Seaserpents!

by Jack Dann (Editor), Gardner Dozois

An anthology of stories
Contents
xi • Preface (Seaserpents!) • (1989) • essay by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
1 • Algy • [W. Wilson Newbury] • (1976) • shortstory by L. Sprague de Camp
14 • Out of Darkness • (1987) • shortstory by Lillian Stewart Carl
28 • Leviathan! • [Svetz] • (1970) • shortstory by Larry Niven
40 • The Horses of Lir • (1981) • shortstory by Roger Zelazny
53 • The Mortal and the Monster • (1976) • novella by Gordon R. Dickson (aka The Monster and the Maiden)
106 • Man Overboard • (1960) • novelette by John Collier
130 • The Dakwa • [Lee Cobbett] • (1977) • shortstory by Manly Wade Wellman
146 • The Kings of the Sea • [Brigadier Ffellowes] • (1968) • novelette by Sterling E. Lanier
165 • Grumblefritz • (1981) • shortstory by Marvin Kaye
171 • The Devil of Malkirk • [Erasmus Darwin] • (1982) • novella by Charles Sheffield
225 • Further Reading (Seaserpents!) • (1989) • essay by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fiction, Horror

226 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1989

Reviews

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the 1980s to 2007, there was a long series of fantasy-heavy anthologies put out by Ace books, which I think of as The Exclamation Point Series, since all of the titles have an exclamation point at the end, like this book. According to Wikipedia, it's commonly called the Exclamitory Series. If you're curious about this book, it's currently up on The Open Library.

Although most of the stories are about the Loch Ness Monster, there are sea serpents found elsewhere. There is a good variety of stories, some humorous, some serious, some short, and some long. After the stories, there is a long list of suggested stories and books if you want even more sea serpents.

Selections:

* "Preface" by Gardiner Dozois and Jack Dann. They make a good point that sea serpents may have existed. When this was published in 1989, many people did believe in the Loch Ness Monster.
* "Algy" by L. Sprauge de Camp. There seems to be something in Lake Algonquin, which draws a team of researchers from Scotland.
* "Out of Darkness" by Lillian Stuart Carl. Rather pretentious piece about a failed expedition to find Nessie.
* "Leviathan!" By Larry Niven. This is the sequel to Niven's popular short story, "The Flight of the Horse." It blends science-fiction and fantasy.
* "The Horses of Lir" by Robert Zelazny. Beautiful little story about the keepers of the sea "horses" of the god Lir. My favorite story in the lot.
* "The Mortal and the Monster" by Gordon R. Dickson. Told from Nessie's point of view. I think this was written before The Dragon and the George, but similar vibes, with a touch of Watership Down.
* "Man Overboard" by John Collier. If Planes, Trains and Automobiles was set on water.
* "The Dakwa" by Manly Wade Wellman. Typical Man vs. Monster story.
* "The Kings of the Sea" by Sterling E. Lanier. An old British soldier in a New York club tells a tale of sea serpents in Sweden.
* "Grumblefritz" by Marvin Kaye. Short but sweet "letter" to fellow New Yorkers to dream bigger, better dreams, to help out an old Irish sea serpent named Grumblefritz.
* "The Devil of Malkirk" by Charles Sheffield. Dr. Erasmus Darwin gets news from a dying Scotsman that a vast sea creature lives in Lake Malkirk, guarding a Spanish galleon filled with gold.

[Tim Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the Magic Tales anthology series by Ace Books, with earlier volumes with their one-word titles followed by exclamation points often called the “Exclamatory series.” The 38-volume series started out as mainly a fantasy series but over time became more a science fiction anthology series. From one what I can tell, the books are mostly a collection of stories published elsewhere, sometimes decades before, though later volumes did include original stories. I myself have read _Bestiary!_, _Mermaids!_, and _Dinosaurs II_.

_Seaserpents!_is copyright 1989 and a collection of ten stories ranging in copyright from 1960 to 1989 (or 1987 if setting aside the dates for the preface and the further reading list). It starts with a three-page preface by Gardner Dozois and Jack Dann, discussing sea serpents in general, noting how alone among fabulous creatures they might exist and certainly many people believe they do exist, as well a brief discussion of possible explanations of sightings.

First story is “Algy” by L. Sprague de Camp, which features a lake monster in Lake Algonquin, a peaceful lake in the northeast US with a few resorts on its forested shores. A light tone, it felt older than its 1976 copyright date, like something out of the 1940s or 1950s with its comedy and relationships. “Out of Darkness” by Lillian Stewart Carl is about two people looking for the Loch Ness monster while using a submersible. Mark, using the latest hydrophones and sonar and wanting undeniable evidence of the sea serpent, and Sarah, far less obsessed, viewing things as a visual artist and using her sketch pad, the two a study in contrasts in perceptions and goals. “Leviathan!” by Larry Niven looks like a science fiction time travel story about a man who is sent back hundreds of years into the past to pick up a now-extinct sperm whale (copyright 1970, for those thinking of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and its mission to return humpback whales extinct in the time of the Star Trek series). The story is different in every way imaginable, not involving a threat to Earth, aliens, or even, in the end, a sperm whale, at least not exactly. The story centers around a Time Retrieval Expert named Svetz, a man who Niven has written other stories about and collected in his _The Flight of the Horse_. “The Horses of Lir_ by Roger Zelazny is a beautifully written, evocative tale showing a survival of Celtic mythology in modern times. “The Mortal and the Monster” by Gordon R. Dickson was my favorite of the book and I think the longest, almost a novella. It is a story from the point of view of a Loch Ness monster, one of a small family, the last of their kind, and her unexpected relationship with a man who was hunting her. Beautifully written, imaginative, and with real tension at the end. “Man Overboard” by John Collier was very relatable, not so much for one character’s search across the Pacific for a sea serpent, but for the objectionable passenger he picks up, a person of the type we have all encountered, and I think you can guess from the title his fate. Very well written, I will have to find more from Collier to read. “The Dakwa” by Manly Wade Wellman bucked the overall trend of the book towards Loch Ness monster lake monsters and was instead a creature from Cherokee mythology residing in a flooded valley in Appalachia (I wasn’t sure exactly where but it was either eastern Tennessee or western North Carolina). Wellman is best known for his John the Minstrel or Silver John dark fantasy/supernatural horror stories set in rural Appalachia and this fits in that style of story (both in setting and in terms of straddling the line between fantasy and horror). “The Kings of the Sea” by Sterling E. Lanier was another excellent story, also a favorite, and another that was much as dark fantasy as horror. I don’t want to spoil it, but it touches on Norse mythology as well as has interesting use of its 1938 Swedish setting. The central character is Brigadier Donald Ffellowes, who Lanier has written other stories about and collected in _The Peculiar Exploits of Brigadier Ffellowes_. “Grumblefritz” by Marvin Kaye is a very brief one, basically a satirical bit of humor more about society than sea serpents, set in Manhattan. “The Devil of Malkirk” by Charles Sheffield was one of the longest of the collection, a story set in Scotland and organized as a mystery with supernatural elements (or are there?), the detective being Erasmus Darwin, the scientist grandfather of Charles Darwin (Sheffield has collected other stories about him in _Erasmus Magister_). Maybe a little on the long side but it was interesting, great use of the Scottish setting, and loved the ending.

The book closes with a list of further reading both fiction and nonfiction.