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The Hillside
After bringing Earth to ruin, the age of humans is over. It is a blessing for some in this tender and tragic cautionary fable from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Thousand Acres.
Now the Congress of Animals is in control, unforgiving, and debating the fate of the planet’s most reviled species. The popular exterminate humankind without exception. But a curious mare, coming of age, is making a case for a seemingly gentle person she longs to save—a wish for mercy that could once again unbalance the new and righteous nature of the world.
Jane Smiley’s The Hillside is part of Warmer, a collection of seven visions of a conceivable tomorrow by today’s most thought-provoking authors. Alarming, inventive, intimate, and frightening, each story can be read, or listened to, in a single breathtaking sitting.
Now the Congress of Animals is in control, unforgiving, and debating the fate of the planet’s most reviled species. The popular exterminate humankind without exception. But a curious mare, coming of age, is making a case for a seemingly gentle person she longs to save—a wish for mercy that could once again unbalance the new and righteous nature of the world.
Jane Smiley’s The Hillside is part of Warmer, a collection of seven visions of a conceivable tomorrow by today’s most thought-provoking authors. Alarming, inventive, intimate, and frightening, each story can be read, or listened to, in a single breathtaking sitting.
16 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2018
About the author
Jane Smiley
142 books2,851 followersJane Smiley is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and graduated from John Burroughs School. She obtained a A.B. at Vassar College, then earned a M.F.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland as a Fulbright Scholar. From 1981 to 1996, she taught at Iowa State University. Smiley published her first novel, Barn Blind, in 1980, and won a 1985 O. Henry Award for her short story "Lily", which was published in The Atlantic Monthly. Her best-selling A Thousand Acres, a story based on William Shakespeare's King Lear, received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992. It was adapted into a film of the same title in 1997. In 1995 she wrote her sole television script produced, for an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. Her novella The Age of Grief was made into the 2002 film The Secret Lives of Dentists.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel (2005), is a non-fiction meditation on the history and the nature of the novel, somewhat in the tradition of E. M. Forster's seminal Aspects of the Novel, that roams from eleventh century Japan's Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji to twenty-first century Americans chick lit.
In 2001, Smiley was elected a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and graduated from John Burroughs School. She obtained a A.B. at Vassar College, then earned a M.F.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland as a Fulbright Scholar. From 1981 to 1996, she taught at Iowa State University. Smiley published her first novel, Barn Blind, in 1980, and won a 1985 O. Henry Award for her short story "Lily", which was published in The Atlantic Monthly. Her best-selling A Thousand Acres, a story based on William Shakespeare's King Lear, received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992. It was adapted into a film of the same title in 1997. In 1995 she wrote her sole television script produced, for an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. Her novella The Age of Grief was made into the 2002 film The Secret Lives of Dentists.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel (2005), is a non-fiction meditation on the history and the nature of the novel, somewhat in the tradition of E. M. Forster's seminal Aspects of the Novel, that roams from eleventh century Japan's Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji to twenty-first century Americans chick lit.
In 2001, Smiley was elected a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
April 7, 2025
Human greed and selfishness has killed so many animals and destroyed so many plants, that the animals want to put all humans on trial. Even though the few humans that survived are now trying to live in harmony with nature, the animals feel that the damage is done and they should be punished for it.
Such a strong premise, with the animals being humanity’s judge and executioner in the future. But it fails a bit in the execution. It first of all lacks some nuance. In this story, only female horses and humans come across as good. Even the poor dogs didn’t stand a chance. Second, the story tries to raise some interesting questions, but the story spends so much time focusing on the characters that there’s not enough room left for the plot, or to properly tackle any of its many interesting themes. Maybe this story just isn’t for me. So if you like the premise, don’t be afraid to check it out. It’s well written. And if you like horses, you might like this story.
