• Fur Affinity Forums are governed by Fur Affinity's Rules and Policies. Links and additional information can be accessed in the Site Information Forum.

Recommended Reading

Poetigress

Poetigress

Panthera tigris libris
To complement TakeWalker's Looking for Writers? thread, I thought I'd start one where we can all make recommendations for individual works by writers in the fandom (preferably on FA, but elsewhere is okay too) that we think are worth others' time to check out.

A few quick ground rules:

1. You can't list your own work.
2. If it's online, give the URL. If it's in print, give some info so that people can find it (publisher's name, issue number, something like that).
3. Recommend specific stories or books. (In other words, don't just say "Go read stuff in ABC's gallery," or "anything by XYZ.") If it's a story series, link to the first story if possible, so readers can come in from the beginning.
4. Try to say something about why you liked it or why you think it's worth reading.



To start off with just a few that come to mind, from my FA favorites:

"The Orphan Shreds" by Wirewolf
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/279674/

A well-thought-out piece with believable characters and a bit of a surprise at the end.


"What a Dog Needs" by KrisSnow
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1759870/

A thought-provoking concept. This is one of those stories that, even with a brief word count, manages to explore and question the boundaries between human and animal.


"The Expert" by Metassus
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1493954/

And this is one that paints a quick but disturbing picture of what life might be like if anthro animals lived alongside regular ones.


"Library" by MLR
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1415166/

Finally, here's one we writers--and readers--can all relate to. And a bat character, too -- lesser-used species are always nice. :)
 
foozzzball

foozzzball

Lazy and Fuzzy
"The Language of Emotion" by Bill 'Hafoc' Rogers
Where I originally met it, on ANTHRO - On FA

Whitemane, a somewhat horsey and terribly advanced being, is called out to translate a very odd language.

Something in a very classical science-fiction vein, exploiting the angle of 'these people are not even remotely human' to extremely good effect.


"New Tricks" by Frogsbreath
On FA

From the submission's notes: 'A genetically engineered canine cop goes underground to find the gang leader who killed his partner, but the identity of the true killer is a shocking surprise . . .'

A good piece of SF, mainly interesting for the way it's exploring the classical old issues of humans and genetically engineered not humans getting along. It won the summer 2008 Anthrofiction.net contest.


"Susan's Ark" by Poetigress
On FurRag, where I first met it - On FA

From the submission's notes: 'Any household with eight kids would be unusual, but Susan's charges are more unusual than most: transgenic children whose animal genes have manifested in a way the reproductive scientists never imagined. Abandoned, neglected, or outright rejected by their parents and their society, the cubs find a home at the Ark.'

A very good example of an extremely character-driven story. Once again deals with genetic engineering et al, but is definitely more on the soft SF side of things.


"When Hippo Was Hairy" by Nick Greaves
Amazon.co.uk - Author's site on the title

Technically a kid's book, a collection of various traditional african 'fairy tales' most of which deal with such complex questions as why zebras have stripes and what mother cheetah was crying over so badly to cause the tear-streaks in her fur.

I grew up on this book, and a couple of others like it, and essentially it's not even remotely 'fandom' furry but of definite interest to members of the fandom.
 
Last edited:
Shouden

Shouden

When in doubt: C4
You can also check out the stories submitted to the Anthrofiction Short Story Contests. There are some great ones in there.

http://www.anthrofiction.net

I haven't gotten around to reading the ones from the last contest, but I know there were some great pieces in the one before that. Sorry from not mentioning any specifics. I will pick out a couple of my favorites and post the links to them later.
 
Poetigress

Poetigress

Panthera tigris libris
Good suggestions so far, and I don't just say that because one of mine is in there. :) But yeah, let's try to keep it to specific pieces and links, and authors within the fandom, as much as we can. (Also, stories from past quarters aren't actually hosted on Anthrofiction.net, so you might have to go hunting them elsewhere.)
 
Shouden

Shouden

When in doubt: C4
"New Tricks" by Faceless Fiend

This story in someways reminds me of Ghost in the Shell. But it a lot more ways, it's an excellent and well written story.


"Enemies or Lovers" by Kirk

and "Star Crossed Lovers" by Kirk

from the Summer, 2008 Contest were great! I will do some digging and see if I can't find theses stories elsewhere as they are no longer hosted on the site.

Oh, P.S. to Scotty if he drops in here, you can host my stories on anthrofiction.net as long as you want.
 
Last edited:
Shouden

Shouden

When in doubt: C4
That's great! I but I don't know what Kirk's username is, so it doesn't help much. I tried, and all it gives me is stuff by LadyKirk
 
duroc

duroc

Member
"The Peculiar Quandary of Simon Canopus Artyle" by Rikoshi
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1720994/

An entertaining tale about a wizard that is put in quite the quandary because of his assistant's sudden ability to use magic.

"Visiting Father" by TShaw
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/900916/

A great story in TShaw's "Timothy" series, but the imagery he's able to create in this short piece is both touching and breathtaking. Here's the link to the collected Timothy prompts: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1640235/

"Christmas At War" by Malin
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1823477/

Malin did a wonderful job portraying feuding kids from different walks of life. And it has one of the most memorable paragraphs I've ever read in fiction.

"Dog Days" by Poetigress
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/735756/

A fantastic love story about a young man who falls in love with his little brother's anthro caretaker. One of the best love stories I've ever read.
 
T

TakeWalker

Guest
Damn, Fooozzball beat me to The Language of Emotion. It's the first thing that comes to mind whenever I'm asked to recommend something. I don't think I've seen a piece of fiction -- on this site, anyway -- that even comes close to that story.

