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A review by ergative
Gather Her Round by Alex Bledsoe
2.75
I always respect the Tufa books, but I think the ones that blend outsider and insider are more successful than the ones that take place with entirely Tufa characters. With Chapel of Ease, Bledsoe was doing a very intentional kind of uncertainty; but here the uncertainty felt less intentional and more . . . lazy? Where did the pig come from? The supernatural part, I mean. It can't have been any kind of manifestation of Duncan's jealousy at first, because it killed Kara Rogers before he knew she was sleeping with Adam. I like the idea that the wee feral piggies themselves conjured it up because they were so sick of being hunted by fish & wildlife people; but if that's the case, why did Pig God end up going after Kara? She wasn't a hunter. And if it was conjured up by the wee feral piggies as a protector, then why did it change its focus to Duncan? And if it was a Pig God, then why did it condone so much cannibalism among them? The whole link between Duncan and the pig just doesn't work, because he didn't become the troubled, murderous, miserable person he was until after the pig had entered his life by killing Kara.
Also, what the actual fuck, Mandalay? In what universe is justice served by inciting a bunch of drunk murderous people to beat someone to death? Maybe if Duncan had actually killed Adam then there was some sort of justice to be had. Certainly that's the implication we get from Bliss telling Jack that the Tufa handle things internally. But Duncan didn't, in fact, kill Adam. He thought about it, sure. He got Adam to come out 'hunting' with him for that reason, sure. But when the moment came he did not pull the trigger. Instead his crimes amount to nothing more than not firing his gun at the pig as it mauled Adam to death. And the description of the moment makes it seem like it was as much terror of the pig as calculating murderous strategy that stayed his hand. Now, this inaction sure made Duncan feel guilty, but I don't see that it would have changed anything if he'd been able to pull himself together and shoot the pig, and it may well have put him in danger too. We'd already learned that this pig is not easy to kill. It's shaken off multiple rifle bullets already. And people freeze when they're scared; it's natural. So this pig-based trolly-problem equivalent doesn't actually seem to work to demonstrate Duncan's guilt. It was a catastrophic accident, which happened because Duncan put the pieces in place for it to happen. But he didn't kill Adam, and it's not clear he had the power to prevent the pig from killing Adam. Justice for Duncan! He did not deserve what happened to him, and I really don't think Mandalay served any kind of justice with what she did.
Many of the Tufa books have one thing or another that rubs me the wrong way. This particular presentation of Tufa justice seems to depend on my accepting a lot of interpretations that simply don't follow from the facts on the page. And I still don't understand where the (unnatural part of the) pig came from.
Also, what the actual fuck, Mandalay? In what universe is justice served by inciting a bunch of drunk murderous people to beat someone to death? Maybe if Duncan had actually killed Adam then there was some sort of justice to be had. Certainly that's the implication we get from Bliss telling Jack that the Tufa handle things internally. But Duncan didn't, in fact, kill Adam. He thought about it, sure. He got Adam to come out 'hunting' with him for that reason, sure. But when the moment came he did not pull the trigger. Instead his crimes amount to nothing more than not firing his gun at the pig as it mauled Adam to death. And the description of the moment makes it seem like it was as much terror of the pig as calculating murderous strategy that stayed his hand. Now, this inaction sure made Duncan feel guilty, but I don't see that it would have changed anything if he'd been able to pull himself together and shoot the pig, and it may well have put him in danger too. We'd already learned that this pig is not easy to kill. It's shaken off multiple rifle bullets already. And people freeze when they're scared; it's natural. So this pig-based trolly-problem equivalent doesn't actually seem to work to demonstrate Duncan's guilt. It was a catastrophic accident, which happened because Duncan put the pieces in place for it to happen. But he didn't kill Adam, and it's not clear he had the power to prevent the pig from killing Adam. Justice for Duncan! He did not deserve what happened to him, and I really don't think Mandalay served any kind of justice with what she did.
Many of the Tufa books have one thing or another that rubs me the wrong way. This particular presentation of Tufa justice seems to depend on my accepting a lot of interpretations that simply don't follow from the facts on the page. And I still don't understand where the (unnatural part of the) pig came from.