Such a strong premise, with the animals being humanity’s judge and executioner in the future. But it fails a bit in the execution. It first of all lacks some nuance. In this story, only female horses and humans come across as good. Even the poor dogs didn’t stand a chance. Second, the story tries to raise some interesting questions, but the story spends so much time focusing on the characters that there’s not enough room left for the plot, or to properly tackle any of its many interesting themes. Maybe this story just isn’t for me. So if you like the premise, don’t be afraid to check it out. It’s well written. And if you like horses, you might like this story.
January 13, 2022
Thank you GR friend Tania who reviewed Jane Smiley’s “The Hillside”. It’s a 40 minute audio narrated by the wonderful Bahni Turpin. I’m a huge fan of both Smiley and Turpin.
Smiley’s “The Hillside” is part of “Warmer” which is a collection of seven visions of a conceivable tomorrow if our world continues in the current fashion. Of course, anyone who is familiar with Smiley knows she is a huge fan of horses. No other author can get inside the brain of a horse like Ms. Smiley. For those who love horses, you MUST read Smiley’s “Horse Heaven”.
Smiley’s idea of the future world is that animals become in control. There is a Congress of Animals who debate whether humans are worthy animals. This is a thought-provoking short story. Are humans worthy of existence?
Smiley’s “The Hillside” is part of “Warmer” which is a collection of seven visions of a conceivable tomorrow if our world continues in the current fashion. Of course, anyone who is familiar with Smiley knows she is a huge fan of horses. No other author can get inside the brain of a horse like Ms. Smiley. For those who love horses, you MUST read Smiley’s “Horse Heaven”.
Smiley’s idea of the future world is that animals become in control. There is a Congress of Animals who debate whether humans are worthy animals. This is a thought-provoking short story. Are humans worthy of existence?
August 7, 2026
3 stars
short review for busy readers:
A "turnabout's fair play" Amazon short from the "Warmer" climate fiction series in which animals have the upper hand over humans in a post-climate disaster world.
in detail:
A while back, Smiley wrote a decent novel called Horse Heaven largely about horse racing and the horse market in the US.
She did a ton of research, and probably wanted to put more of it to use somewhere because you can see it poking out from the sides in this Amazon short. The plot rests on the relationship between horses and humans (same as in the novel).
"Turnabout's fair play" stories in which the animal world reflects on humanity, or treats humanity as we've treated animals, are always political in nature, but it is notoriously difficult to get them right. Mainly because you have to think of all the logic holes.
For example, the animals can point the finger at factory farming as mass killing fields saying THEY only kill for food. The counter argument is that is exactly what humans are doing, too. It's food, not fun. That's (mostly) an argument fail, both parties are guilty of murder for the same reasons: we all need to eat.
(A better argument would be that animals kill when they are hungry, humans to satisfy ideals of abundance and economic goals. Immediate hunger is (generally) not a factor, and as omnivores humans can alter their diets, most animals can't. But that rarely appears in fictional stories because how would woodland critters know anything about national economics and cookery shows???)
In the case of "The Hillside," the meaning is abundantly clear. Humans are curious, playful, sly monkeys who will test and experiment to their own detriment -- and everyone else's. No argument there, but some of the things Smiley has the animals levelling at the humans as crimes, animals do all the time, which makes the Animal Council a kind of revenge-seeking kangaroo court (with no actual kangaroos, that would have been amusing.)
That, and the wanting to insert some horse facts, is what brings this otherwise fairly decent "turnabout" story down. 3 stars.
(For the best no-logic holes animal indictment of humanity see George Saunder's short story Fox 8)
short review for busy readers:
A "turnabout's fair play" Amazon short from the "Warmer" climate fiction series in which animals have the upper hand over humans in a post-climate disaster world.
in detail:
A while back, Smiley wrote a decent novel called Horse Heaven largely about horse racing and the horse market in the US.
She did a ton of research, and probably wanted to put more of it to use somewhere because you can see it poking out from the sides in this Amazon short. The plot rests on the relationship between horses and humans (same as in the novel).
