Animal Perspective Books: The History of Naturalist Animal Xenofiction

[@IbexWatcher]

Guardians of Ga’hoole was a big gateway for me into xenofiction and fantasy (and definitely helped my trajectory toward my current career in ecology and conservation)

[@debleb166]

One of my personal definitions for the different kinds of xenofiction is on a scale between zoomorphic and anthropomorphic. Furthest on the side of zoomorphism are stories like The Call of the Wild in which animals and their behaviour are portrayed closely to their real counterparts, or at least attempt to do this, and avoid active anthropomorphisation. The extreme of anthropomorphism are those like Peppa Pig, in which characters are animals, but this fact has little to no bearing on their behaviour and the story; they could be replaced by humans and the story would be nearly completely unaffected. In the middle of the scale, there may be stories like Redwall, in which animals behave like animals in some ways and in which they could not easily be replaced by humans without major changes to characters and setting, but the societies and stories portrayed are largely familiar to humans.

[@kenyaholloway-reliford8213]

Makes sense. The series I'm writing definitely falls under the Redwall category.

[@kenzashenna]

How does warrior cats😊 fall on this scale

[@apollo4294]

@@kenzashennazoomorphic

[@Idkpleasejustletmechangeit]

@@apollo4294 I'd say it's probably a bit more towards the middle. They live in a clearly structured society and the first one who worked on it said that she did not write them like cats, but more like "little furry humans"(though she was only the editor and the one who came up with the rough story. The things around that were written by other people). They're behaviour is also not really always just entirely cat like(though it often is). I don't think cats often scheme up a plan to kill the leader of their "state" and become a brutal dictator that proceeds to persecute specific cats for having parents from two different "states".

[@cfitz17]

Anthropomorphic to zoomorphic - a to z - this would make a perfect alphabet scale for animal fantasy.

[@Snowlion96]

Overly Sarcastic Productions recently posted a new Trope Talk video called "Small Mammal on a Big Adventure". It takes an overview of xenofiction with small mammals and how the differences in POV of the animal protagonist and the human reader can create a sense of Dramatic Irony Cosmic Horror! Its worth a watch!

[@Kookaburrow]

I loved the original video you made, I cannot wait to watch this remastered version!!

[@samantaluna3870]

What about "horror" xenofiction? As a horror girlie I've always been fascinated with novels like Thor, a werewolf novel with a dog protagonist and Hollow Kingdom, a zombie comedy with a crow protagonist. Is so rare that horror takes the xenofictiom route but its a fascinating premise to explore human horrors from the perspective of animal companions.

[@classycthulhu8449]

Slightly sad you didn't include Raptor Red as it's one of my favorites but it's an understandable caveat. This is one of my favorite genres in general.

[@TheMysteryDriver]

Ya I was disappointed by this too.

[@Predaknite]

Yooo

[@DracoGalboy]

The Wild Robot is a series told from the perspective of a robot and it's naturalist animal family, so it would probably be closer to NHX, but is worth a look at

[@BabyCharmander]

Oh! I‘ve run across this one a few times and have been curious about it. I’ll add it to my list!

[@thiadesg]

Great video! Three recommendations for fans of xenofiction: - Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver (prehistoric fantasy, one POV character is a wolf named 'Wolf', the author did a lot of research for wolf behaviour for it and it's a series) - Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton (a crow during the apocalypse) - Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton (dragon society ressembling Victorian England, trigger warning for cannibalism)

[@yarro1965]

Thank you. Thank you for giving me the words to express exactly what kind of stories I want to read. Xenofiction.....wow.

