognition is all well and good, but the real proof is in the writing. I must say that each contributor is in top form for this outing. There really is no weak link, which is quite a feat given the number of authors and the constraints of the premise. While it is only natural that readers will gravitate toward a few favorites among the ten, all the stories are of high enough quality that it will be personal taste rather than writing skill that will determine your favorite. While the art for each story is good, there is a single frontispiece illustration for each story, and it is printed in black and white. It added some to the story, but for the most part I felt the faded more into the background. As much as I enjoyed the art, I think only Nylak's illustration of Renee Carter Hall's story and Jonas' illustration of his own work really added much of anything for me. Since the stories and styles are quite varied, I thought I'd devote a few setences to each author and story, going down the list according to table of contents:

I am the lord thy god, though shalt have no other gods before me - Alex F. Vance
Alex stays true to his form here, giving us a dense story of inscrutable characters whose motivations are never quite clear. The story is set in a monestary, told from the point of view of the prior. It concerns a young charge, a boy on the cusp of adulthood and the cusp of the law. He is ostensibly sent to the monestary to avoid prison and hopefully straigten him out. The setup gives a delicious tension as the story proceeds. The language is quite evocative, and while not much happens in terms of action (to the possible dismay of those who know Vance's work from Maranathra and Heathen City) the characters quite ably carry the story through their interplay. It is fairly clear that neither of the main characters are quite who they seem, the task for the characters, and ultimately the readers, is to decipher what lies beneath. It's got a lovely ending, not qute M. Night Sham-wow, but fairly surprising nonetheless.

Thou shalt not make for thyself and idol - Renee Carter Hall
Renee Carter Hall, aka poetigress, provides a provocative tale of two archeologists working on a temple dig in a jungle. One archeologist is a native, a jaguar-morph who's people are known as Onca, the female is a human. Of all the stories, I think I found this one the hottest, and that's quite a feat given how gay I am. Something about the intensity of feeling between the two characters really clicked for me. I think this sex in this piece is the most purely passionate in the book, though it's probably helped by the fact that it's fueled by dueling sex gods... This is actually a fairly straightforward story driven by plot and action, mostly in contrast to the more character driven stories from most of the other authors.

Thou shalt not make wrongful use of the name of thy god - Whyte Yote
Wyte Yote's entry into X is a bit of science fiction, and probably the second most literal exporation of it's commandment. In fact, it delves farther into traditional theology farther than any other story in the anthology. Whyte Yote asks probing questions about how artificial life fits (or doesn't fit) into a more traditional religious society. The stregnth of this story lies in the interplay between the creator who hasn't gotten over the loss of his lover and the creation who has innocently embodied that lover and questions the nature of soul. They're two wounded characters who follow different arcs through the story, but ultimately wind up ok.

Remember the sabbath and keep it holy - Kyell Gold
This is actually one of the few stories in the book I haven't read multiple times. Although I'm in rather different circumstances, I still felt a strong emotional connection with the protagonanist, a gay rat in a small town. He's torn between the prospect of a new lover and the community he's been a part of his whole life. Typical of Kyell, it's a well written romance with a hopeful end, but the character(s) do suffer to achieve that hopeful resolution. In a way this one struck me because I wonder if there could have been this hopeful ending without the suffering part, or if that was the only way for the characters to come to the necessary realizations.

Honor thy father and mother - pyrostinger
This story is one of the few that didn't resonate particularly strong with me. It is well written, about two orphans struggling to survive in a had world without their parents. The elder brother (still quite young) finds work in brothel, though not as a sex worker. It's endearing as the young badger Sasha attempts to serve as parent to his younger sister while the mistress of the brothel somewhat slides into the role of mother. While the story is well written and charming, I never quite managed to truly connect with the characters or overcome my cynicysim about the fate of two orphans traveling to a big city.

Thou shalt not kill - Fuzzwolf
This was one of the biggest surprises to me. I've read a number of stories from Fuzzwolf, and they have a tendency to be much more straightforward and purely yiffy. While this one doesn't skip on the yiff, it's also a deftly handled non-conventional love story. I do hope it's not too much of a spoiler to say that a story titled 'Thou shall not kill' has a heartbreaking ending. Knowing the title of the story and Fuzz's tendency to be rather unsubtle, much of the book was waiting for the other shoe to drop. When it finally came, it was in a different form than I initally expected, and it was very moving.

