Roar Volume 9

Roar #9

by Mary E. Lowd (Editor), Watts Martin (Contributor), Searska GreyRaven (Contributor)

The world is overwhelming, but we can fight back.

Inside you will meet a whole host of characters resisting the injustice and inequality in their worlds, each in their own personal way. Because sometimes resistance looks like a raccoon starting an underground railroad, and sometimes it looks like a dhole in a rock band spreading the music of his homeland. These are stories of resistance, but they're also stories to give you a break from the real world. Let yourself rest while the raccoon lawyers and magical kittens do the fighting for a change, and then you can come back recharged.

This powerful collection features 15 stories from both writers new to the furry writing scene and familiar names like Watts Martin, Ryan Campbell, KC Alpinus, and Amy Fontaine!

RESIST. Join the RESISTANCE.

Contents:

Saguaros by Watts Martin
Ghosts by Searska GreyRaven
Froggy Stews by A. Humphrey Lanham
Post-Isolation by Ellis Aen
Resistance by David M Sula
The Hard Way by Val E Ford
Coyote Magic by Ryan Campbell
The Last Roundup by Amy Fontaine
Safe Mode by John Giezentanner
Laotian Rhapsody by Al Song
Qibla by Bill Kieffer
Dear Sis by Matt Doyle
Every Last Paw by Blake Hutchins
Mixed Blessings by Kittara Foxworthy
No Dogs by KC Alpinus


Cover art by Kadath, Edited by Mary E. Lowd

298 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2018

About the author

Mary E. Lowd is a prolific science-fiction and furry writer in Oregon. She's had more than 180 short stories and a half dozen novels published, always with more on the way. Her work has won numerous awards, and she's been nominated for the Ursa Major Awards more than any other individual. She is also the founder and editor of Zooscape. She lives in a crashed spaceship, disguised as a house and hidden behind a rose garden, with a large collection of animals, both real and imaginary, who collectively serve as her muse.

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm very happy to say that this actually one of the first ROAR issues that earned a full 5-star rating from me. First, for the well balanced mix of different genres and secondly for its unexpected high quality and emotional impact. Some of these tales really got to me to made me cry but boosted my spirits all the same by the next chapter. Therefore I shall consider to always get back to it when feeling low or beaten by the weight of daily life. It's a marvelous call and reminder to keep your head and heart raised high against all odds! Long live the resistance!

[ShingetsuMoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great anthology this time using the theme Resistance. There was a lot of creativity here and explorations of how that theme affected individuals. I liked the stories best when they focused on individuals and their personal problems. There's a lot of creativity here and excellent uses of the theme.

That doesn't mean I loved all of it. While I'm not entirely against animals or animal species being used as a stand in for real world issues I do feel like its hard to do so without it coming off as generic. And some of them did feel a bit too generic. Others however like Laotian Rhapsody and Dear Sis felt less like they were addressing a problem overall and more like they were speaking from personal experience. Albeit translated into a story with furry animals.

Saguaros, Post-Isolation, Resistance, and Coyote Magic were all stand outs for me as well as Every Last Paw. The Last Roundup was hardly a new theme but I still appreciated the heart and compassion the author infused into it.

I really enjoyed this anthology and I look forward to reading the next one!