[@acin_grayson]

Yo same! The original xenofiction video have me terminology that has helped me SO MUCH to understand my reading interests and knowing it's even a genre (given, a relatively obscure one) has altered the trajectory of my future as a writer

[@StephenRansom47]

I’m barely 20 minutes into this and I can tell how much work went into it. A Marvelous contribution to the body of knowledge on this subject. Congratulations, and hope to see more chapters, or should I say Volumes, on this fascinating subject. Happy New Year 🎆

[@DracoGalboy]

One of my first reintroductions to xenofiction was CloudCuckooCountry's book burning on The Ancient Solitary Reign, so it's interesting to see your take on it

[@alexber8838]

I started working on xenofiction of animal/alien species with high intelect but low tech. I wanted to start fresh, playing with concepts without much influence from other works. Now that I know what I want, I feel prepared for those references, and this is but the perfect guide. You have my gratitude.

[@TransCowboyDad]

Its not a bird book, but I remember the silverwing series about bats being decent and the prequel book to the series being really interesting. Might wanna check that out! I was surprised not to see them in here

[@leislingvoss1547]

I adore this series; ive reread it dozens of times since i found the first book in elementary school - i added all 4 to my personal library as soon as i could find them

[@inkylynx2777]

At the end of the credits, he ranks the books he's read! Silverwing can be spotted at 1:47:17, in the E tier.

[@BabyCharmander]

@@inkylynx2777Man, that’s a shame. I enjoyed the novels, particularly the last one-the bat afterlife was fascinating and I genuinely did not see the ending coming.

[@BabyCharmander]

Surprised you claim that adults wouldn’t like Warrior Cats, given I didn’t read it until my 30s. I only read the first arc (first six books) and don’t plan to read further, but I did genuinely enjoy what I read, flawed as it was. There were parts that struck me closer than I expected and it was a strange comfort during a difficult period of my life. I always enjoy your videos! I love hearing what you have to say about xenofiction.

[@Selrisitai]

I read a chapter and thought it was not very good. I made a video about it on my channel, though that video itself is _also_ not very good.

[@BabyCharmander]

@@Selrisitai I mean, if you only read one chapter then that's not going to tell you much about the overall story.

[@wilh3rdwheel356]

Even more, most of the community today are the children that grew up with it and still read the books today even in adulthood.

[@amberbydreamsart5467]

I get the sense Cardinal's taste in animal fiction skews in different directions than the direction Warriors takes it. I do think it's accurate to say many adults won't be able to take warriors seriously/get something out of it if they don't have a history in it - though I know a few myself who got into it as adults and have a great time with it, I'm in fact re-reading with a friend who's reading it for the first time in their 30s and having a great time! It's more a tone taste than anything I think -there's a.... furryness, fandomness, that I don't quite know how to word, taste to warriors' soap opera drama style that some find addictive and many find utterly unappealing.

[@BabyCharmander]

@@amberbydreamsart5467 I'm not a furry and I'm also not really into the Warrior Cats fandom (outside of occasionally watching the incredible animations the fandom creates), so I guess I'm just an outlier, haha. For me, I just really like xenofiction, and also something about the characters really clicked with me. I could strongly relate to Firestar at a few points, achingly so, and I was not even remotely expecting to. I just happened to read the books at a time when I was in situations similar to some of the ones he was going through. I would not call him a favorite character, or even say these books are among my favorite, but as I said, these books were a strange comfort. It's comforting to see a character going through trials similar to your own, even when things don't turn out right for them--it made me feel less alone.

[@PegiBruno]

a remaster! Ah on the subject of warriors to any newcomers and adults I would rather recommend the Dawn of the Clans arc (I skipped a bit over some parts that I recognized yes haha)

[@kenyaholloway-reliford8213]

Do you know about when the anthropomorphic video will be out? Also, do you think you will do a video on non-terrestial animal and other xenofiction in the future?

[@CardinalWest]

I'm not sure about future plans for xenofiction, but the anthro animal fiction video should be out in the first half of 2024, probably around May.

[@goodmanticore]

So glad to see an upload from you today. Your videos are what introduced me to one of my new favorite books: Ballad of the Belstone Fox. I wonder if you’ve read the Silverwing books? The original duology is among my favorites. They are heavily researched and even the most absurd parts are based in real life on events that have actually happened.

