TOP DOG

by Jerry Jay Carroll

Ace, ISBN 0-441-00368-0, 1996, 330pp, US$12

A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper

Copyright 1997 Evelyn C. Leeper

William Bogart Ingersol awoke one morning to discover he had been turned into a giant dog.

Well, maybe not giant, but definitely a dog. This is where the resemblance to Franz Kafka's METAMORPHOSIS ends, unless one considers Ingersol's attempts to deal with his new body as paralleling Gregor Samsoe's efforts. In fact, the rest of the story is a more traditional fantasy, with wizards and magic and such. But the conceit of having the main character a corporate magnate transformed into a canine and transported into a magic world gives this a new level that other such stories often lack. I am not generally a high fantasy fan, but this (in my opinion) walks the line between high fantasy and ... well, it's not low fantasy, but whatever other sort of fantasy one finds. (Urban fantasy, just a bit?) If you're looking for a fantasy that stands out for its originality, I would recommend TOP DOG.

%T      Top Dog
%A      Jerry Jay Carroll
%C      New York
%D      September 1996
%I      Ace
%O      trade paperback, US$12
%G      ISBN 0-441-00368-0
%P      330pp

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