Extract from Reviews from an Evil Ferret Lass

[Damask the Minstrel]

Well, we have that now. I don't know about you, but I don't want to eat dolphins. I wouldn't call them sentient, but the fact that they are as intelligent as they are makes the idea repugnant to me.

[Sparrowhawk]

Plus they're always smiling. I know it's not a REAL smile, but still, it's hard to imagine spearfishing something that looks so benignly human. (has anyone seen "The Cove" yet?)

There's very little horror at the idea, maybe because they're too busy trying to escape?

or maybe because the Painted Ones are collectively "dehumanized" in a sense, ie they are only presented as another sort of mindless, predatory beast like Asmodeus or that eel thing. A frightening monster that happens to be of the same species but is otherwise not particularly relatable in form and custom.

But anyway I agree with the rest of your post. And you're probably right about the Gawtrybe, tbh the only cannibal tribe I recall very clearly is the Painted Ones if that's not obvious by now

[Sycamore]

The Gawtrybe weren't cannibals, were they? They were squirrels. It doesn't make sense for them to want to eat Martin and Co. I only remember them playing "games"

Haha, I was wondering when someone would catch that.