Thou shalt not commit adultery - Jonas
Jonas presents the story of a military dog torn between his small town past and the girl he loved but never had and the present day sophistication and complication of his city life and feline wife. This story is one of the more straightforward explorations of it's title commandment in this collection. The dog is married, loves his wife, or at least thinks he does, yet winds up with the hometown girl. The interesting part of this story is the lack of passion and lust. The emotions seem muted, the women seen through rose colored glasses. The main character Scott's relationship with his former commanding officer seemed more intense than with either of the women. Even as the protagonist recounts his misadventures from the morning after, he goes out of his way to deemphisize the sexual aspects of the encounter. I suppose in a way, that makes for a much more thorough adulterous episode.

Thou shalt not steal - Not Tube
Thou shalt not steal reads much like a classic myth or fairy tale. It has the elements: a prince locked in a tower, a charming rogue, impossible challenges to overcome. This makes sweet and charming, but to me this also makes it suffer a bit. While it takes a lot of skill to strike a good tone and balance for a classic fairy tale, it tends to stick out for me when placed amongst the more subtle, darker works amongst which it has been placed and not in a good way. I am generally drawn to the darker, cynical stories with more twists, turns and subtle tensions. This story, while competent and nicely written just doesn't really draw me in. I don't quite care enough about the archetypal characters to be really emotionally invested in their success or failure.

Thou shalt not bear false witness - K.M. Hirosaki
K.M. Hirosaki's entry into X is perhaps the one that disturbed me the most. I trust that he will be proud of that, particularly as it is set amongst nine other tales of deliberate twisting, streching, bending and breaking morality. Lest he let his ego run away with that, I will say that the only typo I noticed in the book was here, p. 229 "Party?" he repeated. "No, I didn't." I suspect the line was originally different, and the pronoun was not updated in the editing. At any rate, this story is the most comparable to the everyday lives of furries, as they interact, hang out, drink, and pair off. It's the most blatant breaking of any commandment in the book, lacking the subtlety, machiavellian manipulations, or justifications of the other stories. I think the bald-faced transgression, coupled with the familiar and realistic setting, is what really gave this story the impact that it had.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's property - B.C. Currier
B.C. Currier has the final word in the anthology, and is the only author I wasn't already familiar with. I strongly suspect that it is a pen name for someone else, as neither google or I could find any prior postings, and one does not get to this level of writing on one's first go around. I must confess that this is my favorite of the stories in the book. It follows a fundamentalist radio minister as he attempts to reach his son who has falled under the sway of the cult-like furries. The action plays out through a far-fetched physical and psychological journey as the Reverend must confront his own past in order to reach his son. While headlines of the past few years suggest that the character of the Reverend may be more common than previously supposed, the ultimate decisions reached by the Reverend on his journey do seem a bit extreme, out of character and somewhat unlikely. Nevertheless, the story and characters really sucked me in and had me rooting for them. I can't really blame Currier for giving us the ending I want instead of the cynical ending I would expect in the real world.

Overall the book is an excellent read, with something for just about everyone. It is an interesting take on a lot of classic themes. It is also nice to see an anthology with a theme beyond setting or style, without resorting to porn. While this book is certainly adult and frequently deals with sex, it never feels as if the purpose of the book is titilation. It's a great collection, and would make an excellent introduction to the top writers of the furry fandom. Everyone should be very proud of how this turned out.

Well, I must confess to being a little surprised that I'm posting the first review of X. I know it's not available on the web quite yet, but a lot of copies sold at AC. Heck, I felt like I was dilly-dallying waiting this long to post. Well, diving right in:

While I'm guessing that many of the people who read this community have followed the publicity avidly, or at least know the concept, I'll give some background. X is an anthology, edited by Kyell Gold, of ten stories inspired by the ten commandments. Each story is accompanied by an illustration. The story features the creme-de-la-creme of the furry creative world, with Stories from Kyell, K.M. Hirosaki, Whyte Yote, Renee Carter Hall, and art from Heather Bruton, Blotch, Adam Wan, Shinigamigirl and others. I may be well read by furry standards, but I recognized 9 out of 10 authors, and knew 7 out of 9 artists (Heather Bruton is represented twice).