"Turnabout's fair play" stories in which the animal world reflects on humanity, or treats humanity as we've treated animals, are always political in nature, but it is notoriously difficult to get them right. Mainly because you have to think of all the logic holes.
For example, the animals can point the finger at factory farming as mass killing fields saying THEY only kill for food. The counter argument is that is exactly what humans are doing, too. It's food, not fun. That's (mostly) an argument fail, both parties are guilty of murder for the same reasons: we all need to eat.
(A better argument would be that animals kill when they are hungry, humans to satisfy ideals of abundance and economic goals. Immediate hunger is (generally) not a factor, and as omnivores humans can alter their diets, most animals can't. But that rarely appears in fictional stories because how would woodland critters know anything about national economics and cookery shows???)
In the case of "The Hillside," the meaning is abundantly clear. Humans are curious, playful, sly monkeys who will test and experiment to their own detriment -- and everyone else's. No argument there, but some of the things Smiley has the animals levelling at the humans as crimes, animals do all the time, which makes the Animal Council a kind of revenge-seeking kangaroo court (with no actual kangaroos, that would have been amusing.)
That, and the wanting to insert some horse facts, is what brings this otherwise fairly decent "turnabout" story down. 3 stars.
(For the best no-logic holes animal indictment of humanity see George Saunder's short story Fox 8)
December 6, 2018
Another DNF for this Amazon Originals collection from me. Just......yuck.
The entire Warmer Collection was really just not for me. I don't DNF stories very often, but this was just not working for me.
Not every story is for every reader. I tried multiple times to finish this. Couldn't do it.
Moving on.....
The entire Warmer Collection was really just not for me. I don't DNF stories very often, but this was just not working for me.
Not every story is for every reader. I tried multiple times to finish this. Couldn't do it.
Moving on.....
May 26, 2020
I have never read Jane Smiley before, so this is another sterling writer that Amazon’s Warmer Collection has introduced me to. Here we have an Animal Farm take on climate change. Humanity is on the verge of extinction, and the animals that have inherited a dying earth pronounce judgement on our fate. Smiley avoids melodrama or pathos, which only adds to the impact of the stark writing and a truly indelible ending.
March 3, 2024
3.5 🐴🐴🐴🐴
If animals could talk? Turnabout is fair play and I have a smiley on my face. 😁
If animals could talk? Turnabout is fair play and I have a smiley on my face. 😁
January 5, 2022
A very quick but well-written, thought-provoking little dystopian. I liked that the whole story was understated with no drama and no perfect endings. Bahni Turpin narrates, and as always she does a brilliant job.
January 13, 2019
*Read for free with kindle Unlimited*
Quote from the story:
When the day of the inquiry arrived, the human advocate was a gray-haired female that High Note had seen often, always steady and determined in her pursuit of food or her instructions to the other humans. She positioned herself in her designated spot on the floor of the valley; the animals and humans stood in groups nearby, the animals to the north and the humans to the south. A raven perched on the human advocate’s shoulder and cawed into her ear. The animal representative was a wolf, Long Ears, who was generally thought to be eloquent and alert. So many of the animals had discussed not even attending the inquiry—who cared what might be the fate of the humans?—
4.5 stars.. this was really good and different for me.
Seeing a small taste of what it would be like if animals ruled the world instead of us was fun to read:)
March 4, 2024
3.5 stars
A short dystopia novella where the animal kingdom is superior to the human race. The horse, High Note, tries to bond with the female human, Plunky, however the superior Central Congress, made up of the foxes and wolves, determine that the humans must go. High Note eventually trades one Plunky for another.
A short dystopia novella where the animal kingdom is superior to the human race. The horse, High Note, tries to bond with the female human, Plunky, however the superior Central Congress, made up of the foxes and wolves, determine that the humans must go. High Note eventually trades one Plunky for another.
August 5, 2022
This series saved the worst story to last.