[@J_N_N_N]

He lists Silverwing at 1:47:17 in the E tier so it seems like he didn't like it much.

[@goodmanticore]

@@J_N_N_NOh, good catch! I totally missed that. That’s too bad. I wonder why he didn’t care for it.

[@PetraAnning]

Hi Cardinal! I just wanted to tell you that I love every single video you have published and this in particular inspired me to study xenofiction and write something of my own. I hope I'll be able to read your book soon but I'm pretty sure it will be a great debut novel. Moreover, probably you don't know that there are many people here in Italy that watch your videos and fell in love with your dedication for these books, the carefulness you put in every analysis and the fantastic world of books that you tell us about. I look forward for your next video!

[@IridescentFalcon72]

22:17 Every time I recall the incredible White Fang book and the gorgeous and heartwarming ending, I am traumatically reminded of the absolutely awful and deplorable 2018 animated film. Which ended with him going BACK TO THE WILD and I was losing my mind at how they could ruin the story so much

[@houseofchimeras4332]

I absolutely adore animal xenofiction so finding a KZbinr talking about it has been a delight. Hearing mention of a number of older/more obscure books I so rarely hear talked about at all was also a joy. I have binge-watched your videos, been introduced to even more animal xenofiction works I haven't read yet and want to read now, and bought a copy of your book. Your hard work is much appreciated. Kudos!

[@GildedArcher]

I've not viewed your content before, but after this video, I'm DEFINITELY a fan! 😄 The way you discuss both the genre of xenofiction as a whole and your individual examples is incredibly insightful and well put together! And the way you discuss your subjective thoughts and critical assessments in a way that acknowledges them as distinct though non-mutually-exclusive concepts is INCREDIBLY refreshing! I'm also happy that the Warrior Cats series at least got a brief mention here lol I was a HUGE fan of the books throughout middle and high school and they still hold a special place in my heart, despite how rather cliché and childish they could be, in retrospect. Even so, they did spark my own interest in the genre and it's great to hear that they're fairly influential in doing so for others, as well!

[@jamesabernethy7896]

Although aware of Xenofiction, It's never really been part of my curriculum. I found you channel with your Star Wars and Avatar Stuff, I've also listened to some of your Xenofiction. You have a terrific presentation. Calm and inciteful. Even with that calmness your love for this is clear, everyone has something that just clicks with them. Even Xenofiction isn't mine, I like hearing you talk about it.

[@nicolechen9316]

Chinese here! Very surprised when you brought up Shen Shixi. I read almost all of his works growing up lol. In my experience, NAX is a really recent genre in China so it kinda did a speedrun from moralistic to realistic. A lot of early works were very much “human bad animals good”, then realistic works quickly followed up, which was reflected in Shen’s books too. His writing was… fine I guess. Some of his early stories got added into state-issued textbooks, so he just marketed primarily toward children, often in the name of science and realism, while most of his stories were nowhere near scientifically accurate. A lot of folks who grew up on his books, like myself, got bitter at him later on as we learned what he wrote had little to do with actual animal behavior at all.

[@lauraambrosiano9940]

Lots of good books to check out... also hey there was a Wolf's Rain track in there for a minute

[@IsThatEtchas]

Although absolutely a childrens book, Benno and the Night of Broken Glass is worth your time. Such an amazing way of using xenofiction to teach children about a horrible part of history. I'd also recommend Varjak Paw and the Colin Dann City Cats series.

[@2AlatoArtsAlot]

Got to add a few books to my 'to read/review' list while watching this! thank you for making videos, your a big reason why i started making videos about animal xenofiction myself!

