Guess who’s back [back, back], back again [‘gain, ‘gain]. Nelson’s back [back, back], tell a friend [friend, friend]! Not sure if this intro constitutes plagiarism or not… well, I’d rather not risk angering Eminem, even though being the intended target of a diss track from him would be a lifetime achievement. Anyways… in this week’s edition of the Smut Vault, we take a look at The Tigress of Futan: Foundations of a Monster by April Garrus. After discovering that I reviewed erotic novels, Garrus immediately declared us best friends (his words), and eagerly sent this story our way. We here at TehBen strive to offer the most objective and unbiased opinions that we possibly can. Therefore, we’ll have to set aside our new best-friendship with Garrus, and take a long… hard… look at this piece.
The story centers on Zorah, a young “woman” (I’ll explain the quotes later) and her personal journey towards spiritual enlightenment at the temple she lives in. She is accompanied by her best friend and lover, Mally. Zorah’s main antagonist early is Kwazix: a member of a separate bug-like race, fellow pupil, and world-class brown-noser/teacher’s pet. Her education at the temple focuses on learning swordplay with electric “stun swords”, and meditating on the spiritual values of The Way. Immediately upon hearing this, I am called back to late 2017 and the proliferation of a controversial meme.
It is also around this time that two things become clear. A lot of this world building and plot set up sounds eerily similar to another very-well known epic that is also set “…a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.” Futuristic swords, a vague religion based on the repression of emotions, telekinetic and psychic powers, and a diverse array of multiple races cohabitating on the same planet? All of these thematic elements check off multiple boxes for similarities to Star Wars. The second revelation should have been obvious, but I was not using my critical reading skills at the time. In the title, it references the planet this takes place on: Futan… Zorah is a futanari. For those uninitiated to the world of Rule 34, she is anatomically identical to a woman except she has a cock and balls instead of a vagina. This is the reality of 50% of Futan’s natives, the others, like Mally, are basically identical to human females. Perhaps some of you were more perceptive than I, but when it hit me it was literally a forehead slap moment.
Zorah’s inability to control her lusts for Mally, coupled with her quick temper and insubordination eventually lead to her fall from grace, and her expulsion from the temple. This cliffhanger ending sets the stage beautifully for a sequel to this initial book. Fortunately for all of us, Garrus has confirmed that he intends to continue on, and is currently working on multiple additions to this initial work. Hopefully, the next chapter in Zorah’s story isn’t too far over the distant Futanese horizon.
That being said, an in-depth critique of this piece doesn’t feel appropriate. There is still so much left of this tale still to be told, and there’s definitely enough here to leave readers craving for more. Tigress immerses the reader within this world, and builds enough backstory to make the reader feel invested in the plot. I find myself personally wondering how the overall story arc will go. How far will Zorah fall? Will she ever redeem herself? She clearly has miles of development potential, but not every character recovers. What roles will other characters have going forward? Could Mally, Kwazix, or Zorah’s master Hokei become her archrival? Going forward, Garrus has laid the groundwork for a possibly masterful series. How it compares to, or diverges from, the overall plot structure of George Lucas’ work will be nothing short of exciting. Remember: Romeo and Juliet has the same basic plot structure as West Side Story but both are considered classics. Perhaps Zorah’s tale will become as infamous as Anakin Skywalker’s acting, for now we can only wait and see.
Special thanks to April Garrus for providing a copy of Tigress of Futan to TehBen.com for review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.
Author’s Twitter: @AG_Hot_Flashes
Purchase Link: Amazon
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