Worth Her Weight in Gold

River of Teeth #0.5

by Sarah Gailey

Winslow Remington Houndstooth, notorious outlaw, handsomest heartbreaker in the American South, has just finished a lucrative job, but he's faced with a hippo-sized problem that would test even the most seasoned of hoppers. A slyly funny, raucous adventure in the alternate America of Sarah Gailey's River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Alternate History, Historical, Science Fiction

18 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 18, 2018

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It turns out that Sarah Gailey is not my kind of author.

For those who would like to read it:
https://www.tor.com/2018/04/18/worth-...

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dr. Bantou Was a Scoundrel a Charlatan a No-Good Son of a Right"

https://www.tor.com/2018/04/18/worth-...

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Bloody stubborn—move!” Houndstooth shouted into Ruby’s face as loudly as he dared.

Ruby did not care for shouting.

i broke my own rule with this one -i try not to read any free tor shorts that are attached to books i haven't read; whether they're prequels or fill-in-the-gaps or whatever. even when they claim to be standalones, there's always some detail or treat a newbie'll miss out on that is a reward for a fan.

i would rather be someone who is rewarded than someone who misses out, so i generally bookmark any that look interesting to me with a note about whatever series it's tied to and i figure i'll get to it later. aren't you glad to know all about my process? well, hold tight, because there's more of that to come - this is a series i've wanted to read for a while, because - duh - hippos.



River of Teeth was gifted to me by keith - THANKS, KEITH!! - but i haven't read it yet because they're so damn short i wanted to read them both at once to avoid frustration and when i saw that this two-in-one (LGM) was coming out in may:



i figured i would just pick that up instead of buying the second book whose cover doesn't even have a damn hippo on it so why even bother?



now that you know all of my life choices surrounding this book/author/series, shall i speak to the story itself? fiiiiiine.

basically, it confirmed what i had suspected about reading shorts branching off other works (HA - so all that "who cares?" personal info up there had a purpose! bask in my relevance!) it's a cute story, but i'm pretty sure i would have appreciated it more if i already had these characters under my skin. on the plus side - i liked the rhythm of her storytelling, i was intrigued by the situation, and i even giggled a little bit, so i have a feeling that when i do get around to reading the full hippo tales, i will enjoy the ride, perhaps even more than keith did - HI, KEITH!! i already love ruby the hippo. she's a winning combination of pet and predator and i would like one, please. with or without dental bling.

but i might not be the best hippo-mama - i've had American Hippopotamus on my nook for years, as unread as River of Teeth, so i might just be a hippo hoarder which is not gonna be cool with my landlord.



read it for yourself here:

https://www.tor.com/2018/04/18/worth-...

come to my blog!

[Igrowastreesgrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story about the hippos!

Worth Her Weight in Gold (River of Teeth) by Sarah Gailey is a terrific short story in the series of the hippos. A short but fun story to put a smile on the reader's face! I love this world. Hope she has another book in the series!

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't start your trip down Gailey's Harriet (aka the bit of the Mississippi River dammed to produce hippo habitat) with this story. It's too short to introduce you to the world and the characters are best savored after getting to know them at slightly greater length.

Definitely read as part of the American Hippo omnibus or free at Tor.com.

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short story where Mr. Houndstooth demonstrates once again just how much he loves his Ruby.

You can read this short story for free here at Tor.com: https://www.tor.com/2018/04/18/worth-...

[JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty short read giving you a taste of Sarah Gailey's series about an alternate-history US where people ride hippos. I have to confess, the premise sounded kind of dumb to me at first, but reading this short-short story it actually seems fun. Guess I'll have to track down "River of Teeth" and see how good it is.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Ruby, you poor thing! Houndstooth was a little preoccupied, wasn’t he? Well, you got something impressive after his last job.
A really short but amusing return to Gailey’s alt-historical, hippo western.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story, barely more than a snippet, about Houndstooth and his Ruby. It was ok, but so short and with so little happening, that is was barely worth reading.

[Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short read - probably about 5 minutes - but it's really fun and I definitely enjoyed it. It is a prequel story that explains why Ruby has gold plated tusks, which is something I had always wondered about while reading the first book. Also Houndstooth is by far my favorite character in this series so I always love to see more of him. ALSO Also, that cover illustration is just gorgeous!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, will read other books by this author

[Rebecca Crunden]

Winslow Remington Houndstooth, creator of the best and rarest breed of hippo in the United States of America, notorious outlaw, handsomest heartbreaker in the American South.

I liked the hippo, but I wish there was a bit more to the story.

