Any pet owner is likely to tell you their animals have personalities like a human; as we grow up we all see animals as something we can talk to and imagine deep down they’re just like us. Then of course you watch a nature documentary and all the nice scenes suddenly have a dose of blood and claw reminding you there is a lot more to any animal. In fiction there has been a long history of tales doing this from the gentle adventures of The Wind In The Willows to the darker allegory of Animal Farm. I’m Christopher Irvin’s dark fantasy western tale Ragged we get an imagined world of animals living in a remote community but these characters are not going messing around on boats but more seeking revenge and death is lurking always in the background.

Cal while not fully respected in his little community is at least tolerated as a stranger who has settled down with his wife Winifred and their two pups. Like other folk of the Woods they focus on life in the local shop; farming, and ensuring the kids are at school on time. But then Winifred is murdered; Cal seeks answers and his past; as a member of the notorious Rubbish Heap gang who lurk in the Fells outside the Woods, is coming back to haunt him.

This is a fascinating and throughly enjoyable tale that plays it straight throughout. The core plot is the stranger with a past that returns to haunt him. Cal is a reformed (ish) outlaw now family man. But when Winifred dies and his world collapses the older Cal appears who knows how to shoot; use his teeth and when necessary hide a body. We get a tense drama where Carl’s new friends and his old gang mates are getting closer to finally meeting and are unsure how they’ll both react to Cal.

The strength of the tale is how Irwin makes these characters all believeable. Cal is a decent tormented soul; I loved meeting his probably only true friend the Wood’s equivalent to a mayor in the form of the badger Billiam who loves to fuss and retired veteran George Washington better known as GW who now just guards the school but finds events require him to teach for his weapons once again. On the darker side of life we get the wily Gang Leader Maurice a Racoon who knows all the secrets and has a few of his own he wishes no one to know about in his gang of rats and weasels. Above it all is a enigmatic grizzly bear ready to hibernate known as Old Brown the closest thing to a God that neither side wishes to provoke into action….

Take the animals out of the tale and we get a very tense western style drama but with the animals there is also a reminder that animals are also keen to hunt and prey. The mystery of what happened to Winifred crosses both world in an unusual way and as Cal investigates we get a series of confrontation that eventually lead to a bloody and messy final set of battles where the truth is finally revealed.

Ragged is a very well told story. The use of animals as main characters I think enhances this almost classic tale and gives it a refreshing atmosphere and approach. The emotional battles for Cal; his family and his friends glue it all together and we get invested in their survival not just to stay alive but also to stay together as a community. Well worth your time!

This book, this piece of literature (future classic to me) is fabulous, amazing , there aren’t enough superlatives for how good this is. It’s not a long read, but it’s powerful, it’s dark, I always love how these books always show how humans are more animalistic and vase, via this metaphor. The writing is fantastic, such a beautiful talent to take ‘humanity’ and transplant it into ‘animals’ Ragged is a book that will be with you long after you read it and still find something new to ponder on. Ragged is an enjoyable, complex and interesting read, it’s definitely one you want to read, especially if you’re looking for something a bit different.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This is quite an unusual and original fantasy, it's not the first thriller/mystery that features animals as main characters but it's surely the only i read that could be classified as a noir or hard boiled.
You can feel the influence of writers like Hammett or Chandler and of classic fantasy writers.
There's violence, there's sad moments but there's also lighter and witty parts.
it isn't a long story and it kept me turning pages.
I loved Cal and loved the well developed characters and the plot.
I'm curious about future books by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Wind in the willows meets the godfather!

Ragged is a different kind of story for me. I normally like my fantasy stories to be based around humanoid type characters/races with fantastical counterparts. This, however, converted me! Christopher Irvin has created a beautiful forest world in this story full of a vast array of animal characters.

