Since the beginning of February 2017, I’ve been tuning in every other week to talk about all kinds of horses in and around the SFF genre. SFF Equines, aka the Horseblog, has had a long and happy run. But I’ve been getting the urge lately to expand my nonfictional universe.
Tor.com admin has agreed that this is a worthy endeavor. And, they asked, might I turn it into a weekly column? Hence, the transformation of SFF Equines into the SFF Bestiary.
I have not forsaken the equines or the equinoids. But in this new series I’ll be looking at the whole range of SFF fauna, from the fantastical to the science-fictional, from unicorns and dragons to aliens of all sorts, both terrestrial and extraterrestrial. I’ll explore not only the weird and the wonderful but the apparently ordinary—finding new ways to look at animals we may all think we know.
First I’ll introduce each species in a general article. Then the following week I’ll talk about a book or series of books that focuses on this species. I may, if I’m inclined, give it a third week, too, with a film or series.
As with SFF Equines, I’ll be delighted take questions and recommendations. If you have a favorite species, or a favorite book or film, do let me know. I’ll circle back to equines now and then, because of course I will.
In fact I’ll begin with the equine-adjacent, one of the most iconic of them all, the unicorn. Later on I’ll talk about dragons, and about other mythical beasts. And werewolves (and were-other things). And gods and powers in animal form, in multiple cultures all over our planet. And space aliens—lizard aliens, cat aliens, dog aliens. And Earth aliens, real creatures who are as strange as anything we can imagine.
I won’t forget more familiar Earth animals, either, or the roles they’ve played in the human imagination. The beast fable is an ancient and honorable genre. It morphed in more modern times into a whole range of talking-animal stories, from Alice in Wonderland to The Wind in the Willows to Watership Down.
I hope you’ll come along with me. There are so many worlds to explore, and so many species to discover. I can’t wait to see where we’ll go.
Judith Tarr has written fantasy and science fiction as well as historical novels, many of which have been published as ebooks. She’s written a primer for writers who want to write about horses: Writing Horses: The Fine Art of Getting It Right. She lives near Tucson, Arizona with a herd of Lipizzan horses, a clowder of cats, and a blue-eyed dog.
Considering all I’ve learned about horses, thanks to your writing here, I am looking forward to everything that comes to us in this new variation.
Thanks!
Sounds like a good idea, looking forward to it!
Count me in!
Judith, any chance you might comment (in a post of your own, of course!) on the horse trappings shown in the new EW spread for the LOTR series?
YAY!!! This will be So Much Fun! I’ve already enjoyed it when you’ve written about, say, how the horse/human bond (with a little imprinting thrown in) is reflected in dragon/human bonds etc. The phoenix, please. And treecats. And lake monsters. And talking mice, from Reepicheep to the Aeslin mice. As for gods in animal form, my hands-down favorite is Rikiki the blue chipmunk from Patricia Wrede’s “Rikiki and the Wizard” (Book of Enchantments), wherein the wizard offers Rikiki his daughter’s hand in marriage in exchange for wishes: “Daughter? Don’t want daughter. Want nuts! Where nuts?”
I hope you’ll include Andre Norton’s Moonsinger and her companions.
Sounds like a great concept. Looking forward to it!
This is wonderful! Thank you!
Once you exhaust the equines, there are the felines (cats, lions, tigers, etc), the canines (dogs, coyotes, wolves, etc.) and the weres. That could keep you busy and us entertained for hours and hours.
For werewolves, I recommend Tanya Huff, in both Blood Trail, and the stand alone novel The Silvered.
One idea – animal familiars, ie often intelligent, frequently telepathic, sometimes magical animals that bond with human partners. It’s such a common story element in both science fiction and fantasy.
Wahoo!
Unicorns? Ooh, I hope you do Charles Stross’ Equoid..
Looking forward to it, and I so hope you confront the I-am-not-a-horse Valdimaran Companions. Especially since Ms. Cherryh has started the prequel series with Baron Valdimar’s expertise in horse breeding and the “Goldens” Who were those first three Companions? WHY? And we must assume their magical nature is what made them white with blue eyes but where did the silver bell sounding hooves come along?
Thank you for all the enthusiasm! I’m pretty excited, too. I’m making notes on all the recommendations and referrals.
@3 Didn’t pay much attention, but Galadriel’s horse…! If you do Twitter, there is a thread. Read replies, they’re worth it.
@5 https://www.tor.com/2017/02/27/spaceships-and-magic-andre-nortons-moon-of-three-rings/
@12 https://www.tor.com/2017/03/06/the-sff-equine-from-companions-to-dragons/, https://www.tor.com/2019/03/22/valdemar-pern-and-the-real-world-horse-human-bond/
Do artificial creatures like golems and The Luggage count?
and what about Pokémon? I know there’s a creation myth that in the beginning, Arceus hatched from a cosmic egg and created the universe. Then he created other legendary Pokémon, such as the lake trio and the weather trio. Eventually the actions of Arceus led to the creation of all life, including humans, either directly or from the Pokémon he created. Which mean that humans are a type of Pokémon. But… given how some parts of the ecosystem are identical to ours, and some seem to be completely dominated by Pokémon, it seems more likely the world evolved like ours, and that Pokémon are sets of invasive, rapidly evolving alien biomes. <shrugs> or maybe I’m overthinking it. 🤠.
HARRIET THE HAMSTER PRINCESS !!!
Ursula Vernon
How about spiders? Adrian Tchaikovsky has some awesome sentient spiders in his Children of Time series. Then there are ongoliant and the other Tolkien spiders, and Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web.
I have a caption for that lovely illustration:
“Hey, dragon-buddy, look what someone’s written about you! You’re famous!
That’s cool, but give me a minute, I’m cleaning my ear. I think there’s a cricket in there. Drove me nuts all night. I don’t suppose you have any Q-tips on you?”
If you do Spiders how about the Octospiders from the Rama series?
I would love to see something about pets. John Carter’s pet calot, Woola, Klingon targs, etc., etc.
Telzey Amberdon had a couple of interesting pets.
The Families in Bruce Bretthauer’s series starting with Firestar had a collection of animals such as intelligent coyotes and the deadly cats such as the patrolling Kitty Hawk.
Awesome suggestions, thank you! Keep them coming.
@17 “I can’t hear you, I have a banana in my ear.”
A little closer to home, Jane Smiley’s Perestroika in Paris features a curious Thoroughbred filly (the title character), a streetwise dog, a pedantic raven, a pair of excitable ducks and a rat.
We definitely can’t leave out the cats. Paul Gallico’s “Thomasina” was one of the first fantasy stories I read as a kid and I still love it today. Tad William’s “Tailchaser’s Song “ is also a favourite
@12 I know you meant to write Lackey instead of Cherryh. But now I am reminded that 1) I want another Finisterre book, and 2) I really really want to see a Nighthorse/Companion throwdown.
There are too many to cover here in a reasonable amount of time, but I’d say Pokemon count. Maybe a general post highlighting some favorites of yours?
@26 Totally not my wheelhouse. This would need someone who plays the game. Maybe that person should pitch an article or a series.
capriole @13: Didn’t pay much attention, but Galadriel’s horse…! If you do Twitter, there is a thread. Read replies, they’re worth it.
Sorry, I lost track of this thread during the “great TOR white-out.” Thank you for the suggestion, but I don’t do twitter *sniff, sniff.*