River of Teeth

River of Teeth is a 2017 alternate history novella by Sarah Gailey. It was first published by Tor Books.

River of Teeth
AuthorSarah Gailey
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesRiver of Teeth series
GenreAlternate history, Historical fiction, Western fiction
PublisherTor Books
Publication date
May 23, 2017
Pages175
ISBN9780765395221
OCLC988027069
Followed byTaste of Marrow 

Synopsis

In the 1850s, President James Buchanan approved a plan to import hippopotamuses into the United States as livestock. Decades later, the lawless swamps of Louisiana are infested with murderous feral hippos, and Winslow Houndstooth and his band of misfits are hired to clear them out.

Reception

River of Teeth was a finalist for the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella,[1] and the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella.[2]

Kirkus Reviews considered it to be "delightful" and "fun and charming", comparing it to Ocean's Eleven, but faulted it for having some "awkward transitions".[3] Publishers Weekly called it "intricate", with a "tight pace" and "complex relationships" between characters, commending Gailey's exposition.[4]

Writing for National Public Radio, Amal El-Mohtar praised Gailey's worldbuilding, but felt that the "characters (were) somewhat ill-served at novella length".[5] At Strange Horizons, Samira Nadkarni emphasized that the story was "fun" and "action-adventure escapism", lauding the portrayal of a romance between bisexual Houndstooth and nonbinary Hero Shackleby; however, Nadkarni also criticized the focus on single aspects of the intersectional characters' identities, and observed that Gailey omitted entire indigenous populations who historically would have lived in that part of Louisiana.[6]

Background

The story is inspired by Louisiana Congressman Robert F. Broussard's 1910 plan to import hippopotamuses to America, with the intent that they would eat invasive water hyacinth and serve as meat animals.[7][8] In regards to the "very little discrimination" which the characters encounter, Gailey has admitted that the worldbuilding involves "judicious handwaving", in that "(i)f someone were to extrapolate the history of the world that had to develop in order for this story to happen, they’d probably need to cut out a lot of slavery and colonialism and Western Imperialism from America’s history."[8]

Sequel

In October 2017, Tor Books released Taste of Marrow, which follows the characters of River of Teeth in the months following the events of that book.

References
  1. River of Teeth, at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved June 13, 2018
  2. 2018 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved June 13, 2018
  3. Of Hippos and Humans, by Ana Grilo, at Kirkus Reviews; published June 9, 2017; retrieved June 13, 2018
  4. River of Teeth, reviewed at Publishers Weekly; published May 13, 2017; retrieved June 13, 2018
  5. Hip, Hippo Hooray For 'River Of Teeth', by Amal El-Mohtar, at National Public Radio; published May 28, 2017; retrieved June 13, 2018
  6. River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey, reviewed by Samira Nadkarni; at Strange Horizons; published November 27, 2017; retrieved June 13, 2018
  7. Gailey, Sarah (February 15, 2017). "Enter congressman Robert F. Broussard. Look at im. Look at his chin. That chin is dimpled by GENIUS. He wrote a bill called the HIPPO BILL.pic.twitter.com/s83Ete1c3G". Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  8. Sarah Gailey on Heists, Hope, Feral Hippos, and Defiantly Joyful Characters, by Alasdair Stuart, at Tor.com; published May 30, 2017; retrieved June 13, 2018
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