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River of Teeth

(River of Teeth #1)

Sarah Gailey (Goodreads Author)

3.52 · Rating details · 6,143 ratings · 1,583 reviews

In the early 20th Century, the United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This is true.

Other true things about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two.

This was a terrible plan.

Contained within this volume is an 1890s ...more

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ebook, 114 pages

Published May 23rd 2017 by Tom Doherty Associates

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Aug 13, 2017 Rick Riordan rated it really liked it

I was sold on this novella as soon as I read the premise. Based on an actual idea that was never executed by U.S. government, this book postulates a Wild West-era America in which hippos were introduced to the Mississippi River to be raised as a source of food. Unfortunately, some of these hippos have now gone feral, which means, Houston, we have a hippo problem. The government hires a crack team of hippo wranglers (who also have varied talents as demolition experts, assassins, con women and ...more

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Jan 14, 2017 Richard rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: wild-west, adventure, scifi-fantasy, cool-concept

If you catch my thoughts here on Goodreads you might realize that I almost never give anything one star. I try to always find the good in something and if I manage to at least finish the book, the author accomplished something. But I got halfway through this novella and couldn't finish anymore. I got tired of rolling my eyes. There is no book this year that has a cooler sounding concept than this one: a bayou western set during an alternate history where the gulf is filled with feral, man-eating ...more

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May 23, 2017 James Lafayette Tivendale rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, netgalley, freecopy

I received an advanced copy of River of Teeth via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Sarah Gailey and Tor.

River of Teeth is an alternative history/fantasy Western adventure where the cowboys and mercenaries ride hippos instead of horses. Winslow Houndstooth is the main protagonist and he has been assigned a mission by government officials which involves brutal feral man-eating hippos and a shady gangster who runs a canal based gambling empire. For this mission, I received an advanced copy of River of Teeth via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Sarah Gailey and Tor.

River of Teeth is an alternative history/fantasy Western adventure where the cowboys and mercenaries ride hippos instead of horses. Winslow Houndstooth is the main protagonist and he has been assigned a mission by government officials which involves brutal feral man-eating hippos and a shady gangster who runs a canal based gambling empire. For this mission, Houndstooth is able to assemble his own entourage which includes a chubby con-woman, an ex-best friend sharpshooter, and a deadly assassin.

This is quite a short tale that took me just over two hours to read. It is a highly ambitious premise and is one that, before picking up this book, I could never have envisaged in my craziest dreams so I have to compliment Gailey's amazing imagination. This alternative America is similar to what could have become a reality as is admirably explained by Gailey in the novella's forward. I won't try to explain as I would dumb the historical influence down compared to how the author presents it but it engaged me from the start.

Houndstooth's gang are an interesting enough bunch but unfortunately, due to the length of the narrative, they don't really evolve past the brief descriptions I mentioned in the second paragraph. River of Teeth includes a same-sex relationship (Edit-or does it?) Some moments between the couple are sweet and romantic but the relationship itself seemed unlikely to me from the characters initial interactions to where it ultimately leads in a short space of time. Unfortunately, the love depicted seems almost rushed.

This story is definitely an adult read. There are numerous grim and gruesome scenes from the very beginning, some of which incorporate those deadly feral hippos. There was one moment I found truly grim and upsetting. This alongside other harsh scenes infuses the story with a sense of dread. As well as these murderous beasts, Houndstooth's crew each have their own trained hippo and one of my favourite aspects of this story is the gangs' relationship with their 'steeds', who are even given cute names such as Ruby and Abigail. Furthermore, when our crew go off to complete certain sections of their missions they leave the hippos to play and hang out. Cute. One aspect of the story that confused me was the issue that one of the characters is referred to by everyone as if he is more than one person. 'They tried not to blink.' 'Their name.' I originally thought that he was perhaps schizophrenic but would friends refer to someone who has schizophrenia as 'them' instead of 'him'? The reason for this is not explained which is a shame as it could have made a cool revelation. I may have missed something yet I am usually quite attentive. (Edit - my friend on Goodreads advised this may be a gender-neutral character which is an interesting device and quite common in certain fiction apparently. If this is the case, which after analysing is probable then 1) this is the first book I have read with such a character and 2) what does it say about me that I read this individual as a man that was then involved in a gay relationship when nothing sex descriptive was discussed. Re-evaluating, this is a really interesting concept and I wish it had been more transparant during my initial read instead of leading me to a small degree of confusion.)

