From ancient times, there hace been stories about centaurs. The ancient Greeks and other people had these mysterious creatures in their pantheon of myth and fantasy.

Through the ages, the mystique of the centaur remained. Dante, when writing his Inferno included centaurs in this classic work, but it wasn't until the 1950s and 60s that the centaur returned to popularity in literature. As science fiction became popular, centaurs, with their alien yet familiar appearance, were featured in a number of works. Familiar in they had human and equine aspects, and the form was familar to the reader, yet alien in the combination of these aspects into one being. Science fiction, with its settings of advanced science, space flight, and creatures from other worlds, was a perfect setting for centaur characters.

Of course, even in the advanced world of the future shown in science fiction, centaurs, like other people and creatures, were depicted on both sides of the law. Some were good, others bad. Some hailing from other worlds, others humans transformed into centaurs.

Still, centaurs in books and stories of any kind are fun to read. Seeing how writers view the form, and especially how it effects those who have gone from human to centaur, sheds more light on the experience of being a centaur.

Below are some books that not only feature centaurs, but depict them in their cover illustrations. Click on the thumbnails for a larger image. Thanks to Idaho Bob's Centaurs in Literature page from his site The Idaho Bob Zone, which gave me a heads up on the books here I haven't read .