Uncovered

The fourth entry of Kyell Gold’s Out of Position / Dev and Lee series opens with the author providing a note about the bonus story that precedes the main text, after which comes, like in the previous books, an explanation on football from an animalian perspective, and a map of where the cities serving as the various settings would be in the real-life United States. Brenly, Lee’s father, narrates the bonus story, explaining how he took sleep for granted, spending time with his ex-wife Eileen. The central narrative occurs immediately where the prior book left off, with the tiger Dev en route to film a beer commercial.

Dev is anxious about his vulpine boyfriend Lee’s gay rights activism and thus doesn’t want to commit to doing public service announcements in addition to playing football. Lee himself still has maternal issues, given his mother’s involvement with an antigay group, and Lee finds himself still largely unwelcome in the locker room of Dev’s team, the Chevali Firebirds. A fight breaks out at a game that Lee is involved with, a brief investigation occurring. Dev gets more starring roles in commercials, with Lee eventually accepting that sometimes relationships need distance.

For most of the book, while Dev readies himself for a championship match that his team hopes to win, Lee is separate from Dev, temporarily residing with his friend Hal. Overall, this was a somewhat-enjoyable story, although the references to things such as “Lion Christ” somewhat break the fantastical setting that Gold insists is separate from the real world, and while Gold does make some good quotes about relationships, the commentary comes across as ham-fisted at times. Furries will definitely appreciate this yarn, but it’s certainly not a must-read and at best has a niche audience.