Twelve Sides

by Kyell Gold, Rukis (Illustrator)

Enjoy these twelve brand-new original stories featuring side characters from Kyell Gold’s award-winning novels and novellas such as “Out of Position,” “Green Fairy,” and “Waterways.” Meet Dev’s coach, Volle’s superior, Kory’s brother, and nine others in this collection of funny, sad, and hopeful stories. The characters Coach Samuelson, from Out of Position Henri, from Green Fairy Nick Hedley, from Waterways Penny Smith, from Out of Position (Colin’s wife) Duke Avery, from Volle Kesh, from “Bookstore Back Door” Pom and Dom, from Love Match Bret, from Winter Games Cristal, from Dude, Where’s My Fox? Maxon, from Shadow of the Father Vaxy, from Science Friction (and there’s one original story in there too)

Genres: Short Stories

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Hi 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! :)

Reviews

[Altivo Overo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compared to many of the author's works, this collection of short stories is pretty light reading. Generated from fan requests and prompts and first released as Patreon bonuses, the book contains a considerable mixture of settings and characters. Almost all have appeared before in major works.

Some of the stories missed the mark for me, but I'm sure every one of them has readers somewhere who will be enthralled to revisit a favorite character. The one that particularly stood out for me was a vignette that takes place after Gold's popular Waterways and features Nick and Malaya. "Turbulence" tells of Nick's battle to make it on his own, to finish high school after leaving home when his mother refused to allow him to even speak to his older brother Kory by telephone. Waterways is one of my favorites among Gold's works, and I've wanted to find out what happened next with Kory and Samaki for years. This really doesn't show us, but it does tell a good story about Nick and gives a few hints about the older boys.

There are stories detailing bits of the lives of side characters in Out of Position, Green Fairy, Volle, Winter Games, Dude, Where's My Fox?, and more. The stories featuring Coach Samuelson (Out of Position), Duke Avery of Westermarch (Volle,) and Cristal (Dude, Where's My Fox?) also stood out for me. I particularly enjoyed seeing the self-possessed and rude fox Cristal placed in a no-win situation of his own making.

Certainly there will be something here for anyone who has enjoyed Kyell Gold's larger works. Unlike most of the latter, Twelve Sides appears to be available only in e-book formats. At the present price of $4.99 US, I'd suggest it may be a bit overpriced for what it is. However, it does scratch some itches many of us may have had.

Note for those who want all of Rukis' illustrations: apparently the more explicit of these were excluded from the Kindle edition to avoid complaints from mainstream audiences. I believe all the illustrations are found in the epub version from Bad Dog Books.

[Ryft Sarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate these kinds of collections. From Kyell specifically, even, because his characters are always so interesting and deep, and having the opportunity to get to know some of the less described ones is a treat.

That being said, there are some stories that I personally was not really into, but that is to be expected. You can't please everyone, no matter how hard you may try. With that in mind, I will say that I was turned on to stories that I was not aware of, and it has let me look forward to getting my claws on a few more books. Definitely a good read!