To conclude, I think some of the characters relationships could have been fleshed out a bit more. The finale of the book was brilliant and exhilarating. The book concludes nicely although it poses a few questions regarding what occurs next. This is an enjoyable and exciting hippo-fuelled fantasy western and I will be picking up Taste of Marrow when it is released in September. Not perfect but definitely worth a read.

James ...more

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Feb 07, 2018 carol. rated it it was ok

Shelves: time-period-fantasy, my-library-kindle, novella, meh

I think we've all had our mental images of hippos cutified by Fiona the Hippo, right?

description

Totally undoctored cuteness

Though River of Teeth predates that pudge of adorableness, focusing more on their ferocity than their cuteness. Alas; it takes more than a great Big Idea to make a story.

https://youtu.be/Su7GkqwxG08 (hippo chasing a boat)

Hippos have been brought to the southern U.S., essentially replacing horses as transportation in the uncertain and watery in the 19th century Louisiana landscape. A fatter, more sedentary breed of hippos has replaced cattle as a meat source. There's also a secondary Big Idea, a broad range of gender and sexuality. Beyond the Big Ideas, there isn't anything new, with a plot that is a straight-up 'putting a gang together' for one big job.

Sadly, it should have gone through a bit more work to give the reader something besides HIPPOS. Novellas should be tight little stories, and there's a lot thrown in here that doesn't make sense. Though Gailey endeavors to be part of the 'show don't tell' school of alt-history world-building, she chooses the wrong bits of information to show. We witness overweight but adorable Regina (nickname 'Archie') picking pockets and running a con, but it doesn't explain why she would be needed for the hippo job. She then spontaneously brings along a new apprentice. When we meet the retired explosives expert Hero, they are always referred to in plural, and there's no explanation why--it's never truly clear if they are a multiple personality or a gender-neutral character whose description is limited by the English language. There's also a very pregnant but badass Latina assassin, and an incompetent card shark and shooter with Major Issues with a couple other characters. Really, when I think back, I can tell you their sexual preferences (or lack thereof) and their Heist Role. I'm not entirely sure why, as it's only germane in two of them.

Obviously, in the midst of this detail, the plot takes second fiddle. The reader--and the team--are too much in the dark (another traditional Heist device), and don't find out about The Plan until they're in dire straits. In fact, I'm not exactly clear why the government doesn't just step in with sharpshooters (or knife-throwers) and offer a bounty, they way they did with wolves. But I'll just go with that premise, because it's fun. Except the 'twist' then highlighted how nonsensical the situation was.

It wants to be fun (with hippos, names like 'Hero' and a ridiculous 'French' accent, how could it not?) but one gratuitous death and one messy one make it feel distinctly deadly. Then there's the very tired running joke of 'it's-an-operation-not-a-caper' that really needs to be re-done so the reader isn't eye-rolling by the end.

And the hippos. Well, they were engaging, but largely (haha) played a supporting role. They were their favorite mounts, the opposition, and part of the leader's reason for revenge. But it takes more than a Big Idea to make a story, and I mildly regret paying for this one. I certainly won't pay for the next. ...more

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May 25, 2017 Dan Schwent rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017, 2017-books

In a world where the US government DID import hippos into the Louisiana swamp to raise for meat in the 1800s, Winslow Houndstooth gets hired for a caper, no, an operation, to get the Hippos out of The Harriet, a vast marsh overrun with feral hippos. Only one member of his crew is a traitor...

