IdahoBobs' 'Taur Ratings!

Centaur's in Literature

Below is a list of the books, and short stories with major / minor centaur characters that I've read. These are rated with a 'Taur index. Four Taurs is the best, and No Taurs is the worst.

If any one knows of any other stories, and where to get them, please let me know.

*Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur* = Five 'Taur Rating: Near total Centaur content. The Story is about Centaurs.

*Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur* - = Four 'Taur Rating: Lots of Centaurs or at least on main character is a Centaur.

*Taur**Taur**Taur*- - = Three 'Taur Rating: Some Centaur content or interaction with Centaurs.

*Taur**Taur* - - = Two 'Taur Rating: Very little Centaur content. Centaur as a breaf minor charater.

*Taur* = One 'Taur Rating: Pratically no Centaur content.

---- = No 'Taur Rating : No Centaur content -- So will not be listed here!

Alpha Centauri
by Robert Siegel

*Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur* -
The story of a young girl who travels magically thought the woods to the land of centaurs and other mythological creatures..

Visual Guide to Xanth *Taur**Taur**Taur* - -
A book of Artwork and info of "Xanth," the magical relm created by Piers Anthony

Day of the Minotaur
By A. Swann *Taur**Taur**Taur*- -
Swann has done several books with a Greek Mythology flavor, and this is one of them. If you like stories with Fauns, Nymphs, Minortaurs, Centaurs and the like, pick up Nearly anything by hin.

Dark Prince
by David Gemmell *Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur* -
The story of Charmain growing up and becoming king of Greece. He is tutored by Cheron, who in this story, is a human who melds with a horse, becoming a centaur, and has joined the centaur race. Charlimain deals with his darker nature that trys to distroy him.
The Centaurs in this story are murged beings, who are centaur's by day, and seperate into human and horse at night. Cheron, does a Jeckle and Hide when murges with his horse.

Eyas
by Crawford Killian *Taur* - - - -
It been some time since I read this. Not sure if this one shoug get one 'Taur or two 'Taur rating.
If I remember right, this is about far future where humans are about extinct. The Centaur is on the cover and in a page or two.

Knight Moves
by Walter Jon Williams *Taur**Taur**Taur* - -
"A Story of the Future where every went right."
Almost rated this as one 'taur. The centaurs are only in the last part of chatper one, but this is still my favoratte treatment of centaurs I've read.

Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy #6
(Centaur Fielder for the NY Yankees).
by Edward D. Hoch *Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur*, (This short story only, no other 'taurs in the rest of the book)
A cute short story of a Centaur who is recuted to play for the Yankees.

Satellite 54-Zero
by Douglas R. Mason *Taur* - - - -
A 50's style pulp SF book of a superspy, and an evil industralist. The Centaur is only found on the part of one page near the end ot the story, and on the front cover.

A Centaur in the Garden
by Maocyr Scliar *Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur*, *Adult Themes* A MUST READ for any Centaurphile.
A very ood, but hard to find book, about a boy who was somehow born a centaur t\in the back country of Brazil.
*WARNING* If you like centaurs, and really get into charaters when you read, the ending can be very depressing.

The Centaur
by John Updike *Taur**Taur**Taur*, *Adult Themes*
The story of a teacher, reaching a mid life crisis. The first chapter fades in and out of realty, with the teacher becomeing the centaur Cheron, interacting with other greek mythological charaters. After that only the start of one chapter and the ending has any centaurs in it.

The Magic and the Healing
Under the Healing Sign

The Healing of Cross Roads

by Nick O'Donohoe

*Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur*,
These three books are about "The Crossroads," a place that exsits between realities and other worlds. It's a valley where many different races meet, but have one thing in common - sometimes everyone is in need of a doctor.
The stories about a vet student, who must live there for health reasons, and has to deal with Gryphons, Werewolfs, Unicorns, Trolls, Centaurs, and more. Told in a very realistic manor (almost no "magic" is involved) they are all a good read, and the intire storyline is captivating.

Nick is a nice guy and a member of TaurList, so pick up one of these and give them a read!

Titan Trilogy:
Titan

Wizard

Demon

by John Varley

*Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur*, *VERY Adult Themes* A 'Taur MUST READ Series!
Not to spoil it for anyone, the first book starts out as Hard Science, then goes Eager Rice Burroughs-ish, then ends in the Twilight Zone, or maybe more of a 2001ish ending. This takes place in Geae, a HUGE wheel shaped space station that is more like a sixed hubed world. What's more, the whole place seem to be alive!
The "Titanides" are a centaurish race who live there that seem smarter, faster, and better ballenced mentally than humans, but have some other quarks that make up for it. For example, they never sleep and talk in a lauguage that can't be learned. The stangest thing is that they have three sets of sexual organs, a mare's, a stallions, and one human like one between their forelegs which determains weather they are "female" or "male" - although both can father and barechildern!

One of my all time favorate authers, who can write totally realsitic and beleaveable stories about totally unreal and unbeleaveable things.He also has a GREAT sence of humor and the first two pages in Demon about the start of World War 5 had me laughing in tears! (And no, I'm not some sick person who loves war or something.)

World Enough and Time
Time Enough for Love

Time's Dark Laughter

by James Kahn

*Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur*,
(Can't find my copy, doing this from memory) In the first book, Beauty the Centaur, is after the kidnappers of his human wife. He is helped in his quest by his human friend.
The rest of series deals with things brought up in the first book.

Well World Saga
(8 books, so far)
Midnight at the well of Souls

by Jack L. Chalker

*Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur*, THE 'Taur MUST READ Series!
"Who is Nathan Brazil and what is he doing on the Well World" starts the back cover on the first book of Chalker's most famous series.
Stories of transformations, and exotic places fill this series, with an on-going mysteries on who exactly is Nathan Brazil the oldest man alive, the nature of the universe, and what exactly does it mean to be human when you are changed to something else?

If I remember right, there are Centaurs in every book, with the most in the first, forth and fifth book. There are many transformations of people into other races, and several are 'taurs. On the Well World they call themselfs the "Dilla" and off the Well World, the are refered to as the "Roan."

The first five books are the best of the series, with the first one the best. Midnight at the Well of Souls was written to stand alone, and has the most complete story line of all the stories. If you were to only read one of these books, Midnight would be the one I would recommend.

The first five books were originally three but the publisher didn't like the size of the second two books and split them up into four. So they should be read as pairs, (ie: 1, then 2 and 3, then 4 and 5)

Mus of Kerbridge
by Paul Kidd *Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur**Taur*,
Don't let the title or cover fool you, this book isn't mainly about a mouse, but of a medieval Centaur Princess! LOT of 'taurs in this one (A couple of nations of taurs, in fact.) The story is only told though a mouse's point of view.
The Centaur's are the Acracy of this world, with other furry races taking other roles in socitity.

An interesting read, I hope to see more from this author.

World of Tiers series
A Private Cosmos

by Philip Jose Farmer

*Taur**Taur* - - -,
A Private Cosmos has American Indians, who were changed into Centaurs. They play a minor role in the story but there's a whole chapter of warfare with them, as well as them popping up every once in a while.

Other's, not rated yet....


Fantasia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . Disney


Rembrandt's Hat (The Talking Horse) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bernard Malamud

The Centaur Papers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dragon Magazine #103 #105

The Centaur Garden. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Rosenblum


Three Centaur Tales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fantasy Book Magazine (1985)


Wild Card Anthology


World of Tiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Philip Jose Farmer


Xanth Series (20 books) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Piers Anthony