After the Tide

by Jessie Kwak

It’s the event of the generation, the century, the the lowest of low tides laying bare the original streets of Tarry-by-the-Sea for the first time in living memory. Sea creatures splash for cover as the city's human residents descend for an epic, once-in-a-lifetime party—though a dark electricity sizzles beneath the revelry.

A mysterious game has been announced, this night only, and Adria is one of many hopefuls drawn to the promise of fortune. She has her father's ashes in her pack, hard-fought freedom in her future, and the growing suspicion in her mind that something alarmingly alien lurks in the City-beneath-the-City.

She's right. And I'm nearly ready to introduce myself—assuming I can survive the night.

Genres: Science Fiction

53 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 22, 2023

About the author

Jessie Kwak has always lived in imaginary lands, from Arrakis and Ankh-Morpork to Earthsea, Tatooine, and now Portland, Oregon. As a writer, she sends readers on their own journeys to immersive worlds filled with fascinating characters, gunfights, explosions, and dinner parties. When she’s not raving about her latest favorite sci-fi series to her friends, she can be found sewing, mountain biking, or out exploring new worlds both at home and abroad.

She is the author of supernatural thriller From Earth and Bone, the Bulari Saga series of gangster sci-fi novels, and productivity guide From Chaos to Creativity. You can learn more about her at www.jessiekwak.com, or follow her on Twitter (@jkwak).

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool story, with the best kind of atmosphere (all muted blues and greens and greys, everything dripping and covered in algae and barnacles). There’s a ton of character and world-building packed into these pages, and I had a great time exploring it.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a crisply written novella. The world-building as well as characterisations were superb. But it was severely rushed towards its end. Even then, the ending was predictable. But the message it delivered underneath all action and emotion was powerful indeed.
A good read.

[anna b · Rating 4 out of 5]

love a nautical theme, love a little bite of science fiction. but, as always, wanted more from this.

[Kristina Bleiler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible world-building, and unique to any other sci-fi stories I’ve explored so far. Just the right amount of action and mystery throughout, until it all makes sense by the end. And it was fun to explore the bite-sized novelette style! It packs a punch even for its smaller format, and makes me want to read more!

[Karen Eisenbrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novelette packs a lot of world-building, mystery, culture, and character into a compact, fast-paced read. There is just enough detail to immerse the reader in an unusual setting on one special night, as the lowest of low tides reveals the ruins of the original streets of Tarry-by-the-Sea. Residents of all classes are out exploring, but some are on an epic scavenger hunt for clues and an unnamed prize, with the ever-present danger of the returning tide in the background.

An enigmatic first-person narrator disappears into the story for pages at a time, as Adria, a young con artist, searches for clues and solves puzzles while scattering her late father’s ashes. Can she trust any of the other players, and how does the narrator know so much about her? It was exciting to follow Adria through twists and turns on her suspenseful search for answers is a well imagined, fascinating setting.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely little read full of wonder and beauty buried beneath the sea.

There's much to love about this book. The framing nature of moons and their resulting tide is so integral and particular to this story, and I'd have loved even more descriptions of everything down there.

Adria is complex and intriguing and a character who I'd love to spend more time with, but I deeply wish I had more time with the point of view character. Adria isn't the most interesting thing about this world or this story, and this novelette felt like a warmup adventure to something much bigger.

Here's hoping there will be another story set in this world and this City!

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kwak builds an interesting and complex world, but delivers an unfortunately thin plot.
In a tight 82 pages our protagonist goes through a number of puzzles, but we only get to “see” a two of them. The rest of them we only hear about after she solves them, in a quick recap of what happened “off screen”, leaving me feeling unsatisfied.
I would’ve read 200 more pages about this layered, half submerged world!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, how to describe this story - in a once in a lifetime event, the tides go so low that the original streets of Tarry-by-the-Sea are exposed and many things long hidden are revealed. Other's secrets are revealed on this night as well. A bit confusing, strange, surprising, with a lovely conclusion that led to a desire to learn more about Tarry-by-the Sea.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun novelette, tightly scripted and gripping. A treasure hunt that has the whole town looking for an enigmatic treasure, with an unusual narrator who seems to have omniscient knowledge of our protagonist. I was concerned about the POV until the conclusion answered my questions.

This is a story that could be a lot bigger. I expect more about the town Tarry-by-the-Sea in the future.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would love for this to be a full-length novel - the world-building for such a short piece is amazing.

[Ash Danley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really sure what happened but good vibes I guess

[sharon davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

It makes the reader want to know what happens next. The beginning of the story arc is to interesting to just end here