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Argaea #2
Prisoner's Release and Other Stories
This collection brings together the two-part short story which originally appeared in Heat #1 and Heat #2 -- "The Prisoner's Release" -- with three entirely new tales set in the world of Argaea.
"Inside the Cage" takes place at the Jackal's Staff where a young cougar seeks to escape his life of prostitution. Illustrated by Vince Suzukawa.
"The Prisoner's Release" previously appeared in Heat #1 and Heat #2 and tells the story of how Volle met Streak. The illustrations done by Taurin Fox for Heat are reprinted here.
"Home Again" picks up just after "The Prisoner's Release" when Volle and Streak have returned Ferrenis and fills in some details leading up to their ill-fated return to Tephos in "Pendant of Fortune." Adam Wan provides a single stunning illustration for this short story.
Finally we return to the Jackal's Staff in "For Love or Family", this time through the eyes of a patron trying to balance the way he feels against the duties of his station. Arthur Husky provides the illustrations.
"Inside the Cage" takes place at the Jackal's Staff where a young cougar seeks to escape his life of prostitution. Illustrated by Vince Suzukawa.
"The Prisoner's Release" previously appeared in Heat #1 and Heat #2 and tells the story of how Volle met Streak. The illustrations done by Taurin Fox for Heat are reprinted here.
"Home Again" picks up just after "The Prisoner's Release" when Volle and Streak have returned Ferrenis and fills in some details leading up to their ill-fated return to Tephos in "Pendant of Fortune." Adam Wan provides a single stunning illustration for this short story.
Finally we return to the Jackal's Staff in "For Love or Family", this time through the eyes of a patron trying to balance the way he feels against the duties of his station. Arthur Husky provides the illustrations.
284 pages, Paperback
First published January 7, 2007
About the author
Kyell Gold
67 books677 followersHi there! I am a writer of gay furry fiction--but you probably know that if you've seen my book listing here. I live in California with my husband Kit, and when I'm not writing, we like to go out to eat and watch movies. We travel a lot, too, mostly around the West Coast, but occasionally to the midwest and east.
I blog at http://www.kyellgold.com/wpblog about upcoming travel plans, upcoming books and news, general writing principles, gay rights, and whatever else seems interesting. And I co-host a podcast, called "Unsheathed," where we talk about the craft of writing and the furry fandom, sometimes at the same time.
If you have a question about any of the books, check the FAQ on my website and then ask away! :)
I blog at http://www.kyellgold.com/wpblog about upcoming travel plans, upcoming books and news, general writing principles, gay rights, and whatever else seems interesting. And I co-host a podcast, called "Unsheathed," where we talk about the craft of writing and the furry fandom, sometimes at the same time.
If you have a question about any of the books, check the FAQ on my website and then ask away! :)
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 29, 2020
Beautiful stories. I wish I'd realized that Inside the Cage was such a large part of the book, but I'm still glad I read it. Seeing Jonas develop from the young person he was to who he is by the end of the story is wonderful, along with the family he builds for himself. Volle -- I knew he'd be in prison, but the reality of his hopelessness was heartbreaking. Streak is my new favorite character in this world! And Cef and Richy...I hope they show up again some time.
July 22, 2021
[thoughts from 2013-ish. Perhaps it's been long enough to post some constructive criticism.]
A series of shorter stories set in the same world as Volle. Most of the stories are parallels or prequels to events in Volle and Pendant of Fortune.
“Inside the Cage” has the best setup of all the stories, and is the most promising. I liked Jonas, and I wondered how he would find a way to escape a life of prostitution. And for a while I really felt for him. He’s in a strange country, no skills, no talents, and he has no idea what he wants to do except not be a prostitute. The story is on track right up until he accidentally kills his lover—I was hoping Gold would use that little detail from Volle, about him crying your highness while getting mounted. That was a great opportunity for a parallel story. But the tale takes an uncomfortable turn that doesn’t seem to do the setup justice. Jonas ends up starting a brothel in another country. I understand why Gold probably didn’t expand on that curious detail (way too difficult to work a story around it without it affecting what already happened in Volle), but I think Jonas deserved a much stronger story than that. I was hoping to see him make something else of himself.
“The Prisoner’s Release” is weird reading it after reading Volle. It’s a nice setup, but the love between Volle and Streak didn’t seem to have the same sincerity as he had with Xiller. The relationship wasn’t strong enough, and it didn’t seem like they could have any future together after how they met.
Gold addressed this in “Home Again,” an in-between story that bridges a small gap between the previous story and Pendant of Fortune. Nothing much really happens, but Volle does ask that question as the thrill of being free wears off and he wonders where he’s going to end up now.
Gold saved the best for last in “For Love or Family”, another story about a prostitute being liberated. This time it’s Richy, that adorable wolf everyone seems to fall in love with. This time he’s bought by one of his clients, and again the uncomfortable prospect of a client falling in love with his whore comes up. This time it works out…sort of. The ending is true to the setup, making it the best story in the collection. For the collection as a whole, it’s not a bad follow up, but it’s not the best.
_____
[August 2021: Inside the Cage had the most potential. I really, really wanted to see Jonas escape his life of prostitution. The story introduces this as his story arc, and then Gold made the story about Jonas going back to prostitution and finding a way to be happy in it. There’s no thematic reason for Jonas to end up content with his station in life. He doesn’t even figure out how to make it his own, or advance with it in some way. He just... settles. Like, this is all I can do, so I may as well be happy about it, despite trying and failing to escape it. Such an immense waste of potential I’m still thinking about it.
