Xenofiction is a niche genre of speculative fiction centered on stories told from the viewpoint of non-human characters, particularly animal, often focusing heavily on the effects of the characters' species on their lives, and how their lives differ from those of humans.¹ This is a blog asking if you've read them. Submissions open and welcome! [¹ "Xenofiction" on Wikipedia]
Have You Read This Xenofiction? is a poll blog focused on the non-human fiction genre, characterized by works like Watership Down, Warriors, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, and The Call of the Wild. Submissions are welcome and can be made in the ask box! Submission rules and tagging system information are below the break.
Header image credit / icon image credit
Quick FAQ:
How often are polls posted?: Polls are queued for a few a day in the afternoon/evening (EST). How many are posted will vary depending on how full the queue is. Non-poll asks like book searches will be answered when I find them!
Can I resubmit something already posted?: At this point I won't do duplicate polls. There's enough xenofiction to post new ones for a long while!
Where can I find copies of some of these older books?: Internet Archive and libraries will be your best bet, but I've heard there's some kind of genesis library around that might also have copies. If you're really struggling, let me know and I can take a shot at it.
I remember reading a book as a kid, can you help me identify it?: Give me as much information as you can (region, language, cover art, plot, character names, etc all very useful) and I can give it my best shot!
Is there xenofiction about this animal?: Probably, just ask and I'll see what I can find.
Will my name be on the poll if I make a submission?: I'll be real, it entirely depends on if I remember to do that.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions must be xenofiction. This means they must primarily be from the perspective of, or follow a cast of, non-human characters. Realism and fantasy submissions are both permitted here.
Any media type that can classify as "read" is included. The primary focus is published novels, not comics and other forms of literature are welcome! I will not be posting fanfictions unless they are an entirely original premise within the setting (and I encourage those working on such a project to take a leap of faith and go fully original!)
Please include the title of the book, the author's name, whether it's a real species or a fictional one, and the species the book focuses on. If a species is fictional, generic terms like "feline" are sufficient.
If you are submitting a book within a series, please name the series and the first book - it will be posted as the series as to not flood the submissions. If the series is a collection of unrelated stories, naming individual books is permitted, but please specify that it's a standalone in the series when you're doing that.
Please search posts to make sure your submission hasn't already been posted before making a suggestion.
If you're not sure if something counts, just submit it rather than asking. I'll review it and post it if it counts, and it saves time.
Tag System
As I'd like this blog to also work as a promotional hub for lesser known xenofiction, there are a lot of organization tags for species, in the hopes that people can find books about animals they're interested in.
Main tags:
Title(s)
Series title (if applicable)
Author name(s)
Year of publication (for anything not a standalone, this will be the first entry's date)
#realistic setting or #fantasy setting - science fiction is grouped into fantasy; the presence of magic or gods or anything does not make it a fantasy setting if it still takes place in "our world".
#standalone, #duology, #trilogy, #series, or #serial - webcomics are usually serial, while novels are usually in the other categories.
Species categorization tags; this section will be updated over time, and all tags will be singular.
Not a book so not a poll but I watched this the other day and it was pretty cute! Neat to see a movie starring whales :) the trailer isn't a great demonstration of the movie itself, as children's movie trailers are wont to be, but it's a nice way to spend an hour and a bit
Ratha's Creature / The Books of the Named (series) by Clare Bell - have you read this xenofiction?
Yes, I've read all of it
Yes, I've read some of it
No, I've heard of it or the author but haven't read it
No, I haven't read this or heard of it
Voting ended onJun 17
Ratha and her clan are the Named, a band of intelligent wild cats whose society is based on herding deer. The Named have laws, language, traditions, and leaders. They also have enemies. The predatory raiders of the un-Named are driving them close to the edge of survival. Then Ratha, a mere yearling, discovers what she calls the Red Tongue: fire. Her new weapon gives the Named a new defense, but it also rouses the ire of Meoran, the tyrannical clan leader. Soon Ratha finds herself in exile among the un-Named, but determined to survive.
[Goodreads]
The Books of the Named (also known as the Ratha series) is a series of young adult xenofictive prehistoric fiction novels by Clare Bell. The books center around a society of sapient prehistoric cats, the Named, who herd prehistoric horses and deer and are in conflict with a non-sentient group of cats called the Unnamed. The series follows Ratha, who discovers the "Red Tongue", fire, permanently changing their society. The series has received positive reviews and has been compared to the book Watership Down.
[Wikipedia]
Interested in reading it, or have thoughts about having read it? Share them in the tags! This is a new blog, so reblogs for reach are also appreciated! 🐆
The Summer King Chronicles (series) by Jess E. Owen - have you read this xenofiction?
