I saw this in one of TOR's promotional emails and searched it up because of its Iowa connection. I did not realize it was a novella so I finished it in one sitting. Pretty interesting characters and setting, and the author wastes no time establishing what kind of story this is. Some eye-rolling to be had at the prevailing Anarchism throughout, but the same way you roll your eyes at everything that's different which just makes us all human and kind of shitty.
The IA setting was tenuous. It could have been set in any rural area, really.
The demon deer made for a damn eerie presence throughout.