Animals in Space?
 

I have noticed that in Fantasy, there are many book where there are animals as characters in the books (Tailchaser's Song, Oz, Narnia chronicles to name a few) but I was wondering if anyone has come across a Sci-Fi novel where the main characters (or even supporting characters for that matter) are animals. More spcifically, mammals.

Thanks

Maus99

I think Brin's Uplift books might fall into that category.

-Neil

Stephen Baxter's written books with mammoths as characters. I've read "Silverhair". Didn't like it much, though, due to a few glitches as well as cliché humans.

Then there's a short story by Ian MacDonald, "Floating Dogs", which has a party of animals with implants on a quest given to them by the "angels" (humans). The animals are: Raccoon, Cat, Porcupine, Bird and Tapir. They travel with a food dispensing robot.

Then there's a short story by Mike Resnik called "Barnaby in Exile", which is told in first person perspective by Barnaby the Bonobo (pygmy chimpanzee), who's in one of those can-we-teach-apes-to-talk experiments.

Can't think of anything else, but as I've come up with these examples without even thinking much, there's bound to be more.

My old high school chum's Lives of the Monster Dogs comes to mind (by Kirsten Bakis). Ringworld also had animal type characters (as well as Brin's Uplift).

Actually, come to think of it, many sf books have intelligent species ("animals" and "mamals") that would fit your criteria.

Andre Norton's "Storm Over Warlock" has intelligent wolverines and her "Beast Master" has a number of animals that are part of the heros commando team.

Well there's the dragons in McCaffery's dragonrider series.

The six legged cat in David Webber's Honor Harrington series.

Susan

Ooh, so I'm the first one in with the cats from Cordwainer Smith's excellent story "The Game of Rat and Dragon." :) Amazing story with the cats a very integral part of it. They would fall into the "sidekick" role in that story.

Many, many SF books have aliens that are important and could be considered animal characters (in that they're not human).

Anne McCaffery's dragons and wyverns do come to mind as sidekicks... and animals end up playing a fair-sized role (through telepathic linking to humans) in Emergence by David R. Palmer. Certain individual animals are also important in The Clan of the Cave Bear by Auel.

I would have to say maus99 is right that this kind of thing is more common in fantasy, though.