TBR of Doom--Animal Sidekick Edition (Patreon)

It should surprise absolutely no one that I have long been a fan of animal sidekicks in stories. If you give me even the slightest chance, I'll put one in there. I mean, look at my books. HMCN has Taco and the giant crow. In Firebug half the people turn into animals--hares, foxes, and carnivorous ponies. Curses has Hob. (I had to argue to keep Hob, as that was a hill I wanted to die on.) ALTF has the ferrets, Kodo and Podo. Lena has Steve the Unicorn and Wuf. 

I love them so much, I don't even notice that I'm throwing them in there half the time. I thought it would be fun to write a post with some of my favorites over the years.

So let's start with the image above, Llyan the cat from the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander. I was obsessed with this series as a kid, though I haven't read it since then. Maybe it's time for a reread? Not only does it have Hen Wen, a pig who can tell the future, but it also had Llyan, a cat that, through magic, became big enough that one of the characters rode him like a horse. As a kid I was very into this idea, and to be honest, would still ride a giant cat.

Wilde Life by Pascalle Lepas--this is an internet comic (though you can buy a copy of volume one) that I'm way behind on but love. Basically the premise is a guy rents a house on Craig's List and moves to a town that he knows nothing about because he needs to start over. Only, the house has a ghost and they become friends. And there are witches. And pretty soon his best friend is a cranky teen werewolf named Clifford. I'm counting Clifford as an animal sidekick. It's a fun comic and I need to catch up on it.

The Elenium by David Eddings--yes, I've mentioned this series loads. Part of my love is based on Sparkhawk's grumpy horse, Faran and they relationship they share. Grumpy warhorses are my favorite.

Lying Cat from Saga by Vaughan. Another comic and this one is definitely for grown up readers. (Graphic violence, profanity, sex, etc.) As his name suggests, Lying Cat can tell if you're lying and will announce it to the world. This comic is a space opera/fantasy that has a lot to do with parenting and people from different, warring cultures trying to make it work. Again, I'm behind on it (I can't remember where I left off) but I tend to like Vaughan's work.

Falcor from Neverending Story--the movie. Why do I specify? I can't remember what the character was like in the book, which I read as a child and hated. Maybe I would like it now? Either way, I'm all over the movie.

Thimble from Legends & Lattes by Baldree--again, I've mentioned this book before, but I can't not include Thimble on this list. Adorable rat baker! Ugh, this book was so cozy and cute and I love it.

Faithful/Pounce in the Tortall universe by Tamora Pierce--I'm a big nerd for the Tortall series and Faithful/Pounce shows up in a few of the series. Since he's more than a mere cat (possible conduit to the gods? Who knows) he can do show up where he likes. He's a faithful and sarcastic guide and very fun to read. He's part of the Beka Cooper series, which is my favorite of her books.

Oberon in the Iron Druid series by Hearne--If you like urban fantasy or anything in that arena, this series is worth your time, especially for Oberon. Oberon is the doggie sidekick of Atticus. They have a psychic bond and Oberon talks to him all the time and is hilarious. Other fun dog sidekicks in fantasy series you could check out is Grendel in the Kate Daniel's series and Mouse from the Dresden files. Neither of those dogs talk, but they're fun.

In my research to jog my memory, because I know KNOW I'm forgetting some here, I kept hitting the Dragons of Pern series by Macaffrey. I remember being obsessed with this series, but oddly remember very little about it. But hey, dragon friends! There are also fun dragon friends in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Wrede.

I also kept hitting the Spellslinger series, which I haven't read, but apparently has a giant otter sidekick? Also the Taltos series by Brust which I think I read the first one maybe? Or maybe started to and I had to put it down for some reason (not based on anything in the book, but I think I had to read something for work.) But after reading about the sidekick Loiosh, I should probably take another crack at this series.

So that is just a handful and not an exhaustive list by any means. I'm definitely blanking out on some good ones! If you know any that you loved and I missed, put them in the comments!

--Lish