August 12, 2020
very.. obvious and lacking in nuance with a boring ending, but fun for a short read
April 1, 2023
‘The Hillside’ by Jane Smiley, #7 in Amazon’s Warmer short story series, reminded me of the Disney movie Bambi. However, Disney would never make a movie based on this book.
Like in Bambi, the animals talk, live their lives in the wild. The narrator of ‘The Hillside’ is a horse named High Note. She is one of the watchers who guard and control a small band of humans. The horses, along with birds, cats, and wolves, make sure the humans don’t disobey the rules wildlife have imposed on them. Ravens translate the language of the humans to the animals.
An apocalypse of some kind has happened a long time ago. Whatever it was, it has decimated the human race. Humans live in small tribal groups, naked, eating only the dead animals they find. The animals won’t let them hunt the living, unless it is another human.
However, bad news about the humans is spreading among the animals. A tribe some distance away made a fire! This is forbidden. A Congress of Animals is convened to decide the fate of the remainder of humans.
I have copied the book blurb:
”After bringing Earth to ruin, the age of humans is over. It is a blessing for some in this tender and tragic cautionary fable from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Thousand Acres.
Now the Congress of Animals is in control, unforgiving, and debating the fate of the planet’s most reviled species. The popular ruling: exterminate humankind without exception. But a curious mare, coming of age, is making a case for a seemingly gentle person she longs to save—a wish for mercy that could once again unbalance the new and righteous nature of the world.
Jane Smiley’s The Hillside is part of Warmer, a collection of seven visions of a conceivable tomorrow by today’s most thought-provoking authors. Alarming, inventive, intimate, and frightening, each story can be read, or listened to, in a single breathtaking sitting.
High Note, despite herself, has a favorite human female she has named Plucky. High Note is careful to not let the other animals know she favors one of the humans.
The Congress decides they will kill all of the humans, but they delay the culling. The winter is coming. It is probable the humans won’t survive the environmental change. Besides, High Note has seen the male humans killing the females every once in awhile since it got cold. She worries a little about Plucky, who has separated herself from the diminishing tribe, hiding in the forest. She has a smaller human with her. But High Note has her own problems during the winter. She is sluggish, without much energy. Perhaps she will learn what has happened to Plucky in the spring.
Like in Bambi, the animals talk, live their lives in the wild. The narrator of ‘The Hillside’ is a horse named High Note. She is one of the watchers who guard and control a small band of humans. The horses, along with birds, cats, and wolves, make sure the humans don’t disobey the rules wildlife have imposed on them. Ravens translate the language of the humans to the animals.
An apocalypse of some kind has happened a long time ago. Whatever it was, it has decimated the human race. Humans live in small tribal groups, naked, eating only the dead animals they find. The animals won’t let them hunt the living, unless it is another human.
However, bad news about the humans is spreading among the animals. A tribe some distance away made a fire! This is forbidden. A Congress of Animals is convened to decide the fate of the remainder of humans.
I have copied the book blurb:
”After bringing Earth to ruin, the age of humans is over. It is a blessing for some in this tender and tragic cautionary fable from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Thousand Acres.
Now the Congress of Animals is in control, unforgiving, and debating the fate of the planet’s most reviled species. The popular ruling: exterminate humankind without exception. But a curious mare, coming of age, is making a case for a seemingly gentle person she longs to save—a wish for mercy that could once again unbalance the new and righteous nature of the world.
Jane Smiley’s The Hillside is part of Warmer, a collection of seven visions of a conceivable tomorrow by today’s most thought-provoking authors. Alarming, inventive, intimate, and frightening, each story can be read, or listened to, in a single breathtaking sitting.
High Note, despite herself, has a favorite human female she has named Plucky. High Note is careful to not let the other animals know she favors one of the humans.
