Rating: 
Summary: An Enjoyable Book
Review: Animal books in general are great. This one is pretty good, too. At first, its a little confusing to get a hold on how everything works. I wasn't sure if it was anthropormorphic animals that were more human than animal, or whether they were just your typical talking animals. However, after everything fell into place, the book was good. Bobcat, Fisher, and Skink are pretty clueless, and so this is a new twist on the plot, which, when simplified to the maximum, is the same old, same old. Instead of a valiant bunch set out, knowing pretty much exactly what they are doing, they are confused and unsure of what will happen. The confrontation with the Blood Jaguar is very surprising. I liked it, you probably will, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Spell binding read!
Review: Brains and eggs, I say, brains and eggs. What a magnificant read. Now I've got another book to read to my daughter! This book is so good on so many levels, I have found myself returning to it again and again. So many questions, I can only hope that Mr. Payne will continue to grace us with more from his fantastic fury animal world. So did Bobcat sell his soul? You read it, and tell me.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful first novel from a new fantasy author.
Review: Every so often you find a rare surprise. That first novel that captures the imagination and holds it from cover to cover. Michael H. Payne's _The Blood Jaguar_ is just such a book. He's created a rich world of possibilities, a North America on an Earth where man never arose and the other animals did, with their lives guided by the twelve Curials. The trio of heroes, Bobcat, Skink and Fisher, are all fully realized characters whom you really feel for as they take a remarkable journey to stop the thirteeth Curial, the Blood Jaguar, from unleasing her Plague Year. Here's hoping Payne takes us back to their world for further stories.
Rating:
Summary: The wonderful characters make this engrossing story a gem.
Review: Have you ever looked at an animal and known what it was thinking? Then a moment later you shrug and laugh at yourself for anthropomorphizing? Suppose you're not. Suppose your cat really is an irreverant catnip junky snoozing through his potential.In Michael Payne's debut novel "The Blood Jaguar", Bobcat is exactly that. Bobcat's cohorts are equally real and equally flawed in their own ways. And, just like your house cat, Bobcat and his companions are precious and dear. I found Mr. Payne's book to be involving, his world to be clever and original, but what I liked best about this book is the characters. They are willing to do what they must if only they knew just what that was. They shine...pretty impressive for fuzzy animals. I can strongly recommend The Blood Jaguar. It is a gem. I hope to see a lot more of Michael Payne's work in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Unexpectedly engaging!
Review: I grabbed this book off the "used" shelf simply because it was A) about furs, and B) cheap. Upon reading it, I discovered that I would have enjoyed it if the characters were human and I'd paid full price. The way the story was set up fascinated me, especially the idea that it had all happened before. I enjoyed the "impossible tasks" set before the heroes and the way everything was acknowledged as part of a complete story. The Curials, however, were the most fascinating part. The gods are equally as human as the mortal creatures they preside over. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story, furry fan or not.
Rating:
Summary: READS LIKE A COMIC BOOK...
Review: I've always liked to draw furries, and rarely do I find good novels that have anthromorphic furries in them (maybe I'm not looking hard enough though). So I run across this book.
There were two things that irritated me throughout this book:
A)The fact that Bobcat and Skink didn't have real names.
B)The relationship between a bobcat and a rabbit.
I don't really know why B) bothered me so much, considering interspecies couples about in the furry world and I see it all the time. A few times the story lagged, but overall I was satisfied. I especially liked how the gods were explained and their position in the cosmos handled. The religious aspect of these animals' world is the most convincing part of the novel. The whole time I was reading I could easily picture it as a comic book and the characters were vivid (esp. Fisher).
Rating:
Summary: READS LIKE A COMIC BOOK...
Review: I've always liked to draw furries, and rarely do I find good novels that have anthromorphic furries in them (maybe I'm not looking hard enough though). So I run across this book.
There were two things that irritated me throughout this book:
A)The fact that Bobcat and Skink didn't have real names.
