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Victorian anthropomorphics: The Island of Doctor Moreau

Furry Book Reviews - Tue 18 Mar 2008 - 13:21
H. G. Wells published The Island of Doctor Moreau in 1896, and though it isn't as well known as The War of the Worlds it has been in print almost continuously since its first appearance. This brief novel is readily available from libraries and new or used bookstores. Several audiobook versions have been released, and it has been adapted to film several times. The most recent film was released in 1996 and featured Marlon Brando as Moreau, though for a darker feeling you might prefer the 1932 release with Charles Laughton, entitled The Island of Lost Souls.

Film and television adaptations notwithstanding, I really suggest that anyone involved in furry fandom read the original. The book is not long, and can be finished in an evening or two. You will come away with an understanding of the peculiar revulsion that some people feel about furries and anthropomorphics, based on its roots in the morality and religious attitudes of Western culture.

Edward Prendick survives a shipwreck only to end up in a dingy on the South Pacific, without food or water, and doomed to an unpleasant death. At the end of his endurance, he is picked up by a mysterious ship that carries a cargo of live animals under the supervision of a medical man named Montgomery. Montgomery cares for and revives Prendick, but when the ship arrives at an island port of call to discharge the cargo, its drunken captain also dumps Prendick into his dingy again and abandons him. Eventually the dingy and Prendick arrive on the island, where he is decidedly unwelcome to the master of the tiny dwelling there, the mysterious Dr. Moreau.

Moreau, we learn, was exiled from civilized society (meaning England) for his experimental abominations. Soon he is explaining himself to Prendick in an effort to win the Englishman over to his side, and the protagonist views those experiments in surgical modification of animals to make them more "human" as utterly blasphemous. This is of course the view taken by most of Judeo-Christian tradition: the animals were created for the service and convenience of humans, and only humans were made "in God's image." This makes Moreau's attempts to construct humanity from animal flesh utterly horrifying, even without the concerns Prendick seems to feel about the pain inflicted on the animals in the process.

When he ventures out into the wilds of the island, Prendick observes and becomes entangled with many of Moreau's experimental subjects, some of whom are nearly successful, while others are dismal failures. The story draws to a rapid and suitably moralistic conclusion in which the guilty parties receive their deserved end, though there seems to be no happy ending for the many experimental subjects.

Wells spins an entertaining tale, as always, and will hold the reader's attention readily enough. I suspect that most furries will not agree with the attitudes expressed by Edward Prendick or the author, but will find themselves rooting for the various underdogs, undercats, and so forth. This is a novel that might well be retold from a different viewpoint by a modern, furry-sensitive writer. It will also give you second thoughts if you've ever considered whether you'd allow medical science to "make a real furry" of you.

Rating: 3 of 5 possible apples

Hello all, so this will my first review

Furry Book Reviews - Fri 14 Mar 2008 - 16:56
Hello all, so this will my first review so let me know if it's okay or not. heh I've been outta school to long so I'm a bit rusty.

Okay It's actually a series and not just one book that I'll be reviewing. It's called the Spellsinger series by Alan Dean Foster and i'm fairly certain that most the fluffs out there would love it but may not have heard of it because it's a bit older. Theres 8 novels in the series total dating between 1983-1994.

A human from basically our world gets teleported mysteriously to another alternate universe thats mostly inhabited by anthro animals. This world is also a few generations back from ours so magic and the sword are the main weapons of choice just to give ya a time frame. The main character is named Jon Tom and has to figure out why this happened to him and has to learn how to adapt to this new world. Luckily he quickly made a friend of an otter named Mudge. Together they travel across this weird world encountering one adventure after another.

