''Beasts'' is a novel by American writer John Crowley, published in 1976 by Doubleday.

Plot summary

''Beasts'' describes a world in which genetically engineered animals are given a variety of human characteristics. Painter is a ''leo'', a combination of man and lion.

Reynard Reynard the Fox is a list of literary cycles, literary cycle of medieval allegorical Folklore of the Low Countries, Dutch, English folklore, English, French folklore, French and German folklore, German fables. The first extant versions of the cy ...

, a character derived from

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

European

fable Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a parti ...

, is part fox. Political forces result in the leos being deemed an experimental failure, first resigned to reservations, and later to be hunted down and eliminated. A central element of the story is the relationship between Painter and Reynard, who acts as a kingmaker behind the scenes.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reviewer Gerald Jonas praised Crowley's "prodigious inventiveness", describing the novel as "a memorable tale that ends too soon." Dave Langford reviewed ''Beasts'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...

'' #60, and stated that "a strange story of genetically engineered man/beast hybrids who are greater than the sum of their genes. This one's a bit young for canonization

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after returning from a second campaign against ...

but it's a fine book."

Brian W. Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...

and David Wingrove reported that "for all the poetry in Crowley's writing, ''Beasts'' treats its subject matter in a realistic mode that gives the book a resonance and a relevance it might otherwise have lacked."Aldiss & Wingrove, '' Trillion Year Spree'',

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian ...

, 1986, pp. 456–57 Dave Langford reviewed ''Beasts'' for ''

'' #99, and stated that "The slightest of Crowley's works? I recant: anything by him demands to be read and reread."

References

External links

* 1976 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Books illustrated by Anne Yvonne Gilbert 1976 American novels Novels by John Crowley Doubleday (publisher) books {{1970s-sf-novel-stub