[@vincent-of-the-bog]

Obviously this is by no means the books' main focus, but I am surprised no one seems yet to have mentioned Robin Hobb's the Farseerer Trilogy. Animals' view points and their fundamentally different ways of thinking always seemed so wonderfully represented there

[@chip_scip5314]

i absolutely love your videos! big inspiration for me as a writer and reader :) have you found/read any books on insect xenofiction? xenofiction in itself is a pretty obscure subgenre, so insect xenofiction is probably even WAY more niche and hard to find lol ToT

[@Shiizuko]

Just wanted to drop by and say thank you for this video. It legit got me reading books again. I read Watership Down and The Plague Dogs years ago, and this reminded me of how great those books were. So far I've read through White Fang, Call of the Wild, Hunter's Moon, Callanish, and Sirius(my fav so far).

[@Samm815]

Thank you for introducing the concept of the genre of Xenofiction to me, Mr. Red Bird of the West. My personal favorite factor is the religious aspect of animals. Or how they view humans.

[@CaptainSoloSeries]

Watched the whole video waiting for you to address The White Bone, especially since I caught that you ranked it quite low. I wanted to hear why. I loved the book, and I read it with my students. It can be quite dense and leans heavily into magical realism, but I enjoyed the relationships of the elephants and the lens through which they tried to make sense of the world (and their individual place in it.)

[@Wizard_Pepsi]

That BNA inspired intro took me back.

[@ericawester]

Oh man, this video was great! I've been really enjoying your vids, despite not having read a lot of xenofiction myself. That said, it was pretty validating to hear your thoughts on The Sight, which is one of the few books I have read. A friend lent it to me in middle school 'cause I was a big wolf nerd, and I desperately wished I liked it, but it was such a slog to get through, for ALL of the reasons you described. Back then I thought I was just too stupid for it, haha... so it's good to know I'm not alone! Anyway keep it up! Love your stuff. And love the recommendations for other channels at the end!

[@IridescentFalcon72]

Getting a new Cardinal West video is an excellent Christmas gift

[@mariobalestrieri7488]

Kenneth oppel’s Silverwing is a good series and good animated series

[@albertnonymous9759]

An excellent book that sits in that "mostly animal but with some human perspective" category is Terry Pratchett's "The Amazing Maurice and his educated rodents". It takes place in his Discworld fantasy setting, and features a cat and a group of rats granted intelligence after unwittingly consuming magic refuse. The premise is that Maurice, the cat, comes up with a scheme to recruit a beggar kid to play the role of pied piper. Rats show up someplace, cause havoc, kid shows up, and "magically" plays his flute as he and the rats wander out of town and on to the next one.

[@comfycat9]

Love this channel. Merry Christmas all y’all!

[@jersy6406]

This video just added at lot to my list of books I want to read. Especially since, from the books mentioned that I have already read, I would rate them similarily. Most recently, I just reread Sirius and loved it even more than on my first read and was dissapointed by Tailchaser's Song. Xenofiction you haven't mentioned and I also enjoyed includes The Bee Maja, in which the clash of human-dialog, early twentith century dialog and the nature of the animals brought me great joy and some laugh, and Of Flesh and Features, which is mythical xenifiction focused on chicken during a zombie apocalypse where I grew deeply attached to the protagonist.

[@RunningOnAutopilot]

1:32:33 You could also have him move on disturbingly quick from his mates death and use the opening which brushes past her death without much weight to support that characterization

[@ArtAnimeEmerly]

Looking forward to watching this! Your videos have helped me keep motivation through writing and now I'm querying agents. Fingers crossed!

[@sunstartle]

SUNNYBANK!!!!! SORRY I'm not finished with this video yet I adore your channel and I adored the first version of this video to pieces but I'm SO STOKED that you mentioned Albert Payson Terhune's books! I think I own almost all of his xenofiction writing; I have a ton from my grandmother's collection that were printed in the 1920s and they were my favorite books as a kid, alongside White Fang, which I liked a bit better than Call of the Wild. Sorry for leaving this comment only 30 minutes in but it flabbergasted me (positively) so much that I felt it needed to be said ^^; They're very interesting reads, I find it funny how concerned he is with problems of the time ie automobiles and the like. I think my favorite of his collies has always been Gray Dawn but Wolf (Lad's son) is a close second.

