The Heavens Within Our Grasp: A Medieval Anthology by The Furry Historical Fiction Society

Midwest FurFest is coming up! And with it, the next entry in the Furry Historical Fiction Society's anthology series. It's titled The Wideness of the World, and it will be available at NightEyes DaySpring's dealers den table.

For that reason, here is the final review thread I made on Bluesky for the third book, The Heavens Within Our Grasp.

This was originally published as a "reaction thread" on Bluesky in early 2025. I read through each story and posted a reaction to each one in the form of a series of short posts. Now, I'm putting it in blog form, with a neat new expandable list. Enjoy!

Print: https://www.tfpublishing.com.au/store/the-heavens-within-our-grasp eBook: https://www.tfpublishing.com.au/store/the-heavens-within-our-grasp-ebook

A Final Offering by NightEyes DaySpring

A story about very awkward first date. If you've read the story, I hope that made you laugh. This is the tale of two seers from distant lands coming together to hopefully hear from their pagan gods, who've grown so much quieter as the eras move on.

The ritual they undergo is a rollercoaster of emotions and visions, and may take some interpretation to understand, but it certainly has implications for the future. I liked how it was almost like the two seers went from friends to enemies and back again multiple times through the story.

Their inner conflict over the loss of their Gods was well reflected in the shifting of moods between them. Of the "vision" stories NightEyes has done for these anthologies, I think this one is my favorite.

The Purple Rose by J.F.R. Coates

There are quite a few stories in these anthologies about thieves, and it's always fun to see what inevitable plot twists they're going to have.

This one is no exception. It's about a badger whose wolf friend has a talent for stealing treasures from the city palace. They're hoping to use those treasures to escape the walls of their miserable city.

How and why that happens is a mystery worth a read. A good setup, good foreshadowing, and a good payoff.

The Seekers Of Winter by Alex T. Dragonson

In this story, a lioness hopes to save her brother who has been stolen away by The Lord of Winter.

She swears an oath to the God of the Hunt in exchange for knowledge of the Lord's location (rarely an act without reprocutions in a fairy tale), and sets off on her rescue mission.

It's undoubtedly inspired by the classic Fairy Tale of The Snow Queen, in which a girl sets out to save her friend/brother from the grasp of the titular queen.

Despite having big similarities to The Snow Queen, this story changed a lot of things up while also shortening the tale, making it nearly unrecognisable from its inspiration. I like that. It felt like its own story, and not derivative of another.

Spring and Autumn of North and South by Fopfox and Erik

It was so refreshing to see some historical fiction from the East in this anthology.

This one starts out with that characteristic description of the wars, assassinations, disasters, and squabbles of the time, which always make a Star Wars opening crawl look like a description of a pleasant tea party.

Eventually that recounting of history gives way to prose about an incompetent prince and the runaway son of a Khan, showing how each of them rise of power over their respective halves of the country.

There are so many twists and turns, all driven by huge egos, and I found myself reading out parts of the story to my boyfriend just because of how wild they were. Very much enjoyed this one.

Doomsday by Televassi

I did some beta reading for this story and got to see how it developed, so it was interesting reading the final version here. It's about a young deer coming of age in the fallout from the battle of Hastings.

The story spans years--decades even--of this guy finding himself in various occupations and cities after his home is destroyed. It's one of the most fitting stories in this anthology, being deeply historical fiction.

It takes place in real historical places, alongside real historical figures, and during real historical events, with details that I'm sure fans of history will greatly appreciate. It's likely the most fitting story for the anthology's theme.

It's a very long time frame for such a short story, however, and I would have loved to see it in longer form to really see Televassi's expertise on this historical era shine. But this story does the trick for those who would prefer a faster pace.

I also really appreciated how deer antlers played a sort of symbolic role in some parts of the story, as either symbols of time passing or as tokens in cultural practices.

Siegewalkers by Valduin

I love an atmospheric story, and there's little more atmospheric than someone sitting in a fortress while a battle takes place outside, listening to the approaching explosions of siege equipment and the battle screams of dying guards.

Obviously, that's what this story is about. A prisoner is sitting in a cell while the fortress around him is under siege by his Khan. Why this prisoner is here when he's a member of the attacking army is an important question, but the story is also very concerned with the baggage of this character.

His past, his friends, his betrayals. It all goes to reinforce why this character is here and what happens in the end, and I found that pretty smart. It's a good short tale. Perhaps with a bit too much backstory that lacked enough context, but the ending lands regardless of it. Good stuff.

Midway in the Journey of Our Lives by Rob MacWolf

Damnit Rob, you wrote another banger for me to gush about. This one involves the brindle dog who so often shows up in Rob's stories for these anthologies.

Though while that dog's mere existence is the instigator of much of the conflict in this tale, the main character is a simple innkeeper. Or, I guess a complicated innkeeper, as more of his past is revealed as the story goes on.

He is stagnated by both the familiarity of the inn and nostalgia for his past life as a student in the city. I have a fixation on those themes, so the character really registered with me. He witnesses a confrontation where someone comes to force the knowledge of immortality out of the brindle dog.

As you can imagine, that attempt goes up in flames real quick. There's just so much packed into this story. Enough meaning and character to write a few books about. I'm always amazed by how Rob is able to accomplish such depth in such a short time.

Scapegoat by Domus Vocis

The more I read Domus's writing, the more I come to appreciate it. Tomes Entombed Within Me from the last anthology was fantastic. This tale similarly follows Baldram, a character experiencing a mental and emotional struggle resulting from a great tragedy.

It's a much more personal story. Rather than the character's struggles happening in the aftermath of the burning of the Library of Alexandria, this one's struggles happen in the aftermath of the Black Death--but not for the obvious reason.

He's not mourning someone who died of the black death or anything. No, that would have been too easy. You'll have to read it and see. Regardless, Baldram then has to go on living his life, haunted by the ghost of this horrible tragedy.

That haunting is depicted very well, especially as his trauma affects how he deals with the world around him, and how overwhelming it makes even mundane happenings in his life. Domus has really been nailing it lately.

Under the Empty Sky by J.S. Hawthorne

Well, that was an entire movie. I could see it being made into a Netflix original. This story is about a trader (actually a former heroic soldier) in China.

She stumbles into protecting a young child from a Christian order who are trying to capture him for unknown reasons. It's a long story, but it's action packed, with some well written fight scenes and a delightful cast of characters.

I found it a bit straightforward, but it's a well rounded and self contained story that didn't feel like a slice out of a greater whole. It was refreshing to have a story that felt like a more complete package.

Houses of Stone by Utunu

One of the things I really love about Utunu's work is how his characters interact. The stories themselves can be so simple, but the way the characters talk and banter and express affection are so good that any more complex story would just distract.

This story is no exception. It's simply about a merchant visiting a "friend" and going to sell some wares in the city with him. And yet there's this feeling of yearning, a tangible warmth of care for one another that draws me in.

It's fascinating prose, and it's perhaps extremely nerdy of me, but I just love stuff like this. Anyone looking to make their character interactions more engaging would do well to study Utunu's work here.

The Abbey of Saint Vera by Casimir Laski

Oh how I love Laski's prose. It always flows so well and feels so immersive. I get lost in these stories. Even more impressive since this story is a murder mystery, and I don't typically get caught up in a mystery.

Here though, the tension is just so well done, and the elegant prose serves that tension. The story is about a nun at an abbey during a storm, when several travelers show up to take shelter with her and two priests.

One of the priests is soon murdered for unknown reasons, and the nun must solve the murder. It's a longer story, and yet shorter than this type of story typically needs to be, which is impressive. Somehow this rather elaborate mystery was packed into 40 pages, and done so effectively.

It even has quite a bit of social and religious commentary. Wild. Laski has really nailed all of his stories in these anthologies, and I'm happy to see another winner.

Where His Side Was Pierced by Rose LaCroix

Though a bit short, this one has a lot of depth. It takes place in the century following the black death, in which duels were common as judgement for many disagreements.

In this story, two brothers are set to duel, one of whom is a bad dude and a killer, and the other who is the one who has been slighted, but seems rather outmatched. The motivation for the outmatched knight is interesting. It's not simple revenge, even though he is the one who has been betrayed.

Instead it seems like he wants to take his brother out truly because he's a bully and killer. It is the final straw in his brother's long list of tresspasses, and though emotionally painful, it's necessary. A bit clunky in the beginning, but I think it sticks the landing.

The Golden Son of Rahe Neer by Thomas "Faux" Steele

This story has a lot of historical value, with plenty of details about life in Verona, though I found it a bit standard. The story is about a trader who meets a noble in the city, and the two quickly fall for each other.

The story beats are a bit predictable, but the value of the story, as mentioned before, is really in the historical detail surrounding those beats. There's clearly been research done on the types of goods and styles of trading done in Verona at the time.

Both of Steele's other short stories he's written for these anthologies also have that historical detail, which helps. I also enjoyed the general gayness of the whole story, because I'm biased.

The flirting was delightful. I think there's a lot to love about Steele's writing that would be served amazingly with some more work on interesting plots to tie everything together.

The Bleak Tower by Cedric G! Bacon

Well, that was great. I wouldn't exactly call it historical fiction, but it was a fun one, and I do love dark fantasy.

This one's about a freebooter hired to infiltrate a dark wizard's tower. So much goes both wrong and right during her mission, and so many secrets are revealed. Twists and turns are abound. Gruesome scenes, action packed fights, and swirly magic.

Again, not historical fiction, so I have to knock a few points off of it, so to speak, but it was unquestionably fun and interesting. Well written and smart, too.

The Course of the Reiver by Ziegenbock

A straightforward story can so often be made more interesting with a charming lead character, and what better charming lead than a Robin Hood-esque thieving fox?

This story follows a fox named Fearghus, an infamous outlaw of the region who aims to take care of his small society of bandits and steal stuff from those who have stuff to spare.

The plot is pretty straightforward, as I've said. You've seen it before. The star of the show here is Fearghus, who despite not really being anything new in the "sly thieving fox" character department, is still really fun to read about, and Ziegenbock does a great job writing him.

One Book to Burn by Faolan

Now that was a funny one. This story is about a writer of romance books who is imprisoned by the city mayor and forced to write an erotic book for his wife.

It's full of hilarious, clever moments that really kept my attention. I also couldn't help but laugh at how furry a concept this is. There are more than a few writers who have felt forced to write erotic stuff, after all.

And then I'm sure there are furry writers would swoon over the idea of being imprisoned and made to write a saucy book. Setting that scenario in the 1400s makes for such a bizarre tale. Loved it.

Heaven Will Weigh the Heart of Stone Pascal Farful

What a great way to end it. A story with meaning, humor, and melancholy. This story is about a young lemur who seeks to prove himself a man by dueling the knight he has a crush on, which seems a contradiction, but is quite smart.

The lemur knows he's gay, but believes that if he can prove himself masculine by winning this duel, that he will be worthy of his place in his family. At the same time, he's fighting off his own homosexuality, and his literal fight against the man he's enamored with symbolizes that really well.

It's a setup of contradictions, as love often is. How it plays out in the end is somewhat unexpected and delivers some great messages I really appreciated. Again, fantastic way to wrap up this anthology.

Also has one of my favorite lines I've read lately:

"I was just given the blade and told to manifest manhood."