Thank you, F.E. Fraser for the ARC!

Okay, this one was different. I enjoyed it, but I just have to say it's very different from anything else I've read this year. It really made me think.

I think one of my favorite things about Sheep: Classified is just how calm it is. If you're used to reading thrillers and fast-paced books (I've read a good handful), this will feel a lot different. It's very low-stakes and probably kind of niche, but I found that it's also extremely wholesome. The Sheep was such a wonderful character, and I loved the fact that the other protagonist's name is Dr. Shepherd. It took me longer than it should have to see what the author did there. The book doesn't even have any bad words in it, save for one questionable one that the author censored.

I could see this being a solid comfort read for the right person.

If you’ve ever wondered what wisdom might be hidden in the mind of an ungulate, or what it might be like to take one to a carnival, Sheep: Classified is For Your Eyes Only.

The story takes the reader on a wild, chronologically fractured ride through history for a vignette-view of times of great upheaval. The narrator is guided through these sometimes-disturbing, often hilarious voyages by a particularly empathetic companion whose observant nature and gentle disposition yield great insights. This companion just happens to be a verbally expressive sheep.

Perfectly balanced with wisdom, humor and heart, this adventure is fast-paced enough to keep the reader turning pages, while also introducing an innovative narrative device suggesting that the chapters might not need to be read in order.

For readers who appreciated the dry humor of Sean Adams' The Thing in the Snow or The Threat by Nathaniel Stein; to those who treasured the edifying insight of Ferdia Lennon's Glorious Exploits and Steven Peck's Short Stay in Hell, pick up this book as soon as possible. Also a great book for people who aren’t big readers yet, this book is a work of beautiful simplicity. If you know someone who could use a good read, hand them this literary Origami:

“The world contains people I care about. And the people I care about contain people they care about. And somewhere in that chain, in that accumulation of people caring about people, extending outward in every direction from wherever you are standing right now, there is someone who will read this and recognise something.”

Familiarize yourself with this highly classified material. Everyone will take something different from it, but no redactions, coverups or conspiracies will erode our faith in the Sheep:

"Then he said: "Do you expect people to believe you?"
"I expect them not to," I said. "Belief is the wrong in-
strument. The ones worth reaching will verify. That is
enough."

With transcendental gratitude to FE Fraser Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.