Name recognition is all well and good, but the real proof is in the writing. I must say that each contributor is in top form for this outing. There really is no weak link, which is quite a feat given the number of authors and the constraints of the premise. While it is only natural that readers will gravitate toward a few favorites among the ten, all the stories are of high enough quality that it will be personal taste rather than writing skill that will determine your favorite. While the art for each story is good, there is a single frontispiece illustration for each story, and it is printed in black and white. It added some to the story, but for the most part I felt the faded more into the background. As much as I enjoyed the art, I think only Nylak's illustration of Renee Carter Hall's story and Jonas' illustration of his own work really added much of anything for me. Since the stories and styles are quite varied, I thought I'd devote a few setences to each author and story, going down the list according to table of contents:

I am the lord thy god, though shalt have no other gods before me - Alex F. Vance
Alex stays true to his form here, giving us a dense story of inscrutable characters whose motivations are never quite clear. The story is set in a monestary, told from the point of view of the prior. It concerns a young charge, a boy on the cusp of adulthood and the cusp of the law. He is ostensibly sent to the monestary to avoid prison and hopefully straigten him out. The setup gives a delicious tension as the story proceeds. The language is quite evocative, and while not much happens in terms of action (to the possible dismay of those who know Vance's work from Maranathra and Heathen City) the characters quite ably carry the story through their interplay. It is fairly clear that neither of the main characters are quite who they seem, the task for the characters, and ultimately the readers, is to decipher what lies beneath. It's got a lovely ending, not qute M. Night Sham-wow, but fairly surprising nonetheless.

Thou shalt not make for thyself and idol - Renee Carter Hall
Renee Carter Hall, aka poetigress, provides a provocative tale of two archeologists working on a temple dig in a jungle. One archeologist is a native, a jaguar-morph who's people are known as Onca, the female is a human. Of all the stories, I think I found this one the hottest, and that's quite a feat given how gay I am. Something about the intensity of feeling between the two characters really clicked for me. I think this sex in this piece is the most purely passionate in the book, though it's probably helped by the fact that it's fueled by dueling sex gods... This is actually a fairly straightforward story driven by plot and action, mostly in contrast to the more character driven stories from most of the other authors.

Thou shalt not make wrongful use of the name of thy god - Whyte Yote
Wyte Yote's entry into X is a bit of science fiction, and probably the second most literal exporation of it's commandment. In fact, it delves farther into traditional theology farther than any other story in the anthology. Whyte Yote asks probing questions about how artificial life fits (or doesn't fit) into a more traditional religious society. The stregnth of this story lies in the interplay between the creator who hasn't gotten over the loss of his lover and the creation who has innocently embodied that lover and questions the nature of soul. They're two wounded characters who follow different arcs through the story, but ultimately wind up ok.

Remember the sabbath and keep it holy - Kyell Gold
This is actually one of the few stories in the book I haven't read multiple times. Although I'm in rather different circumstances, I still felt a strong emotional connection with the protagonanist, a gay rat in a small town. He's torn between the prospect of a new lover and the community he's been a part of his whole life. Typical of Kyell, it's a well written romance with a hopeful end, but the character(s) do suffer to achieve that hopeful resolution. In a way this one struck me because I wonder if there could have been this hopeful ending without the suffering part, or if that was the only way for the characters to come to the necessary realizations.

Honor thy father and mother - pyrostinger
This story is one of the few that didn't resonate particularly strong with me. It is well written, about two orphans struggling to survive in a had world without their parents. The elder brother (still quite young) finds work in brothel, though not as a sex worker. It's endearing as the young badger Sasha attempts to serve as parent to his younger sister while the mistress of the brothel somewhat slides into the role of mother. While the story is well written and charming, I never quite managed to truly connect with the characters or overcome my cynicysim about the fate of two orphans traveling to a big city.

Thou shalt not kill - Fuzzwolf
This was one of the biggest surprises to me. I've read a number of stories from Fuzzwolf, and they have a tendency to be much more straightforward and purely yiffy. While this one doesn't skip on the yiff, it's also a deftly handled non-conventional love story. I do hope it's not too much of a spoiler to say that a story titled 'Thou shall not kill' has a heartbreaking ending. Knowing the title of the story and Fuzz's tendency to be rather unsubtle, much of the book was waiting for the other shoe to drop. When it finally came, it was in a different form than I initally expected, and it was very moving.

