Synopsis "A Boy's Tail"
Set on the planet Equus, where the dominant species has evolved from horses instead of primates, the civilization is much like Earth, except that there is but one theocratic government. Being descended from horses, yet similar to humans in body construction, the inhabitants have the head, hands, and feet similar to horses, but only the adult males have a tail, which, like human facial hair, grows in at the onset of puberty. All tails are white, except for those who are attracted by their own sex. Their tail grows in brown. Tyler is your typical teen, but a late bloomer. When his tail starts to come in, his world is turned upside down. Through the trials that are familiar to many gay teens on Earth, he experiences just what damage religious prejudice can do, because of the mistaken notion that being same-sex oriented is a choice. Just as Tyler becomes smitten with Joey, religion clashes with science and the whole of society is rocked to the core by unspeakable violence. Will civilization survive? Self-identified Christians, by drawing parallels, should reconsider their religion-based homophobia, when true Bible scholars know that Christ said nothing of the kind. 4.13.22 On the planet Equus, the dominant species has evolved from horse people; the inhabitants have the head, hands, and feet similar to horses, but only the adult males have a tail, which, like human facial hair, grows in at the onset of puberty. Most tails are white, but those who are attracted to horse people of their own gender grow brown tails instead. Those horse people run into problems with the planet's theocracy-in particular, the Morality Police. Tyler Palomino is just an average teenage horse, though he's a late bloomer-still tailless at fifteen. And when his tail finally starts coming in, his world is turned upside down. Just as Tyler becomes smitten with a classmate, Joey Quarterhorse, religion clashes with science, and the whole of society is rocked to the core by unspeakable violence. Will civilization survive? In this novel, set on a world populated by horse people, a teenager just starting to understand his sexuality must deal with society's intolerance and hatred. Through the trials that will be familiar to many gay teens on Earth, Tyler experiences just what damage religious prejudice can do due to the mistaken notion that being same-sex oriented is a choice.
