The whole idea of "Hayven Celestia" is a scifi space opera where all the aliens are different kinds of anthropomorphic animals. I have somewhat dreamed of such a universe myself. In my early days of writing, I did create a few of these. I remember a rather strange unpublished story I did called "Six," which was about a skunk named Remmy who ran an advanced space station which also acted as its own city state. It was not quite like what Rick Griffin did, however.
In "Hayven Celestia," all the alien races are based on an animal that we already know. The geroo are like kangaroos, the mysa are mice, the krakun are dragons, and the lio are lions. They all came from their own home worlds, making them culturally distinct from all the other species. This is different from most furry content which places them all on planet Earth where they are more like different races of human. Think Star Trek, but all aliens are furry and there are no humans at all.
Another overwhelming aspect of "Hayven Celestia" is slavery. Just about everyone in this universe has been killed or enslaved by the absolutely giant race called the krakun. Most of these stories do not even deal with rebellion. They are stories about characters that are already enslaved and merely dealing with life in that situation. The geroo are especially notable since they tend to be more kind-hearted and soft, focusing more on each other and staying alive rather than dealing with a rebellion that would just kill themselves and their family.
The lio, however, seemed born to rebel, and although much smaller than the krakun, they still put up a tough fight against them whenever they can. As I said in an earlier review, they remind me a little of the Klingons from Star Trek.
The krakun themselves, as a culture, seek to enslave and rule over all the other species in the galaxy. But I loved how the writers of this collection often showed that they were not always a very happy people. And in some cases, they were just were having their own interpersonal problems that we all could relate to. And to be fair, I can imagine being so big would make it hard to take tiny people seriously, but it still doesn't make them look great.
As to the collection itself, I was stunned at how so many writers could come together and make a collection that seriously does not feel like it was written by multiple people. I barely noticed. Rick Griffin must have some sort of ruleset for how a "Hayven Celestia" story must be written. Either that, or it was very carefully edited to some sort of form factor. Either way, I never felt like I was reading stories from different people. It all felt like one wonderful "Hayven Celestia."
The book also had a few illustrations. They were very good pictures when I got to them, but they were few and far between. They made me want so much more than I got.
I am sad that this wonderful universe will likely never see any other format than literature. I really got into it and even sort of imagined myself living there... even if I would probably end up a slave. Heck, I'd probably end up a mysa and be the smallest intelligent creature in the universe, but I'd still enjoy it.
"Tales of Hayven Celestia" is a very long read. It took me many months to get through all the stories, but I loved them all. I recommend this collection to science fiction enthusiasts whether or not they are into furry stuff. It was a solid read, and I do intend to read more from that universe. There are other collections out there, which makes me very happy.
This blog was written on January 28, 2026.
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