Tag Archives: library book

River of Teeth

Book Review of River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey

Leave a reply

I borrowed a copy of Sarah Gailey’s River of Teeth from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
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.

Review:
Awesome cover and really interesting plot, with the hippos and all. I liked the alternative history and the characters. I liked the wildly diverse cast and the speech patterns. I thought the writing was clean and easy to read. But I also thought it was all just a little too vague. There were aspects of the plot skimmed over that left me uncertain how or why some things happened. The book is only 170 pages long. There was plenty of room to fill it out more. I’ll be happy to read the sequel though. Because for all its faults,it was just plain fun.

Book Review of The Dragon’s Legacy, by Deborah A. Wolf

Leave a reply

I borrowed a copy of Deborah A. Wolf’s The Dragon’s Legacy from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
The last Aturan King is dying, and as his strength fades so does his hold on sa and ka. Control of this power is a deadly lure; the Emperor stirs in his Forbidden City to the East, while deep in the Seared Lands, the whispering voices of Eth bring secret death. Eight men and women take their first steps along the paths to war, barely realizing that their world will soon face a much greater threat; at the heart of the world, the Dragon stirs in her sleep. A warrior would become Queen, a Queen would become a monster, and a young boy plays his bird-skull flute to keep the shadows of death at bay. 

Review:
Are you ready to dive into an epic series in which the first 486 page book is nothing more than the characters getting on the board and doesn’t do anything more than set up future book? Well, this is the book for you!

I was not ready for that. I was ready for a 486 page story. I got a 486 page introduction, maybe a prologue. It was not enough. I ended this book disappointed…and it took me forever and a day to read it. I got sooo tired of having to reference the three(!) dictionaries in the front. Thank god they were there, but did the book need its own freakin’ language?

The writing was pretty, though quite purple on occasion and I liked how some of the gender tropes were subverted. But part of me is side-eyeing that same subversion. Is it really a subversive if it’s just been flipped, not really explored in any depth.

As an aside, I was consistently annoyed that this appeared to be another world, but there were several very earth-like jokes and references. Like a quip about knowing poor Yorick well. Perhaps its meant as a future earth, but there were at least two suns for example, so I thought not. Each such comment felt anachronistic to me.

All in all, not a bad book, but not at all what I was looking for.

The Black Wolves of Boston

Book Review of The Black Wolves of Boston, by Wen Spencer

Leave a reply

I borrowed a copy of The Black Wolves of Boston, by Wen Spencer, from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Silas Decker had his world destroyed when he was attacked by vampires outside of New Amsterdam. He rebuilt his life a dozen times in the last three hundred years—each time less and less successfully. Now he lives alone, buried under a hoarding habit, struggling to find some reason to wake up with the setting of the sun.

Eloise is a Virtue, pledged to hunting evil.  What she doesn’t know is how to live alone in a city full of strangers who know nothing about monsters.

Seth is the sixteen-year old Prince of Boston, ward of the Wolf King.  Now he is left in a city that desperately needs his protection with enemies gathering all around. 

Joshua believes he is a normal, college-bound high school senior.  His life is shattered when he wakes up in a field, covered with blood, and the prom committee scattered in pieces about him like broken dolls.  

These four must now come together to unravel a plot by Wickers, witches who gain power from human sacrifices and have the power to turn any human into their puppet. Four people who lost everything struggle to save Boston by saving each other.

Review:
This was utterly adorable. Seriously, it was one of the cutest books I’ve read in a while! I’ve been pretty burned out on YA lately, so I went into this with a bit of trepidation, but I sure am glad to have read it. Watching Decker, the 300-year-old vampire try and make his “puppy” happy so he’ll stay with him was too endearing for words. Similarly, seeing Seth, the “puppy,” settle and make a home was just as lovely.

I only have two complaints here. One is that the editing is a bit of a mess. I kept rereading sentences to verify, yep, a word really is missing or repeated. Lots of missing particles and things like, being able being to, instead of being able to. Second is that I felt the horror and trauma of watching 10 classmates being slaughtered and turning into a werewolf were seriously glossed over in lieu of the happier part of the storyline.

But for anyone looking for a cute book this summer, pick this one up.

There is also a little short story online, set in the same universe. You can find it here. It has the same editing habits. As an example, I pulled this from it: “His muzzleloader lay the dead leaves fifty feet back. He’d have to abandon it for now. ” But it’s still cute.