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    River of Teeth
    River of Teeth
    River of Teeth
    Audiobook4 hours

    River of Teeth

    Written by Sarah Gailey

    Narrated by Peter Berkrot

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In the early twentieth 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateAug 22, 2017
    ISBN9781541482463
    River of Teeth
    Author

    Sarah Gailey

    Sarah Gailey is a Hugo Award Winning and Bestselling author of speculative fiction, short stories, and essays. They have been a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards for multiple years running. Their work includes their bestselling adult novel debut, Magic For Liars (Tor Books, 2019), Just Like Home (Tor Books, 2022), and their original comic book series with BOOM! Studios, Know Your Station. Their shorter works and essays have been published in Mashable, The Boston Globe, Vice, Tor.com, and The Atlantic. Their work has been translated into several different languages and published around the world.

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    Reviews for River of Teeth

    3.5/5

    529 ratings42 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a creative and enjoyable alternate history story based on a real-life plan. The narration is well done, with various accents adding to the experience. The book explores a wild and unbelievable version of history, with hippopotamuses as meat animals. The characters are diverse and colorful, and the story is a fun and delightful lark. However, some readers felt that the plot was overshadowed by the world-building and the characters could have been more substantial. Overall, this book is worth your time.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      What a fun story. The characters were an absolute delight.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Even for a pulp adventure, this story was really thin. One character was written incredibly poorly. I understand that the author was going for a gender fluid character, but instead created a literary void on the page. I look forward to this author developing more substantial characters to go along with her fun set dressing.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I haven’t been this unsettled by an alt history since Blades of Winter. That will feel like an exaggeration to anyone not living in near cattle country.

      Here we glimpse an America that embraced the hippopotamus as it’s meat animal.

      The hippo.

      The most dangerous animal in Africa.

      An aggressive, territorial 3300lb animal than can explode out of the water and run at 19 mph.

      In southern American waterways.

      Dear God I don’t think I ever got over it, distracting me to the point where the plot made little sense and was secondary to the world building. I didn’t like or care for the characters. The hippos were of more interest.

      And yes this almost happened: American Hippopotamus

      The audiobook was well read. I find the story hard to rate as it has original and imaginative staying power but I didn’t like it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      I wanted to like this - an alternate timeline story based in a tidbit of actual history sounded enticing. Ultimately however, I felt this potentially great story was ruined by the author's apparent need to dabble in the latest popular sexual propoganda to such a degree to be distracting. Too bad.
    • 5/5
      Hippo Cowboys! A badass team! A heist! Queer characters and a touching romance! Everything about this book is great.
    • 4/5
      A wild western with eccentric colourful characters, modern language and of course hippos
    • 5/5
      "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." What was an very obscure plan, the story that comes from it is creative. The narrator does the novel justice with the various accents all throughout it.
    • 5/5
      This was a delightful lark. Diverse and colourful, well worth your time.
    • 5/5
      Super weird. super good. I didn’t expect so much of what happened in this book.
    • 3/5
      Ein vielversprechender Auftakt mit einer guten Idee als Basis. Bin gespannt, was Gailey noch daraus machen wird.
    • 3/5
      History is wild & truly unbelievable, if you look close enough.
    • 5/5
      That was so much fun - a thoroughly enjoyable listen
    • 4/5
      Cowboys riding and ranching hippos? A heist, of sorts, and undercover agents? What an interesting ride!
    • 5/5
      A Queer, diverse cast of characters in an alternate U.S. History setting. Well written. Heart-breaking in some places. Hella Queer. Love it!
    • 4/5
      Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the River of Teeth duology. I borrowed this on audiobook from my library.

      Thoughts: This was a fun read set in a crazy alternate historical setting where hippos are farmed in Louisiana. I enjoyed the action, the quirky setting, and the intriguing cast of characters here. I plan on reading the second book in the series. I enjoyed this a lot more than "The Echo Wife" which I also just finished reading. Previous to reading this I had read Gailey's "Upright Women Wanted" which I also enjoyed and Gailey's "The Echo Wife", which I strongly disliked.