Thou shalt not commit adultery - Jonas
Jonas presents the story of a military dog torn between his small town past and the girl he loved but never had and the present day sophistication and complication of his city life and feline wife. This story is one of the more straightforward explorations of it's title commandment in this collection. The dog is married, loves his wife, or at least thinks he does, yet winds up with the hometown girl. The interesting part of this story is the lack of passion and lust. The emotions seem muted, the women seen through rose colored glasses. The main character Scott's relationship with his former commanding officer seemed more intense than with either of the women. Even as the protagonist recounts his misadventures from the morning after, he goes out of his way to deemphisize the sexual aspects of the encounter. I suppose in a way, that makes for a much more thorough adulterous episode.

Thou shalt not steal - Not Tube
Thou shalt not steal reads much like a classic myth or fairy tale. It has the elements: a prince locked in a tower, a charming rogue, impossible challenges to overcome. This makes sweet and charming, but to me this also makes it suffer a bit. While it takes a lot of skill to strike a good tone and balance for a classic fairy tale, it tends to stick out for me when placed amongst the more subtle, darker works amongst which it has been placed and not in a good way. I am generally drawn to the darker, cynical stories with more twists, turns and subtle tensions. This story, while competent and nicely written just doesn't really draw me in. I don't quite care enough about the archetypal characters to be really emotionally invested in their success or failure.

Thou shalt not bear false witness - K.M. Hirosaki
K.M. Hirosaki's entry into X is perhaps the one that disturbed me the most. I trust that he will be proud of that, particularly as it is set amongst nine other tales of deliberate twisting, streching, bending and breaking morality. Lest he let his ego run away with that, I will say that the only typo I noticed in the book was here, p. 229 "Party?" he repeated. "No, I didn't." I suspect the line was originally different, and the pronoun was not updated in the editing. At any rate, this story is the most comparable to the everyday lives of furries, as they interact, hang out, drink, and pair off. It's the most blatant breaking of any commandment in the book, lacking the subtlety, machiavellian manipulations, or justifications of the other stories. I think the bald-faced transgression, coupled with the familiar and realistic setting, is what really gave this story the impact that it had.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's property - B.C. Currier
B.C. Currier has the final word in the anthology, and is the only author I wasn't already familiar with. I strongly suspect that it is a pen name for someone else, as neither google or I could find any prior postings, and one does not get to this level of writing on one's first go around. I must confess that this is my favorite of the stories in the book. It follows a fundamentalist radio minister as he attempts to reach his son who has falled under the sway of the cult-like furries. The action plays out through a far-fetched physical and psychological journey as the Reverend must confront his own past in order to reach his son. While headlines of the past few years suggest that the character of the Reverend may be more common than previously supposed, the ultimate decisions reached by the Reverend on his journey do seem a bit extreme, out of character and somewhat unlikely. Nevertheless, the story and characters really sucked me in and had me rooting for them. I can't really blame Currier for giving us the ending I want instead of the cynical ending I would expect in the real world.

Overall the book is an excellent read, with something for just about everyone. It is an interesting take on a lot of classic themes. It is also nice to see an anthology with a theme beyond setting or style, without resorting to porn. While this book is certainly adult and frequently deals with sex, it never feels as if the purpose of the book is titilation. It's a great collection, and would make an excellent introduction to the top writers of the furry fandom. Everyone should be very proud of how this turned out.

This week on KnotCast, it's Anthrocon report show! Fuzz, Zap, Isty, and Savrin tell their tales. Also this week, we answer questions regarding age gaps, 10 year anniversaries, and body image issues. All this and more on episode 57 of KnotCast! Episode 57 - The Con Funk of Forty Thousand Years

     This is my first ever post on livejournal, so hopefully it comes out okay.

    I've read several short story collections, and "Alone in the Dark" is one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  Sometimes with short story collections, a couple of pieces feel out of place, or you just skip over some and move on to the next story.  Will Sanborn made sure that wasn't the case here.  I read it from cover to cover, and I enjoyed every minute.

     It has wonderful stories that cover tales of horror, psychological thrillers, ghost stories, and everything in-between, both with lighter and darker themes. He was able to get tons of great writers within the fandom, including Tim Susman, Thomas Shaw, Chris Goodwin, Brian Miller, Austin Crowder, and many others. 

