Reviews with content warning for Blood - Taste of Marrow

This novella picks up a couple of months after River of Teeth ends. The four compatriots have split into two groups, neither knowing if the other is alive, and both struggling to heal from the terrible wounds suffered at the Lake Harriet debacle / success (depending on perspective). These are especially likable characters and I'm sorry to have to say goodbye to them.

Gailey's two alternate histories, about the very real possibility that hippopotamuses would have been imported to ranches in the swamps of Louisiana, are more than enjoyable. I love Gailey’s writing and the way they tell a story, and they’re turning into my favorite writer.

Highly recommended for speculative fiction fans interested in something both funny and gory.

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lanid's review against another edition

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adventurous dark

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Taste of Marrow gracefully handles the transformation of a betrayer from the first book into a protagonist in the second. The way Hero and Houndstooth’s relationship was handled in River of Teeth meant that the dynamic in ToM is completely believable despite their relatively brief acquaintance before this point. If RoT is characterized by grief and revenge, ToM adds sorrow and rage to the mix, as the heist which pulled them together is over and they’re dealing with the aftermath. While the characters are in suspense, I’m grateful that as a reader I wasn’t in the dark about whether or not certain characters were alive. That meant a lot of the suspense and anguish was over whether they’d find out the answers, and what they’d do about it, not what the answers were. Please don’t mistake this for a lack of tension or uncertainty, there’s plenty of that, with long stretches where I was on the edge of my seat, but there’s particular feeling of being lied to as a reader, and this story avoids that. The scenes between Hero and Adelia, especially when Hero finally talks about why they retired... goddamn I love that scene. This is a quieter story than the first one (at least until the finale), and as much as I loved the heists from before, I love the quiet moments between characters who might not like each other personally but are committed to being their own kind of decent.

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