Yes, I've read all of it
Yes, I've read some of it
No, I've heard of it or the author but haven't read it
No, I haven't read this or heard of it
Voting ended onJun 16
As the last of his kind in a gryfon pride ruled by the conquering Red Kings, Shard has always known his destiny is merely to survive. He must strive to keep up with larger, stronger, crueler gryfons in order to earn his place as a warrior, or face exile. While on the dangerous initiation hunt that will either make or ruin him, Shard desperately takes the unexpected advice of a strange she-wolf who seeks him out, and hints that Shard’s past is not all that it seems.
Drawn to learn more, Shard risks the future he wants by making allies of creatures most gryfons call enemies, and learning ancient skills forbidden by the conquering kings. Secrets of his family, the Conquering, and perhaps even his own destiny begin to reveal themselves.
When the gryfon king declares open war on the wolves Shard has befriended, it throws his past and uncertain future into the turmoil between. Now with battle lines drawn, Shard must decide whether to fight beside his own king . . . or against him.
[Goodreads]
Interested in reading it, or have thoughts about having read it? Share them in the tags! This is a new blog, so reblogs for reach are also appreciated! 🪽
I put the wiki up in my absence of anyone wants to start mucking around and getting pages added! I'd like to be more on top of things but unfortunately cannot be right now.
im sorry if this doesnt count since its only the narrator but ive been trying to find this copy of jekyll and hyde i read some years back? it had a dog (spotted, jack russell or dalmation) narrating.
Sorry I'm late on answering! It sounds interesting, I'll count it especially for the sake of trying to find it!
Good lord can someone pleaze help me find this book. I've quite literally been searching for almost 10 years to find it and nothing has turned up. It's about a group of cop dogs who bust drug dealers, and there's this one drug kingpin dog who dresses up like an Egyptian Pharoah, and one of the lead cop dogs gets addicted to cocaine. Please I need to find it
*follow up on the cop dog book, I believe the cover had the dogs standing upright leaning against a giant police badge, and there was a little rat in the corner. It was wild
happy to try and help! What age group was it for, and do you remember if it was a series or a standalone?
Also questions to the owner of this blog, do you have a list of xenofiction books, novels, and comics here? I'm pretty sure this one is more expanded than other lists.
I don't have one written up, though I wish I did! At the moment, I'm going off of primarily submissions and my own memory. It's my hope that over time the #xenofiction or #polls tag on this blog will work as a list (since it'll contain the things that I know, and that others know) - it's why I tag polls with the years, species, etc, so that people would be able to find the subject they're looking for if they wanted books to read :)
Maybe if I get medicated and need something to lock in on, I'll make a separate list somewhere. I guess a non-Fandom wiki might be a good option if people wanted to collaborate on it...? Who's to say
I did end up claiming a url for a miraheze-hosted wiki; I haven't made any progress on it yet (nor the blog - you know how holidays are) but once I have examples / templates made up, I'll link it and open it to new editors! ^w^
House of Tribes by Garry Kilworth - have you read this xenofiction?
Yes, I've read it
No, I've heard of it or the author but haven't read it
No, I haven't read this or heard of it
Voting ended onDec 15, 2025
In every mouse's long life, there comes a time when ancestral voices tell him to move on. Pedlar, a yellow-necked mouse, has reached that point. Told to leave the Hedgerow and go on a long journey, the adventurous mouse says his farewells and sets out for a far-distant country knows as The House. Reaching his destination, Pedlar enters a strange new world inhabited by many warring tribes: the Stinkhorns of the cellar, the great Savage Tribe in the kitchen, the library Bookeaters, the Invisibles, the Deathshead and the rebellious 13-K Gang.
[Goodreads]
Interested in reading it, or have thoughts about having read it? Share them in the tags! This is a new blog, so reblogs for reach are also appreciated! 🐀
The Cold Moons by Aeron Clement - have you read this xenofiction?
Yes, I've read it
No, I've heard of it or the author but haven't read it
No, I haven't read this or heard of it
Voting ended onDec 14, 2025
Bamber lives happily in Yellow Copse with his beloved mate Dainty, however Bamber's idyllic life is about to change. A scaremongering rumour that badgers cause tuberculosis has led to the formation of badger extermination squads and the decision to wipe out all badgers in Britain. So, Bamber's peace is shattered, his family cruelly murdered, and the badly wounded Bamber left with just enough time to warn the large badger community of Cilgwyn. The Cilgwyn badgers, despite mistrust among their own kind and the ambitions of the vile Kronos, set out to find Elysia; a new and peaceful home outside the reach of human persecution, a journey through cold and hunger, across mountains and swamps, with the threat of extermination ever looming behind.
[Fantasy Book Review - had the best summary]
[Goodreads]
Interested in reading it, or have thoughts about having read it? Share them in the tags! This is a new blog, so reblogs for reach are also appreciated! 🦡
Also questions to the owner of this blog, do you have a list of xenofiction books, novels, and comics here? I'm pretty sure this one is more expanded than other lists.
