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.

IN NUTSHELL
This was such fun. A stylish, vigorously playful, shamelessly over-the-top trope-twisting Alternative history Western that was as vivid as a graphic novel. 

I stumbled across this novella while looking at Sarah Gailey’s biography after finishing their extraordinary horror novella, ‘Spread Me’. I adored the alternative history premise and Sarah Gailey’s playful attitude towards it. I liked that they came up with a novel ‘What if?” alternative history question, based on an obscure piece of American history and then spawned a whole world from it. What really sold me on the novella was that she didn’t just want to explore the scenario, like a thought experiment; she wanted to have fun with it. So she moved everything back a few decades, allowing them to write a cowboy novel that joyously subverts all those square-jawed, white, hetero male stereotypes while still summoning up the spirit of the kind of Western movie / TV show I grew up watching. 

All of the characters in ‘River Of Teeth‘ were larger than life. Only three of them were white Cismales (and two of them are not at all nice). The rest are a colourful collection of talented misfits who make the Magnificent Seven seem like Frat boys. 

Best of all, there are Hippos. Hippos you can ride like horses, Hippos you can eat like cows and feral Hippos that will eat you. Satha Gailey has created a whole Hippo industry, complete with how Hippos are farmed and ridden, how the feral ones hunt and all the associated jargon and techniques.

The plot is full of betrayals, old and new, violent confrontations, and slowly smouldering relationships. All of which builds to a spectacularly explosive climax that had me cheering for the good guys (or, at least, the guys I liked most and who I wanted to win. Good was probably an overstatement).

‘River Of Teeth‘ is the first novella in a series, but it works well as a standalone book.

I recommend listening to the audiobook; Peter Berkrot’s narration matches the over-the-top tone of the text while still capturing the emotions of the characters. Click on the YouTube link below to hear a sample.