[@Scarpza]

Loved the video. So many books just got added to my to-read pile.

[@hallowedtalon8106]

Hello [JLJ from before, who cited One for Sorrow in the OG video]! It’s awesome to see an updated version of the video that contains new subjects of discussion, and it remains entertaining as always. I loved seeing the ranking in the credits. “The Dogs” was definitely a D for me as well. It started off okay, but completely went off the deep end the further it went along. Very disjointed and lacked clear focus. I can assume the translation was poor, but I heard it wasn’t reviewed well in Russia either (from what I could find). I also agree with the ranking of “The Legend of Wolf Song” in low C. It was really nothing special. Also didn’t care much for “Doglands”; It felt so be meanspirited, especially towards dog ownership, among many other problems. Anyway, it’s really cool to see how the list keeps growing! I’ll be checking out more on that list I haven’t heard of. But my gosh I have so many I need to get through already, including rereads of favorites lol. I’m on the final book of the Wolves of the Beyond, which should be an easy breeze. I look forward to your future videos, and more writing, like the one on Anthropomorphic Xenofiction. I’m very curious to see how you’d personally rank the Deptford Mice series, including its prequels (i enjoyed The Oaken Throne a lot more than i expected to). They introduce a lot of horror and grisly elements, which seemed pretty unique, especially for children’s books. Also, not all characters make it, and not all ending are happy.

[@inkylynx2777]

Oh man, I only vaguely remember Doglands as one of my first middle grade novels, but I don't remember a whole lot of it since that was over ten years ago. All I remember was something about a greyhound mix trying to rescue his mother from some illegal dog-racing thing and _maybe_ one of those stupid "humans who can speak dog" things.

[@fionastirling986]

I’d recommend the Foxcraft trilogy and The Tygrine Cat by Inbali Iserles, Sandeagozu by Janann V. Jenner, Cats in the City of Plague by A.L. Marlow, the White Fox duology by Chen Jiatong, the Strong Hearts Are Mandatory series by Teelia Pelletier, the Darkeye trilogy by Lydia West, and the Scary Stories for Young Foxes duology by Christian McKay Heidicker. I don’t know if The One and Only Ivan trilogy by Katherine Applegate counts for this category but that one is also good. In terms of animal xenofiction graphic novels, Scurry by Mac Smith, Bunnybirds by Natalie Linn, and The Underfoot by Ben Fischer are all good.

[@Cammymoop]

This was a very cool overview and I'm really looking forward to the second part

[@meagzimmer]

Had my goodreads ready to add books to my want to read list as soon as i saw this

[@nullings.]

Didn't expect to hear the OP of BNA, but it makes perfect sense! Good choice!

[@Lakeside80]

I clearly need to read more xenofiction. I'd read Firebringer, The Sight and Fell and enjoyed many ideas from, but now I've realized they are a bit cliche. I feel I found more enjoyment from the comfort of known tropes. I have read and enjoyed Watership Down and Plague Dogs. Excited to check out your top ranked books S-B tier, maybe a few from C tier. Maybe you could make a video on fantasy xenofiction since you mentioned Birth of the Firebringer. I suggest the Age of Fire series, since I'd like to know your thoughts on it. Age of Fire is one I would re-read a lot as a teen, and I wonder how it holds up critically. I'll still feel a simple enjoyment out of the books mentioned, regardless of their quality. This video also made me more self-aware of my own writing. I'm going to be second guessing myself, but it's good to overthink it here and there.

[@beevie4081]

Ah, thank you. I went scrolling hoping someone would remind me what that deer book I once read was called! Firebringer.

[@TheQwuilleran]

I hope Aesop's Fables, Rudyard Kippling, and Homeward Bound (The Incredible Journey) get mentioned

[@cfitz17]

G'day Cardinal, I really enjoyed this in depth summary and have ordered your book. Can't wait though it will take a while to ship to the other side of the world. I have written several Australian animal fantasy novels - one is true xenomorphic, The Platypus Spy. Thought I'd mention it because you said you were looking for others.

[@cfitz17]

So I received your book and read it right through. I loved the relationship between Knight and Sierra - how a domestic dog would view and get along with a wolf was really interesting and kept me engaged and entertained till the end! Well done!

[@verselynx6769]

I haven't read it yet, but "the blood jaguar" by Micheal H Payne has been on my reading list for awhile

[@kirstinreimer6996]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned a book called the White Panther by Theodore Waldek. I read it when I was a child in the late 70s early 80s. I read it several times being a cat lover. (Also, it was one if the few books that would interest a child in the university library I was stuck in.)

[@joeherschel5396]

Love hearing music from The Witcher 3 in the background.

[@inthewoods5494]

I was about to tear you a new one if I didn’t find credit for one of my favorite artists in the description somewhere LMAO

[@alexber8838]

​@@Thistleyyhahaha it is, it is

[@aWolffromElsewhere]

The remaster is here and has more books for me to seek out! There is one thing though; In First Born the wolf's friend is Maggie the Magpie. I recently read this one. Merry woofmas and happy howlidays.

[@captaincuttlefish]

I’m sorry but the whole “bad owl novel” part with all the terminology like “zoomerangs” for trains just left me laughing my ass off Awesome video!! Can’t wait for part 2!!

[@Chordata-flyer]

Felidae has a WILD animated adaptation. Its crazy its considered a kids film given how gorey and weirdly sexual it is... >.>

[@inkylynx2777]

It's... not, as far as I know?? It's an adult animated film KZbinrs like to highlight for its violence, sexual content, and.... unusual motive for its murder mystery.

[@J.D_Force]

This was a very informational video. Never knew the term for this genre of literature, but i always really liked serous stories told from an animals points of view. Have you ever read The Book of The Duncow? That was a early childhood favorite that not many people talk about.

[@frostbitetheannunakiiceind6574]

What was the reasoning for excluding aquatic species, arthropods, and extinct species? I don't understand

[@wychkingsarmoury]

"First-time commenter here, just wanted to express how much I enjoyed this video and your insightful analysis. While I've never held strong opinions toward xenofiction, both as a reader and a writer (though lately, I've found it challenging to structure sentences), your discussion brought to mind impactful texts like 'Animals of Farthing Wood' and 'Animal Farm' (though I'm unsure if the latter counts). These works have left a lasting impression on me, and this video definitely stirred emotions that I thought were long dormant. I noticed that many animals focused on in your analysis are primarily critter-centric, contrasting with other forms of animals that are or can be 'domesticated' (although I understand the major theme of 'the wild never leaves you' in some texts). I'm curious if there have been any attempts to write fiction centered around aquatic animals, especially whales or cetaceans. Or are they considered beyond the scope of the genre? Thank you!

[@chiropteryx]

Great video and really good additions to the original! Dont know where this would fall in your classification of xenofiction but you should check out Hunters Unlucky by Abigail Hilton, it features animals that are made up for the book but are not fantastical (except for one species that is slightly magical) and the animals are explicitly human level intelligent and can read and write while also dealing with their more animal instincts and social structure.

[@twinsmama09]

Another raven/crow xenofiction book I've read is Hollow Kingdom and its sequel Feral Creatures. It's about a zombie apocalypse told from the perspective of a vulgar mouthed pet crow named S.T. It's probably somewhere between the mythic and realist categories. I would give it a B.

[@dboot8886]

I swear with an intro that hard this *better* have Animorphs included in it...

