Sarah Gailey's Hugo finalist novella is the first in a series premised on a fascinating footnote of history. Apparently, the USA was suffering a severe beef shortage in the late 19th Century, and some bright fellow came up the the proposition that hippos be relocated to the swamps of Louisiana as an alternate protein supply. Reports indicate that the US Congress actually considered the proposal (before I guess, sending it to committee where no doubt it languishes to this day). Though given the idiocies currently being perpetrated in the name of the Peepul in the USA, one should perhaps be grateful that Trump does not get this idea into his tiny brain. So in this alternate USA, where hippo ranching is indeed a thing, Sarah Gailey brings us the wondrous idea of hippo cowboys.
The story is full of love, revenge, knife fights, betrayals and more as Winslow Houndstooth and his motley crew of conspirators indulge in a wild caper (sorry 'operation'), to relocate an infestation of 'freal' hippos bedevilling a region of the Mississippi valley. The story kicks off in high gear as the various characters are introduced, drags a little as the set up proceeds and resolves itself in a frenetic climax. Sadly, there are no vignettes of hippo cuisine on offer. There is also a rather roughly tacked on setup for the sequel 'Taste of Marrow' at the end.
In the telling the story has a light and humorous tone, with the violence pretty much of the cartoon variety, and little damage done to its victims (unless of course they are chomped in a feral hippos jaws). The camaraderie and conflict between Houndstooth's crew is well played out, though the villains and their motivations come as no great surprise.
The story is full of love, revenge, knife fights, betrayals and more as Winslow Houndstooth and his motley crew of conspirators indulge in a wild caper (sorry 'operation'), to relocate an infestation of 'freal' hippos bedevilling a region of the Mississippi valley. The story kicks off in high gear as the various characters are introduced, drags a little as the set up proceeds and resolves itself in a frenetic climax. Sadly, there are no vignettes of hippo cuisine on offer. There is also a rather roughly tacked on setup for the sequel 'Taste of Marrow' at the end.
In the telling the story has a light and humorous tone, with the violence pretty much of the cartoon variety, and little damage done to its victims (unless of course they are chomped in a feral hippos jaws). The camaraderie and conflict between Houndstooth's crew is well played out, though the villains and their motivations come as no great surprise.