      This book follows a character that has gotten a government contract to remove feral hippos from the Mississippi River. He forms an Ocean's 11 like team to take on the task. Little known to the others he has a goal for revenge in mind as well.

      This has very much of a wild west heist feel to it, but with hippos. The characters are quirky and fun, the dialogue is witty and fast, there is quite a bit of action as well. I really enjoyed the fast pace of the story and how hilarious this concept (of farming hippos) is. I did have a bit of trouble keeping some of the characters straight, there were introduced very rapidly.

      I listened to this on audiobook and it was well done. I would definitely recommend listening to on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.

      My Summary (4/5): Overall I really enjoyed this crazy alternate history set in a wild west gun-slinging type of setting but with hippos! If you enjoy western fantasy/alternate history I would recommend. This was a ton of fun. I plan on reading the second novella in this duology, "Taste of Marrow", relatively soon.
    • 3/5
      Sadly this was very over-hyped. The conceit is BRILLIANT, but the plotting and characters do not live up to it. The writing was fine, not bad, not great. I have no desire to read a sequel, even though I would like to have to desire to read the sequel.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed River of Teeth a lot more than I expected to. This was my second experience reading Sarah Gailey's work and it definitely won't be the last. The cast of characters was diverse and really came to life on the page. The plot, as off-the-wall as it is, was really gritty and gripping. I recommend it for anyone looking for a fast, immersive read.
    • 2/5
      Well, huh. What do you say when someone has a really brilliant idea for a world (yassss, hippo ranching! Ferals on the Mississippi!) and a pretty decent list of characters -- great names, great archetypes, a gender fluid character, a party full of varied talents -- and it all just sorta fall flat?

      There's so much great potential here, and it just didn't work for me. The set up was decent, until the plot holes and character inconsistencies started to get to me. I stuck it out until the very end, though, because hey, it's a caper! I'm waiting for them to cleverly pull off the caper, using their various skills and forward thinking planning -- and no. Some of them survive it, despite themselves. They accidentally wreck everything. And pretty much it's a disaster with a few characters still standing. Eh. Disappointing.
    • 3/5
      A straightforward novella with an interesting premise set in an alternate universe. Neither the characters nor plot are particularly deep, but the story is fast-paced.
    • 4/5
      alternate history adventure (Old Louisiana, with cowboys/ranchers and fearsome hippos)
      Featuring a thoughtfully diverse cast (including a fat woman, several people of color, a man who "sows seeds" with all genders, and a nonbinary-gendered person who prefers the pronouns "they/them"), this quick-paced, heist-type tale will have you anticipating the next book(s) in the series.
    • 4/5

      So yeah, this is an alternate western with hippos in place of horses. And while I'm a big fan of horses and love to have horsey goings on that premise certainly grabbed my attention. I had vaguely heard of that never implemented plan to use hippos in the US as a source of meat. Probably on metafilter, it is my usual source for the wonderful and strange online. So I was aware of that, I hesitate to use the word plan, because, well hippos... So when I first saw mention of this book I was intrigued.


      It is a really great fun read.


      And there is more to it than just hippo riding cowboys. There is the story of Winslow Houndstooth and his quest for revenge, and the motley crew he assembles all come with their own backstory. Plenty to keep me reading.


      It is a novella, so short enough, but the story is well written, I enjoyed the characters, and I'll certainly be reading the second book, Taste of Marrow. I have it pre-ordered already.

