Alternate History – Page 2 – The Speculative Shelf

Title: Unseemly Science (2015)
Author: Rod Duncan
Pages: 368
Series: Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire #2 (Series Tracker)

Unseemly Science picks right back up with Elizabeth Barnabus attempting to solve a new mystery involving blocks of ice, body-snatchers, and an enigmatic charitable foundation. I found this to be a worthy sequel that lost only a bit of the magic from the first book. Author Rod Duncan has crafted an amusing, well-drawn story with a wonderful protagonist. The overall story has yet to feature much in the way of empires falling, as the series title suggests, so perhaps the third book is more towards that end. I look forward to finishing out this series in time for Rod Duncan’s new Elizabeth Barnabus series coming in 2018.

★★★¼ out of 5

Title: River of Teeth (2017)
Author: Sarah Gailey
Pages: 172
Series: River of Teeth #1 (Series Tracker)

Around the turn of the 20th century, the United States toyed with the idea of importing hippos and settling them in the bayous of Louisiana. Such a move would provide an alternative source of meat for Americans, but it neglected the potentially dangerous side effects of introducing an animal with hippos’ nasty disposition onto their shores. River of Teeth answers the “what-if” proposition of this great hippo resettlement…and things do not go well.

It’s tough for the execution of this story to match how cool the concept is, but I’d say author Sarah Gailey does a commendable job. River of Teeth focuses on a rag-tag collection of adventurers tasked with ridding the coast of the feral hippo beasts. Each character we meet is unique and memorable, but not enough time is spent with any one of them to feel any sort of emotional connection to them upon their eventual demises. Luckily, this is a fun story that unfolds at a fast pace where nary a dull moment is found.

★★★¼ out of 5