The Navigating Fox

At a cool 155 pages, there's quite a lot to like in this tight and tidy package. I was captivated first and foremost by the language; the author is adept at deploying just a word or two to create a pithy turn of phrase or a deadpan observation. I found myself often taking a beat to appreciate the experience of reading the prose. The author's linguistic skill allows him to build a lived-in world and interesting characters in a small space. The setting is a secondary world (or alternate?) Roman-ish Empire, though we follow the navigating fox, Quintus Shu'al, from a colonial outpost into lands decidedly not ruled by the Empire. In this world, some creatures are voiceless while others, like our eponymous fox, the twin racoon cartographers Loci and Foci, and the strong-willed bison diplomat Walks Along Woman, are knowledgeable, more or less. The characters are deftly sketched, and their dialogue is always entertaining. The plot includes a quest, a mystery or two, a journey, and several good twists and turns. I did want to know what would happen next, but what really kept me turning the pages with glee was my desire to hear more of Quintus's voice and the conversations between the disparate human and non-human people. This was my first experience of Christopher Rowe's writing, and I am determined that it won't be my last.