American Hippo by Sarah Gailey

Imagine a world in which the United States decided to have a massive hippopotamus breeding program to provide food and transport.  Soon, hippos are the main way for people to travel and a whole industry is built on the backs of hippo farms, hippo trading, etc.  Over the years, some hippos escape and soon there are pods of feral hippos, one of the most dangerous animals on earth when they are on the warpath.  It may be hard for you to imagine, but Sarah Gailey has done it for you.  Along with the hippos, she has a group of interesting characters; a rogue group who fights hippos and also steals a bit.

There is Adelia, one of the most proficient assassins known to man.  She is also hugely pregnant when we first meet her.  Winslow Houndstooth is the leader of the gang, a man reminiscent of Brent Maverick, charming and well-dressed.  In the first adventure we read, he has been contracted to blow the Harriet Dam so that the pods of feral hippos clotted above it will escape and the Mississippi can be used again for trade and travel.  The best demolition expert in the world is Hero, who is also a master poisoner.  Finally, Archie is a large woman whose expertise is with a huge hammer which shatters skulls.  She is in love with a straight-laced Marshall, which has its own issues.

This book is composed of two novellas, River Of Teeth and Taste Of Marrow, along with two stories, Nine And A Half and Worth Her Weight In Gold.  The reader will be amazed at Gailey's world building and the book falls solidly in the fantasy genre of alt history.  She uses diverse characters with interesting gender roles, sexual identities and one character who identifies as two entities, as does everyone else.  The writing is breezy and graphic at times, but this is a rollicking adventure it would be a shame to miss.  This book is recommended for readers of science fiction/fantasy.