B)The relationship between a bobcat and a rabbit.
I don't really know why B) bothered me so much, considering interspecies couples about in the furry world and I see it all the time. A few times the story lagged, but overall I was satisfied. I especially liked how the gods were explained and their position in the cosmos handled. The religious aspect of these animals' world is the most convincing part of the novel. The whole time I was reading I could easily picture it as a comic book and the characters were vivid (esp. Fisher).
Rating:
Summary: An oasis in the desert of worthless books
Review: It's just very refreshing to find a good book like this. I haven't had much luck recently in locating books good enough to warrant actually finishing them.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be fooled Furry Fans...
Review: Look, I'm sorry, but this book sucked. I'm a big furry fan and I was glad to be able to find a furry themed book for once, but this was a major let down, eventhough it had loads of potential. When you take a course in writing fiction, two of the biggest things you'll learn about is 1) Passive Writing vs. Active Writing, and 2) "Showing, not Telling." This book fails on both accounts. There were so many "ing" words kicking around in here that it's just mind boggling that the editor didn't throw this manuscript right in the shredder. Then every ounce of action is easily spoon fed to us without ever getting the chance to really SEE what is going on. The entire plot consists of Bobcat, Fisher, and Skink walking, eating, sleeping, waking up, eating, walking, eating, sleeping, waking up, eating, etc., etc. For nearly the whole length of the book these actions are repeated over and over to the point of mind numbing. The only thing worse than the plot (besides the fact that NOTHING REALLY HAPPENS) is the inane dialogue. I lost count of how many times Bobcat said "Wait a minute" because he says it about ten times PER PAGE. So the plot - Out. The dialogue - Out. That just leaves the characters and descripions. Well, the characters are pretty poorly fleshed out for the most part. Bobcat is very annoying and not really likable. This is unfortunate since he IS the hero. Fisher is okay, her character had some promise and she was the only one even remotely interesting. Too bad she wasn't fleshed out as anything more than a shaman. Skink was useless. His only purpose was to spout off exposition and tell stories. The creation of the world was done without any real description at all. I didn't even know for sure that Fisher was a fox until about halfway through. There was virtually no description of physical characteristics of anything beyong Fisher's freaking stove. What irritates me is that this book had a boatload of potential. Set in the distant future, but without any advancement in technology and a depleated population. This means that something BAD happened. Something very dark and forboding. Something very creepy in design and concept - but what was it? How did the world get like this? Who knows! Because it isn't even hinted at. There's one line of dialogue where Fisher talks about this, but it is dropped right away. And the ending? What ending? I'm telling you NOTHING HAPPENS! Bobcat is a pathetic, very flat character, and frankly I wished for him to die with every passing moment. Vehemance aside, I do hope Payne tries to write more Furry fiction, and I hope he gets much better at it. If you want a REAL Furry book try Forests of the Night by Andrew Swann, the Samurai Cat series by Mark E. Rogers, or Far Seer by Robert J. Sawyer. Now THOSE are some excelent books.
Rating:
Summary: The Coolest Book I've ever Read!
Review: One of the best books I've read this year - I'll be disappointed if this book goes out of print too soon. As other reviewers here have said, it is the characters that make this book - they are flawed, quirky, and mismatched, yet so likeable and such a joy to read about. Anyone old enough to read the Redwall books or The Chronicles of Narnia should be able to enjoy "The Blood Jaguar", but there is plenty here that adult readers will appreciate. For example, while not overtly comedic, there are some humorous twists on a few cliches from the fantasy genre. Payne has very good writing style. Some books pile on the colorful, descriptive phraesology until it's like trying to eat a dessert so rich it's hard to finish, but "The Blood Jaguar" provides just the right amount (or perhaps the right type) to enhance the reading experience. My biggest complaint about the book is that it was too short. Maybe the author has more stories forthcoming to address that situation. I hope so!
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