Audition for the Fox
Written by Martin Cahill

Published by Tachyon Publications

Read on Kindle Fire via the Hoopla app

The Skinny – A timely novella about revolution, trickery, and the nature of kindness

Nesi has a problem. For complex hereditary reasons, she must earn the patronage of one of the 99 Pilars, a pantheon of gods. But after 96 failed auditions, she’s running out of options. She takes a chance and offers a prayer to T’sidaan, the Fox of Trickery. But when she finds herself the prisoner of an invasion force hundreds of years in the past, it will take everything she has just to survive and make sure history goes the way it should, much less pass the audition.

A mix of A Game of Thrones-style fantasy politics and Just So Stories fables, Author Martin Cahill intersperses chapters of Nesi’s story as she works to liberate a lumber camp turned fortress with legends of T’sidaan’s exploits as told by various storytellers, clerics, and acolytes. The world building in these contrasting sections is impeccable, bringing their world to life without bogging down the stories, and Cahill’s narration is voicy and evocative. The structure is constantly referencing and reinforcing itself, slowly revealing not only Nest’s story and character, but T’sidaan’s as well. It’s a clever trick in its own right, and the author pulls it off with style.
Audition for the Fox is a timely novella with flawed but endearing characters. It stresses not only the need for resistance, but for compassion within resistance networks. It focuses on empathy as a revolutionary act and stresses that fighting back against fascism is not just about aggression and resistance to your enemy, but built on solidarity and kindness to each other. I found the theme to be especially relevant as we move through early 2026.

Audition for the Fox is available at your local bookshop, wherever you buy books, or your local library. I rented a digital copy from my library using the Hoopla app. I highly recommend taking a look, with love in your heart and trickery on your mind.