The foundation of the story is based around a forest dwelling town of sentient animals who are so much like humans but encompassing their individual animal based characteristics. Each of the animal groups in the story has unique personalities which provides a wealth of intrigue around so many different characters. There is so much to learn about each of them and this just maintains the beauty of this character driven novel. As with all ‘civilised’ societies, there is unfortunately prejudice involved. Each animal group tends to make sly digs at the others and ultimately creates masses of friction between them at times. There is also a faction/gang that live on the outskirts of the village that prey on the supply caravans and those that stray too far from town which brings in the godfather, gang warfare aspect of the story. Needless to say the townsfolk have their own opinions of these ragged villains!

The family values of this novel are beautifully portrayed. Based around a father whose wife disappeared and subsequently died, looking after his pups whilst investigating her disappearance and also trying to hold his standing in a town who are suspicious of his past. I felt such a connection to Cal as a husband and father of two, I couldn't begin to imagine how I would cope in his shoes…or should I say fur!

Ultimately Ragged is a superb novel which had me hooked from the very beginning. The heartfelt family values along with standing up for what is right and bringing society together made this story one that creates such positive feelings about life. Regardless of your background or genetic make up, everyone has the ability to do right in this world, to be anything. Embrace who you are. We are all special.

The blurb on the back reads, “Watership Down if it was written by Raymond Chandler”, I have to disagree.

It’s much better than that.

I can however agree with the quote on the front page, being “I wish I wrote this.”

Ragged is the story of a mutt named Cal trying to make a life for himself after the sudden death of his wife. He wasn’t always on the side of the angels, and he isn’t an angel himself, not by any means, but that’s what makes the character compelling. It’s what makes all the characters compelling, just because they’re animals doesn’t make them any less human, and in many cases, puts into sharp relief what we consider to be acceptable for humans to behave like.

An example of this, would be the introduction (no spoilers, fear not) of the bear, Old Brown, and a scene where he toys with the fish that Cal was talking to, causing no end of trauma to the poor fish, but thereby making the point, “But that’s what bears do.” But if we accept that that’s what bears do, surely we have to accept that some humans do things that we consider unacceptable, but if we accept that it’s their nature, then…

This was superb in every way, every character had a point and purpose, they were both interesting and relevant at all times, they had motivations and needs, things that are missing in many stories these days.

It’s not the longest of books, but it’s dark in ways that most books featuring human characters are afraid to be, the nature of the animal is out there, the darkness within is apparent at every turn, but because they’re animals, Irvin can say the truths that people would question about humans, and we accept it in this book, because they’re animals.

This is the mastery, to take the study of people and transplant it into a place where we don’t ask the questions we would of humans, we accept these characters and who, what, they are, and with that, enjoy the story because of that acceptance.

I loved this, if there is justice anywhere, this will be an animated feature at some point, and like Watership Down before it, it will not be for kids, not at any point.

And that’s not a bad thing.

Ragged isn't your typical crime noir mystery. Yes, there's characters with dark pasts, criminals, death, and infection on the horizon that all put this small community in danger, but thanks to Christopher Irvin's wonderfully weird imagination Ragged does something very different; it sets it all in a community of woodland animals.

Cal is a dog who grew up outside of the woodland community, a member of the wasteland gang, a group of criminals and killers made up of rats, stoats, and weasels, headed up by Maurice, the cruel raccoon. But Cal has long since given up on that old life, having started a family and become a member of the woodland community. However, when his wife, Winifred, goes missing Cal tracks her down to the fells, where she's fled to escape her family, to keep them safe as the infection that courses through her blood turns her feral. Cal does the only thing he can, and ends his wife's suffering.

Keeping Winifred's infection and subsequent death a secret, lest the community think he and his family could be sick and cast them out, Cal tries to find out how his wife was infected in a bid to seek revenge. As Cal investigates the rest of the community tries to deal with the increasingly difficult problems that come from a lack of food and supplies as the local traders haven't visited the village in weeks. Everyone is on edge, waiting for help to come; and with infection and the denizens of the wasteland stirring more trouble is on the horizon for the citizens of the woodlands.