    • 5/5
      Swamp cowboys riding hippos. That sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? That is this book. I loved every minute of the audiobook(it's only four hours long). I love strange what-if scenarios. Also, this book pulls off LGBT characters so well it's amazing. Hands down, I was in love with the book from scene one. Not every book that centers around a big idea pulls it off, but this one blew it out of the water(very appropriate considering the plot). Are there flaws? Yes, the main flaw being that this book is so short and does not cover some of what is happening. I am already listening to the sequel dealing with the aftermath. You will like this book if you like alternate histories, lighthearted adventures, and well done LGBT characters. Or if you like hippos. You might even love it.
    • 4/5
      This is quite the romp of a story, with so many fabulous details. I loved the world-building, and the characters and the writing style. What didn't quite work for me were aspects of the plot and pacing, such that I kept putting it down and forgetting to finish.
    • 4/5
      This was surprisingly emotional for a book about killer feral hippos. I reaaaaaallly liked it. If you're in the mood for a western, a diverse cast, a heist story, you should try it. Or if you just want to read about a passel of delightful hippos.
    • 3/5
      This is the first book in a series and is western/fantasy story of hippos brought into the lower Mississippi River (Louisiana) and the team that is trying to remove them. The main character is on a quest for revenge. I did not much like this story. It had a great idea but it went no where and its need to be politically correct did not work for me. So won't be reading any further in this series.
    • 4/5
      In the late, late 1800s, the U.S. experienced a meat shortage and, for a short period of time, considered developing farms to fill the need with hippo meat. This much is true. Ultimately, this legislature never came to pass, but author Sarah Gailey asks the question: what if we did end up with hippos instead of horses, the swamps of Louisiana instead of the wild west?

      River of Teeth unfolds the story of a group of hippo-riding mercenaries who are bent on completing their assignment to get a big payday. Betrayal, lies and violence plague the group. Who exactly has been hired by whom? Whose side is each character on?

      Looking for something different? This novella will fill that craving. It only hints at science fiction or fantasy elements, but definitely can be categorized as alternate history with a touch of horror. I plan to read it’s sequel, Taste of Marrow.
    • 4/5
      An alt-history novella with quite a twist. What if the US government decided to import hippopotamuses to farm for meat production back in the late 1800's? What could possibly go wrong? This is a quick, weird read and, wow, we can certainly use more of those! A diverse speculative Western by a creative, cool writer.
    • 3/5
      A fun romp through an alternate history in which the swampier parts of the US were given over to hippo rearing (which was apparently a serious proposal around the end of the 19th Century). By the end the characters felt a little flat and the plot a bit too absurd.
    • 3/5
      There's a running joke in my office about hippos. And how the hippos in South America should or should not be there. When this book was mentioned in a forum I was browsing, I decided to read it. Mostly as a joke, but it had an interesting premise.

      Unfortunately, I found it a difficult read. It has a fun premise, a great world, and the hippos are awesome. The team is fun and well put together. But, I found it difficult to keep what was happening straight.

      I also didn't like the characters vulnerabilities. It is suppose to be a book about a crack mercenary team in western type book - nobody should be falling in love, or discussing of feelings. It detracted from the book and wouldn't have made sense in this setting.

      Overall, its a fun read, but could have been written better. Also, Man eating hippos. That is all.
    • 2/5
      I really, really, really wanted to like this.

      And I really, really, really did not.

      Okay. I did like the diversity of the cast. I liked that there were more than one woman, a nonbinary love interest, a queer MC. That was good. Especially the normalization of the nonbinary character's gender and pronouns. No big deal. No big reveal. It was good. I liked that.

      I didn't like anything else.

      First of all: structurally the story is not good. I recently read another novella of about the same length yet it felt so much more COMPLETE than this book, so much realer, more substantial, because the author spent time building up her characters so you cared about them. This book? The characters are barely given a few pages of build-up and the relationships between them are like, neither show or tell. You don't have enough time or reasons to care about them. When things happen to them you barely blink because you don't know them well enough to be emotionally invested. Twist pack zero punch because everything just happens, without a moment to understand why or how.

      Second: this is an alternate history of the US in the 19th century, set in the American South with a goddamn TIMELINE in the backmatter and slavery is not mentioned ONCE. Was there a Civil War? Is slavery legal? Who knows??? While a character is portrayed as being black, there's literally not a single mention of slavery. In the timeline it mentions Ulysses Grant being president at some point so maybe there was a Civil War? Maybe slavery was ended? Maybe???? Like I'm not expecting a detailed history in this book about hippos but if you're going to set something in any version of the 19th century American South without mentioning slavery at all than you're doing something wrong. I'm sorry. Slavery built the South and the neat idea of introducing hippos doesn't change that.

      I really wish I could have liked this more but I gotta say, it failed on a whole lot of levels for me :/