Bridges
Kyell Gold
FurPlanet

I love it when authors mix things up with their writing styles. Switching genres, or changing from the perspective they normally do can be a risk, but when it works it’s really cool to know an author has more up their sleeve. Kyell Gold’s newest book, Bridges works really well, despite some hangups. And it certainly does some new things, I mean besides having a male/female sex scene.

Bridges is the first book in the Cupcakes line of novellas, and it feels very experimental. Each chapter switches characters (Like those annual Animorphs specials, remember those, guys?), and tells the story through the various characters. It’s a story of a red fox named Hayward, who is quite adept at playing matchmaker, but won’t let people into his own life, for reasons largely unknown by his friends. It’s interesting to see the story told from five different perspectives and really showcases Gold’s ability to develop multiple characters.

The novella starts with a single night told by three different people, on a group date. They’re all very different, and the introspection of each fox gives each chapter a very different feel, despite the same scenarios. Gold leaves out enough details from each one to allow the other characters fill in the blanks, and even scenes of eating at a restaurant or chilling on a couch are interesting, even though paled somewhat by the more engrossing scenes that happen in between.

The same thing that makes the book interesting also makes it drag. It’s not until over halfway through the book that the real plot becomes apparent. It makes me wonder if three chapters about one night was really necessary, especially when two of the three foxes involved are just side characters. The fact that the first third of the book is taken up by character that don’t significantly influence the plot is a little odd. And since the book jumps ahead eight months, and then another month after that, it seems like one of those chapters could have been about the interstitial time, while still allowing the side character to reveal more about Hayward and his situation.

Bridges is a short novella, so the plot dragging is kind of like saying a half hour episode of a TV show dragged. And I should stress that it doesn’t feel gratuitous or unnecessary while it’s happening. It’s exciting, it’s entertaining, and Gold is in top form with his descriptive powers. It speaks highly of an author that he made the same exact sex scene that interesting three times in a row.

Despite the imbalances, the story is heartfelt, and at times heartbreaking. In a single chapter Gold can develop a character, tell their whole arc, and really make the reader care about them, which is more than some authors can do with an entire novel. Bridges is definitely worth picking up, and I like seeing these different writing styles coming from an established author. It shows he’s not in a rut (the noun, not the verb, pervs).

[[Editor's note: One last minor quibble, though it’s just a bugaboo of mine that doesn’t detract at all from the story. Gold can’t seem to figure out how he wants to approach pop culture. He starts with real world things, talking about Shakespeare plays, CSI and Law and Order. Then moves on to made up stuff like a fictional show called Bearly Brothers. Then switches again to the furry parody method, inserting animals into titles, like the hit song, “I Know What Wolves Like.” Pick one and stick with it, fox!]]