The account of a big-game hunter and builder of the Mombasa railway, Col Patterson, who was also the guy who took on the notorious man-eating lions ofThe account of a big-game hunter and builder of the Mombasa railway, Col Patterson, who was also the guy who took on the notorious man-eating lions of Tsavo. These two lions are possibly the biggest man eaters in history, killing maybe 140 people and bringing the railway construction to a halt because of their nightly attacks on the workers' camps, and by Patterson's account were near-supernaturally cunning and deadly. A fabulous story, even with Patterson's truly weird decision to pause the story of the MAN EATING LIONS for entire chapters while he discusses his railway construction (which said, that railway pretty much created a country and allowed British domination of East Africa, so.)
Obviously this is a book by a British empire builder of the turn of the century, for good and ill. The attitudes to race and culture are a lot more interesting and gnarly than the stereotypes might lead you to suspect (Patterson is all about the White Man's Burden and reeks of British entitlement but he also sets to learn Swahili, already speaks Hindustani, and undeniably puts his own life at risk against the lions attacking his men). It's full of unintentionally hilarious quotes (eg on zebras: "This was the first time I had seen these beautifully marked animals in their wild state, so I selected the largest and fired." So. That tells you everything.) Plus the story of the lions is genuinely jawdropping, particularly the bit where one of them gets into the railway carriage where three hunters are lying in wait....more
I loved the first book, a hippo-packed bloody romp with great characters. In this sequel we still have the fantastic characters and murderous feral hiI loved the first book, a hippo-packed bloody romp with great characters. In this sequel we still have the fantastic characters and murderous feral hippos but the plot's gone awol, at least for the first half. It's basically the characters in two groups hanging around not being able to find each other, which is not dynamic. It all kicks into gear once the plot mechanics start moving, and then lots happens very fast, but it's hard not to feel the structure is underdeveloped and this is really more of a character piece.
Which is not terrible bc I loved spending more time with the characters--in particular I love how Archie's fatness and Hero's nonbinary gender are just there, not made into big deals, conversation points, insults from bad guys etc. And massive kudos to a book that shows breastfeeding as difficult, painful and unpleasant hard work. An assassin with mastitis! Would gleefully read loads more in this world, but I'm hoping the editor applies a heavier hand on plot development next time....more
Wildly, gleefully enjoyable. Alt-American history with hippos, for heaven's sake, as well as a gloriously diverse cast--our MCs are some or all of femWildly, gleefully enjoyable. Alt-American history with hippos, for heaven's sake, as well as a gloriously diverse cast--our MCs are some or all of female, fat, POC, nonbinary, bi, pregnant, and not American--and lots of lovely romance with the banter, violence, and FERAL HIPPOS. And there's going to be another one, which I totally need.
It's a first book and you can tell--the style clunks occasionally, which an editor really could have dealt with, and the pacing's a bit rushed. It could have been a lot longer and benefited from the space. But the sheer fun of it outweighs the faults in a big way, and what a lovely cover. And **PEOPLE RIDING ON GOD DAMN HIPPOS**. ...more
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