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Roar #4
Roar Volume 4
Fame-that siren song Celebrity has many stories. Perhaps it is nothing more than an incredible tale. What amazing lengths people will go to in order to find it-or escape from it. In this volume of ROAR, twelve authors explore what celebrity means and how its impact is felt. New stories from celebrated anthropomorphic authors such as Tim Susman, Mary E. Lowd, and Whyte Yote share these pages with talented newcomers. Grab a copy and spread the fame!
306 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2012
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 17, 2020
Another enjoyable short story collection! Highlights include the snarky Eragon parody "The Savior of Dragondom" and the introspective "Chasing the Spotlight". The exceptional one, however, is "Seeing Eye Dog", which actually managed to drain a couple of tears from my eyes.
August 23, 2012
As I've done with a previous review, I'd like to mention that I had a story featured in this publication. But for the sake of this review, I'll pretend like it isn't there. Aside from that, ROAR Vol. 4 is a better collection than the previous three volumes though it still had a mix of good stories, so-so stories, and stories I skimmed or skipped all together after the first couple pages.
ROAR is an anthology of anthropomorphic stories, some with all furry characters and others with a mix of human and anthropomorphic animal beings. Some of the stories that stuck with me were "The Savior of Dragondom", about a dragoness forced to deal with her arrogant and annoyingly famous human rider; and "Chasing Spotlight", the tale of an independent reporter trying to get an exclusive interview with a man who had an experimental treatment to make him look like a wolf man. Other standouts were "St. Kalwain and the Lady Uta", about a warrior cursed in a beastly form who is told that if he rids a village of a dragon menace his curse will be lifted; and "Seeing Eye Dog", an all furry character story about a blind writer who falls for his caretaker after the passing of his seeing eye dog. As with all anthologies, tastes will vary and not all the stories are a success, and in some cases, the stronger stories make the weaker ones really stand out.
In anthropomorphic collections like this one, some people take issue with the importance and relevance of the anthropomorphic (or furry) aspects of the characters. I tend to appreciate and enjoy authors that take the time to make the anthropomorphic traits of the characters important to the stories. Good examples of this are "Chasing Spotlight" and "The Savior of Dragondom". Yet I can also appreciate a furry story set in an all anthropomorphic character world if it's enjoyable and well written. Such examples would be "Magnificent Dogs" and "Seeing Eye Dog".
Once again, your mileage may very depending on your tastes, but ROAR Vol. 4 appears to be steadily improving from past editions. Thought it still has issues and will continue to be just an okay anthology series if the spotty story quality fails to improve.
ROAR is an anthology of anthropomorphic stories, some with all furry characters and others with a mix of human and anthropomorphic animal beings. Some of the stories that stuck with me were "The Savior of Dragondom", about a dragoness forced to deal with her arrogant and annoyingly famous human rider; and "Chasing Spotlight", the tale of an independent reporter trying to get an exclusive interview with a man who had an experimental treatment to make him look like a wolf man. Other standouts were "St. Kalwain and the Lady Uta", about a warrior cursed in a beastly form who is told that if he rids a village of a dragon menace his curse will be lifted; and "Seeing Eye Dog", an all furry character story about a blind writer who falls for his caretaker after the passing of his seeing eye dog. As with all anthologies, tastes will vary and not all the stories are a success, and in some cases, the stronger stories make the weaker ones really stand out.
In anthropomorphic collections like this one, some people take issue with the importance and relevance of the anthropomorphic (or furry) aspects of the characters. I tend to appreciate and enjoy authors that take the time to make the anthropomorphic traits of the characters important to the stories. Good examples of this are "Chasing Spotlight" and "The Savior of Dragondom". Yet I can also appreciate a furry story set in an all anthropomorphic character world if it's enjoyable and well written. Such examples would be "Magnificent Dogs" and "Seeing Eye Dog".
Once again, your mileage may very depending on your tastes, but ROAR Vol. 4 appears to be steadily improving from past editions. Thought it still has issues and will continue to be just an okay anthology series if the spotty story quality fails to improve.
September 4, 2012
I'm delighted to be a part of this anthology of anthropomorphic literature, which I feel deserves a wider audience than just the furry community. Animal stories, guys! Who doesn't like animal stories? Come on!
The fourth volume of ROAR is themed around celebrity. This is a topic rich in tropes, and when my proof copy arrived I embarked on many of these stories with an inner sigh, thinking I knew exactly where they would lead me. Boy was I wrong.
I thought Benjamin "eSca" Reed's Phantom would be full of flag-waving patriotism, but this tale of canine commandoes and terrorists explored much greyer shades than I was expecting. Inheritance is What You Leave Behind by Jesse "Tango" Stringer, in which a famous actor turns up at a high school and rumours abound that he's the father of one of the students about to graduate, takes an unexpected and touching direction which I won't spoil here.
Our celebrities are different.
Sean Silva's Second Chance gives us a flawed hero in King the cheetah, bred for motor racing but now washed up and taking what pleasure he can from drink and women. Almost Famous by Eric Kern gives us an unwilling YouTube celebrity. And Mary E. Lowd in St. Kalwain and the Lady Uta gives us a...thing, formerly human, now cursed by the faerie queen into a sort of anthropomorphic dog.
On a purely technical level, Whyte Yoté's Best Interests, featuring the first 'morphic' president-elect of the United States, stands out for the author's use of dialogue and tense and the sheer depth of the characters. My personal favourites, though, were Inheritance is What You Leave Behind and Kandrel's Seeing Eye Dog, about a blind author's relationship with his carer, because I'm a sucker for stories that leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling. And if a furry story can't do that, what can?
The fourth volume of ROAR is themed around celebrity. This is a topic rich in tropes, and when my proof copy arrived I embarked on many of these stories with an inner sigh, thinking I knew exactly where they would lead me. Boy was I wrong.
I thought Benjamin "eSca" Reed's Phantom would be full of flag-waving patriotism, but this tale of canine commandoes and terrorists explored much greyer shades than I was expecting. Inheritance is What You Leave Behind by Jesse "Tango" Stringer, in which a famous actor turns up at a high school and rumours abound that he's the father of one of the students about to graduate, takes an unexpected and touching direction which I won't spoil here.
Our celebrities are different.
Sean Silva's Second Chance gives us a flawed hero in King the cheetah, bred for motor racing but now washed up and taking what pleasure he can from drink and women. Almost Famous by Eric Kern gives us an unwilling YouTube celebrity. And Mary E. Lowd in St. Kalwain and the Lady Uta gives us a...thing, formerly human, now cursed by the faerie queen into a sort of anthropomorphic dog.
On a purely technical level, Whyte Yoté's Best Interests, featuring the first 'morphic' president-elect of the United States, stands out for the author's use of dialogue and tense and the sheer depth of the characters. My personal favourites, though, were Inheritance is What You Leave Behind and Kandrel's Seeing Eye Dog, about a blind author's relationship with his carer, because I'm a sucker for stories that leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling. And if a furry story can't do that, what can?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews