In Audition for the Fox, our Protagonist is a young acolyte named Nesi, a girl who has a Reputation among her fellow demi-hemi-semi “god blooded” priests-in-training. In this setting those descended from one of the hundred Pillars can only leave the temple they were raised in if they have the sponsorship of one of the hundred animal gods. (Who are referred to as Pillars and are believed to hold up the world.)They need these divine babysitters because the “god blooded” are in danger of being used as spell components if they are unattended.
The reason for our Protagonist’s reputation? Nesi has managed to fail every audition she has gone to. Our girl has intense anxiety and little ability to focus. After repeated failures and rejections, Our Protagonist is desperate to be chosen by one of the gods. (Not it should clear, because of devotion. Nesi just wants the freedom associated with having a chaperone at first. Nesi is down to three choices, and picks the one she thinks will be the easiest and safest.)
Spoiler: It is not the easiest. It is so much not the easiest.
The Fox sends Nesi three hundred years in the past, to a time when her country was under the occupation of the Wolfhounds of Zemin. (Who are horrible fascist thugs, and devotees of the Wolf, a disgraced and exiled Pillar who has a particular beef with the Fox.) She is given the task of setting off a rebellion in the work camp where she is confined. (Note: the Fox is very clear that she isn’t fore-destined to be what sets off the entire resistance. She just needs to spark a flame.) The Fox is there to mentor her the entire time, but Nesi has a bad time of it.
Interspersed with Our Protagonists story, are various myths featuring the Fox. From these stories, it’s clear why Nesi at first completely misunderstood the character of the Fox. She thought of him as a frivolous silly prankster and her decision to audition reflected this. Since she had not understood the serious lessons within the silly jokes, the Fox decides to forgo the pan, and drops her directly into the fire–which makes for some fun, if occasionally extremely intense moments of extreme second hand embarrassment–and in some cases, absolute panic for the situation she’s in.
Audition for the Fox manages to pack intriguing worldbuilding and a surprisingly hard hitting plot into one short novella. It’s a very fast read in that the narrative just pulls you along, and suddenly you’re about fifty percent of the way through. Nesi’s character arc from disaffected and extremely anxious acolyte, to a seditious rebel is an engaging experience. I liked her immediately, and found her to be extremely relatable. (In the sense that she’s trying so hard, has no real idea of what she wants to do in life, and keeps running into walls between her and a life. Same, Nesi, same.)
Too long; didn’t read: Tricksters are for funny pranks and also for organized resistance against oppressive regimes.
I enjoyed the book. I kind of wish it had been longer. It’s an earnest book that manages to get its ideas across without preaching. (Except in the sense that Fox goes into mentor lecture mode about philosophy, history and causality in regards to time travel.) I will settle for a long series featuring the temporal adventures of Nesi and the Fox. Ten or twelve books would be fine!
This review is based on a galley received from Net Galley.
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