When I read about this on the Facebook, I knew I had to read it. A western with people riding hippos? What's not to like? Anyway, Tor denied me on netgalley but an early birthday present from the esteemed ...more

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Feb 28, 2017 ✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, short-stories-novellas, set-sail-for-disappointment, deadly-land-of-meh, machalo-challenge-2017, 2017

You might want to take a deep breath before reading the following sentence. You're welcome.

Why this book which I read before the summer and consequently remember very little aboutexcept that it was slightly not goodbecause I only have one grey cell leftbloody shrimping tourists be damnedshould have been awesome because man-eating hippos and mercenaries and Louisiana and stuff, but wasn't and therefore kinda sorta disappointed me as you might have grasped from my not-so-wondrous rating:

The ...more

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Jun 24, 2019 Caz (littlebookowl) rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned

Rating: 4.5 stars

WOW was this fun! I'm planning to re-read this before I continue with Taste of Marrow.

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Feb 26, 2018 Lori rated it liked it · review of another edition

Reminds me of Maverick (1994) and Wild Wild West (1999). Just suspend your belief system and have fun. Hippos are waiting. Carnivorous ferals are circling and snapping their teeth like crocodiles in a James Bond movie. 'A good time no alcohol required' by the Jeremy Jahns rating system.

description

A drunken Soviet worker is trying to saddle a hippopotamus, Novokuznetsk, 1982.
(https://www.reddit.com/r/ANormalDayIn...)

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Jul 28, 2019 Melanie rated it really liked it

Shelves: novellas-and-short-stories, historical, lgbtqiap, own-voices, read-in-2019

"I dont like reading cow-people stories" - Melanie, 2019
"hold my beer" - this fucking book, right now.

I loved this. A biracial (Korean/British), queer cowboy who is getting together with a fat con-artist and a nonbinary demolition expert to pull off a heist in an alternative history with feral and ranching hippos? Wow, my new favorite thing in this world.

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Youtube | Twitch

❤ I read this for The Reading Rush, 2019!

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Jun 05, 2017 Bradley rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, 2017-shelf

Reading this because it is a Campbell nom for this year, I'm walking into this as a properly fascinated reader. I mean, it's a western alternative history where hippos are the next big meat and it was ACTUALLY A THING. It might have been a bad idea in the real world, but the concept for a SF novella is pretty spectacular.

So how did it pan out?

Well. I like revenge stories as well as anyone and having these big monsters that crunch people with a single bite always makes for great river fiction, ...more

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Jul 09, 2017 Trish rated it it was ok · review of another edition

*sighs* Don't you just hate it when the description of a book shows a story with SO MUCH potential, but as soon as you read it, you just KNOW that it'll never live up to that promised potential?!

It was like this for me when I heard about this story. An 1890s USA that has introduced hippos into the wild as an alternative meat source - that was even an actual plan of the government (it simply didn't work out in reality). How cool is that?! And look at the pretty awesome cover! In one place, where ...more

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Jan 04, 2018 Richard Derus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindled, quiltbag

Rating: 3.5* of five, rounded up because HIPPOS!!!

Okay, there's this little-known weirdness about the Congress actually considering the importation of hippos for real in the early 20th century...see my four-year-old review of the Kindle Single for my take on that...but it went nowhere, thankfully.

Also thankfully Sarah Gailey got wind of this deliciously loopy piece of fucked-up thinking. This novella is a terrific playful use of reality's undercooked braining. I can't be any more pleased about Rating: 3.5* of five, rounded up because HIPPOS!!!

Okay, there's this little-known weirdness about the Congress actually considering the importation of hippos for real in the early 20th century...see my four-year-old review of the Kindle Single for my take on that...but it went nowhere, thankfully.

Also thankfully Sarah Gailey got wind of this deliciously loopy piece of fucked-up thinking. This novella is a terrific playful use of reality's undercooked braining. I can't be any more pleased about that.

