Strange Dogs: An Expanse Novella (The Ex...

This may be my favorite installation in the Expanse short fiction published so far. The protagonist is interesting and the alien world is sufficiently weird. I do hope this ties into one of the upcoming books.

I'm of two minds about the ending. On the one hand, fuck yeah, but on the other, it felt rather abrupt. Like we had only just gotten going when suddenly we stop. That isn't even a real criticism from me, though. See every review of a novella I have and you'll see me make a similar complaint time and time again.

Just so you know, this review was not written by the human who normally posts stuff here. This review was written by her dog.

Some of you may have enjoyed my previous review of _The Dog Master_, which made my tail wag. That’s right, humans, I’m back. I figured out the code to unlock the iPad and it has changed my life. This time I read a comic called Science Comics: Dogs. Man, I knew that was going to be a great book right when I saw the title. Because what topic could be more important than DOGS? (Global warming, maybe, but you humans don’t seem interested enough in that, now do you?)

Just in case you’re thinking this is “fake news,” let me remind you I’m a Border Collie, the most intelligent of dogs, and not only do I read, write, and post reviews, I also watch your Netflix when you’re at work. I mean, you don’t expect me to watch the dandelions grow all day while you’re gone, do you?

So on to the book. Science Comics: Dogs is full of interesting details on everything about a dog’s life. From the way a dog smells (Did you know we have two smellers? I bet you didn’t!) to the way humans affect dog genetics and evolution, this book has it all. Rudy, the dog who is your guide, loves ball, just like I do, and he’ll help you travel back in time to witness early dog-human collaboration, take you to Russia to observe Silver Fox breeding experiments, and even show you dog DNA. My human is a science teacher and she would do well to buy this book for her classes because everything a middle school life science student needs to know is in here. Heck, if I had a credit card, I’d buy her a class set. Then maybe she’d get home a little earlier and play more ball. If your human is smart, they’ll fetch this book from the bookstore before you can say WOOF.

Lost Dogs is a brutal minimalist story about a simple man who loses everything to violence. The art is done in a very rough brush stroke style; white, black, and red the only colors. The main character looks like a cross between Popeye and Bluto. It is a bit reminiscent of the first Sin City collection, but with far cruder art.

A homeless street can narrates the 're of finding a family and a friend for his new pet human. The anime style of "the look" that elicits good from humans is worth it, all in its own.

library copy

I am so emotional these days that just reading the blurb made me tear up. What a good dog! I liked that it was written from the dog's perspective, and that Gus was so uncommunicative.

Library copy