The Congress decides they will kill all of the humans, but they delay the culling. The winter is coming. It is probable the humans won’t survive the environmental change. Besides, High Note has seen the male humans killing the females every once in awhile since it got cold. She worries a little about Plucky, who has separated herself from the diminishing tribe, hiding in the forest. She has a smaller human with her. But High Note has her own problems during the winter. She is sluggish, without much energy. Perhaps she will learn what has happened to Plucky in the spring.
March 13, 2019
I am sorry that I did not get this fine author’s work in this series. Her short story is post apocalyptic where the animals; not forced into extinction by humans hold sway.
In a pristine valley the central committee wonder at a show trial if human beings have served their purpose. They contribute nothing, seek to push boundaries and want to return to the old ways.
Elsewhere humans have paid the ultimate penalty and been eradicated by predictors who value their meat.
This is no animal farm. Avian species seem to have power and horses due to their association with humans in the past are held in suspicion in some quarters.
The story has some quality about the relationship between a young female and a horse but it never seems focused enough for me. The lack of fight in the humans also seems to be misplaced in internal disagreements rather than survival techniques.
The story meanders along and then seems to fade from view like a stream through limestone country.
I take very little from the story other than in terms of our stewardship of the planet humans are guilty and without the co-operation of natural resources are doomed to become another extinct species.
In a pristine valley the central committee wonder at a show trial if human beings have served their purpose. They contribute nothing, seek to push boundaries and want to return to the old ways.
Elsewhere humans have paid the ultimate penalty and been eradicated by predictors who value their meat.
This is no animal farm. Avian species seem to have power and horses due to their association with humans in the past are held in suspicion in some quarters.
The story has some quality about the relationship between a young female and a horse but it never seems focused enough for me. The lack of fight in the humans also seems to be misplaced in internal disagreements rather than survival techniques.
The story meanders along and then seems to fade from view like a stream through limestone country.
I take very little from the story other than in terms of our stewardship of the planet humans are guilty and without the co-operation of natural resources are doomed to become another extinct species.
August 7, 2026
Planet of the Animals
Review of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook edition (October 2018)
Post-apocalyptic fable where the animal congress rules the planet and the pesky humans are monitored in order to ensure they don't discover fire and wreck the planet all over again. One of the mare horses takes a liking to one of the human females whom she admires for her pluckiness. "Planet of the Apes" meets "Quest For Fire" meets "Dr. Dolittle" (the animals can talk to each other).
The Hillside is one of the 7 short stories included in the Warmer Collection, a series of climate-related fiction released October 30, 2018 from Amazon Original Stories. Fear and hope collide in this collection of possible tomorrows. What happens when boiling heat stokes family resentments; when a girl’s personal crisis trumps global catastrophe; or when two climate scientists decide to party like it’s the end of the world? Like the best sci-fi, these cli-fi stories offer up answers that are darkly funny, liberating, and all too conceivable.
Review of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook edition (October 2018)
Post-apocalyptic fable where the animal congress rules the planet and the pesky humans are monitored in order to ensure they don't discover fire and wreck the planet all over again. One of the mare horses takes a liking to one of the human females whom she admires for her pluckiness. "Planet of the Apes" meets "Quest For Fire" meets "Dr. Dolittle" (the animals can talk to each other).
The Hillside is one of the 7 short stories included in the Warmer Collection, a series of climate-related fiction released October 30, 2018 from Amazon Original Stories. Fear and hope collide in this collection of possible tomorrows. What happens when boiling heat stokes family resentments; when a girl’s personal crisis trumps global catastrophe; or when two climate scientists decide to party like it’s the end of the world? Like the best sci-fi, these cli-fi stories offer up answers that are darkly funny, liberating, and all too conceivable.
February 14, 2022
3.5 stars
November 29, 2021
Meh. A future where humans had almost become extinct and are living wild Now they have animals as their overlords who keep an eye on them and make sure they don't learn any skills that might give them power again. Kind of like the groups of humans living in the Planet of the Apes.
