Fellowship of the Ringtails

Lemurs Saga #1

by Angela Oliver

The kingdom of Madigaska is in turmoil. The King has died under suspicious circumstances and now his Queen has usurped the throne. The only remnant of the last ruler is an illegitimate orphan. Born many miles away, and raised by a peaceable fishing tribe, she knows little of her heritage, her destiny. But with the fierce Hunter, Noir, on her trail, what hope does she have?

Set in an alternate world Madagascar, where the dominant life forms are lemurs with a level of technology equal to primitive tribes, "Lemurs: A Saga" contains true elements of Malagasy history and culture, intermingled with a heavy dose of pure fantasy. It is, indeed, epic fantasy, with lemurs.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Anthropomorphic, Animals

425 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Angela Oliver, "LemurKat", is an author and illustrator. She loves cute and quirky, weird and wonderful, wildlife, and they often find a way to creep into her stories. Angela Oliver has a BSc in zoology and psychology, and enjoys adventuring around the world: visiting such places as Australia, Hawaii, and Madagascar. She resides in the garden city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Angela Oliver has two novels to her name: "Aroha's Grand Adventure", an animal adventure story set in New Zealand, and "Fellowship of the Ringtails", the first in the series described as "epic fantasy, with lemurs". She does not tend to write human characters, favoring the challenge of non-human protagonists.

Her miniature works of art can be found in private collections around the world. Angela Oliver has also created the ZooTrophy trading card game and the New Zealand Naturally Tarot deck.

Reviews

[Lemurkat]

In the spirit of Redwall (but with a higher body count, less singing and less cordial) and the earlier works of Paul Kidd, I bring you the first book in "Lemurs: A Saga". "Fellowship of the Ringtails" was first conceived several years ago, after I saw the movie "Madagascar" and was thoroughly disappointed by the fact that in a movie called "Madagascar" the main characters were all large African charismatic mega-vertebrates.

What the world needed, I decided, was a novel set in Madagascar that was actually true to the spirit of this extraordinary and beautiful, but tarnished, country. Thus the character of Aurelia (a silky sifaka) was born, and put into the care of Fiantrana, a ringtailed lemur. This story has been a labour of love, sweat and tears and is intended to be the first of a trilogy, following the tale of Aurelia, an orphaned heir, and based somewhat on my own experiences and knowledge of Madagascar and lemurs, along with a healthy dose of imagination and fantasy.

I hope you enjoy it!

I know it's cheesy to rate your own novel, but I'm going to anyway.

[SBC · Rating 5 out of 5]

FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGTAILS is an epic animal fantasy set in Madagascar and focalised through lemur characters. I don't often read animal fantasy, but who can say no to a story described as 'Game of Thrones with lemurs'?! Oliver has obviously undertaken meticulous research into lemur biology and behaviour and Madagascan history and geography and has created a detailed and convincing fantasy society of lemurs. What's more, her characters are also convincing. Their human concerns and behaviours meld well with lemur impulses and their feelings and motivations won my interest and sympathy.

This story follows the life and fortunes of a child lemur, Aurelia, who is being raised by a group of lemurs that are not her species. It's the story of her discovery of who she really is and the dangers of her true identity. At the same time, it's a story of prejudice, of friendships, of courage, and adventure. Aurelia is an upbeat character full of curiosity, good humour, and determination. I look forward to finding out what happens to her next!

[Robert Silberbauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've actually never read a book where the main character(s) are animals. I don't exactly know what I was expecting prior to reading it (maybe something similar to the Madagascar movie?) but I've been pleasantly surprised by the read.

There is violence, but not so much that it exceeds good taste. There is political intrigue, but not so much that it bores. There is also an abundant of mostly accurate information on lemurs and Madagascar culture.

Probably most enticing about this novel is the storyline. I won't ruin it, but I will say there are some characters that will draw you in; others that annoy me (whether that was the intended or not); but by far my favourite is the twisted 'Noir' - won't spoil it but he's intriguingly disturbed.

I look forward to reading the next in the series. Good Job Angela - Keep 'em coming

[Franck Rabeson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a native of Madagascar, I’m glad someone managed to pull off a fantasy story based on the island’s culture. The language and names are mostly well used, with only a handful mistakes due to unfamiliarity. The book is actually full of hints and references that only someone who knows Madagascar would catch: I liked those personally, though I wonder how someone unfamiliar with the local language and history would react to those.

The copy I received needed some editing. Not a deal-breaker, but noticeable enough to break the flow when reading.

[Lauren Basson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give it five stars for creativity and originality. However, it was difficult to look past all the typos in my copy and it also left me with a lot of unanswered questions, but not enough interest to see if they will be answered in the sequel ... so for those two reasons, it lost two stars.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm actually friends with the author! I love this book. The story has good pacing, and there is always something that keeps me turning the page - oftentimes with my heart in my throat. I like that there is a deeper reason for the plot, with the complicated lemur politics that Angela has concocted. There has been a wealth of research that has gone into this story, and that is evident on almost every page, I think. Angela described this to me as "like Game of Thrones, but with lemurs", and I think her assessment is not far off. There's also shades of what appealed to me about my favorite book, Watership Down: that the story is entirely composed of animals, anthropomorphized to the point where they HAVE a society (and mythology, and legends, and culture) of their own, but not to the point where they're wearing little waistcoats and driving motorcars (and have therefore become little more than humans in animal form. Ahem. I'm looking at you, Wind in the Willows.)
All in all a very satisfying read, A+, will definitely buy and read the sequel.