Novella Review: River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey:
River of Teeth is a novella by Sarah Gailey with what seems like a fun premise - it's an alternate history where the US has actually followed through on a plan to import Hippos for transport in the marshlands of the Mississippi River. In this world, Hippos in the area are used like horses, and wild "feral" hippos in the water can be immensely dangerous.
The story follows former hippo rancher and current hippo wrangler Winslow Houndstooth as he gathers a gang of fellow Hippo-riders, including a non-binary planner named Hero, the Con Woman Archie, assassin Amelia, and sharpshooter Cal, in order to enact a crazy plan to drive the rabid feral hippos out of the Mississippi and out of the US. Oh and he's also seeking revenge on the ones who destroyed his ranch. And in the meantime, Houndstooth may also be falling in love with Hero, which could complicate things.
As you could guess from the names I just listed above, this novella is the very opposite of subtle. Maybe a Hippo Western would be hard to write as subtle, but the characters in this Novella are so exaggerated it gets really really silly. The story is fun, but it's hard to not break into laughing at points even where you're really not supposed to. Worth a read, though not a must read.
No comments:
Post a Comment