The blurb for Ragged described the story as being a cross between Wind in the Willows and Fargo, and that's a pretty apt description. The book features anthropomorphic animals yes, but it's not a story for kids, and has a much darker tone. The book begins with Winifred being infected, struggling to focus and to get away from her family, and the tone doesn't really get any lighter from there. There's a constant sense of unease and sadness that permeates the book, and as the reader you're waiting for something worse to happen as Cal and the others try their best to carry on.

The story has a large cast of characters, and if the book was featuring humans I think that perhaps it would be easy to get lost as you get dropped into this large community of people. However, thanks to the cast being made up of different animals it became a lot easier to keep track of who everyone was, and what kind of person they were. The characters aren't just regular humans in animal form, and have aspects of their animal personalities baked into them. Certain traits that would feel weird, or perhaps over-the-top in humans fit perfectly with the characters of Ragged, especially as they walk a fine line between civilised and feral.

The story is definitely improved by it being animals as well, and whilst this could have worked in some form with people, changing out the rabies infection to some other form of disease that could cause problems for the community, it just wouldn't have been the same. Irvin didn't just take a story and throw animals into it, but made a plot and a world that could only work because of the unique take on the characters. So much of this book comes back to it being these anthropomorphic animals that you don't even realise how much world building and clever creation has gone on because you're so wrapped up in the main mystery to realise.

I really do think that Ragged is one of those books that will give you different feelings whilst reading it to when you've finished, and that once you start looking back at it once its done you start to see how much bigger it was than you first thought, and how much more intricate everything is. Because of this I think this could easily be one of those books that people end up reading more than once, just to try and get more and more out of it.

Ragged was an enjoyable read, one that was more complex and interesting than I was first expecting, with some unique ideas and innovative takes on the genre that a lot of stories would struggle to get away with. One that's definitely worth checking out for fans of the genre who're looking for something a bit different.

My thanks to Titan Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Ragged’ by Christopher Irvin in exchange for an honest review.

I was initially intrigued by the cover of this dark fantasy thriller showing a roaring bear and what appears to be a dog walking upright, wearing clothing and holding a torch.

Cal is a mutt living in the woods with his pups. In order to avenge the death of his wife Cal travels to the Rubbish Heap in the Fells where he spent his youth. The Heap is home to a murderous community of rats, weasels and the like ruled over by the mangy raccoon, Maurice. In returning there Cal is forced to come to terms with his criminal past.

Meanwhile, the woodland community is itself in crises as the vital supply wagon hasn’t arrived and a long winter looms ahead. In addition, there are rumours of a sickness (rabies) that could infect anyone, turning them violent. With their protector, Old Brown, the great bear asleep on the mountainside, can the town overcome their collective fears before these destroy them?

I certainly have no issues with novels that feature anthropomorphised animals. Usually they aren’t as gritty as ‘Ragged’ but it grew on me and I ended up reading the novel in a single sitting.

It’s not all darkness as there are lighter moments and witty dialogue. I especially appreciated GW (George Washington), the regal toad who provides protection for the local school with his harpoon gun. He was beyond brave.

Irwin clearly was honouring, ‘The Wind in the Willows’ and the three parts of ‘Ragged’ reference chapter titles of Grahame’s classic: ‘The River Bank’, ‘The Wild Wood’ and in a slight twist on the original: ‘The Piper at the Gates of Night’.

I found the characters memorable and well realised. There was also plenty of action including some fairly strong violence. Throughout I felt that Irvin’s detailed descriptions of the Woods, Fells, and their inhabitants brought the story vividly to life. The novel also has a few illustrations by Conor Nolan.

I found this an unusual crime thriller that proved very entertaining. It left me curious about the author’s other writings.

I didn't know what to expect from this book but I really liked it. It was well written with a good level of character development and an engaging and captivating plot. I couldn't put this book down and I read it really quickly. I loved it.