James Bitter’s FLOCK: Tales of the Hooviverse is set in a world run by intelligent hooved animals. The protagonist and his team are llamas fighting for the British Army, since their species was driven out of South America generations ago after a war with the alpacas. World War II was an African civil war between the Axis (rhinos and hippos) and the Allies (led by the giraffes). Reindeer follow a bizarre cult based on the North Star. The wildebeest migration is a major televised event, though mostly staged for show—“if they do migrate, it’s purely for nostalgic reasons and they take a minibus.” It’s a rather odd premise for a war story, but Bitter takes the time and care to develop it well—going into thoughtful detail about everything from “How does a llama hold a gun?” to “What kind of hooved animal could pilot small fighter planes?” to “How would giraffes use their long necks in conversation?” And he does it in the context of the story, avoiding the need for tedious explication. The chapters are punctuated with in-universe ads, book reviews, military reports, and other delightful little vignettes that add color and texture to the worldbuilding.
This is billed as a humor story, and there is indeed a lively, wry sense of humor pervading throughout. But FLOCK is, in fact, a rather dark war tale, with the protagonists stuck in enemy territory, battling to survive, struggling with PTSD from the events detailed in the first chapter, and aware that they are very likely to fail in their mission (and that failure would mean utter disaster for everyone they love). The plot unfolds naturally but dramatically as the story goes on, revealing the true horror of the situation bit by bit.
They may be llamas, but the team comes across as real, three-dimensional people. Likeable, easy to sympathize with, easy to grieve for. Without ever being preachy, the author paints a bleak and heartrending picture of war, of its costs, and of the mindset needed to endure it and survive (or at least take comfort in a glorious death). The humor here is dark, and it’s needed to keep going even at the worst of times.
Don’t expect this to merely function as a bit of mind candy and a laugh or two. For those who want intelligent worldbuilding, a clever premise that’s well-developed, a dramatic war story, and characters who feel like they might clip-clop right off the page, FLOCK will do the job beautifully. (There is also a preview chapter for the sequel at the end, and it’s quite promising—offering hope that the next book will pick up where this one left off.)
The premise of James Bitter’s FLOCK: Tales of the Hooviverse—a world run by intelligent ungulates—seems bizarre at first, but it’s intelligently and thoughtfully developed, its characters are relatable, and its plot manages to be both heartbreaking and wryly funny at the same time.
~ Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader