Book Review: DEVIL AND THE DEEP - HORROR STORIES OF THE SEA

THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP: HORROR STORIES OF THE SEA edited by Ellen Datlow (Night Shade books, February 2018)  Hardcover, 320 pages.  ISBN # 1597809071 / 9781597809078

 

Summary from the Goodreads website . . . . .

 

It’s only water, so why should we fear large bodies of it, such as the sea or the ocean? However, when you’re all alone, you realize how scary a place it can be.

 

In Devil and the Deep, award-winning editor Ellen Datlow shares an original anthology of horror that covers the depths of the deep blue sea. Whether its tales of murderous pirates who stalk the waters in search of treasure and blood, creatures that haunt the depths below―ones we’ve only seen in our nightmares, or storms that can swallow you whole, the open water can be a dangerous and terrifying place.

 

With new stories from New York Times-bestsellers and award-winning authors such as Seanan McGuire, Christopher Golden, Stephen Graham Jones, and more, Devil and the Deep guarantees you’ll think twice before going back into the water. 

 
My review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

 

     I approach themed anthologies with caution. In too many instances, the central idea begins to wear thin after multiple stories with the same approach. However, with Ellen Datlow behind the ship’s wheel as editor, I decided to read this one. I trust her story judgment.  It was also the winner of The Bram Stoker 2018 Award for Best Anthology Of The Year. 

 

     It’s not hard to see why. None of these stories were lukewarm in temperature. Everything met my expectations.  Out of fifteen stories ten were above average (hot!), and three exceeded all expectations (scalding!) which makes them  worthy of pedestal placement. 

 

The three five-star stories were:

 

• “Fodders Jig” by Lee Thomas is the name for a disease birthed by the sea. The story includes a horrific monster scene that is truly disturbing. What makes this tale even more important is how it deals with broken relationships and preserving what’s important.

 

• “Broken Record” by Stephen Graham Jones is the highly imaginative tale of a desert island castaway who sees his desert island wish list manifest in strange and wondrous ways. 

 

• “He Signs Of Salt And Wormwood” by Brian Hodge concerns free diving, driftwood statues and the call of the sea. At its’ core is a heartwarming story about relationships. 

 

The entertaining above-average four star tales include:

 

• Simon Bestwick’s “Deadwater” which is more of a crime novel with a clever amateur sleuth and a disturbing motive. The only horror element in the tale is a very ghastly method of murder.

 

• “Curious Allure Of The Sea” by Christopher Golden details an example of the power of tattoos and talismans to attract and bring up all manner of things from the sea. 

 

• “A Ship Of The South Wind” by Bradley Denton is a fast-paced story set within a steampunk apocalypse on an inland sea. 

 

• In the creepy “What My Mother Left Me” by Alyssa Wong family ties run deep, even when separated by the land and sea.

 

• Steve Rasnic Tem’s “Saudade” sees a recently windowed elderly man embark on a strange and creepy senior matchmaking ocean cruise. 

 

• In “Sister, Dearest Sister, Let Me Show You To The Sea”, Seanan McGuire shows how nobody can be meaner than one sister to another.  Rivalry can be brutal. 

 

• A.C. Wise’s “A Moment Before Breaking” is an unsettling boat journey by refugees.

 

• A haunted diving suit creates chaos in “The Deep Sea Swell” by John Langan

 

• The very funny and entertaining “Shit Happens” by Michael Marshall Smith uses the sea as catalyst for a zombie infection that begins in the gastro-intestinal tract. I almost gave this a five-star rating but it ends too abruptly with no resolution offered or hinted at.

 

• In “Haunt”, a story told in a much earlier style (like Moby Dick and other sea tales) Siobhan Carroll writes of a monstrous sea crash that results in a sinking ship as past misdeeds return across the waters to punish specific sailors. It shivered my timbers.  

 

Because the above stories were so strong and of such high quality, it hurt the impression of the two selections I rated only three stars:

 

• An old skull in a lofty room yearns for a sea view and does its’ best to communicate those desires in “The Tryall Attract” by Terry Dowling.

 

• Norwegian whalers run into spooky trouble in “Whalers’ Song” by Ray Cluley.

 

This is a superior collection, more than worthy of the awards it earned and was nominated for.