sweko
9/6/2021
I'm terribly disappointed by this novella. It has one of the simplest and best ideas possible - I mean, what's not to love about Wild West Hippos?
Unfortunately, once the novelty wears off, I think we're left with an empty shell. The characters are terribly one-dimensional, if at that. The story is disjointed, the worldbuilding is totally lackluster. Even the hippos are just a gimmick to tell a simple and boring story.
Also, for no apparent reason, almost all the characters are some kind of queer - and everyone in the Wild South is completely fine with it, for some reason - much more than they are in the actual 21st century. I guess it's also a wish fulfillment parallel universe. The execution itself of non-cis stuff is superb, and does not obstruct from the (lack of) story, which I have to give an extra star for.