[@shirowolfanimator]

hey, cardinal, do you have any tips on how should i write the story for my wolf animated series, its naturalist xenofiction, i.e wolves. but also a dragon & magic & my own made up mythology. so fantasy xenofiction

[@gentlesavage2068]

will you ever talk about brer rabbit on the channel at all? also what are thoughts on the planet of the apes reboot trilogy if you've ever seen it?

[@LeoTheDowl]

Does anyone know if their is a Xenofiction series about Snow Leopards/Leopards or have any of them in it?

[@Amanecer458]

Merry christmas

[@Selrisitai]

Hey, didn't you have a video up comparing an animated adaptation of a book? It had foxes and various other animals and they were uh, making alliances and all this shenanigans?

[@wolfwatch9731]

honestly i don't think i would have gotten into reading at all, let alone reading xenofiction, if it weren't for the combined efforts of warriors, wolves of the beyond, and later foxcraft

[@brandonblackwood3680]

Has anyone else here read Tailchaser's Song? What did you think of it

[@GALLERYMACABRE]

I really enjoyed it.

[@Amgarrak]

Ah yes, "Princess Diana: Am An Owl", one of the literary books of all time.

[@joelvicente1052]

I love your videos, you are a wonderful speaker!

[@tizzat9464]

I did a massive double take when I heard the owl was called Tomar 😭

[@PinkWytchBytch]

The book Animal Farm comes to mind while watching this. I believe that books been banned by now but it’s nevertheless a very important piece of xenofiction that gets your mind thinking

[@alexber8838]

Animal Farm banned? Where? Anyway, you are in the internet, here nothing is truly banned ;)

[@LeoTheDowl]

Me too!! Animal Farm is my favorite book of all time! It even beat out “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie!

[@theakwardactor9788]

sorry, I just realized this, but I have to ask...do you use the score for Black Beauty (1994) for a lot of your videos? The music for that film is so great and I love to see it get the attention it deserves!

[@SkylarHarris-g2w]

Ooo Cardnial you should read Wolves of the Beyond

[@NineTailsChaosFox]

Here is a rec of which I am not sure if anyone has submitted it or the author: The Wildings by Nilanjana S. Roy

[@jan-seli]

Really hoping the next video touches on The Children of Time

[@alexber8838]

I was interested on that work, and I have it in my list... but once I heard the plot, it kinda was too fantastic for me, too unnatural. I know this might sound weird, but the line between real world rules and fantasy is crossed too often in Sci-fi works. Its not only that they create magic and call it science, but that the world is usually more foccused on bright surprising facts and action; and less in human, emotive, or philosophical ones, product of a complex realistic world.

[@stegosandrosos1291]

​@@alexber8838I read only a bit of the book, but i don't think it's too much unrealistic, in fact I think that, from what I've seen, everything is managed quite well.

[@brandonblackwood3680]

Raptor Red was so good though! :(

[@thelanktheist2626]

I’m planning on writing my own Xeno fiction novel series about horses There’s also a series of books about birds starring a raven named Cornelius, and I can’t remember the name which is so frustrating! Edit edit: I FOUND IT IT’S CALLED SKYTALONS! It’s actually about a pigeon, go figure. Also, what’s up with owl novels and over-expoiting over and over? It happened with Ga’Hoole too.

[@riablatterspiel7236]

I would love to hear your opinion on the novel "Mink!" (1995) by Peter Chippindale!