January 13, 2022
Short story, part of the Warmer series, tells of the larger surviving animals in their attempt to keep humans under strict control as a consequence of the humans' ecological devastation and species destruction in previous eras. An interesting idea, cleverly thought out, well written. I liked it for the depiction of the various animal groups: horses, wolves, cats, ravens, and so forth. Whether the conclusion pleases you will depend in part on your own view of the subject matter.
November 28, 2018
I'm enjoying every piece in the Warmer series so far, but I particularly like this one. As a new legislative or bureaucratic attack on the Endangered Species Act, in the interest of human greed and/or blood-lust, now pops up what seems like every day, I quite enjoyed seeing the script flipped on the brutal disinterest in the survival of a species.
December 31, 2020
I didn't care for this story. I feel as if Smiley was trying to emulate Pierre Boulle and his Planet of the Apes, but instead of using apes which is at least somewhat believable she uses all animals and focuses on a horse. I didn't see this as cautionary and was certainly not able to suspend disbelief which is something an author has to make me do if they aren't going to give me straight narrative fiction.
December 6, 2021
No idea wtf that was and didn’t really like it. 2*
May 28, 2022
An enjoyable and very speculative short story, from a horse's pov
March 10, 2024
I don’t even know what I just read…my mind hurts
April 1, 2022
One of the better short stories in the collection. People, but from a different point of view.
March 21, 2026
the Hillside.
This short story cropped up today and as find Jane Smiley’s prose very engaging, I decided to take a look. A very quick read, but thoughtful and thought provoking. Recommended!
This short story cropped up today and as find Jane Smiley’s prose very engaging, I decided to take a look. A very quick read, but thoughtful and thought provoking. Recommended!
November 9, 2018
This is a heavy-handed parable about the ways in which humans indiscriminately exterminate non-human animals (and each other, for that matter). The cast of animals is so anthropomorphized that the story’s central argument — that we must decenter the human — is essentially moot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2018
Never have I wanted a short story to end as badly as I wanted this one to be over. I don't want to call it unreadable, as I clearly read it, but it was a mistake. If I could take back the brain space these words occupied for far too many minutes, I would.
November 30, 2019
Humans have destroyed the earth and now the animals have control. The humans are declared a danger to the planet and must be destroyed.
August 2, 2022
Book Review: The Hillside by Jane Smiley
Rating: 🐾🐾🐾🐾
Genre: Science Fiction
Published: 10/30/18
Review: This was a cute story, kind of, told in the POV of the animals. They all felt that the humans were destroying the world and needed to be eliminated. So that is what was going to happen, but not by killing them. Just by letting them die of natural causes. The main horse created a bond with one of the humans and was reprimanded for it, but she wanted to protect this human, so watched from afar. It was an interesting and short read for sure.
Summary: After bringing Earth to ruin, the age of humans is over. It is a blessing for some in this tender and tragic cautionary fable from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres. Now the Congress of Animals is in control, unforgiving, and debating the fate of the planet's most reviled species. The popular ruling: exterminate humankind without exception. But a curious mare, coming of age, is making a case for a seemingly gentle person she longs to save - a wish for mercy that could once again unbalance and the new and righteous nature of the world. Jane Smiley's The Hillside is part of Warmer, a collection of seven visions of a conceivable tomorrow by today's most thought-provoking authors. Alarming, inventive, intimate, and frightening, each story can be read, or listened to, in a single breathtaking sitting.
#mybookfeatures #bookstagrammer #bookstagramit #bookstagram #bibliophile #booksaremylife #bookasthetic #booktalk #readingtime #booklove #bookphotography #bookrecs #bookish #readingcommunity #readaholic #instabooks #bookcollector #bookcollection #bookhaul #bookcommunity #bookstack #bookaholic #booklover #bookaddict #readinglife #bookshelf #bookrecommendations #bookreview #thehillside #janesmiley
Rating: 🐾🐾🐾🐾
Genre: Science Fiction
Published: 10/30/18
Review: This was a cute story, kind of, told in the POV of the animals. They all felt that the humans were destroying the world and needed to be eliminated. So that is what was going to happen, but not by killing them. Just by letting them die of natural causes. The main horse created a bond with one of the humans and was reprimanded for it, but she wanted to protect this human, so watched from afar. It was an interesting and short read for sure.