     Renee Carter Hall contributes her great story “Waking the Beast”, which played on some of my biggest fears, beginning forcefully strapped down, and somebody wielding a large knife.  It makes me cringe just thinking about it. Then there’s Watts Martin’s “Carrier”, where he took the idea of infected anthros and gave it a superb non-zombie twist, which is simply brilliant if I must say so.  Kevin Frane adds his story “The Stars are Wrong”, which is a riveting tale about an astronomer who seems to be the only one that notices the constellations have gone completely out of whack.  It was so good, it had me reading well past my bedtime.  And even Will Sanborn brings his own tale "Faded Celluloid Dreams", which is one of the most original uses for an anthropomorphic character that I've seen in sometime.  It's a story about a human who meets an old, forgotten vampire bat that was genetically engineered for roles in old Hollywood monster movies.

     Plus the book has wonderful artwork from Heather Bruton, Sara "Caribou" Palmer, Amber "Vantid" Hill, and many more.  It is simply a great read with some fantastic stories I'd recommend to anyone.  You can purchase it at Amazon, Furplanet, or Lulu.com.  So go pick up a copy, you won't be disappointed.

     This is my first ever post on livejournal, so hopefully it comes out okay.

    I've read several short story collections, and "Alone in the Dark" is one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of reading.  Sometimes with short story collections, a couple of pieces feel out of place, or you just skip over some and move on to the next story.  Will Sanborn made sure that wasn't the case here.  I read it from cover to cover, and I enjoyed every minute.

     It has wonderful stories that cover tales of horror, psychological thrillers, ghost stories, and everything in-between, both with lighter and darker themes. He was able to get tons of great writers within the fandom, including Tim Susman, Thomas Shaw, Chris Goodwin, Brian Miller, Austin Crowder, and many others. 

     Renee Carter Hall contributes her great story “Waking the Beast”, which played on some of my biggest fears, beginning forcefully strapped down, and somebody wielding a large knife.  It makes me cringe just thinking about it. Then there’s Watts Martin’s “Carrier”, where he took the idea of infected anthros and gave it a superb non-zombie twist, which is simply brilliant if I must say so.  Kevin Frane adds his story “The Stars are Wrong”, which is a riveting tale about an astronomer who seems to be the only one that notices the constellations have gone completely out of whack.  It was so good, it had me reading well past my bedtime.  And even Will Sanborn brings his own tale "Faded Celluloid Dreams", which is one of the most original uses for an anthropomorphic character that I've seen in sometime.  It's a story about a human who meets an old, forgotten vampire bat that was genetically engineered for roles in old Hollywood monster movies.

     Plus the book has wonderful artwork from Heather Bruton, Sara "Caribou" Palmer, Amber "Vantid" Hill, and many more.  It is simply a great read with some fantastic stories I'd recommend to anyone.  You can purchase it at Amazon, Furplanet, or Lulu.com.  So go pick up a copy, you won't be disappointed.

Just so people know, if you're not familiar with LJ communities: you do NOT need to be a member of furrybookreview to read the postings. You only need to watch it. If you become a member, the expectation is that you will post reviews and contribute.

I know I was confused about that, so I just thought I'd toss that out since there have been a lot of people joining, and nobody posting. Let's see some reviews, people!

Just so people know, if you're not familiar with LJ communities: you do NOT need to be a member of furrybookreview to read the postings. You only need to watch it. If you become a member, the expectation is that you will post reviews and contribute.

I know I was confused about that, so I just thought I'd toss that out since there have been a lot of people joining, and nobody posting. Let's see some reviews, people!

Woyro talks about his trip to Monsterbash to get an autograph for a sick friend. also, a little talk about Anthrocon. Episode 92---Hunting the Creature from Black Lagoon - Woyro talks about his trip to Monsterbash to get an autograph for a sick friend. also, a little talk about Anthrocon.

In this episode of KnotCast Presents, Fuzz is joined by four members of the creative team behind Heathen City volume 2. Writer Alex Vance and artists Blue Panther, Krahnos and Vahn Fox discuss the creative process involved with a team of international artists with very different styles. Heathen City 2 will debut at Anthrocon and will be available at the FurPlanet tables in the dealers room. Stop by, buy a copy, have Krahnos and Vahn sign it and meet some KnotCast cast members. Links: www.HeathenCity.com http://HeathenCity.FurPlanet.com http://www.furaffinity.net/user/osfer http://www.furaffinity.net/user/krahnos http://www.furaffinity.net/user/bluepanther http://www.furaffinity.net/user/vahnfox Knotcast Presents - Heathen City

Woyro talks a little more about RCFM, spotlights news on AC and interviews the guys from PA Pets. Episode 91--AC, RCFM and other stuff - Woyro talks a little more about RCFM, spotlights news on AC and interviews the guys from PA Pets.