I could be a bit more pleased about the novella. No. WINKING! Not at all, not ever, not even the three times in this book. *ahem*

But the main source of my discontent is the slightness of the characterization of Winslow, our "British"-or-maybe-not hero. He's very intriguing which is the source of my mild disgruntlement. Just as we're getting to know him, *whiz* offstage he goes with Archie the stout and stout-hearted confidence trickster...and just as *she* is getting interesting, what with her tendresse for U.S. Marshal Gran! Who barely registers before his search for the evil Adelia fails and he has to get our non-binary fascinator Hero to medical help...

...am I making myself clear? There is a LOT going on in these pages, all of it fun, much of it necessary, and some of it far too glossed over. More room for Mama's goodness, please. Yes, there's a sequel and I will be reading it soonest, but this is literary coitus interruptus.

I was delighted by the comeuppance delivered to the very appropriate party at the end; I was hugely relieved that the author provided us with a timeline at the end of the book; but really, there's only one thing that I can't explain away or make better with rationalizations: Handwaving away the Civil War. This wasn't a fixable slip-up. The fact is that hippos in the Civil War would've changed things drastically given the location of the Harriet (our lawless, feral hippo-infested stretch of Mississippi marsh). Its construction in Louisiana would've made the economy of the state radically different; its slave or free labor demands would've changed the military calculus of the region in extremely significant ways.

So I'll accept a gayish hero, I'll go along with a non-binary person passing unchallenged, yup yup okey dokey mm hmm, but not the unchanged Civil War. That by itself would've cost a less gung-ho gonzo nuts author with a blah little idea all but one star. You, Sarah Gailey, disappointed me where a less talented writer would've made me snort derisively, roll my eyes, and Pearl Rule this bad boy. You're capable of better thinking than this elision of a central fact of US history.

Tsk. ...more

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Sep 07, 2018 Charles van Buren rated it did not like it · review of another edition

She writes of rivers and swamps with an appalling ignorance of geography and physics

By Charles van Buren on September 7, 2018

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: May 23, 2017
Publisher: Tor.com
Language: English
ASIN: B01MRJW3OS

Fantastic idea for a fun alternate history romp ruined by poor prose, poor character development, an ignorance of the traits, habits and physiology of the hippopotamus (an inexcusable failing considering that the story idea is ...more

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Mar 10, 2019 Trike rated it did not like it

Shelves: science-fiction, alternate-history, read-in-2019, 2019-s-l-laser, audiobook, killed-the-dog, oh-ffs

Have I taken crazy pills? Has the world gone mad? No and yes.

This was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula. Kirkus calls it delightful and fun and charming. I kept hearing that a lot. Fun! people keep saying.

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

You tell me: hippo eats a dog. Fun! Hippo tears apart a delightful orphan. Charming! Then it takes a turn for the grim. This is, in fact, grimdark fantasy. Make no mistake about that. This is not Oceans 11 as numerous reviewers have stated, this is a badly-written ...more

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Apr 14, 2017 Kaitlin rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-sff-faves

* I was sent this for review by the publisher *

This novella was excellent rollicking fun. It's a story that when I saw the cover and hear the synopsis, I KNEW I needed it in my life and it definitely didn't disappoint. Not only is the story sharp and witty and non-stop, it also has some of the best representation of non-gendered characters, female protagonists, older characters and more. The only white male character is quickly killed off (yay) and we're left with a cast of pretty great (albeit ...more

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May 14, 2017 Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2017

I think in the end, that I just had too high hope on this book. Sure it's good, with an interesting story and some really gruesome scenes. But, at the same time did I feel that this was not a book that I devoured. I loved the idea of this book, with hippos in the marshlands of Louisiana and the story was interesting, but it ended when it started to get really interesting. It's a short story only 152 pages long and that could be why I felt like I wanted more meat to the story. This is book one so ...more

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Oct 19, 2017 Emily rated it it was amazing

4.5 stars

THIS BOOK WAS SO FUN. Seriously, more people need to read it! The main character is a queer Korean-British hippo-wrangling cowboy who puts together a rag tag group of criminals featuring the most fabulous of fat French female con artists and a gender non-binary demolitions expert, among others. It's a fucking riot.