Summary: After bringing Earth to ruin, the age of humans is over. It is a blessing for some in this tender and tragic cautionary fable from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres. Now the Congress of Animals is in control, unforgiving, and debating the fate of the planet's most reviled species. The popular ruling: exterminate humankind without exception. But a curious mare, coming of age, is making a case for a seemingly gentle person she longs to save - a wish for mercy that could once again unbalance and the new and righteous nature of the world. Jane Smiley's The Hillside is part of Warmer, a collection of seven visions of a conceivable tomorrow by today's most thought-provoking authors. Alarming, inventive, intimate, and frightening, each story can be read, or listened to, in a single breathtaking sitting.
#mybookfeatures #bookstagrammer #bookstagramit #bookstagram #bibliophile #booksaremylife #bookasthetic #booktalk #readingtime #booklove #bookphotography #bookrecs #bookish #readingcommunity #readaholic #instabooks #bookcollector #bookcollection #bookhaul #bookcommunity #bookstack #bookaholic #booklover #bookaddict #readinglife #bookshelf #bookrecommendations #bookreview #thehillside #janesmiley
November 3, 2024
This gave us a glimpse of how things would be when the animals take control, and the humans are closely monitored to not do anything stupid.
There's a Congress of Animals who are currently debating: Are humans worthy of their existence? Could anything bad happen if they eliminate every single human?
“It’s not merely that humans cannot keep themselves from using fire and sticks, it’s also what they have done to us—would human males like to be universally gelded, as horses and ‘dogs’ once were? Would humans like to be imprisoned and bred over and over, and then slaughtered, as chickens, hogs, and cattle once were? Would humans like to be shot out of the sky, as birds were, or pulled from the water with sharp hooks, as fish were?”
For some reason, I could only think on the groups of humans from the movie Planet of the Apes. But otherwise, this collection was bad, and they decided to leave the worst story to the end.
There's a Congress of Animals who are currently debating: Are humans worthy of their existence? Could anything bad happen if they eliminate every single human?
“It’s not merely that humans cannot keep themselves from using fire and sticks, it’s also what they have done to us—would human males like to be universally gelded, as horses and ‘dogs’ once were? Would humans like to be imprisoned and bred over and over, and then slaughtered, as chickens, hogs, and cattle once were? Would humans like to be shot out of the sky, as birds were, or pulled from the water with sharp hooks, as fish were?”
For some reason, I could only think on the groups of humans from the movie Planet of the Apes. But otherwise, this collection was bad, and they decided to leave the worst story to the end.
August 29, 2022
2.5 Stars
I just didn't care for the "Warmer" collection. This volume was interesting in that it took place in a post climate change world where most humans had died out and animals were in control. The story was told by anthropomorphic animals, mostly a horse. The animals decide the humans need to be exterminated because of what they've done to the world, and what they may do again in the future. The only creature sympathetic is the narrator, a filly.
Overall it was enjoyable due to the post apocalyptic vibe, but still wasn't much.
I guess I was expecting a more overt message regarding climate change in the "Warmer" series, but I suppose if the series had been preachy it could have been even worse.
I just didn't care for the "Warmer" collection. This volume was interesting in that it took place in a post climate change world where most humans had died out and animals were in control. The story was told by anthropomorphic animals, mostly a horse. The animals decide the humans need to be exterminated because of what they've done to the world, and what they may do again in the future. The only creature sympathetic is the narrator, a filly.
Overall it was enjoyable due to the post apocalyptic vibe, but still wasn't much.
I guess I was expecting a more overt message regarding climate change in the "Warmer" series, but I suppose if the series had been preachy it could have been even worse.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews