Lost Inside the Blue Line

CW: Homophobia, false CP allegations, emotional abuse and manipulation

When I first found out that the author of one of my favorite furry works (Whip and Boot) had come out with a new book, and more importantly, that the premise revolved around a reality show, I knew that I had an instant buy right in front of me. Unfortunately, if this book had been the edited cut we got to see, it'd be quite the boring season.

Lost Inside the Blue Line is about Avery Fisher, a red-tailed hawk who gets the opportunity of a lifetime by getting selected to take part in Scavenger Hunters (and in-universe counterpart of the reality show Survivor). The theme for this season being artists vs. traders, and to Avery's surprise, Kyle Zimmerman, the anole he roomed with during his college days and a huge influence on his life, is also participating, though, unsurprisingly, in a different team.

This in a vacuum is such an excellent premise, but unfortunately, the seams quickly fall apart on its execution.

For those unaware of how Survivor works (and by extension, Scavenger Hunters), this is the gist of it. Survivor is a competition reality show where two teams are “stranded” in a deserted location where they'll need to find ways to survive. Every so often, a challenge happens and the winning team gets a prize, which could either be something to help in their day to day situation (for example, better supplies or tools) or just for comfort (for example, a massage or quality food prepared by a personal chef). These challenges are almost always physical in nature, however, this isn't just a contest to see who's the fittest as there's a social component as well. The losing team is required to go through a ceremony where each of the team members are required to vote on which one of them will be required to leave the competition. So, while we have the question of the challenges themselves as to who wins and who loses, we also have the intrigue regarding who allies with whom, backroom deals, and any future potential backstabbings since, at the end of the day, there can only be one winner.

This is what makes Survivor so successful, and if you're wondering why I went on to explain, it's to highlight just how underutilized the setting is throughout the book.

There is no wonder when it comes to the challenges, Avery and his team always win unless they're deliberately trying to lose, and the few times . There's no intrigue when it comes to the alliances, all of Avery's teammates immediately form an alliance with him and proceed to vote 9/10 in a way that benefits him. Since everyone's pretty much in the same alliance and they're always winning, no one's going behind the other's backs to curry favor, and there's no risk of any of our characters getting eliminated until way further into the book.

We also don't get to see anything interesting done with the framing. Narration is not structured in a way befitting a show (like, for example, in the case of Surf's Up, where it's presented as a faux documentary, or Total Drama Island). No “behind the scenes” stuff taking into account the story's set mid-filming. Barely any interactions with the production side of the show, like dealing with the camera or producers, or the hosts knowing what's happening “behind closed doors”, the only such interaction we ever get to see is people going to the confessionals when the plot demands them not being in a scene for the rest of the cast to talk. We don't even get an extended conversation or a producer jumping in when DeQuan gets eliminated, even though he and Avery were caught spooning a few nights ago. Hell, the book's so divorced from its setting that there's even a point where Avery exclaims that he feels like he's being watched. My dude, you're in a reality show, that's the whole point!

To be fair, the book improves around the midway point when both tribes finally merge together, but more importantly, when we get our second PoV character. Mai, a psychologist Shiba Inu and member of Avery's alliance (of course) who ends up carrying the book hard by filling the protagonist role that Avery just didn't. She analyzes the situation and the competition, she employs strategies (as opposed to Avery's laissez-faire attitude), and most important of all, she's the one who actively and single-handedly resolves each and every single one of Avery's problems during the game. So, without the struggle of surviving, the difficulty of the challenges, or the intrigues of the social game, what's left?

It leaves us with the story the author actually wanted to tell.

Along with the orphaned reality show plot, we also occasionally see glimpses of the real one: Avery's homosexuality, his relationship with Kyle, and the mystery of what happened during their college years. This is a softer story, from Avery's home life with an homophobic family, to his forming dependency with Kyle, to the latter's defamation and isolation of Avery due to jealousy. It's a well done if fairly predictable plot, but one that gets hindered by the constant mentions of “if only they knew what I've done”. All of this done to amplify the twist at the end which, in Avery's case, pretty much amounts to a nothing burger. An odd decision to make since Kyle's twist, which is way juicier, ends up coming from out of nowhere in comparison.

To be honest, if this was actually what the author wanted to make, it could have easily been done without the whole reality show gimmick and have it just be, say, an urban story between Avery's and Kyle's circles of friends, and you could have most of the interactions and twist remain unaffected (maybe have people switch sides as needed as part of Kyle's machinations.)

All in all, I'd say it's a case of “I'm not angry, just disappointed.” If you're here for the reality part, don't bother as you won't find it. And if you're here for the character growth and interpersonal drama, I feel that you can find it better in other books, some even by the same author.

As one character said, “this game is full of cutthroat personalities, betrayals, and backstabbings,” and I wished we had gotten to see any of it before the ending.