I just wanted MORE. The only negative critique I would give this book is that we simply don't get enough page time to really develop the characters and the plot. Gailey ...more

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Feb 27, 2017 Cathy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Feral hippos in Louisiana, mercenaries and an almost-recommendation by Ilona Andrews, what's not to like?

Classic caper. Ocean's Eleven comes to mind. Gather your fellow gender fluid characters and go against the bad guy, Western-style and on the back of hippos...

Other than that pretty flat and predictable, no great surprises. If you are looking for a light in-between read, this is entertaining enough. I might even pick up the sequel at some point.

2017 MacHalo Challenge: Western

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Oct 27, 2017 Joce (squibblesreads) rated it really liked it

OMG so much fun! Its a good ol time Western with hippos and queer characters, a non-binary character who uses they/them pronouns and fat woman representation. Here for it. Starting the sequel in 3, 2, 1...

Thank you Emily from possiblyliterate for recommending this! ...more

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Aug 28, 2017 Rachel (Kalanadi) rated it really liked it

Shelves: novellas

It is totally a caper, Houndstooth.

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Sep 18, 2018 Hannah rated it it was ok

Shelves: novella

One of my reading resolutions for this year was to read more novellas and I tried, I really did, but I am not so sure the format works for me. Which is why you should take my rating maybe with a grain of salt because it might be a genre thing. But, I struggled here and if the book had been any longer I do not think I would have finished it but the length itself is also possibly the biggest stumbling block I had.

This is an alternative fiction Western a world where Louisiana imported hippos, ...more

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May 25, 2017 K.J. Charles added it

Shelves: oh-god-where-is-the-next-book, fun-fun-fun, us-history, nonbinary, hippos-goddammit

Wildly, gleefully enjoyable. Alt-American history with hippos, for heaven's sake, as well as a gloriously diverse cast--our MCs are some or all of female, fat, POC, nonbinary, bi, pregnant, and not American--and lots of lovely romance with the banter, violence, and FERAL HIPPOS. And there's going to be another one, which I totally need.

It's a first book and you can tell--the style clunks occasionally, which an editor really could have dealt with, and the pacing's a bit rushed. It could have ...more

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Jun 17, 2017 Mogsy (MMOGC) rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, animals, novella, review-copy, arcs-and-galleys, alternate-history

3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/06/25/...

Fun fact: The hippopotamus is widely considered to be the most dangerous mammal in Africa, responsible for more human fatalities there than any other large animal. Although they dont look very threatening, they are extremely moody and territorial, often known to attack boats in the water or people on land with little to no provocation. Another fun fact: Back at the turn of the 20th century, U.S. Congress actually 3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/06/25/...

Fun fact: The hippopotamus is widely considered to be the most dangerous mammal in Africa, responsible for more human fatalities there than any other large animal. Although they don’t look very threatening, they are extremely moody and territorial, often known to attack boats in the water or people on land with little to no provocation. Another fun fact: Back at the turn of the 20th century, U.S. Congress actually considered a bold initiative to import these animals to the bayous of Louisiana, in the hopes of creating these “hippo ranches” to solve the nationwide meat shortage as well as the growing ecological crisis caused by the invasive water hyacinth.

Obviously, this wild scheme never came to pass. But you just have to wonder, what if it had?

Happily, author Sarah Gailey was awesome enough to oblige us in River of Teeth, her alternate history novella envisioning an America that might have been if the “American Hippo Bill” had been passed…along with an added few hitches, of course—like, say, if about a hundred hippos had broken loose somewhere along the way, resulting in an out-of-control feral population making safe travel along the southern waterways nigh impossible. Taking place in the marshlands of Louisiana, the story follows a diverse group of hippo riders who come together to pull off a caper—or rather, I should say, an operation—to help the U.S. government rid the Mississippi River’s Harriet section of its feral hippo problem once and for all.

However, as the leader of the group, former hippo rancher Winslow Houndstooth has other plans. Gathering a team that consists of Regina “Archie” Archambault, a corpulent master thief; Hero Schackleby, a gender-neutral demolitions expert; Adelia Reyes, a very effective (and very pregnant) killer-for-hire; and Cal Hotchkiss, a hard-drinking, cards-cheating gambler who just so happens to be the fastest gun in the west, Houndstooth is prepared to pull a few strings in his contract in order to accomplish his true goal of revenge. Floating somewhere on the Harriet is the riverboat casino where he will find Travers, the ruthless businessman who took everything from him. Houndstooth means to see his enemy pay—that is, if only he and his allies can somehow survive the never-ending barrage of obstacles, including double-crossing backstabbers, huge explosions, and a river full of killer hippos.

Hands down, the best part of this book is its concept, which is worth the price of admission alone. It’s just so damn cool! To me, this is what speculative fiction and especially alternate history is all about: taking an idea inspired by a real event—in this case, Congressman Robert Broussard’s proposal of the hippo ranching bill in 1910 (that fell just short of being passed, alas)—and running with it, creating a wonderful new world full of potential. I simply love picking up books like these, knowing that anything is possible. Not to mention, hippos are a great subject; for one thing, they’re fascinating creatures, and two, many people underestimate just how dangerous they are, but Gailey does both these points justice by highlighting the environmental, cultural and societal impact of these animals every chance she gets in her story.

My major complaint, however, is one that I often have with novellas—River of Teeth was just too short, preventing anything from being fully developed. World building, plot elements, and characters all felt a little sparse, leaving me worked up by the end, yet still feeling strangely unfulfilled. Part of me wishes that the story had provided more background information behind the process of hippo farming, or hey, maybe even a mention from someone on what eating hippo might be like (I’ve heard that hippo steak is delicious, but don’t take my word for it). I was also disappointed in the characters. Save for maybe Archie, whose charm I found irresistible, I felt no real connection to or interest in the rest of the cast. Thing is, while I love diversity in my books, I am less enamored with “diversity for diversity’s sake”, which often leads to characters becoming defined by labels and not who they really are, leaving their personalities themselves paper thin and forgettable—especially in the case of this book, where a good number of them are killed off or taken out of the picture rather quickly in a short period of time. It’s worth keeping in mind too that we have a relatively large cast for a novella, so opportunities to get to know each of them well were already limited.

However, as you can probably tell from the positives I highlighted, River of Teeth was still a book I enjoyed. While it didn’t draw me in as much as I thought it would, at no point did I find the story slow-moving or boring, and I can also see the world and characters becoming more fleshed out as more books are added to the series. Sarah Gailey has written a fun little adventure with lots of potential, and already I am eyeing the sequel Taste of Marrow with great interest. ...more

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Apr 17, 2017 Justine rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-read, audiobook, novella

So many mixed reviews for this book and honestly, I don't understand it! I loved it!

I listened to the audiobook and it was fabulous. I loved the colourful characters, the descriptive storytelling, and the amount of action packed into this short tale. I am quite anxiously awaiting the continuation of the story in the upcoming sequel, Taste of Marrow.

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May 27, 2017 Joseph rated it it was ok

Shelves: reviewed, owned-physical

This will be a short review because I would rather not slam a debut author for too long.

I read River of Teeth after finishing three exceedingly good books, and that made this look all the more bad..

Though it would have still been bad if not so contrasted.

I was surprised at how much an alt-history about feral hippopotami in a Louisiana bayou could make me dislike it. I only finished because it was so short.

I had been looking forward to this for months. I had been sharing it and starting ...more

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Jul 21, 2018 Montzalee Wittmann rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Wild hippo ride!

River of Teeth is a fantastic alternative history book that was a joy to read and so unique. What was a blast is that she used a bit of real history as a basis! Only our crazy government would think of bringing hippos over to America! It didn't go through in real life but in this book it is a fun ride! Great story!

