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Mysterious Sea Stories
Fourteen stories tell of sea monsters, ghost ships, the Sargasso Sea, naval battles, secret worlds, an island hermit, a murder at sea, mermaids, and undersea worlds
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 18, 2011
This is a difficult anthology to review (especially retrospectively --and I thought I'd read it longer ago than 2007, though judging by its library date stamp, that was the time frame), because it's such a mixed bag stylistically and in subject matter and genre. A nautical/maritime setting for the stories is the only unifying thread, except for the idea of the "mysterious" or macabre (and some selections fit that idea less than others). I wrote the above Goodreads entry, and it identifies the contributors and gives a thumbnail description that's accurate, but of course doesn't convey much of the book's flavor. But I can say that for me, most of the stories worked very well; they're usually good examples of their type, effective and mostly enjoyable. (Several I'd read before in other collections, but I'd surmise that not many other collections bring them together.)
Some of these tales are supernatural fiction, like Richard Sale's "The Benevolent Ghost and Captain Lowrie" (1940), an excellent ghost story that makes use of the sailor's folk legend of the Flying Dutchman. Other selections are drawn from the realm of science fiction, such as William Hope Hodgson's "The Finding of the Graiken." Many, though, are not exercises in speculative fiction at all; they find their drama in natural events. Shipboard or seaside murder figures in a number of the stories (a good example being Doyle's "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement," which has to rank as one of that writer's more chilling tales). In some stories, events may seem to be supernatural --but are they, really? :-) The tone of the various works ranges from the wryly humorous, through the serious and sometimes poignant, to the unremittingly dark and disturbing, which perfectly describes London's "Make Westing." (That work is not enjoyable --at least to me-- but it IS highly effective; the effect the author is going for just happens to be horror and revulsion.) Readers who dislike 19th-century diction should be warned that several of the stories are drawn from that era, and the ones written in the earlier half of the century --Poe's, Marryat's, and Melvile's-- feature a particularly flowery style. A short bio-critical introduction to each writer and his story (all of the authors represented are male) is a helpful and informative feature.
Besides the ones mentioned above, some of my favorite stories here are Bradbury's "Undersea Guardians," Conrad's "The Black Mate," Poe's "Ms. Found in a Bottle," and Kipling's "A Matter of Fact." But while some selections have stronger appeal than others, all are worth a read.
Some of these tales are supernatural fiction, like Richard Sale's "The Benevolent Ghost and Captain Lowrie" (1940), an excellent ghost story that makes use of the sailor's folk legend of the Flying Dutchman. Other selections are drawn from the realm of science fiction, such as William Hope Hodgson's "The Finding of the Graiken." Many, though, are not exercises in speculative fiction at all; they find their drama in natural events. Shipboard or seaside murder figures in a number of the stories (a good example being Doyle's "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement," which has to rank as one of that writer's more chilling tales). In some stories, events may seem to be supernatural --but are they, really? :-) The tone of the various works ranges from the wryly humorous, through the serious and sometimes poignant, to the unremittingly dark and disturbing, which perfectly describes London's "Make Westing." (That work is not enjoyable --at least to me-- but it IS highly effective; the effect the author is going for just happens to be horror and revulsion.) Readers who dislike 19th-century diction should be warned that several of the stories are drawn from that era, and the ones written in the earlier half of the century --Poe's, Marryat's, and Melvile's-- feature a particularly flowery style. A short bio-critical introduction to each writer and his story (all of the authors represented are male) is a helpful and informative feature.
Besides the ones mentioned above, some of my favorite stories here are Bradbury's "Undersea Guardians," Conrad's "The Black Mate," Poe's "Ms. Found in a Bottle," and Kipling's "A Matter of Fact." But while some selections have stronger appeal than others, all are worth a read.
November 20, 2023
OK, but nothing especially earth shattering here. Not enough eerieness or ghastly ness.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews