"You feel bored by the murders. And you wonder who you are, that you can say that about yourself—that you're bored by the murders." [p. 114]
A direct sequel to
River of Teeth, this picks up a couple of weeks later -- but is dramatically different in tone and structure. Where the previous novella was a heist caper,
Taste of Marrow is about the emotional (and legal) fallout of that caper: about the survivors, and how each of them is affected by their acts during
River of Teeth. This is a darker novella, and it focusses on two pairs of fugitives: Archie and Houndstooth, and Hero and Adelia. All four are looking for something that has been taken from, or has eluded, them: all four handle their situation very differently: all four are scarred by what happened when the dam came down. And they have all changed, though the changes are wholly in character. The person you'd expect to fall apart doesn't, because their goal is clear and their mind made up. The person who does fall apart is dangerously obsessed with what they've lost. A couple of new characters are introduced: another, from very early in
River of Teeth, turns up unexpectedly.
If that all sounds confused, it's because I don't think I've fully processed
Taste of Marrow. It is a different sort of story to
River of Teeth: more thoughtful, more about emotion than action (though in fact there's a fair bit of action), and considerably darker.
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