I want to review Isolation Play, and give it a full in-depth analysis because it’s an interesting novel that deserves to be broken down. But I can’t write a review without giving away major spoilers. I just can’t do it. Trying to review it that way dances around the issues and doesn’t do the book justice. So here’s the deal. Follow these simple steps, and together we’re going to give Isolation Play a great review.

Being a teenager is awkward enough already, without the problem of turning into a cartoon fox. Sucks to be Fenton Cobbler.

I have to admit that what hooked me on this book was the promo video. Catherynne Valente sells the myth of Prester John well in her video. With Star Wars action figures.

The fact that the prerequisite for reading Heathen City Volume 3: Joker to the Thief is to read the previous to volumes is reason enough for me to hesitate in suggesting it. The fact that the author hasn’t seemed to learn from the mistakes of the past two years is more than reason enough for me to recommend avoiding it altogether.

Tthere are a whole lot of comics out there featuring animal-people that do not identify themselves as “furry” because the creators don’t. Kazu Kibushi’s Amulet, an engrossing graphic novel filled with beautiful art and some fox people, happens to fall into that category.

Even by themselves, the terms “amateur,” “adult,” and “furry” can all give one pause when it comes to fiction; when all three apply to the same work, there can be even more reason for hesitation. Still, when it’s only a mere ten bucks to see whether someone’s debut novella is any good, it can be worth it to gamble from time to time, and in this case, for the most part, that gamble has paid off.

The Cupcakes series are intended to be “short and sweet” novellas, and for better or worse, The Peculiar Quandary of Simon Artyle fits the bill.

One of the things I like about New Fables as a series is that the stories within are not strictly “furry”, nor are they explicit. Many of them touch on some very adult themes, but it’s the kind of book you could give to a family member or friend to ease them into “that weird animal thing that you’re into”. The Summer 2010 collection keeps up the tradition, and has the added bonus of featuring some of my all-time favorite stories ever printed in these books.

Few modern authors have the talent of blending the classical with the modern that Neil Gaiman does. In Odd and the Frost Giants, he melds that talent with the not inconsiderable feat of writing a good children’s book. Finally, he adds that rare gift, writing a book with a fox in it*, to make a delightful little tale.

I want to encourage amateur authors to make that leap into professional writing. God knows it’s hard to write a novel, and it takes a lot of guts to put it out there for everyone to read. This kind of thing should be encouraged. The world needs good writers and I want to find those people that have the talent and the drive to write great literature. As a critic it’s my job to not only praise the authors that produce quality work, but also to critique authors, in the hopes that they become better.

That said, Save the Day is not a good book.