Totemism and spirit animals meet the modern world in this wonderful story from Sofawolf Press' New Fables. "The Perfect Totem" by M. C. A. Hogarth (www.stardancer.org) Read by Peter Katt (www.peterkattvoice.com) Information about "New Fables" can be found at www.sofawolf.com Music by Infinity Squared (http://www.furaffinity.net/user/infinitysquared) AD 006 - The Perfect Totem - Totemism and spirit animals meet the modern world in this wonderful story from Sofawolf Press' New Fables. "The Perfect Totem" by M. C. A. Hogarth (www.stardancer.org) Read by Peter Katt (www.peterkattvoice.com) Information about...

This week on KnotCast, Savrin, Fuzz, Zap, Istanbul, and Bucktown tackle an open topic week! We get plenty of followups, lots of random questions, and hear some messed up stories. Also, Fuzz talks about a lot of new stuff coming out at AC, and Zap talks about his new great idea! All this and lots of knots on episode 56 of KnotCast! Episode 56 - Ask Us Anything

"Each one goes together alone, with a mind that's satisfied..." -- Devo, "The Satisfied Mind" "The Satisfied Mind" by Will A. Sanborn (www.was1.net) Read by Matthew Ebel (www.matthewebel.com) Music by Infinity Squared (www.furaffinity.net/user/infinitysquared) AD 005 - The Satisfied Mind - "Each one goes together alone, with a mind that's satisfied..." -- Devo, "The Satisfied Mind" "The Satisfied Mind" by Will A. Sanborn (www.was1.net) Read by Matthew Ebel (www.matthewebel.com) Music by...

This week on the uber long episode of KnotCast, Savrin, Fuzz, and Istanbul are all about the conventions. We read emails asking us about medical issues regarding dongs, how to not be an ass to an ex, and get an email that was stuck in the tubes about MUCKs. In the topical portion of the show, we get a lot of emails with other peoples impressions of conventions, we do a lot of silly plugging, and have a very nice long conversation about cons ourself. It's a very long and very relaxed episode this week on KnotCast! Episode 55 - Furcon Fantasia

Dream-Carver: an Ironclaw novel
by Erin van Hiel
Sanguine Productions, 2007
208 pp., ISBN 1-932592-01-6




Dream-Carver is a fantasy adventure novel that takes place in the world of the Ironclaw role-playing game, roughly equivalent to the 17th century but with magic. Does one need to know anything about the game to understand the story? No. As a reader who has never played Ironclaw, I had no problems following the book.

What became immediately apparent about the setting were the houses of nobility in fierce competition, each house based around a different species. At first I was worried that I would have to write side-notes to keep track of various characters, groups and alliances. (Blame Guy Gavriel Kay's novels, and my terrible memory for names.) But as soon as I was a few chapters into the book, I found my fears were unfounded. The number of major characters is modestly small, and because much of the story takes place at sea, political plot complications are greatly reduced.

The narrative switches its point of view between characters fairly frequently, but the central character is Annarisse, a horse priestess and a disfavoured but proud daughter of nobility. The start of the story finds her abruptly reassigned from an orphanage to be the spiritual guardian for Baron Treeden MacDuncan, a young wolf nobleman.

Treeden is a well-written, unlikeable character. Self-interested and lacking in empathy, most of all he seeks to escape from his mother's powerful connections that keep him on a short leash. Annarisse's presence being the latest manifestation of her distant control, he bares the priestess no kindness.

Having come into possession of information about a lost pirate treasure, Treeden hopes to gain enough wealth to afford himself a certain amount of independence. To achieve this, he employs the boat and crew of Captain Salvatore, a gruff, older fox whose expertise as a sailor is overshadowed by a drinking problem, the result of years of regrets.

The dynamics between these characters are at the core of the book, and although there are additional antagonists (a rival fox admiral also seeking the treasure, and a mysterious underwater entity), the three of them generate a good deal of conflict just by being on the same ship together. In all their interactions, Annarisse, Treeden and Salvatore are constantly aware of how their actions might effect their well-being, their short-term power struggles against one another, and their long-term relationships with the noble houses.

