Dogs of War

Dogs of War #1

by Fred Patten (Editor), Angela Oliver, Ken MacGregor

Men have made war for gold, for land, and to put others in chains for millennia. No invention or philosophy has changed that, not gunpowder, not airplanes, not democracy, or even splitting the atom. Whatever the era, whatever the weapon, man has made war on his neighbors. The nature of conflict never changes, because human nature has not changed.

But how might that change if it were no longer just humanity going to war—if animal instincts, strengths and skill were to join the battlefield?

Dogs of War is an anthology exploring what warfare looks like when the combatants are no longer fully human. It contains twenty three stories about how war changes when those who do the fighting have changed, and how much it stays just the same.

Contents

Nosy and Wolf by Ken MacGregor
After Their Kind by Taylor Harbin
Succession by Devin Hallsworth
Two If By Sea by Field T. Mouse
The Queens’ Confederate Space Marines by Elizabeth McCoy
The Loving Children by Bill McCormick
Strike, But Hear Me by Jefferson P. Swycaffer
End of Ages by BanWynn Oakshadow
Shells On the Beach by Tom Mullins
Cross of Valor Reception for the Raccoon, Tanner Williams, Declassified Transcript by John Kulp
Last Man Standing by Frances Pauli
Hunter’s Fall by Angela Oliver
Old Regimes by Gullwulf
The Shrine War by Alan Loewen
The Monster in the Mist by Madison Keller
Wolves in Winter by Searska GreyRaven
The Third Variety by Rob Baird
The Best and Worst of Worlds by Mary E. Lowd
Tooth, Claw and Fang by Stephen Coghlan
Sacrifice by J.N. Wolfe
War of Attrition by Lisa Timpf
Fathers to Sons by MikasiWolf
Hoodies and Horses by Michael D. Winkle



Edited by Fred Patten, Cover art by Teagan Gavet

Genres: War

456 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Fred Patten was an American writer and historian known for his work in the science fiction, fantasy, anime, manga, and furry fandoms through both print and online books, magazines, and other media.

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like war stories and I like anthropomorphic animals, so there was lots here for me. Standouts were Rob Baird's convincingly flawed and broken genetically-engineered dogs, Jefferson P. Swycaffer's rattlesnake soldier and Michael D. Winkle's creepy urban myth.

[Mary Lowd · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Disclaimer: I have a story in this anthology.]

There are a lot of stories in this book, and they're all very furry. By and large, I enjoyed them, though since the theme is war, they had a penchant for getting a bit heavy. That's not necessarily bad, but it does mean that I needed to take some breaks rather than simply racing through. I recommend skipping the longest story.

Overall, if you think you'd be interested in a collection of furry stories on the theme of war, then this book is for you. It delivers on exactly what it promises.

[Lemurkat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful cover, nice solid size and heft to it. I'm looking forward to working my way through it. As it is an anthology, I'll write a few sentences on each story as I complete them.

Nosy and Wolf:
Rabbits and warfare, the two might not appear to mix, but Watership Down proved otherwise. And there are elements of Watership Down here (First Carrot reminded me of Woundwort, a subtle homage, perhaps?).

[Bill McCormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very diverse take on a simple theme. Some great stories in there.

[Isaac Pudas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology was well written. Each story was written from the perspectives of different species and how war affects them all differently.

[Frances]

Good

[Casimir Laski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the component stories of any anthology might be expected to vary in quality, Dogs of War disappointingly contains a rather middling collection that is not without a few redeeming entries. While the average story in this anthology ranges from poor to decent, the few highlights include Jefferson P. Swycaffer’s “Strike, But Hear Me,” a semi-satirical story of a genetically augmented, power armor-encased rattlesnake mercenary navigating the hazardous terrain of both battlefields and military politics; Tom Mullins’ “Shells on the Beach,” a tale of laboratory-grown anthropomorphic rats facing discrimination as they serve on the English home front in the Second World War, which manages to be rather light on plot but heftier on character; “Cross of Valor” by John Kulp, a moving, no-holds-barred firsthand account of a traumatized veteran’s War on Terror-style deployment before an assembly in his hometown; and Rob Baird’s “The Third Variety,” following a genetically uplifted dog trained to detect robotic infiltrators as humanity wages a global war for freedom. On the other hand, I recommend avoiding “End of Ages” (which happens to be the longest story in the anthology) if the first page doesn’t amuse you: poorly paced and bizarrely written, both in terms of subject matter and prose, its author is clearly attempting to be humorous, but the attempt fell entirely flat for me. [6/10]