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Mar 19, 2020 Melissa Buehner rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: on-my-kindle

Guess what!

I love hippos! I do! I do! I do!

I didn't think I would ever love hippos. They're not cute and furry like cats. Or happy and playful like dogs. But Sarah Gailey's alternate-history novella, River of Teeth, has forever changed the way I view these amazing, fierce, deadly -- and loveable -- creatures.

Set in the Louisiana marshlands, River of Teeth is built upon a relatively unknown fact regarding the history of America. Apparently way back in the day, the U.S. was facing a meat shortage ...more

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May 23, 2017 H. P. rated it it was ok

Shelves: modern-sf

The River of Teeth has a killer concept. It riffs off a cockamamie scheme to deal with invasive vegetation and a meat shortage in America by importing hippos en masse. In Gaileys world, Congress went forward with the scheme (at a slightly different time than proposed), and instead of a Wild West we got wild bayous in Louisiana full of hippo-riding cowboys and riverboat casinos. How could you screw up such a great concept? Let me tell you in excruciating detail, gentle reader, because this book ...more

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Nov 08, 2017 María Alcaide rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017, series, fantasy, sci-fi, female-authors, publisher

4.5 *s. Full review here, and video in my channel to come very soon :)

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Jul 30, 2019 Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) rated it really liked it

Bizarre true story: The U.S. government once considered importing hippopotamuses into the Louisiana marshland to breed and slaughter for a meat source. Lucky for us, it didn't actually happen. Also lucky for us, Sarah Gailey decided to write an alternate history novella where it did.

Winslow Houndstooth was the most successful hippo breeder in the United States until a hired hand burned the ranch to the ground. Houndstooth has spent years plotting his revenge and his opportunity has finally Bizarre true story: The U.S. government once considered importing hippopotamuses into the Louisiana marshland to breed and slaughter for a meat source. Lucky for us, it didn't actually happen. Also lucky for us, Sarah Gailey decided to write an alternate history novella where it did.

Winslow Houndstooth was the most successful hippo breeder in the United States until a hired hand burned the ranch to the ground. Houndstooth has spent years plotting his revenge and his opportunity has finally arrived.

A man by the name of Travers owns much of the marshland where the feral hippos roam and he relies on the vicious beasts to keep gamblers in line aboard his riverboats.
The U.S. government has decided to hire a team to rid the trade route of ferals so they can tear down the dam and reopen the river to trade boats headed for the Gulf.

Houndstooth is compelled by the money to do this but he also knows his old ranch hand Cal is working the gate for Travers and the job will give him the perfect opportunity to deliver his revenge.

Houndstooth assembles a rag tag group of criminals to pull off a caper that's all completely above board, thanks to the government. We have Archie, the resourceful con woman; Hero, the poison/munitions expert; Cal, the disloyal ranch hand who knows both Travers and the river well; and the very pregnant assassin Adelia.

This was such a fun novella and I read it in one sitting. There is modern and diverse character representation here, all with amusing personalities. The alternate history is weird and entertaining with a Magnificent Seven style Western vibe. While Gailey does a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life, the story is compact so there wasn't a chance to fully develop them or their relationships.

I adored this unique story and its quirky cast and am so excited there is a sequel, which I've already put on hold at my local library!

I recommend River of Teeth to readers who enjoy alternate history, fantasy, and diverse character representation.

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“In the early twentieth century, the Congress of our great nation debated a glorious plan to resolve a meat shortage in America. The idea was this: import hippos and raise them in Louisiana’s bayous. The hippos would eat the ruinously invasive water hyacinth; the American people would eat the hippos; everyone would go home happy. Well, except the hippos. They’d go home eaten. Much to everyone’s disappointment, Congress didn’t follow through on the plan, and today America lives a cursed life—a beef life, with nary a free-range hippo within the borders of our country.” — 6 likes

“Get used to it, ma’am. We have a saying where I’m from—boys will make you cry, but girls? Girls will make you sweat.” — 4 likes

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