River of Teeth series (River of Teeth, Taste of Marrow, and other stories) by Sarah Gailey
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 America that might have been: a bayou overrun by feral hippos and mercenary hippo wranglers from around the globe. It is the story of Winslow Houndstooth and his crew. It is the story of their fortunes. It is the story of his revenge.
Endorsement from submitter #1: "A sapphic western where women help women (bury the body of your abusive husband.)"
Endorsement from submitter #2: "This is a story about women who age, gossip, drink, love, and help you hide the body of your dead husband."
1865, United States— It took thirty years and a dislocated arm for Victoria to leave her abusive husband. Heartbroken, she has to choose her own life over the hope of ever seeing her son again. She escapes the manor in the dead of night, only bringing with her a white wedding dress.
She ends up in Swainsburg, a minuscule town in Wyoming, where she’s adopted by the local prostitutes. To save them from expulsion, she buys the building and learns that in these parts, entertainment is worth more than gold. It’s almost easy, even fun, to organize piano recitals and cancan shows for the cowboys of the area, but being a Madam comes with responsibilities and dangers she isn’t ready to face. Her husband, after all, has contacts everywhere.
It’s hard to navigate the delicate tensions between respectable ladies and whores, between white society and the ‘others.’ Her new friends are women who carved their place in this merciless life; people who, like her, ended up in Swainsburg when they got tired of running.
Victoria falls in love. She doesn’t notice, she can’t even imagine the possibility. The townfolk say the widow Díaz is strange. Natane is actually incredibly awkward, kind, and very lonely. Victoria has no name for this burning friendship, but the feeling grows and demands to be acknowledged.
This is a story about women who age, gossip, drink, love, and help you hide the body of your dead husband.
Set in an alternate history where hippos were introduced to the Mississippi River, this queer western showcases cowboys (and -girls, and -theys), who ride hippos instead of horses, pulling off a good ol caper. Oh sorry, operation.
The whole gang's here: the Sexy Frontman, the Demolitions Expert, the Contract Killer, the Femme (sometimes) Fatale, the White Guy, and The Kid. The task: rustle the feral hippos out of the area. The plan: blow shit up.
These two novellas + two prequel short stories are a whole lot of fun, with a hefty side dish of violence and wild animal attacks. As a criticism, I think the dialogue is sometimes hard to follow, as it gets so caught up in the action that it's hard to make out what exactly they're talking about. There's a lot going on.
Read River of Teeth (thanks @penpaladinjules) and looked up to see when the real, actual bill was a thing. Discovered it came real close to being a Real Thing.
Think of what we missed: the many rice farmers would have had to deal with herds of hippos. What can you do when you have thirty hippos in your rice field?
Well. I know farmers. They would 100% have figured out how to set out hippo bait rigged with explosions.
We could have had Johnny Cash's best selling song about how he blew up the hippo that ate his brother, yall
Why does the American Hippo duology (River of Teeth & Taste of Marrow) not have a massive, active fandom?? It’s hands down my favorite read this year. It’s an alternate history story and because of the feral hippos reads like a Quentin Tarantino movie with Oceans 11 heist vibes but make it western.
It’s the queerest, most violent, and most insanely fun thing I’ve read this’d year, and maybe ever.
It’s quirky as hell, the characters are amazing. A casually bisexual out for revenge, a fat French con artist who is the best at what she does, an explosives/poison expert badass enby/ the world’s greatest assassin who’s been MIA for a while with a big surprise when she shows back up for the heist (just don’t call it a caper! Lol)
It’s just so freaking FUN. I need there to be a fandom y’all. I need the art and the fics and the meta and people to hyperfixate about it with me. So. Go read River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow (or get both together, titled American Hippo) by Sarah Gailey.
