My Review from Goodreads.
4/5 stars
This is the second book by Kyell Gold that I have read. Where in the last one was a lot of older works, this is a relatively newer piece, and it shows.
Reading ‘Green Fairy’ after reading a few other furry fiction books was a whole new experience. Where a lot of furry writers take a storyline and drape an furry cloth over it, Gold actually uses the fact that they are anthropormorphic animals in his story. Suddenly senses other than sight are important, such as the sense of smell to which Gold uses brilliantly with Sol and his family. Biting becomes a valid method of fighting when a brawl breaks out and otters live in houses containing multiple pools. No longer is the fact that the characters are furry just simply a window dressing, but rather, they are an important factor within the story, another tool for Gold to use in his writing.
The characters shifts throughout this book took a bit to get used to at first. I actually didn’t expect it, and when it first happened, much like Sol, I was a tad bit confused. But as the story continued onward, and as I got used to it, it added an interesting element to the storyline, and another dimension to the characters within. Suddenly, you’re getting two different viewpoints of the same series of events, and a sort of mirror version in Sol’s real life world. It all ends up blending in a sort of magical manner which I found both unique and wonderful.
There were some elements that took me out of the story however. One of them is the use of animals such as mice and squirrels as rodent pests in a world of anthropormorphic characters. Gold has mentioned before that in his worlds, there are those species that have evolved, and those that have not. This allows for things like eating a steak, or in this case, mice being pests where rats have evolved into a type of people. Though I will admit that this method works, the mice/rat dynamic actually caught me off guard, with both species being so close together. If Gold had perhaps left out the reference to mice, I would not have stumbled over it in the story.
Carcy was another stumbling block of the story for me. The foreshadowing of what would later happen was perhaps a bit too blatant. From the moment he starts texting Sol in the story, there is a sense of what will happen later. It is no surprise he is who he is when the confrontation finally occurs. (though this could just be my suspicious nature) I was also surprised that the wolves did not pick up his scent in their house, as it would be a very alien scent among many familiar ones. With all the concentration put towards the wolves and how their world relates to smells, you would think that they would notice it fairly quickly.
One last thing that struck me is more a personal experience thing and not so much a critique. Now, let me begin by saying this. I am straight, and I am Canadian. Within this story, the amount of issues that face Sol in the twelfth grade strike me as being over the top and borderline horrific. The fact that a lot of the behavior that occurred happened at school, and was harsh and cruel, strikes me as unrealistic. That said, as mentioned above, I am Canadian, and straight. This means that I come from a country that is far more forward thinking when it comes to the subject matter of same-sex couples, and it also means that I have never experienced this kind of behavior because I myself am straight and thus wouldn’t come up against it. That is not to say it doesn’t happen, nor does it detract from the horror of what occurs. In fact, it makes what happens in the story in regards to Sol’s sexuality that much more brutal/cruel/horrific. Hence, I am not pointing out this as a flaw, but rather, something I wasn’t able to fully relate to, though I am more than sure others will. (which will obviously help in them relate to Sol, and build a good reader/character relationship)
‘Green Fairy’ was an entertaining read, and one that I enjoyed from start to finish. Gold’s writing has come a ways since his older works, and his skill with language has only improved. His description of the Moulin Rouge is easily my favorite part of the entire book. It really made me feel as if I was there, and made me long for Niki’s sections rather than Sol’s boring life at the beginning of the story. (which changed later on as Sol’s personal life became more interesting) Gold did a great job bringing together the modern and the historic, and the story flows from one scene to the next with next to no issue. Overall I have to say I will most likely read it again later on.
One last thing. The talented art of Rukis really helped to enhance this tale. All the pieces contained in ‘Green Fairy’ are wonderful and a pleasure to look upon. Choosing them to do the art was a wise choice.
So if you are into anthropormorphic work, pick this story up. Even if you aren’t, this story is really well done and I would easily recommend it to non-furry readers as well.