The novella “Hottentots” by Paul Di Filippo was published for the first time in 1995 as part of “The Steampunk Trilogy” anthology.
The naturalist Louis Agassiz is forced to work with Jacob Cezar and Dottie, the daughter of the “Hottentot Venus” to find a fetiche created using her mother’s intimate parts. There are people who believe that the fetiche allows to summon ancient deities to unleash an apocalypse on Earth.
The protagonist of this novella is a character that really existed. Louis Agassiz became famous in the 19th century for various studies in fields ranging from zoology to geology. However, especially after his death a shadow grew on his reputation for his creationist ideas and his attempts to scientifically support racism. Paul Di Filippo provides a ruthlessly satirical portrait of him.
The author also refers to another historical figure, a woman known as the Hottentot Venus. A fetiche was created from her intimate parts that has a terrible potential in the field of black magic. From this point of view, the steampunk element of “Hottentots” is proto-lovecraftian because the fetiche enables to summon the Great Old Ones. We can discuss whether it’s science fiction or horror since many of Lovecraft’s works are on the border between the two genres but Paul Di Filippo uses them above all to create a satirical novella.
In fact, among the novellas in the “Steampunk” anthology, this is the longest one and a few decades ago would have been considered a novel. As for the genre, it’s a matter of definitions and labels. I consider the issue of its length relevant only because “Hottentots” seemed to me too long. The plot is quite thin and is developed a lot through arguments between the characters, with the result that the pace is sometimes very slow.
It can be said that much of the story is used to stress Louis Agassiz’s obtuseness. His attitude towards Dottie is extremely discriminatory: for the reader it’s very quickly obvious that she’s a very intelligent and educated woman, yet Agassiz goes on dumbly to argue that she is sub-human. A scientist is supposed to evaluate the evidence available to him, in this case Agassiz doesn’t behave like a scientist but refuses the evidence and continues undaunted to support his prejudices to support creationism and racism with motivations that have nothing to do with science.
In my opinion, if “Hottentots” weren’t so long, the satirical element, which is the strongest one, would be even more effective. It’s a shame because this novella also contains various references connected to the topics covered, little gems that increase the enjoyment for the reader.