Unfortunately, my second recommendation would be "anything in vixyyfox's Scanectady Skunk series", but that apparently breaks the rules. :V I shall have to think 'pon it.
 
M. LeRenard

M. LeRenard

Is not French
I read this book a while back... it may be considered slightly 'furry', or at least anthrofiction. It's about the future of the human race, with the construction of robots, the discovery of life on Jupiter and Mars, and an attempt to teach domestic dogs how to speak human languages. It ends up being centered around the dogs and their new world, because the humans at some point leave them.
A lot of strange and interesting ideas are presented in this book, about perception and existence and what have you, the most interesting part of which centers around the dogs. Anyway... it's called City, and it's by Clifford D. Simak. I'd recommend it.
I read a short story I enjoyed too... but I'll have to go look for the name of it. I might get back to that tomorrow.
Also, A Father's Skin, by fooozzball, which won last month's Anthrofiction.net contest. It's just, you know... cool.
 
Shouden

Shouden

When in doubt: C4
Deleted by request
 
Last edited:
Poetigress

Poetigress

Panthera tigris libris
it may be considered slightly 'furry', or at least anthrofiction.
Click to expand...

I know the publisher is PublishAmerica, but it was my first novel.
Click to expand...

Your first novel?

*rubs temples*

Okay, reminders again -- I'm looking for writers within the fandom and you can't recommend your own work.
 
Shouden

Shouden

When in doubt: C4
okay, fine. I'm sorry. it won't happen again....and I'm sort of within the fandom. Not going to get there without help, though. :p but I will delete the recommendation.
 
Shouden

Shouden

When in doubt: C4
that's true. I haven't read much lately. mainly been writing and editing my own stories. but I wlll have to check out some of these stories.
 
ScottyDM

ScottyDM

Bites when Provoked
Philip J Eggerding's Wilderhom series of sci-fi novels. They used to be fully available online, which is when I read the first one (and started the second). Now only fully available in physical form, but excerpts are online. About as good as any mass-market sci-fi paperback, but with a gen-eng "felocanid" as the female main character.

Bernard Doove's Forest Tales online anthology (what else to call it?) is interesting because his nonhumans really are nonhuman, and his different species really are different. Unfortunately the writing suffers from some head hopping (not too bad) and overuse of adverbs and adjectives, plus a few other minor errors. However, his storytelling is pretty darn decent.

S-
 
Shouden

Shouden

When in doubt: C4
Gordon R. Dickenson's George and the Dragon series is pretty good, if a little old school. I post a link tomorrow.
 
duroc

duroc

Member
"Finding Rabbit's Feet" by Slyford
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1962172

Slyford gives us an incredibly entertaining story about a man who becomes a were-bunny, and then he has to seek out his infected girlfriend with the help of a female werewolf. It has adult language, but the dialogue alone is worth it's weight in gold.

"Into the Ocean of Sands - V" by Xipoid
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2927345/

It's so rare to find an adult love story that is as well written and as tasteful as this piece by Xipoid, which gives us an assassin who actually has a heart. Wonderfully done.

"Once Upon A Never Time" by Vixyyfox
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1761572/

A five part tale from Vixyy's Scanectity Skunk universe. When an adult human suddenly appears in Scanectity's world, they question how he got there, and why he's acting like a small boy.

"Tangent Leaf" by KrisSnow
http://kschnee.deviantart.com/art/Tangent-Leaf-119643227

If you ever played games like Super Mario Bros. and Mega Man as a kid, you need to read this story. Beautifully done, and for me, it brought back a lot of childhood memories.

"Childish Things" by Poetigress
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/859179/
I think PT could write the phone book and make it entertaining. In "Childish Things", she gives us a touching story about a new father feeling helpless when his premature daughter is clinging to life in the hospital; that is, until his childhood imaginary friend returns to remind him that growing up isn't just about leaving things behind.


"The Tiger's Son" by Poetigress
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/775216/

I could fill up this entire thread with PT's stories. In "The Tiger's Son", she gives us another stunning piece that asks the question, what if Mowgli hadn't been raised by wolves? Great dialogue and I loved the ending.

"Pula" by TakeWalker
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/663905/

Try eulogizing your own brother with protesters outside the church. TakeWalker captures that with this wonderfully detailed piece.

"The Gmünd" by Metassus
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1768449/

Metassus comes up with some of the most original ideas on FA. In this brilliant story, he shows us a sign that wants to be a snowflake.
 
Last edited:
Graveyard Greg

Graveyard Greg

That Darned Geekboy
At the Inn, by Metassus
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/916353/

I'm a sucker for minotaur stories, and the Tarbh Tales are no exception! He also did a most excellent 100 word short called At the Inn: Tree which can be found at http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1970774/ -- for 100 words, it's some great nanofiction.

Last Minute Package Handling by Stormcatcher_
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1829855/

Smutty! I doubt the postal service will ever be THAT bad, but I'll be damned if it doesn't make for good reading.
 
duroc

duroc

Member
duroc

duroc

Member
"A Winter's Gift" by Poetigress
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/816559

It's an unforgettable love story, about the bond between a human and a wolfen female that could never be broken. Simply one of the most beautiful and touching stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
 
Shouden

Shouden

When in doubt: C4
This is a good thread. I'm sure my name will pop on here eventually. I'm just not as famous around here as Poetigress and the others. But, I'm getting there. Anyways, keep up the list of good stuff to read. :p
 
duroc

duroc

Member
"Conduct Unbecoming" by Malin
http://www.furrag.com/viewstory.php?sid=162

This was published in the now out of print first issue of Historimorphs. It's a brilliantly researched, and incredibly well written story about anthros in the Civil War. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top