[@juliamavroidi8601]

I would absolutely call Bambi a moralistic work. Even if the animals in it tend to behave more realistically than those in the works of Salten's predecessors, the aim of the novel is still clearly to explore the human condition, both through animal metaphors and by depicting human behavior from an outsider's perspective, thus unveiling injustice and cruelty. If your aversion to insects isn't too great comparing Bambi with Maya the Bee by Waldemar Bonsel might be enlughtening. Both were written at the beginning of the 20th century by German-language authors, but while Maya the Bee is highly conservative abd reactionist, Bambi calls out humanity and especially the society Salten was living in on its hypocrisy and bigotry. I find both works to be highly relevant not only in literary history, but history in general, considering what happened in Germany soon after their publication (and especially considering Salten was Jewish) The Disney movie is a gross misrepresentation of the novel and its influence has played a large part in the narrative being misunderstood as "just" an animal story, even among people who have read the book. (Sry for the rant, but I care about Bambi^^)

[@2AlatoArtsAlot]

Although I've only read the english version (it might be different in the original) I don't really think that the human vs. nature themes are strong enough to warrant it. They very much are there- but I feel like they took a backseat compared to the themes of growing up/maturity.

[@purplehaze2358]

I'll be honest, I _really_ don't think that intro matched the tone of the video.

[@Someperson12532]

awww, no wolfdog? (if that even exists in english speaking countries, it's called varghunden where i live) 13:06 or.... is white fang varghunden? Could it be? I mean that was their name

[@HolyShinta]

What I'm leranring from watching these videos in a row, is that Theodore Roosevelt was most likely a furry. Good for him.

[@clintonbehrends4659]

I'm so sad you didn't mention mouse gaurd at all not even in the caveat sections

[@11Legorex]

1:28:50 Tomar jumpscare

[@TheMysteryDriver]

Dang. First thing I thought of was Raptor Red and you didn't read it.

[@TikiArtdog-eq1rz]

I almost want to read the really bad books, but I’m reading a book right now that, while I like the story, is driving me crazy by telling me and showing me the same things back to back. The Lord of The Rings was mentioned a few times. I’m trying to get into audiobooks. Anyone have a tlotr audio recommendation? Searching has shown a few different versions.

[@iceworld6104]

cant wait for the anthropomorphic xenofication

[@crystalmanzetton5068]

Are you going to do fantasy Xeon fiction

[@catherinecao4810]

Someone PLEASE do a Mythic Xenofiction story about invasive species and use it as commentary about colonialism and imperialism.

[@rainbows98]

!!!!!!!! always down to watch ur vids!!! woohoo

[@fizzzydev]

Does stray count as xenofiction?

[@CardinalWest]

The A.N. Wilson novel? Yes, it does, and it's pretty good.

[@fizzzydev]

@@CardinalWest I meant the game but the book also sounds interesting. Might read it.

[@tmikesecrist3]

what about jack loundions call of the wild, thank you, call of the wiid was my first tast in zenofiction, that and black buity

[@therizinosauruscheloniform2162]

love this!

[@jamiekagemori1299]

>hears BNA theme Automatically based

[@deffonotdio6751]

I love the video! I'd just like to point out a book called Raptor Red that i don't believe featured in the video. It's a piece of xenofiction from the perspective of a Utahraptor, like the dinosaur.

[@primalycia]

He showed it at the beginning and mentioned extinct animal books would not be included.

[@deffonotdio6751]

@@primalycia ah my mistake, I must have missed that while I was watching

[@primalycia]

@@deffonotdio6751 All good. Raptor Red is a very good piece of xenofiction (imo) that I would also love to see covered a bit more in depth. Dino Diego did a very good video on it but I'd love to hear Cardinal West's opinions.

[@funniestdudeontheweb]

"But you can't just retell what you already showed!" Said Cardinal, who found this form of prose quite irritable and also most distasteful. "It's a waste of words," he said, rejecting the whole concept. "And this, 12 million years of history? Really?" said Cardinal, with a tone of disbelief coloring his voice. "Along with all these numerous terms? Feminism? Martial Law? A Constitution? *The Final Solution* ?! This is giving the impression more of humans with owl costumes than actual owls!" he ranted, with a most foul reaction to the plethora of terms he keeps seeing pop up again and again throughout this piece of literature, an experience that would culminate in his Final Condemnation of a score of an F.

[@jaymenjanssens720]

🎉Fire Bed&Bone here I come. Thanks