I've re-read the entire series at least 3 times now. I highly recommend this series to any and everyone... if you can find it. because of it's age your best choice is to scout out local used book stores. It gets a 5/5 easily from me. hehe okay i hope that wasn't to bad. Happy Hunting fluffs

A Crusade is a Crusade is a Jihad: White Crusade

Furry Book Reviews - Mon 18 Feb 2008 - 12:24

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
–George Santayana


Much of substantial furry literature falls most easily into the science fiction genre, or occasionally fantasy if heavy duty magic is involved. Ben Goodridge's White Crusade (Bad Dog Books, 2007, ISBN: 9789079082025, $19.95) is no exception, set five centuries after the collapse of human civilization in a time when the Animal-People are the dominant intelligent races. Human remnants still survive, but most seem to be pitiful and helpless dependents. The exact origin of the animal folk is not clear, but they are at least partly descended from humans and divided into multiple Tribes by both geography and genetics. Most strive to live in harmony with the earth and to avoid the destructive behaviors of their human ancestors. This is the realm of apocalyptic (or sometimes post-apocalyptic) fiction, in which the author tells of events that come to pass after the destruction of civilization as we know it.

Goodridge primarily follows the experiences of Tay of the Wolf-Clan, shaman, healer, and Alpha of his tribe of mixed races, as he learns of the threat posed by the White Crusade and brings all his resources to bear on thwarting the Crusade's goal: the ultimate return of humankind to dominance in the world, and a return to the paradigms of human civilization. Peaceful and gentle Tay finds his world badly shaken on the day that the dying Kaim of the Tiger-Clan crashes into his village in a stolen car, carrying a slow but fatal poison in his veins and a purloined talisman of unknown power stolen from the Crusade's Alpha. While he tries unsuccessfully to save Kaim's life, Tay hands the mysterious Cube over to Zack the trader and Sonac (who can only be described as a geek, I think) and delegates them to determine its power and purpose.

Only when the intelligences trapped inside the Cube speak through Sonac's collection of broken human toys and computers do the three begin to understand the significance of the object and the depth of the threat it poses if returned to the hands of the Crusade. Fleeing the wrath of the approaching and increasingly violent Crusaders, the three animal folk set out on a journey eastward, leaving their home in the Pacific Northwest and heading to the old Midwest, where the Cube's resident voices tell them they will find the other pieces of the puzzle. The arm of the White Crusade is long, and its power great. The three pilgrims encounter many obstacles, most of them the result of direct interference by the Crusade or its sympathizers. The ultimate confrontation on the shore of Lake Michigan at the site of Chicago (now known as Kaago) is one of gigantic power and import. The world is saved of course, but individual destinies are not always what we might wish.

Ben Goodridge has crafted his story believably and in great detail. The mad fury of the Crusade's supporters and their suicidal dedication is clearly demonstrated, and all too believable. In an age in which we see similar events on a smaller scale appearing in the news almost daily, it isn't hard to understand the genuine threat posed by the kind of mob psychology that propels such a movement. While I'm disappointed to see the Animal-People (who all ought in my own mind to be as noble and pure-hearted as Tay himself) caught up in such a violent and hysterical hatred, I suppose I should not be surprised. They are after all, as several of Goodridge's characters remind us, descended from humans and liable to the weaknesses of humanity in the end.

I don't hesitate to admit that I'm squeamish about scenes of graphic violence. This book has several such scenes, but I can't say that they were gratuitous. All contribute to the development of the story and characters, and I couldn't in good conscience say they should be trimmed or omitted. I found them particularly painful, probably because I find them too easily believable. My own belief about the inherent cruelty and lack of empathy on the part of many seems to coincide all too well with the author's assessment. There were also a few points where I felt that the action was a bit rushed, leaving out details that might have better supported the conclusions. Overall, though, White Crusade is a fine work, a captivating tale with characters we can both love and hate and a satisfying if somewhat melancholy conclusion.

The realm of apocalyptic fiction is a rich one that includes such masterful works as Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany, Davy by Edgar Pangborn, and A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller. I recommend all three of those to you, but I place Goodridge's White Crusade right among them in both quality and depth.

Rating: 5 of 5 possible apples