Raccoon Reader Review: Vote and Vocalize!

03-24-15: Late to the Party

Well, color me embarrassed! In my focus on doing comic overviews this month, I totally let it slip my mind that the Ursa Major Award Nominees have been declared and voting has opened! There are a wide variety of categories, from ‘Best Motion Picture’ to ‘Best Game’, but, of course, our category of choice is going to be the ‘Best Novel’ award. While I had no intention of going over the ‘Best Short Fiction’ list anyways, it would have been doubly odd to do that this year on account of all of them being by the same author.

This is what happens when you have a limited pool to work with, sadly.

I believe the creature above accurately describes my reading speed.

In any case, voting has started for ‘Best Anthropomorphic Novel’ and I’m going to give you all a quick rundown of the nominees by way of their own book summaries! The choice you make afterwards is entirely up to you, but I encourage you all to vote not only on this, but in any other categories that you’re interested in! Voting only takes a valid e-mail address, so anybody can do it. Vote here!

Best Anthropomorphic Novel

-Chakat in the Alley, by James R. Jordan. (CreateSpace, June 17)-

“The conclusion to the events of "The Cat's Eye Pub" Having finally been found by the family shi didn't know shi had, Midsnow begins hir tale that explains hir dark past. What secrets does shi hold? And what secrets are hir long lost family hiding as well? A story of loss and sacrifice that will only fuel long held emotions, as faces of the past come back to haunt.”

-The Forges of Dawn, by E.M. Kinsey. (CreateSpace, September 15)-

“FOR THERE TO BE HEROES... The traditional place for a Lyonesse, as huntress and mother, holds no appeal for young Uhuru. Her greatest wish is to be a great warrior like her father and stand as protector to her pride. Society would deny her this, but fate will not. THERE MUST FIRST BE DARKNESS... Fueled by a lust for perfection and purity, the Pale Ones have conquered most of the known world. Those who do not fit their impossible ideal for Lyondom are slowly being eradicated -- and those who desert their cause are hunted down just the same. AND TO OPPOSE THAT DARKNESS... When her pride is attacked and taken by the Pale Ones, Uhuru must take up the mantle she has always coveted, and in so doing, learn its true cost. What starts as a journey to save her family quickly becomes a mission to end her enemies' reign of terror once and for all. From the shores of the only land she has ever known to the steps of faraway empires and back again, Uhuru will face pirates, monsters, and heart-breaking loss to finally learn the greatest lesson of all: heroes are never really born. Like any weapon… HEROES MUST BE FORGED”

-Huntress, by Renee Carter Hall (in Five Fortunes, edited by Fred Patten, FurPlanet Productions, January 16)-

“A fortune can be many things.
A fortune is wealth, which you earn through hard work, win by chance, steal by cunning, or lose through tragedy.
Good fortune smiles upon some and makes life easy, while ill fortune curses others to walk lonely, bitter roads.
A fortune can be your fate foretold with cards, predetermined by the stars, or read in tea leaves and portents.
Here you will find a mix of all such fortunes and the stories of five fates determined by chance or divined by purpose.
One man will remake himself into a rabbit to forge a new life. A lioness will pursue her desire to be a hunter at all costs. A wolf will struggle against her nature, only to find that even counting money can be dangerous. A cat will fall in love with a dog, and both will find that means more than anyone could imagine. And a Caitian will journey across the stars in the hope of escaping the misfortunes of his life.
Each tale explores how a fortune can change a life. How a person might change their destiny. How greed or simple bad luck can change everything. And above all, the lengths some will go to make themselves a new fortune.”

-Impossible Magic, by J.F.R. Coates. (Jaffa Books, August 18)-

“The sequel to his début fantasy novel, Axinstone. Continuing where the first book left off, Impossible Magic is a fantasy adventure that doesn't ease up. Packed with dragons and magic, this is a fantastic book for all ages.”

-Off the Beaten Path, by Rukis. (FurPlanet Productions, July 4 - Mature Readers)-

“Spending her life beneath the oppressive control of an abusive husband she'd had no choice in marrying was a hard life, but Shivah strove to endure it in order to protect her child.

When her child was slain, and Shivah herself viciously attacked and left for dead, she swore she'd make her husband pay dearly for his greatest mistake...leaving her alive.

She is joined in her hunt by the two men who pulled her from the jaws of death, and a group of lawmen hunting a dangerous band of raiders threatening the countryside. But there may be deeper, more widespread evils hidden in the shadows of the conflict she finds herself a part of.”

Best of luck to all of the nominees! The odds of me reading through every story here before the deadline of April 15^th are slim to none, but I do have a few that I’m favoring more than others. If you have read any of these books or are planning to do so to make your own decision, go ahead and share your thoughts about them and give your own recommendations!