Traitors, Thieves and Liars

The Final Days of the White Flower II, Book 1

By: Rick Griffin

Narrated by: Piers Ryman

Centuries ago, we lost our world. Planetary Acquisitions keeps us alive solely to maintain their vast fleet of gate ships in an endless quest to find them new worlds to settle - or to conquer. Years flutter by like a tree shedding its spring petals, and so we desperately cling to this chunk of dirt-and-machine we call home.

And all those centuries since, we've been looking for a way out, risky as it might be. Are we fools?

Traitors, Thieves and Liars is the first book in a trilogy retelling the events of Ten Thousand Miles Up in a grand epic. The geroo have been trapped in slavery for centuries, searching for useful planets for their krakun masters. And then, one day, pirates contact Captain Ateri with an opportunity that may prove too good to be true.

Includes the short story "Whatever Happened to Commissioner Sarsuk?" which details the downfall of the former commissioner of the fleet.

©2019 Rick Griffin (P)2024 Rick Griffin

Furry Cyber Noir

Disclosure: Reviewer received this title for free

Traitors, Thieves and Liars sets a complex and richly imagined galaxy-spanning scene. Going in, I wasn't quite prepared for the dark tone or the amount of erotic content, but far from effacing the rich narrative and worldbuilding, they strengthened it. The main narrative ends on a sort of cliffhanger, but there's enough content to feel satisfying. One more thing that I wasn't prepared for that didn't turn into a positive was the accent. I feel a little petty giving performance 4-stars on this basis; Ryman does very sophisticated voices and does a solid job acting but not overacting them. Still, his strong accent was on display for all of them, and I wasn't a fan of that.

Excellent story

This reader was provided a copy
free of charge has has left this review voluntarily.

The story is engaging and I look forward to the next installment of this series.

This book far surpassed my expectations

I write this review after finishing both this book and it's sequel

At the time I ordered this book I was just looking for something to listen to while I worked on other things. I knew about how Rick Griffin had written some books so I figured I would check one out on Audible while I was at it.
Previously my only experience with Rick Griffin's literature were his Housepets webcomic as well as A&H Club. Housepets was a fun read but didn't exactly have any impressive worldbuilding or plot while A&H Club still has too few volumes for me to really judge how well it's plot was playing out. So imagine my surprise when the story I listened to gripped my attention so heavily i had to stop what I was doing just to be sure I didn't miss a detail.
With the species of this book heavily resembling real world animals one would think the worldbuilding would be lazy but in this book I find it used as a strength instead. It allowed me to better imagine the anatomy of the characters and more easily immerse myself into the story while still allowing for a very non-human cast with different capabilities and mannerisms. Furthermore the detail that most of these species don't breathe the same atmosphere as eachother is a detail I don't often see in other sci-fi novels that I've read and adds a slight bit more believability to the interactions between different forms of intelligent life.
And all of that doesn't even touch on the storytelling itself. I found myself gripped by the narrative and empathising with the various characters. All of this is further compounded by the fantastic voice and narration of Piers Ryman who I absolutely must hear more from.
In conclusion I must wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in anthropomorphic literature, though the sexual references make me slightly more hesitant to recommend it to a more mainstream sci-fi fan I'm sure I'll still find someone else I can recommend it to who will love it as much as I do. Thank you Rick Griffin for a wonderful story so far.

What have I got myself into!

While wondering about the next read/listen I might have amidst all the fantasy books I've been munching down with two hands for the past few months, I was craving for some lighter content.

Wishlist flashed some of Rick Griffins work I had added previously there, and hesitated a bit at space/scifi-fantasy setup. Luckily only for a brief moment, as after getting the book nevertheless and listening it through, I can wholeheartedly say DEFINITELY WORTH IT!

Not too heavy on the scifi side, you can easily follow what's happening without the fear of "technical-jargon." Characters have great distinctive personalities, though more building is probably due in future books, for now much is left for imagination. Only downside I'd consider are the character names, as they're not too distinctive from each other's, besides Gurt (or Curt?) so without nay context on their spelling, just listening to the book might cause a bit confusion. Good thing I could check the character names as the book progressed on E621 :D

Story and world building are amazing! Can't wait to continue on the second book, and other takes on the Hayven Celestia universe.

Overall a great listen, even for those a bit hesitant on space-fantasy 👍🏻

Great story and well told

** This reader was provided a copy free of charge and has left this review voluntarily **

I do not often listen to Audio books but I really enjoyed listening to this, and I may have to start listening to more if they are all of this quality.

Piers Ryman is a wonderful reader and really makes the characters come to life. Each one has a distinct voice which really makes it easy to follow the flow of conversation and the story overall.

The Author does a great job world building within this first book and I am eager to start the next book. I am a big Rick Griffin fan and have already purchased the next book in the series and will be eagerly waiting for the final book to be released in the future.

As for the story itself, if you enjoy furries, and space and technology this is a great pick up. I enjoyed it a lot and couldn't put it down, finishing it within 4 days. I'd finish it faster but Work and other social commitments got in the way. I will be recommending this to my friends.

Good story, great characters

The story was a study in Murphy's Law, as a small cabal of officers on the ship, The White Flower II, face seemingly endless setbacks following what should have been a routine mission.

Rick Griffin's storytelling style lends itself more towards characters than narrative, and I sometimes found myself wishing for a break from the story in order to get to know the actors more intimately.

Fantastic ride into a colorful world

Rick Griffin creates a lush world of endearing characters captivating you from the start.

My thoughts on TTL

This user was provided a copy free of charge and has left this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this story. The voice performance was good, and I appreciate the use of different accents to help distinguish between some of the characters. I like that the characters feel relatable, flawed, and as human as furry aliens can be. They’re ordinary people in a cold galaxy holding on to hope, and a chance to realize that hope. I cried, I laughed, I sympathized with, I worried for, and I cared about these characters. I loved the personal growth our sheltered protagonist had because of the pains he had to go through to achieve it because it felt genuine and relatable. Life can hurt you, mistakes can hurt you and others, but if you learn from it and do your best to grow as a person even the worst pain can bring something good. This is a wonderful setting, and each story in it has drawn me further into it. Highly recommended, and I can’t wait to start the captains oath.

I can hardly wait to start the next book

I received a promotional copy and the following thoughts are entirely my own.

Following Gurt throughout the story and how his interactions with Inarie, Moana and the rest of the crew of the WhiteFlowerII and the BlackSword kept me invested throughout.

I am looking forward to see how their story progresses.

Picked it up and Cou dot put it down

Like ever book I’m this universe the story just sucks you in needing to know what happens next and where it’s all going