Every story fails in some way, even For Love or Family, which is the most solid story but still doesn’t convince me these two have any future together, given the way Inside the Cage showed how badly a client falling in love with his favorite prostitute can turn out. Richy and his client don’t have any meaningful connection besides sex, so taking it to the next level by having the client purchase his whore made me more uncomfortable than happy. The unaccepting parent trope is the focus, along with overcoming it with the person you love, which I understand (and I’m guessing is very personal to the author, as it comes up quite a bit in his work), but these two lovers needed more scenes together to convince me they had a future as a couple.
Gold is a good writer, but I think he fell into the same trap Robert J. Sawyer did, trying to crank out new material too quickly and not thinking things through.]
A series of shorter stories set in the same world as Volle. Most of the stories are parallels or prequels to events in Volle and Pendant of Fortune.
“Inside the Cage” has the best setup of all the stories, and is the most promising. I liked Jonas, and I wondered how he would find a way to escape a life of prostitution. And for a while I really felt for him. He’s in a strange country, no skills, no talents, and he has no idea what he wants to do except not be a prostitute. The story is on track right up until he accidentally kills his lover—I was hoping Gold would use that little detail from Volle, about him crying your highness while getting mounted. That was a great opportunity for a parallel story. But the tale takes an uncomfortable turn that doesn’t seem to do the setup justice. Jonas ends up starting a brothel in another country. I understand why Gold probably didn’t expand on that curious detail (way too difficult to work a story around it without it affecting what already happened in Volle), but I think Jonas deserved a much stronger story than that. I was hoping to see him make something else of himself.
“The Prisoner’s Release” is weird reading it after reading Volle. It’s a nice setup, but the love between Volle and Streak didn’t seem to have the same sincerity as he had with Xiller. The relationship wasn’t strong enough, and it didn’t seem like they could have any future together after how they met.
Gold addressed this in “Home Again,” an in-between story that bridges a small gap between the previous story and Pendant of Fortune. Nothing much really happens, but Volle does ask that question as the thrill of being free wears off and he wonders where he’s going to end up now.
Gold saved the best for last in “For Love or Family”, another story about a prostitute being liberated. This time it’s Richy, that adorable wolf everyone seems to fall in love with. This time he’s bought by one of his clients, and again the uncomfortable prospect of a client falling in love with his whore comes up. This time it works out…sort of. The ending is true to the setup, making it the best story in the collection. For the collection as a whole, it’s not a bad follow up, but it’s not the best.
_____
[August 2021: Inside the Cage had the most potential. I really, really wanted to see Jonas escape his life of prostitution. The story introduces this as his story arc, and then Gold made the story about Jonas going back to prostitution and finding a way to be happy in it. There’s no thematic reason for Jonas to end up content with his station in life. He doesn’t even figure out how to make it his own, or advance with it in some way. He just... settles. Like, this is all I can do, so I may as well be happy about it, despite trying and failing to escape it. Such an immense waste of potential I’m still thinking about it.
Every story fails in some way, even For Love or Family, which is the most solid story but still doesn’t convince me these two have any future together, given the way Inside the Cage showed how badly a client falling in love with his favorite prostitute can turn out. Richy and his client don’t have any meaningful connection besides sex, so taking it to the next level by having the client purchase his whore made me more uncomfortable than happy. The unaccepting parent trope is the focus, along with overcoming it with the person you love, which I understand (and I’m guessing is very personal to the author, as it comes up quite a bit in his work), but these two lovers needed more scenes together to convince me they had a future as a couple.
Gold is a good writer, but I think he fell into the same trap Robert J. Sawyer did, trying to crank out new material too quickly and not thinking things through.]
November 10, 2013
I really liked the first 3 stories. I'm not big on prostitutes as MC's but this was quite interesting and I enjoyed it.
Prisoner's release and Home again were great as we got more Volle. I had already read (at least a part of) Prisoner's release in the collection Mr. Gold has and it's very good and enjoyable story. Not sure I really buy their love but the plot apart from the romance was what I liked.
With only these 3 stories in the book I would have given it 4 stars easy. But the last story was bad enough that I didn't even finish it. I usually don't like teenage MCs' so that was first strike against For love or family. And then there is Dereath, who I despise and I could all too clearly see where the story would most likely go with forbidden, stupid love for a prostitute, Dereath giving away money and Chef being a teenage idiot. It's a concoction that I don't want to read, even if there is a promise of hea.
Prisoner's release and Home again were great as we got more Volle. I had already read (at least a part of) Prisoner's release in the collection Mr. Gold has and it's very good and enjoyable story. Not sure I really buy their love but the plot apart from the romance was what I liked.
With only these 3 stories in the book I would have given it 4 stars easy. But the last story was bad enough that I didn't even finish it. I usually don't like teenage MCs' so that was first strike against For love or family. And then there is Dereath, who I despise and I could all too clearly see where the story would most likely go with forbidden, stupid love for a prostitute, Dereath giving away money and Chef being a teenage idiot. It's a concoction that I don't want to read, even if there is a promise of hea.
February 20, 2011
It helps to read the first book ("Volle") about the characters in here before reading the short stories, then you understand all the relationships. It was also good to read the original story "Volle" was expanded into. If you're a fan of the author or of the genre, I highly recommend reading this book--especially if you've read the others set in this world.
Want to Read
October 9, 2012I picked this title at Gaylaxicon 2012 figuring short stories would be a good intro to this world. the intro and the comments here are giving me a doubt, however from the few pages i've read, i think my first impulse was correct.
March 25, 2011
I've read "The Prisoner's Release" and will endevure to read all Argaea series novels and short stories A.S.A.P! "The Prisoner's Release" is by far my favourite short story ever!
April 12, 2012
These stories are delightful, but having previously read the also-delightful "Volle" made them moreso. I'm inspired to continue on with "Pendant of Fortune" sooner than I had previously planned, now.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews