Divisions

The third entry of Kyell Gold’s Out of Position, or Dev and Lee, series, opens with an introduction by the author indicating he wrote a lot when formulating the tertiary entry of his literary franchise, followed by a description of football from an animalian perspective, with certain species playing certain roles on the game field. As in prior books, he shows a map of the United States indicating where the cities serving as the various settings would be in real life, although the author’s injection of real-life elements into this story somewhat mars the alleged escapism of the book.

Following the introductory elements is a “bonus story” featuring the journalist Hal, who is formulating a story on self-outed football star Dev, whilst betting on games. As in books on this kind, one can find difficult keeping track of the species of certain characters, and thus, a list of dramatic personae would have been welcome. The story proper opens with Lee’s father indicating he is divorcing his wife, with the tiger Miski and vulpine Farrel families celebrating Thanksgiving together. Dev meets his mother’s sister, his Aunt Ania, with his brother Gregory annoyed at not being the center of attention.

Lee is impressed how mellow Dev’s formerly-intolerant father is, with Dev himself feeling sexually-repressed, and his fox boyfriend inviting his father Brenly to his home in Chevali. One major plot point is the suicide of homosexual Vince King on account of his bigoted parents, with Dev torn between supporting his boyfriend’s heightened activism with the group Equality Now, or starring in commercials for various products such as beer. To Dev’s chagrin, the pompous cheetah football player Lightning Strike is traded to the Firebirds, although he is at least a decent athlete.

Lee’s former spotted skunk boyfriend Brian plays some role in the narrative, as does the fox’s mother, who has affiliated herself with the anti-gay organization Families United, with Lee himself having altercations with his matriarch, and while they don’t break up, Lee spends New Year’s Eve alone without Dev. Overall, furries in particular are sure to appreciate this story, although the sociopolitical commentary comes across as incredibly ham-fisted, somewhat exemplifying what’s wrong with the furry fandom with its general focus on fornication and sexuality, and suffering from its mirroring of real life.