I don't have one written up, though I wish I did! At the moment, I'm going off of primarily submissions and my own memory. It's my hope that over time the #xenofiction or #polls tag on this blog will work as a list (since it'll contain the things that I know, and that others know) - it's why I tag polls with the years, species, etc, so that people would be able to find the subject they're looking for if they wanted books to read :)
Maybe if I get medicated and need something to lock in on, I'll make a separate list somewhere. I guess a non-Fandom wiki might be a good option if people wanted to collaborate on it...? Who's to say
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - have you read this xenofiction?
Yes, I've read it
No, I've heard of it or the author but haven't read it
No, I haven't read this or heard of it
Voting ended onDec 14, 2025
As a young horse, Black Beauty is well-loved and happy. But when his owner is forced to sell him, his life changes drastically. He has many new owners—some of them cruel and some of them kind. All he needs is someone to love him again....
Whether pulling an elegant carriage or a ramshackle cab, Black Beauty tries to live as best he can. This is his amazing story, told as only he could tell it.
[Goodreads]
Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions, the Autobiography of a Horse is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. It was written from a horse as main character's perspective. She wrote it in the last years of her life, during which she was bedridden and seriously ill. The novel became an immediate best-seller, with Sewell dying just five months after its publication, but having lived long enough to see her only novel become a success. With over fifty million copies sold, Black Beauty is one of the best-selling books of all time.
[Wikipedia]
Sorry for the long silence! I will be honest I lost track of time. Thanks for sticking around :)
Will be starting polls up again soon, surgery went well and most of this delay has been that I've been focusing on a different project! Thank you all for your patience
I'm interested in this blog for many reasons but one of them is that I passed up a cat xenofiction genuinely probably like 15 years ago and I have not been able to find it and have been kicking myself ever since. I only remember what the cover kind of looked like. Hoping deeply that someone just so happens to send it eventually. Anyway I love this blog, thanks for running it op!
What did the cover look like? I can try to find it, or I can post the description and see if anyone knows it :) details like whether it was hard or softcover, how old the book looked at the time (like if it was worn down or a freshly published novel) etc etc can help narrow it down if you remember them!
Most books I post here have a lot of variant covers since they've had different editions, so I wouldn't want you to miss it just because the cover I post isn't the one you remember!
EDIT: Extra info!
Hi, cat book from like 15 years ago person here! I cannot remember if it was soft or hardcover but I'm guessing hardcover because I remember cost was why I didn't get it. What I remember is it had two cats that were dramatically lit, one was lighter color, possibly golden or yellow? And the other was dark, I think a tabby. The tabby looked ominous. It was not a warriors book or any other book you have already posted. The cats were quite stylized and not realistic. That's about all I've got though!
Would you be able to draw any part of the cover / the composition that you remember? It doesn't have to be pretty, but it narrows it down!
Do you remember the context where you saw it? Like a bookstore vs a school book fair, or online, etc etc (the more specific you can remember, the better!)
Were the cats fully visible or was it just their heads / upper bodies? Again this is a bonus for narrowing it down.
Another short polls hiatus; have a surgery coming up and it's taking all of my brain energy to stress about it. Will return once lucid enough post-op, feel free to keep sending suggestions in the meantime 👍
I'm interested in this blog for many reasons but one of them is that I passed up a cat xenofiction genuinely probably like 15 years ago and I have not been able to find it and have been kicking myself ever since. I only remember what the cover kind of looked like. Hoping deeply that someone just so happens to send it eventually. Anyway I love this blog, thanks for running it op!
What did the cover look like? I can try to find it, or I can post the description and see if anyone knows it :) details like whether it was hard or softcover, how old the book looked at the time (like if it was worn down or a freshly published novel) etc etc can help narrow it down if you remember them!
Most books I post here have a lot of variant covers since they've had different editions, so I wouldn't want you to miss it just because the cover I post isn't the one you remember!
EDIT: Extra info!
Hi, cat book from like 15 years ago person here! I cannot remember if it was soft or hardcover but I'm guessing hardcover because I remember cost was why I didn't get it. What I remember is it had two cats that were dramatically lit, one was lighter color, possibly golden or yellow? And the other was dark, I think a tabby. The tabby looked ominous. It was not a warriors book or any other book you have already posted. The cats were quite stylized and not realistic. That's about all I've got though!
That's it! That's the book! I can't believe you found it especially with my shoddy memory lol. I also can't believe I forgot a title like The Stink Files. Thanks so much for helping me find it again!
Happy to help!! @justcrafting deserves all the credit though, I hadn't come across the title in my own search yet. Collaboration 💪
