Indigo Rain

by Watts Martin

Roulette, a young raccoon dancer, dreams of moving to Ranea's capital city-state and marrying into a better life. But a horrifying encounter plunges her into a momentous political struggle—one that will turn tragically violent unless she and her companions can stop the mysterious Brothers of Atasos.

And as if things weren't getting complicated enough, Roulette may be falling in love with an activist who's as far from her dream husband as she could get...

Genres: Fantasy

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

When not designing spacecraft AIs, racing to stop terrorists, or romancing werewolves, Watts Martin writes stories for fun and documentation for a living. (Which is, for the record, often still fun.) Most of Watts's stories involve anthropomorphic animals, which may be why they've been nominated for multiple Coyotl and Ursa Major Awards. In addition to the short story collection Why Coyotes Howl and the Coyotl-winning novella Indigo Rain, you can find other works by Watts in anthologies including Inhuman Acts, Five Fortunes, and The Furry Future, and magazines including New Fables and Heat. Watts's first novel, Kismet, was released in early 2017.

Watts's writing, including several free stories, is available at Coyote Tracks.

Reviews

[Tarl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a book I have wanted to read for awhile now, and I am extremely glad I finally got around to reading it.

Martin is a talented writer, and it shows in this novella. The settings that Martin puts together flow off the pages and draw the reader in. Given the limited page count that he is working with, he still manages to capture everything the reader needs to know about the political climate and racial tension in his world, and every piece of information is used with nothing left behind to feel like filler.

Indigo Rain also contains a nice mix of characters who help ferry the storyline along. Roulette is a nice choice for the protagonist, and Martin writes here with a nice mix of ignorance and street smarts. It allows her to be put into dangerous situations yet find realistic ways out of said situations without seeming like a deus ex machina solution.

All in all, I wish I had read this book sooner. It was a pleasure to read, and among the generally $20+ price of books in the Furry Fandom, having a selection of $10 books is nice. I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a nice, short read without having to delve into something 300 pages long. Martin is an excellent writer, and I look forward to getting more of his works.

[James Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roulette isn’t much interested in Ranea’s politics. She’s a raccoon making more money as a street dancer than she ever did working in a vineyard, and that’s really all she wants for now. But like it or not, she ends up getting involved in the political situation. Not all the humans like these animals in their country, and they are determined to do something about it.

The action is well-done and suspenseful. Once the story starts moving, it becomes engaging. I do think the inclusion of these magic “recording orbs” is a little too convenient, but luckily the ways Roulette gets herself out of danger are not. She is no damsel in distress; she’s very much engaged in the story and never needs to be rescued.

It’s a quick read with good action and well-rounded characters, and its underlying theme will, sadly, never become outdated.

[Rechan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Martin's other shorter works, Indigo Rain is tight and neat, a lean, precise writing that leaves you without questions. The book is short and satisfying; not deep or complicated, but it is the best of what it could be. I can't think of any way the book could have been changed to improve it. Stlll I was not moved or wow'd, so the book settles at a solid 4 stars.

The characters are good. Roulette is a little naive and quite resourceful, and I enjoyed being in her head, but I enjoyed Lisha the most; an intense, driven character who is suddenly shy and uncomfortable in moments of potential closeness. While the story is utterly complete, I would say I would enjoy seeing more of these characters in the future. The others of the cast are fairly straight forward, but not unwelcome. As someone who generally doesn't like romantic subplots, Indigo Rain's is so light even I found myself wanting a little more. Perhaps my only criticism is that there wasn't enough to show Roulette's feelings for Lisha.

The plot is timely and on the nose for today, and we get a good sense of the world Ranea from such a small story. All I can say is that I hope we see more of Ranea, as this is an excellent starting point.

[Aleksandar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fast-paced story that starts a little slowly and then picks up the pace and exceeds expectations. The story does several things at the same time, with varying degrees of success: establishing the interspecies tensions, following the protagonist's dancing career, adding some magic to the worldbuilding. Then the Chandler principle is applied (if you're in doubt about what happens next, then several armed men knock on the door), only its an unarmed fox that does the knocking. The pace picks up and the stakes increase, there is murder and later conspiracy. Again, themes of discrimination are well handled and made close to the reader's heart, and the character development is good for the length of the story. The mechanics and the characters work well, and the dialogue is also well done; it's well worth the read.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet, with no loose ends and some tight writing. Worth the read!

[Pão Pão · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked i just feel the main antagonist needed more presence.

[Altivo Overo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent suspense and thriller, with well-drawn furry characters and a very believable setting.

The story is told from the viewpoint of a raccoon dancer, a Procya by race, who learns the politics and prejudices of a new (to her) society and culture even as she is forced to find new strengths and resources within herself. I'd call it a "coming of age" except she is well experienced and not terribly young when the story began.

The world setting is in common with another of Martin's novellas, Going Concerns. This is a world shared by humans and anthropomorphic characters, with some varying degrees of tension at the interface between the two groups. In this particular story, the setting is one of considerable animosity and prejudice, analogous in many ways to the present state of our own society. The author takes advantage of that familiarity to create a complex plot with dubious politicians, activists, and even would-be terrorists not unlike those we read about in the news regularly.

A captivating read, and a story that concludes almost too quickly, leaving the reader wanting more about both the setting and the characters. Very worthwhile reading, in my opinion.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet little cupcake (don't ask me why we Furries call novellas cupcakes. We apparently just do) was a pleasant read. And If I explain why I'm including it in the LGBT+ Bookboox, I might spoil part of the ending. Or maybe I just think Furry in general is covered under the "plus" of LGBT+ (although, I must admit, I'm starting to grow fond of the term Quiltbag).

It was a nice little piece of "suspense." Nicely built with the magic elements slipped in nicely. I might be over using the word nice a bit. My only complaint would be the current trend in our little Fur Publishing Ghetto to leave out commas when I'm sure my old high school teachers would be red-pencilling all over the place.

By the way, if you find this book and find yourself liking the idea of talking animals being take seriously... come visit us online in places like SoFurry or FurPlanet... we are very accepting of those who declare their own self-identities.

[Zeta Syanthis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the first two novellas I've read, so I haven't quite developed a feel for their pacing yet. That said, this was truly excellent. More than just moving with the main character of the story, you can feel what she feels, be it wariness, weariness, desperation, or even happiness. Roulette is one of the best written characters I've seen in ages, and I can't say enough about that. The plot is straightforward, as it needs to be in a novella of this size, but gripping and occasionally surprising all the same. I don't want to claim it's carried by the character in the same way that some movies are carried by the actors/actresses, but she takes the story and makes it real.

I'm going to have to go to Martin's other works and check them out now, because I want to read more about the world and people (furry or not) he's placed in it!

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in a sitting; it's a small, well-drawn glimpse into a much bigger world, and I often wanted to peek out of the confines of the novella to what lay beyond it.

Raccoon Roulette falls in with a group of other animal people fighting for their rights in a human-dominated city. I was especially interested in this group, its varied members, and their different attitudes, and I'd like to see more of their adventures.

Some of the plot was guessable, but it's romance, so I'll give it a free pass on that one.