Annarisse quickly discovers that she can no longer work for Treeden's family in good conscience, making her presence on board somewhat superfluous were it not for her spellcasting and healing abilities. (This was one part of the book that felt stereotypically RPG-ish.) On the other hand, her newfound resolve allows her to act as a free agent, whereupon she allies herself with Captain Salvatore. While the two of them disagree about the Captain's ethics and lifestyle, they unite under a mutual distrust of Treeden.

Annarisse is very pious and proud; she takes her calling seriously and wants to help others achieve a sense of goodness and piety - although recognizing that not all spiritual battles can be won, goodness will do. Dedicated without being fanatical, she questions her own decisions and frequently regrets that her more petty emotions sometimes hold sway in the heat of the moment. This fallibility, at ends with her desire to uphold her greater beliefs, and her awareness of her personal weaknesses and sacrifices, made her an extremely believable character for me.

Turning now to discuss the story-telling, although it was an entertaining read that made me want to know what happened next, I had little sense of where the plot was actually going at any given time. The characters were very much caught up "in the moment". Their present circumstances kept changing, causing them to constantly readjust their immediate goals so that their long-term interests might eventually bear fruit. Events conspired against them - being suddenly attacked at sea, stops at ports and distant islands, storms - even the nature of the treasure hunt changed.

Other curious features of the story involved a weasel thief who seemed too clueless of the severity of her situation, a wolf spy who was added and removed from the plot without really accomplishing anything, and how Treeden's presence as an antagonist suddenly ceased to be a factor two-thirds of the way through the book. Finally, the confrontation against the ultimate enemy for the treasure was rather quick and somewhat underwhelming.

As it turns out, the reason the story was structured this way was that it was inspired by an actual Ironclaw RPG campaign that the author had played. I didn't realize this until I had read the acknowledgements at the end of the book, although had I been more observant I could have also found out from the book's jacket. In retrospect this explained much of the above; the campaign had certainly made its characters jump through a lot of hoops.

In terms of furriness, despite the setting and the occasional references to ears, claws, etc., I didn't find the first half of the novel to be particularly furry, but this changed as I got deeper into the book and more exotic anthropomorphic races were encountered - bats, a tiger, and undersea creatures.

The author's writing style is very direct, focusing on the situation at hand and keeping a clear understanding of the characters' motivations. If anything, I think the book could have benefited from a stronger, more evocative sense of atmosphere and emotion in places where it was mostly physically descriptive, but overall I liked it. I was able to picture the surroundings and was never confused as to what was happening.

What interested me the most in the book was not the adventure nor the treasure-hunt, but the story of the growing understanding and respect between Annarisse and Salvatore as characters. Ultimately, this was the real tale being told. And there are many other plot details I've deliberately left out of this review to avoid spoilers, lots of things that added both depth and flavour to the story. The end of the book is a positive one, achieving closure while at the same time leaving open the possibility for a sequel. In short, if you don't mind that this sea adventure has an RPG feel to it, Dream-Carver is an enjoyable read that I would recommend.

Dream-Carver: an Ironclaw novel
by Erin van Hiel
Sanguine Productions, 2007
208 pp., ISBN 1-932592-01-6




Dream-Carver is a fantasy adventure novel that takes place in the world of the Ironclaw role-playing game, roughly equivalent to the 17th century but with magic. Does one need to know anything about the game to understand the story? No. As a reader who has never played Ironclaw, I had no problems following the book.

What became immediately apparent about the setting were the houses of nobility in fierce competition, each house based around a different species. At first I was worried that I would have to write side-notes to keep track of various characters, groups and alliances. (Blame Guy Gavriel Kay's novels, and my terrible memory for names.) But as soon as I was a few chapters into the book, I found my fears were unfounded. The number of major characters is modestly small, and because much of the story takes place at sea, political plot complications are greatly reduced.

The narrative switches its point of view between characters fairly frequently, but the central character is Annarisse, a horse priestess and a disfavoured but proud daughter of nobility. The start of the story finds her abruptly reassigned from an orphanage to be the spiritual guardian for Baron Treeden MacDuncan, a young wolf nobleman.

Treeden is a well-written, unlikeable character. Self-interested and lacking in empathy, most of all he seeks to escape from his mother's powerful connections that keep him on a short leash. Annarisse's presence being the latest manifestation of her distant control, he bares the priestess no kindness.

Having come into possession of information about a lost pirate treasure, Treeden hopes to gain enough wealth to afford himself a certain amount of independence. To achieve this, he employs the boat and crew of Captain Salvatore, a gruff, older fox whose expertise as a sailor is overshadowed by a drinking problem, the result of years of regrets.

