LIVES OF THE MONSTER DOGS

OK, OK, this book is just about Dogs -- nothing to do with US.

OR IS IT? This story is all about the first meeting between two species, one of whom revolted against its slavemongering creators, hauled stakes and started over in New York City. They're Dogs considerably modified to stand on two legs, speak German, and wage war for the hairless bipeds who created them. Except they proved to be less biddable than their creators expected -- THAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'RE CRUEL TO THEM, YOU IDJITS. So the slaveholders went bye-bye and behold, the Monster Dogs became the new toasts of The Big Apple.

And get a load of this quote from page 89:

"The soul is very like a fish..."

OK, I agree THIS IS NOTHING LIKE OUR OWN TECHNIQUE. We are FAR more subtle and are living among them secretly while actively making the hairless bipeds into Fish -- far kinder than they deserve, I think sometimes. But this story, perhaps inevitably, skids into the territory of INTERSPECIES ROMANCE, and that is a subject of great concern to us all.

It's also a really good, absorbing read. It has some thought-provoking things to say about being human, non-human, and -- as many uf us, me for instance, are experiencing now -- SOMETHING IN BETWEEN THE TWO.

I recommend it. This is not an order, but I really recommend it.