[Krait]

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone can make any reccomendations for fantasy stories whose main characters are not humans. I am looking for stories that focus on elves, gnomes, dwarves, giants, dragons, and any other non-human race. I don't care if there are a few human characters in the book, as long as they aren't the focus. I prefer to read Tolkienesque high fantasy/sword and sorcery, but I'm not opposed to other sorts of fantasy. For instance, I just ordered Watership Down and the Jungle Book, so I don't mind reading about animals either.

Thanks,

Jeff

[DrBloodmoney1]

The early Salvatore stuff is all dark elves. Then humans come later once Drizzt gets the boot from Menzo.

[Yobmod]

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton contains only Dragons as the main characters. They are civilised like Victorians in one respect (wearing hats and riding trains), and traditional Dragons in others (breathing fire, eating each other).
It's very good.

If you are reading Furry fic (talking animals), then don't miss Animal Farm! It's great.

[Radone]

Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight traces the life of a dragon and is told entirely from the dragon's perspective. Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams is about a heroic domestic cat (my cats, like all cats, are just too lazy to qualify as anything other than... well, lazy).

[Ouroboros]

Try Stan Nicolls' innovative 'Orcs: First Blood' series, beginning with 'Bodyguard of Lightning' ... Or now available with all three editions collected in one omnibus volume.

Tad Williams, David Gemmell and SFX magazine have all praised it as fast-moving heroic fantasy. Nicholl's Orc protagonists are brutal but charming. According to his mythos, they are, of course, not the evil creatures that humanity thinks them to be.

Nicholls has recently been commissioned to produce a second trilogy, provisionally titled 'Orcs: Bad Blood'.

[Hobbit]

You beat me to that one, Ouro. :)

Try also Mary Gentle's Grunts perhaps, though definitely not to everyone's tastes, of a similar nature to Orcs. (Linked review (not mine!) HERE. (http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/grunts.html)


[LATER EDIT: If you want books based on cats from a cat's perspective, then Tad Williams' Tailchaser's Song might be one. So too Diane Duane's The Book of Night with Moon, and it's sequel To Visit the Queen might do the job....]

Hobbit

[Optimutt]

Yobmod beat me to "Tooth and Claw" which was a great read.

Brian Jacques' books all have animals as the main characters - I beleive. I've only read Marlfox, and found it a little dull for some reason. Never gotten around to reading another, though I should someday.

Also, try "Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame is also another one, I think. I've always assocciated it with all-animal characters, in any case. Additionally, in about 6 years, one of my books will feature entirely non-human characters. Pitfalls of epics: it takes FOREVER and a day to put together the story you're crafting.

[Ouroboros]

This might be a good topic for further discussion-

How many people are put off by the idea of a narrative being primarily told from the perspective of something non-human?

Taking the example of Nicholls' 'Orcs' series, the protagonists were humanoid even if not strictly human ... Their morality, motivations and so forth remain easily comprehensible to us.

Where stories are told from the perspectives of creatures which are definitley not humanoid, I would suggest that both the author and the reader must engage in a certain amount of anthropomorphication if we are to identify or connect with any of the non-human protagonists.

So, even characters which are four-legged and furry often seem suspiciously human-like in terms of their behaviour and outlook.

Yea or nay?

[Rob B]

How many people are put off by the idea of a narrative being primarily told from the perspective of something non-human?If it is cats, then I'm turned off from reading the book. I just don't like the creatures and they don't like me. We have an understanding.

[Optimutt]

For anyone that's travelled to another country or owned pets, one requires a certain degree of anthropological understanding, but when you get right down to it, the differences between us and a Chinese or Abroginal person, or even a cat, are somewhat minute. Certainly, we don't have tails, but so long as a writer is able to delve into the actual cultural differences between one person/thing and another, those differences should stand out.

When you get right down to it, being able to enter a character's head and differentiating between person A and person B is all a part of telling a good story. Certainly one may have similarities with another, but as long as those differences keep them seperate, it should only improve upon the overall story. That isn't to say that all authors succeed, but those that do, who are able to seperate one culture from the next, this character from that, and this species from that, will certainly have a brilliant story on their hands. People being animals, or animals being people doesn't bother me in the least. Readers have to have some means to associate with the characters and story.