The dynamics between these characters are at the core of the book, and although there are additional antagonists (a rival fox admiral also seeking the treasure, and a mysterious underwater entity), the three of them generate a good deal of conflict just by being on the same ship together. In all their interactions, Annarisse, Treeden and Salvatore are constantly aware of how their actions might effect their well-being, their short-term power struggles against one another, and their long-term relationships with the noble houses.

Annarisse quickly discovers that she can no longer work for Treeden's family in good conscience, making her presence on board somewhat superfluous were it not for her spellcasting and healing abilities. (This was one part of the book that felt stereotypically RPG-ish.) On the other hand, her newfound resolve allows her to act as a free agent, whereupon she allies herself with Captain Salvatore. While the two of them disagree about the Captain's ethics and lifestyle, they unite under a mutual distrust of Treeden.

Annarisse is very pious and proud; she takes her calling seriously and wants to help others achieve a sense of goodness and piety - although recognizing that not all spiritual battles can be won, goodness will do. Dedicated without being fanatical, she questions her own decisions and frequently regrets that her more petty emotions sometimes hold sway in the heat of the moment. This fallibility, at ends with her desire to uphold her greater beliefs, and her awareness of her personal weaknesses and sacrifices, made her an extremely believable character for me.

Turning now to discuss the story-telling, although it was an entertaining read that made me want to know what happened next, I had little sense of where the plot was actually going at any given time. The characters were very much caught up "in the moment". Their present circumstances kept changing, causing them to constantly readjust their immediate goals so that their long-term interests might eventually bear fruit. Events conspired against them - being suddenly attacked at sea, stops at ports and distant islands, storms - even the nature of the treasure hunt changed.

Other curious features of the story involved a weasel thief who seemed too clueless of the severity of her situation, a wolf spy who was added and removed from the plot without really accomplishing anything, and how Treeden's presence as an antagonist suddenly ceased to be a factor two-thirds of the way through the book. Finally, the confrontation against the ultimate enemy for the treasure was rather quick and somewhat underwhelming.

As it turns out, the reason the story was structured this way was that it was inspired by an actual Ironclaw RPG campaign that the author had played. I didn't realize this until I had read the acknowledgements at the end of the book, although had I been more observant I could have also found out from the book's jacket. In retrospect this explained much of the above; the campaign had certainly made its characters jump through a lot of hoops.

In terms of furriness, despite the setting and the occasional references to ears, claws, etc., I didn't find the first half of the novel to be particularly furry, but this changed as I got deeper into the book and more exotic anthropomorphic races were encountered - bats, a tiger, and undersea creatures.

The author's writing style is very direct, focusing on the situation at hand and keeping a clear understanding of the characters' motivations. If anything, I think the book could have benefited from a stronger, more evocative sense of atmosphere and emotion in places where it was mostly physically descriptive, but overall I liked it. I was able to picture the surroundings and was never confused as to what was happening.

What interested me the most in the book was not the adventure nor the treasure-hunt, but the story of the growing understanding and respect between Annarisse and Salvatore as characters. Ultimately, this was the real tale being told. And there are many other plot details I've deliberately left out of this review to avoid spoilers, lots of things that added both depth and flavour to the story. The end of the book is a positive one, achieving closure while at the same time leaving open the possibility for a sequel. In short, if you don't mind that this sea adventure has an RPG feel to it, Dream-Carver is an enjoyable read that I would recommend.

This week on KnotCast, Bucktown is back with us to talk worst firsts! Savrin, Fuzz, Istanbul, Kyo, and the aformentioned Bucktown Tiger talk worst firsts on a lot of things. Bucktown and Istanbul talk RCFM and Morphicon, while Savrin and Fuzz talk A-Kon 20. It's magical! Also this week, we get the best email in a long time, hear some messed up stories about coming out young, get asked about gritty furry graphic novels, and hear a follow up or two. All this and more on episode 54 of KnotCast Episode 54 - Worst Firsts

Woyro recaps his trip to Rocket City Furmeet, the movie THE SINFUL DWARF, a David Byrne concert and rants against idiots. Episode 90---RCFM, movies and other rants - Woyro recaps his trip to Rocket City Furmeet, the movie THE SINFUL DWARF, a David Byrne concert and rants against idiots.