[Hanneleele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vahepeal kuulsin lakkamatult igast allikast neist Sarah Gailey alternatiiv-ameerika raamatutest, kus lõunaosariikides ratsutatakse jõehobudel ja kui sain teada, et sama maailma novelli saab tasuta lugeda, haarasin võimalusest. Tore palake.

Due to to the likes, a translation appears (much like a hippo). Recently I've heard from all over about these Sarah Gailey's alternative history books about hippo-riders and when I found out you can read a short story from the same world for free, I immediately took the chance. It was a lovely little tidbit. I enjoyed it, just wished there was a little bit more :)

[Jassmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was delightful. I mean what else is there to say really? I'm super excited to read River of Teeth now!

Okay, I feel like this short-story deserves better than that, so I'll try. This short-story is a part of Alt History series where the government of United States concocted and approved a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. Btw, this plan was actually discussed, but in reality dismissed. However, in this story we follow Winslow Remington Houndstooth "notorious outlaw and handsomest heartbreaker" and his hippopotamus Ruby. And... I'm not going to tell you more. Just that the relationship between Houndstooth and Ruby is ridiculously sweet and wholesome and that there is a distinct queer flavor to the story which makes it truly amazing. I had a great time and I'm going to read so many more stories from Sarah Gailey!

Read it for free here: https://www.tor.com/2018/04/18/worth-...

[Libbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5✨

A hippo cowboy in an au United States takes his hippo to the veterinarian dentist and gets her some new gold tusks.

It's short, slightly absurd but kinda quaint. I've seen this isn't the best intro to this mini series but oops.

[Mercy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to read River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow again. 😍

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm familiar with Gailey's Upright Women Wanted and The Echo Wife, but not with their American Hippo series of novellas. It appears I've been missing out. Gailey's speculative western series, where cowboys ride hippos instead of horses, was really my cup of tea. Or coffee, since I'm an American. I love Ruby and need more of this awesome, golden toothed hippo in my life!

[Rahel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m slowly working through my backlog of reviews, and it’s been a hot minute since I read this - I really enjoyed the humor Sarah Gailey put into this story. Having previously read Upright Women Wanted, I was excitedly give this a try (especially since it’s available for free online) and found my expectations met. The images of a hippopotamus being so thick headed (and also easily wooed by food) made me chuckle a fair amount of time. I don’t think you can really go wrong with this story, at most you’ll probably be underwhelmed or without any distinct opinion. I, for one, will be checking out the accompanying series once I actually work through my physical TBR mountains.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars!

Boy is it always fun to come back to this world!

This (very) short story was sweet and filled with humor and managed to make me smile constantly throughout.

Every time I come back to Gailey's hippopotamus world I'm filled with joy and excitement. It's just so action-packed and cool. Hopefully she won't abandon it just yet for a new one.

Until next time!
[Instagram]

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining short-short, about a bad man and Hippo dentistry. Winslow Remington Houndstooth and his Cambridge Black hippo. Funny and sly, and well-worth the few minutes it will take you to read this vignette.

I'd forgotten about this one, as several GR friends had panned it, and the novel was just so-so. But this is a small gem. Still online at https://reactormag.com/worth-her-weig...
For me, a 4-star read. Recommended reading. Of course, with humor you never know. YMMV!

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the tradition of many prequels in which we find out things like how Indiana Jones got his hat or where Lara Croft got her hand guns, in this quick short story here we find out the story behind Ruby's gold tusks.

I highly suspect this was written right after Gailey had one of those dentist appointments where the dentist spends 45 minutes scolding you for not flossing enough.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

This definitely works better if you've already read the series... or at least the first one. There's just not necessarily enough there to hook a reader. But as a fan of the River of Teeth series, this was a fun little extra treat.

[Tamara Morrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great little short story to add to the novella River of Teeth
If you liked the novella you will like this addition or if your to sure if you will like the novella this is a great 18 pg short story to see if you will like the characters and setting.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing and compelling. I'll definitely be looking for her other work set in this universe.

[Ceilidhchaos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I have a Dr Bantou back story please?

[Books That Burn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth Her Weight in Gold is a brief and fun bit of backstory for a detail anyone who’s read River of Teeth will already know about Ruby.

CW for death (not depicted).

[Daniella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story advent utilising tordotcom free fiction 15/24

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh to be a handsome cowboy riding a giant hippopotamus in the Wild West 🦛😌

Story here: https://www.tor.com/2018/04/18/worth-...

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruby’s in trouble and a talented doctor extorts a fortune from Houndstooth in exchange for his help.